Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to support the growth of blockchain innovation in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Treasury is responsible for considering the implications of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchain in the Financial Services sector; this includes activities relating to cryptoassets.
The government’s ambition is to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology and investment. In April 2022, the government set out a number of reforms which will see the regulation and aspects of tax treatment of cryptoassets evolve.
The Financial Services and Markets Bill ensures that the Treasury can establish the framework for regulating cryptoassets and stablecoins. The government has consulted on the regulation of stablecoins and will consult on its approach to regulating a broader set of investment-related cryptoasset activities in due course. The government believes that having robust and effective regulation will boost innovation - by giving people and businesses the confidence they need to use new technologies safely.
The government has taken a range of broader measures to support blockchain innovation in the UK. The Treasury will set up a Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) Sandbox in 2023, which will allow firms to experiment with new technologies and innovations, including DLT, in providing the infrastructure services that underpin markets. The Treasury is taking powers through the Financial Services and Markets Bill to implement one or more sandboxes.
The government is also exploring the use of DLT in debt instruments to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of financial technology development.
Further consultation on cryptoassets is expected to be published shortly.
Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has made an assessment of the potential merits of applying an excise duty to non-tobacco nicotine products.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no current plans to apply an excise duty to non-tobacco nicotine or vaping products. We believe these are an effective way of encouraging smokers to switch to less harmful alternatives.
Non-tobacco nicotine and vaping products are currently subject to the standard rate of VAT at 20%. Medicinally regulated products are subject to the reduced rate of VAT at 5%.
Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has made an assessment of the potential merits of levying an excise duty on vaping products.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has no current plans to apply an excise duty to non-tobacco nicotine or vaping products. We believe these are an effective way of encouraging smokers to switch to less harmful alternatives.
Non-tobacco nicotine and vaping products are currently subject to the standard rate of VAT at 20%. Medicinally regulated products are subject to the reduced rate of VAT at 5%.
Asked by: Antony Higginbotham (Conservative - Burnley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the Serious Fraud Office's recommendation on making failure to prevent economic crime a criminal rather than a regulatory offence.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In response to calls that current law on economic crime may require reform, the Government carried out a Call for Evidence in 2017 and published its response in November 2020. This is an extremely complex area of the law and the public consultation unfortunately proved inconclusive.
The Government has therefore asked the Law Commission to undertake an in-depth review of the laws around corporate criminal liability for economic crime and - if considered necessary - make recommendations on proportionate and appropriate options for reform. The Commission is aiming to publish an Options Paper shortly.
It is important that we get this right, and any reforms must be proportionate and evidence-based. We intend to engage with the Law Commission on the findings of the review once it has concluded.