Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many letters of complaint have (a) his Department, (b) the Financial Conduct Authority and (c) the Prudential Regulation Authority received about the proposed demutualisation of Liverpool Victoria and the sale to Bain Capital; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Regarding letters of complaint received on the proposed demutualisation of Liverpool Victoria and the sale to Bain Capital, HM Treasury has had several representations over the last few months on this issue. The exact number is not readily available information.
While the Companies (Disclosure of Auditor Remuneration and Liability Limitation Agreements) Regulations 2008 require companies to disclose fees payable to the auditor for the audit of their financial statements, there is no requirement to disclose fees payable to advisers. These are properly a matter for the company and its members.
The assessment of the proposed demutualisation and sale of Liverpool Victoria is a matter for the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government. The remaining questions have therefore been passed to the PRA and FCA who will respond directly to the Honourable Member by letter. Copies of the letters will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority approved the tender documents issued by Fenchurch Advisory Partners on behalf of the LV Board which invited bids to purchase Liverpool Victoria; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Regarding letters of complaint received on the proposed demutualisation of Liverpool Victoria and the sale to Bain Capital, HM Treasury has had several representations over the last few months on this issue. The exact number is not readily available information.
While the Companies (Disclosure of Auditor Remuneration and Liability Limitation Agreements) Regulations 2008 require companies to disclose fees payable to the auditor for the audit of their financial statements, there is no requirement to disclose fees payable to advisers. These are properly a matter for the company and its members.
The assessment of the proposed demutualisation and sale of Liverpool Victoria is a matter for the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government. The remaining questions have therefore been passed to the PRA and FCA who will respond directly to the Honourable Member by letter. Copies of the letters will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether representatives of the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority have held discussions on the immediate future of the Chairman of Liverpool Victoria; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Regarding letters of complaint received on the proposed demutualisation of Liverpool Victoria and the sale to Bain Capital, HM Treasury has had several representations over the last few months on this issue. The exact number is not readily available information.
While the Companies (Disclosure of Auditor Remuneration and Liability Limitation Agreements) Regulations 2008 require companies to disclose fees payable to the auditor for the audit of their financial statements, there is no requirement to disclose fees payable to advisers. These are properly a matter for the company and its members.
The assessment of the proposed demutualisation and sale of Liverpool Victoria is a matter for the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government. The remaining questions have therefore been passed to the PRA and FCA who will respond directly to the Honourable Member by letter. Copies of the letters will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the names of the future board of Liverpool Victoria (LV) in the event that the proposed demutualisation and sale to Bain Capital is successfully completed; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The assessment and approval of the proposed sale and demutualisation of Liverpool Victoria is an ongoing and independent process, overseen and scrutinised by the financial services regulators, and subject to approval by the Courts. It is not appropriate for the Government to intervene in an ongoing and independent process.
It is not the Government’s role to publish the names of future board members. It is a matter for the firm to decide on whether it publicly announces the new board members prior to regulatory approval. In due course, if and when these individuals are approved under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, it will be searchable on The Financial Services register via the FCA’s website.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority to help ensure that no-one who is entitled to vote in the ballot to decide whether Liverpool Victoria (LV) should be demutualised or not is inadvertently excluded; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The assessment and approval of the proposed sale and demutualisation of Liverpool Victoria is an ongoing and independent process, overseen and scrutinised by the financial services regulators, and subject to approval by the Courts. It is not appropriate for the Government to intervene in an ongoing and independent process.
It is not the Government’s role to publish the names of future board members. It is a matter for the firm to decide on whether it publicly announces the new board members prior to regulatory approval. In due course, if and when these individuals are approved under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, it will be searchable on The Financial Services register via the FCA’s website.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England on the monitoring of the voting process in the proposed demutualisation of Liverpool Victoria to ensure that that voting process is effective and transparent; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The assessment and approval of the proposed sale and demutualisation of Liverpool Victoria is an ongoing and independent process, overseen and scrutinised by the financial services regulators, and subject to approval by the Courts. It is not appropriate for the Government to intervene in an ongoing and independent process.
It is not the Government’s role to publish the names of future board members. It is a matter for the firm to decide on whether it publicly announces the new board members prior to regulatory approval. In due course, if and when these individuals are approved under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, it will be searchable on The Financial Services register via the FCA’s website.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the number of occurrences civil servants in his Department raised concerns regarding the price paid for personal protective equipment from February 2020 to August 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Treasury does not hold this information.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who are the two independent experts assigned to the Financial Conduct Authority to assess the potential merits of the proposed the sale of LV (Liverpool Victoria); what assessment he has made of their remit in that assessment; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Scheme of Arrangement and Member Vote independent expert is Oliver Gillespie from Milliman. The Part VII independent expert is Simon Grout from FTI Consulting. The independent experts are appointed by LV= (and in the case of the Part VII independent experts approved by the PRA, in consultation with the FCA) and their review of the proposed transaction is not only for the regulators but also for the courts and the members and policyholders of LV=. They are required to perform their role in line with regulatory requirements for independent experts.
The approval of the sale of LV= to Bain Capital, including consideration of the independent experts’ reports, is a matter for the members of LV=, as well as the financial services regulators and the courts, both of whom are independent of Government. It is therefore not appropriate for the Government to comment on the substance of an ongoing process.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions officials in his Department have held with representatives of the co-operative and mutual sector on increasing safeguards for financial mutuals against demutualisation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is a strong supporter of the mutuals sector. Mutuals offer a different way of running a business, with their clear focus on their members needs and serving their local communities.
The Government routinely considers the effectiveness of legislation, including that for financial mutuals, and if any amendments are necessary. The Government is open to discussions about legislative reforms to support mutuals and other proposals to develop the sector. Treasury officials recently met with the Association of Financial Mutuals, which has put together a working group dedicated to exploring the impact of legislation and regulation on mutuals and friendly societies.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date he last made an assessment of the effectiveness of existing legislation in preventing the demutualisation of financial mutuals; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is a strong supporter of the mutuals sector. Mutuals offer a different way of running a business, with their clear focus on their members needs and serving their local communities.
The Government routinely considers the effectiveness of legislation, including that for financial mutuals, and if any amendments are necessary. The Government is open to discussions about legislative reforms to support mutuals and other proposals to develop the sector. Treasury officials recently met with the Association of Financial Mutuals, which has put together a working group dedicated to exploring the impact of legislation and regulation on mutuals and friendly societies.