Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to introduce legislative proposals to strengthen the regulation of the funeral plan market and improve consumer protection.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The provision of a funeral plan is defined as a regulated activity and falls within the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory remit unless specific exemption criteria are met. This arrangement and these exemption criteria are set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001.
This legislation exempts funeral plan providers from the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory remit where the following financial arrangements are conducted, which are designed to ensure that the customer’s payments are secure:
the customer’s money is held in a trust fund, where more than half of the trustees are unconnected with the funeral plan provider. This trust must be managed by an authorised fund manager and be overseen by a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries; or
the customer’s money is placed in a life insurance policy, issued by an authorised insurer.
HM Treasury sets the legislative framework for the regulation of financial services, including the provision of funeral plans, and continues to keep such exemptions under review to ensure the maintenance of effective prudential and conduct standards.
HM Treasury regularly engages with external stakeholders and has heard views relating to the funeral plan market from a range of sources, including consumer groups and funeral plan providers.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on strengthening the regulation of the funeral plan market.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The provision of a funeral plan is defined as a regulated activity and falls within the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory remit unless specific exemption criteria are met. This arrangement and these exemption criteria are set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001.
This legislation exempts funeral plan providers from the Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory remit where the following financial arrangements are conducted, which are designed to ensure that the customer’s payments are secure:
the customer’s money is held in a trust fund, where more than half of the trustees are unconnected with the funeral plan provider. This trust must be managed by an authorised fund manager and be overseen by a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries; or
the customer’s money is placed in a life insurance policy, issued by an authorised insurer.
HM Treasury sets the legislative framework for the regulation of financial services, including the provision of funeral plans, and continues to keep such exemptions under review to ensure the maintenance of effective prudential and conduct standards.
HM Treasury regularly engages with external stakeholders and has heard views relating to the funeral plan market from a range of sources, including consumer groups and funeral plan providers.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department’s timetable is for the implementation of the Commercial Credit Data Sharing scheme.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government’s SME credit data sharing scheme will make it easier for challenger banks and alternative finance providers to check the creditworthiness of businesses, which will improve the chances of them being able to provide finance to SMEs.
Each of the banks designated by the Government has received a formal letter from at least one of the designated credit reference agencies to request the data that banks are required to share under the scheme. All nine designated banks will therefore be sharing data by the end of the year.
The Treasury’s assessment of the impact of the scheme was published alongside the relevant legislation:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2015/273/pdfs/ukia_20150273_en.pdf
The regulations include a requirement for the Treasury to review the scheme, and the Competition and Markets Authority’s final report under the Retail banking market investigation recommended that the Treasury review the scheme in summer 2018.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential benefit to (a) small businesses seeking access to finance and (b) the alternative finance industry of implementing the Commercial Credit Data sharing scheme.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government’s SME credit data sharing scheme will make it easier for challenger banks and alternative finance providers to check the creditworthiness of businesses, which will improve the chances of them being able to provide finance to SMEs.
Each of the banks designated by the Government has received a formal letter from at least one of the designated credit reference agencies to request the data that banks are required to share under the scheme. All nine designated banks will therefore be sharing data by the end of the year.
The Treasury’s assessment of the impact of the scheme was published alongside the relevant legislation:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2015/273/pdfs/ukia_20150273_en.pdf
The regulations include a requirement for the Treasury to review the scheme, and the Competition and Markets Authority’s final report under the Retail banking market investigation recommended that the Treasury review the scheme in summer 2018.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on whether the UK’s Credit Reference Agencies have sent all the required demand letters to the banks requesting small business credit information.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government’s SME credit data sharing scheme will make it easier for challenger banks and alternative finance providers to check the creditworthiness of businesses, which will improve the chances of them being able to provide finance to SMEs.
Each of the banks designated by the Government has received a formal letter from at least one of the designated credit reference agencies to request the data that banks are required to share under the scheme. All nine designated banks will therefore be sharing data by the end of the year.
The Treasury’s assessment of the impact of the scheme was published alongside the relevant legislation:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2015/273/pdfs/ukia_20150273_en.pdf
The regulations include a requirement for the Treasury to review the scheme, and the Competition and Markets Authority’s final report under the Retail banking market investigation recommended that the Treasury review the scheme in summer 2018.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the level of personal debt is; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Based on data from the Office of National Statistics, household debt-to-income ratio was 145% in Q1 2017. This is notably below the pre-crisis high of 160% in Q1 2008.
The independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) was set up by the government to assess and mitigate financial stability risks, including from household debt. The FPC has taken action to ensure against a significant rise in highly indebted households.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of a rise in interest rates on mortgage repossessions.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Treasury has not made an assessment of the potential effect of a rise in interest rates on mortgage possessions.
However, affordability requirements imposed by the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) require lenders to conduct an interest rate ‘stress test’ on all new mortgage loans. The requirement ensures that all borrowers must be able to afford their mortgage repayments if, at any point over the first five years of the loan, their mortgage rate were to be 3 percentage points higher than the reversion rate (SVR) specified in the mortgage contract at origination.
In addition, the FPC also requires regulators to ensure that mortgage lenders do not extend more than 15% of new mortgages at loan to income multiples (LTI) at or greater than 4.5.
These measures insure against the risk of a significant increase in the number of indebted households in the case of an interest rate rise. For this reason, a rise in interest rates would not be expected to significantly increase the number of mortgage repossessions.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 4.15 of the Autumn Statement 2016, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the changes to business investment relief relating to non-domiciled individuals.
Answered by Jane Ellison
As announced in the Autumn Statement 2016 document, the changes to Business Investment Relief are expected to have a negligible Exchequer cost, as the scheme encourages non-domiciled individuals to bring money into the UK to invest in UK business that would otherwise would have been left offshore.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions the Economic Secretary to the Treasury has had with representatives of the UK financial services sector on the UK's exit from the EU since assuming office.
Answered by Simon Kirby
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the time limit that consumers can make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 provides for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to determine the time limits for referring a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
This is therefore a matter for the FCA, who are operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.