Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many high street banks offer Islamic mortgage services.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to the availability of Islamic finance in the UK to ensure that no one is denied access to competitive financial products for reasons of faith.
Sharia-compliant home purchase plans are enabled by regulations overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). They are currently offered by four UK banks.
Beyond the requirements set out in the FCA regulations, decisions around the pricing and availability of individual mortgage loans remain commercial decisions for lenders, and the Government does not seek to intervene in these decisions.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the availability of Sharia-compliant home purchase plans.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to the availability of Islamic finance in the UK to ensure that no one is denied access to competitive financial products for reasons of faith. We are doing this by working to ensure that Sharia-compliant financial products can be supplied on the same terms and at the same standard as conventional financial products. The UK is already the western leader in Islamic finance, however we continue to explore areas where Islamic finance can be developed further.
Home purchase plans are enabled by regulations overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent regulator set up by the Government to ensure consumers are receive appropriate protection.
Beyond the requirements set out in the FCA regulations, decisions around the pricing and availability of individual mortgage loans remain commercial decisions for lenders, and the Government does not seek to intervene in these decisions.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2018 to Question 194204 on Brexit and with reference to paragraph 4.111 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in October 2018, what proportion of the £400 million underspend relates to the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
On 13 March 2018, the Treasury confirmed allocations of c.£1.6bn to departments. A full breakdown of the allocation can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on 13 March https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/.
The Economic and Fiscal Outlook is produced by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). As part of their fiscal forecast they take a judgement on how much departments will underspend on aggregate DEL spending. Further information on how the OBR reach their judgement is available at https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/tax-by-tax-spend-by-spend/departmental-expenditure-limits/.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2018 to Question 185719 on Brexit and with reference to paragraph 4.111 of the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in October 2018, how much of the current £0.4 billion underspend estimate is within the Brexit funding pot.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
On 13 March 2018, the Treasury confirmed allocations of c.£1.6bn to departments. A full breakdown of the allocation can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, which can be found at https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/.
The Economic and Fiscal Outlook is produced by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. As part of their fiscal forecast they take a judgement on how much departments will underspend on aggregate DEL spending. This information is available at https://cdn.obr.uk/EFO_October-2018.pdf.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 139 of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s report entitled Economic and Fiscal Outlook October 2018, published in October 2018, CM9713, what proportion of the £1.5 billion allocated to the Brexit funding pot will be spent in 2018-19.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
On 13 March, the Treasury allocated c.£1.6bn to departments on March 2018. A full breakdown of the allocation can be found in the Chief Secretary’s Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS540, laid on the 13th March https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2018-03-13/HCWS540/.
Details of some of the work done by departments funded by these allocations can be found in the Technical Notices published on 24 August (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-governments-preparations-for-a-no-deal-scenario/uk-governments-preparations-for-a-no-deal-scenario).
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility as part of their fiscal forecast take a judgement on how much departments will underspend on all aspects of DEL spending. This information is available at https://cdn.obr.uk/EFO_October-2018.pdf.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the White Paper, The Future Relationship Between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published in July 2018, what assessment he has made of the effect of the policies set out in that White Paper on transactions in euro-denominated assets for the UK financial sector.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Derivatives clearing is an integral part of the UK financial system and the financial stability of both the UK and the EU. This includes euro-denominated clearing, which forms an important part of the overall financial structure in London, generating economic efficiencies from which many firms in the UK, in Europe and internationally benefit.
We aim to ensure that we avoid outcomes that impose unnecessary costs and disruption on individuals and businesses as the UK leaves the EU. We have been clear that equivalence, as it currently stands, will not work for the UK, and will not work for the EU.
As set out in the White Paper, the UK is seeking a future UK-EU relationship which recognises the autonomy of each party over decisions regarding access to its market. Importantly, it also includes a bilateral component which would create shared commitments for the governance of the relationship, establish extensive supervisory and regulatory cooperation, as well as robust and transparent processes. This includes appropriate timelines and notice-periods if market access was to be withdrawn.
The effect of the agreement would be stability for the UK-EU financial ecosystem and the continuation of economically valuable financial services under a new balance of rights and obligations.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the White Paper, The Future Relationship Between the United Kingdom and the European Union, published in July 2018, what assessment he has made of the effect of policies set out in that White Paper on derivatives clearing for the UK financial sector.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Derivatives clearing is an integral part of the UK financial system and the financial stability of both the UK and the EU. This includes euro-denominated clearing, which forms an important part of the overall financial structure in London, generating economic efficiencies from which many firms in the UK, in Europe and internationally benefit.
We aim to ensure that we avoid outcomes that impose unnecessary costs and disruption on individuals and businesses as the UK leaves the EU. We have been clear that equivalence, as it currently stands, will not work for the UK, and will not work for the EU.
As set out in the White Paper, the UK is seeking a future UK-EU relationship which recognises the autonomy of each party over decisions regarding access to its market. Importantly, it also includes a bilateral component which would create shared commitments for the governance of the relationship, establish extensive supervisory and regulatory cooperation, as well as robust and transparent processes. This includes appropriate timelines and notice-periods if market access was to be withdrawn.
The effect of the agreement would be stability for the UK-EU financial ecosystem and the continuation of economically valuable financial services under a new balance of rights and obligations.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what advice his Department has issued to the financial sector on contract continuity (a) during the implementation period and (b) after 31 December 2020.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK and EU negotiating teams reached a hugely important milestone in the Brexit process by agreeing the terms of a time-limited implementation period (IP).
The document “HM Treasury’s approach to financial services legislation under the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018,” published by HM Treasury on 27 June 2018, sets out that during the IP, access to one another’s markets will remain unchanged and firms will be able to trade on the same terms as now until 31 December 2020. This will allow citizens and businesses in the UK and across the EU to plan with confidence for life after our withdrawal, on the basis that businesses can operate as now throughout the IP.
The White Paper, “The future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union,” published on 12 July 2018, sets out HMG’s position on the future relationship in financial services with the EU. As set out in the White Paper, the UK is seeking a future UK-EU relationship which continues to facilitate economically beneficial cross-border financial services, with a scope that reflects global business models. The White Paper also includes a proposal to protect consumers and businesses through a commitment that existing contracts can be fulfilled even if access is withdrawn. The effect of the agreement would be to provide stability for the UK-EU financial ecosystem.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made on replicating the insurance agreements that the EU has with third countries that enable reciprocal arrangements for insurers to open agencies and branches in third countries after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As agreed at the March European Council, during the implementation period the UK is to be treated as a Member State for the purposes of international agreements. This includes the insurance agreements that the EU has with third countries. This provides certainty and confidence that there will be no disruption to existing relationships underpinned by international agreements.
We are engaging with partner countries to plan for continuity of the effect of existing agreements, for example the EU-Swiss and EU-US agreements, adjusted appropriately to reflect our departure from the European Union.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total amount that will accrue to the public purse from the Loan Charge 2019.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The charge on disguised remuneration (DR) loans is estimated to raise £3.2 billion for the Exchequer by 2021. Further information can be found in the ‘Disguised remuneration: further update’ policy paper, published on 22 November 2017: www.gov.uk/government/publications/disguised-remuneration-further-update/disguised-remuneration-further-update.
The charge on DR loans is estimated to affect up to 50,000 individuals. Outstanding DR loans will be treated as UK income and charged to tax on 5 April 2019. An individual will usually have to pay tax on UK income even if they are not resident in or a citizen of the UK, and the charge on DR loans is no different. As a result, no assessment has been made of how many of the 50,000 estimated to be affected are non-UK resident or non-UK citizens.