Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the resources needed to support preparations for exiting the EU, and of the extent to which the £3 billion announced in the Budget Statement will be sufficient to support those preparations.
Answered by Lord Bates
The future funding requirements and the timescale over which they will be needed are dependent on the outcome of our negotiations with the European Union. The £1.5 billion set aside in both 18/19 and 19/20 is to ensure departments have sufficient resources to undertake key preparatory activities over the next two years.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the timescale for which financial support will be needed to aid the UK's exit from the EU; and what assessment they have made of the extent to which the allocation of the £3 billion announced in the Budget Statement for that purpose for the 2018–19 and 2019–20 financial years will meet this need.
Answered by Lord Bates
The future funding requirements and the timescale over which they will be needed are dependent on the outcome of our negotiations with the European Union. The £1.5 billion set aside in both 18/19 and 19/20 is to ensure departments have sufficient resources to undertake key preparatory activities over the next two years.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assurances they have given regarding the future of long-term insurance contracts in the light of Brexit.
Answered by Lord Bates
The government recognises the issues the UK’s departure from the EU creates for firms ability to service long-term contracts in force at EU exit. We are considering in particular risks arising from any change of passporting arrangements and the impact on cross-border contracts, including long-term insurance contracts.
Much of the detail of these arrangements remains a matter for the EU exit negotiation process, but we will continue to provide information to help firms deal with the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities as we move towards our future relationship with the EU.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will seek continued participation in EU-wide co-operation on exchanging information and tackling tax evasion following the UK's withdrawal from the EU, particularly in relation to the Mutual Assistance Directive 2010/24/EU which enables cross-EU border enforcement of tax debts.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Mutual Assistance Recovery Directive (MARD), which dates back to 1976, provides for Member States to assist each other in recovering tax debts. The Council of Europe-OECD Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters also provides for reciprocal assistance in tax collection between signatories of the agreement, as do some of the UK’s bilateral tax treaties.
There may be specific European programmes, some of which may be partly but not wholly EU, in which we may still want to participate. The Government is still formulating its position and this will then be a matter for the EU exit negotiations.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are seeking to retain euro clearing in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Euro-denominated clearing forms an important part of the overall financial structure in London.
The Government will continue to consult with stakeholders and do what it takes to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of the financial industry.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are taking steps to put in place transitional measures for the UK's financial services to cover the time between the UK leaving the EU and the implementation of the UK's exit agreement.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As the Prime Minister has said, it is in no one’s interests for there to be a cliff-edge for business or a threat to stability as we change from our existing relationship to a new partnership with the EU.
The Prime Minister set out the government’s ambition to reach an agreement about our future partnership by the time the 2 year Article 50 process is concluded, followed by a phased process of implementation, in which both Britain and the EU institutions and member states prepare for the new arrangements that will exist between us.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions are taking place with the UK financial services industry as to how they would adapt to the WTO General Agreement on Trade and Services should this be necessary.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK’s financial services industry plays a vital role in the UK, European and global economies, which benefits customers and businesses around the world.
Government ministers have met with a full range of institutions from across our financial services sector. This includes bilateral meetings with firms and regulators, as well as roundtables with groups of industry representatives.
These meetings have enabled the Government to fully understand the opportunities and risks which have been identified by the sector as the UK leaves the EU, and has included discussion with firms about different scenarios.
We are determined to secure the best possible deal for UK goods and services – including financial services - in our negotiations to leave the EU.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions are taking place with the financial services industry and regulators on the UK's future negotiations with the EU on retaining passporting or on potential alternatives under WTO–GATS post UK withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK’s financial services industry plays a vital role in the UK, European and global economies, which benefits customers and businesses around the world.
Government ministers have met with a full range of institutions from across our financial services sector. This includes bilateral meetings with firms and regulators, as well as roundtables with groups of industry representatives.
These meetings have enabled the Government to fully understand the opportunities and risks which have been identified by the sector as the UK leaves the EU, and has included discussion with firms about different scenarios.
We are determined to secure the best possible deal for UK goods and services – including financial services - in our negotiations to leave the EU.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the regulatory impact of the Financial Conduct Authority authorisation of insolvency practitioners.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The government consulted extensively on its reforms to the consumer credit market prior to the transfer of regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The result of that consultation included the exclusion for insolvency practitioners when acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an insolvency practitioner (IP).
It remains the government’s view that when an insolvency practitioner is no longer acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an IP, they must be authorised by the FCA if they wish to continue providing debt advice. There are no immediate plans to review this exclusion. However, the government does maintain an interest in the impact of regulation on the debt advice market.
The FCA is thoroughly assessing every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process. The size of the debt advice market will not be known until this process is complete. The government will stay in contact with the FCA throughout the authorisation process to monitor the impact on customer journeys and capacity.
For IPs concerned about the potential burden of FCA authorisation, the FCA has been clear that it takes a proportionate approach to setting fees. This includes imposing tiered fees based on the income a firm generates from its credit activities, ensuring that the smallest firms pay the lowest fees. There also remain other options for smaller firms to consider, including the appointed representative regime.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Financial Conduct Authority authorisation of insolvency practitioners on the size of the debt advice market.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The government consulted extensively on its reforms to the consumer credit market prior to the transfer of regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The result of that consultation included the exclusion for insolvency practitioners when acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an insolvency practitioner (IP).
It remains the government’s view that when an insolvency practitioner is no longer acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an IP, they must be authorised by the FCA if they wish to continue providing debt advice. There are no immediate plans to review this exclusion. However, the government does maintain an interest in the impact of regulation on the debt advice market.
The FCA is thoroughly assessing every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process. The size of the debt advice market will not be known until this process is complete. The government will stay in contact with the FCA throughout the authorisation process to monitor the impact on customer journeys and capacity.
For IPs concerned about the potential burden of FCA authorisation, the FCA has been clear that it takes a proportionate approach to setting fees. This includes imposing tiered fees based on the income a firm generates from its credit activities, ensuring that the smallest firms pay the lowest fees. There also remain other options for smaller firms to consider, including the appointed representative regime.