Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing compensation for small shareholders for the loss of shares in Northern Rock Plc.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
An independent valuer determined that Northern Rock shares were of no value immediately prior to the company being taken into public ownership, and therefore no compensation was due. This independent valuation was upheld in the both the Upper Tribunal in 2011 and the Court of Appeal in 2013. HM Treasury considers this matter settled.
Asked by: Earl of Lytton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many residential mortgages were handled by or on behalf of UK Asset Resolution in each 12-month period beginning with 1 July 2017; for each period what were (1) the number of compulsory repossessions and sales of underlying security; (2) the average surplus or shortfall realised upon sale of a security as a percentage of the stated mortgage acquisition cost; (3) the number of mortgagors against whom action was initiated after a sale to recover a shortfall in proceeds; and (4) the average administrative costs charged to mortgagors in respect of the combined property repossession, forced sale, and debt recovery processes.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) sold its former subsidiaries (Bradford and Bingley and NRAM, formerly part of Northern Rock) and the remaining mortgage assets of those subsidiaries in 2021. As a result neither UKAR nor HM Treasury can directly access the relevant account level data that is required to answer these questions. This data is owned by UKAR’s former subsidiaries.Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to help compensate small shareholders impacted by the nationalisation of Northern Rock PLC.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq
An independent valuer determined that Northern Rock shares were of no value immediately prior to the company being taken into public ownership, and therefore no compensation was due. This independent valuation was upheld in the both the Upper Tribunal in 2011 and the Court of Appeal in 2013. HM Treasury considers this matter settled.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will meet representatives of the Northern Rock Shareholder Action Group.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq
An independent valuer determined that Northern Rock shares were of no value immediately prior to the company being taken into public ownership, and therefore no compensation was due. This independent valuation was upheld in the both the Upper Tribunal in 2011 and the Court of Appeal in 2013. HM Treasury considers this matter settled.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing compensation for small shareholders for the loss of their shares in Northern Rock Plc.
Answered by Bim Afolami
HM Treasury considers the issue of compensation for former Northern Rock shareholders to be settled. Both the Upper Tribunal in 2011 and the Court of Appeal in 2013 upheld the independent valuation of Northern Rock shares at nil value immediately prior to public ownership, and that no compensation was therefore due. HM Treasury does not intend to revisit this issue.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of delivering compensation to former Northern Rock PLC shareholders.
Answered by Bim Afolami
HM Treasury considers the issue of compensation for former Northern Rock shareholders to be settled. Both the Upper Tribunal in 2011 and the Court of Appeal in 2013 upheld the independent valuation of Northern Rock shares at nil value immediately prior to public ownership, and that no compensation was therefore due. HM Treasury does not intend to revisit this issue.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a compensation scheme for Northern Rock shareholders.
Answered by Bim Afolami
HM Treasury considers the issue of compensation for former Northern Rock shareholders to be settled. Both the Upper Tribunal in 2011 and the Court of Appeal in 2013 upheld the independent valuation of Northern Rock shares at nil value immediately prior to public ownership, and that no compensation was therefore due. HM Treasury does not intend to revisit this issue.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2022 to Question 110636 on Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, if she will publish the unique inventory numbers assigned to the Government Art Collection works (a) removed from and (b) added to 11 Downing Street in November 2021.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
As outlined in the previous answer, this relates to the relocation of art within the offices of 11 Downing Street whilst refurbishment was taking place. A list of the items temporarily moved will be placed in the Library of the House.
This includes safely transferring the political cartoons donated by former Chancellors, including Alistair Darling's from 2007, “With hindsight, that wasn’t the best time to ask the Chancellor which music he prefers – Johnny Cash or Northern Rock.”
I hope the Rt Hon Member and her staff will appreciate the importance of preserving such moments from history of the last Labour Government.
The full activity schedule is attached, with lists A,B,C and D on the following pages. I will place a copy of the schedule in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to provide financial support or compensation to homeowners who are mortgage prisoners with Northern Rock Asset Management.
Answered by John Glen
We remain committed to supporting as many borrowers as possible with inactive lenders move to a cheaper deal. The government has worked with the FCA to implement rule changes to its mortgage lending rules, removing the regulatory barrier that prevented some customers, who otherwise may have been able to switch, from accessing new products. Inactive lenders have now started contacting borrowers who have been struggling to switch, setting out that options may be available for them on the active market. I will monitor the situation and hope to see even more options available over the coming months.
The FCA recently confirmed additional options to support borrowers, including making intragroup switching easier and extending the window in which interest-only borrowers coming to the end of their term can continue making interest payments, without paying down the capital. These modified rules came into force on 23 October 2020. More information can be found here: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/fca-confirms-measures-support-closed-book-and-interest-only-part-and-part-mortgage-borrowers.
UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) – the owner of the Northern Rock Asset Management mortgage portfolio - has worked to help customers looking for a better deal with another lender by;
It is also worth noting that Norther Rock Asset Management’s Standard Variable Rate (SVR) has always been set in line with the SVRs of active lenders.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of permitting a standard variable rate of over 4 per cent on former Northern Rock mortgages now managed by unregulated lenders, following confirmation by the Bank of England that interest rates will remain at 0.1 per cent; and what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority in relation to their oversight of unregulated lenders.
Answered by John Glen
The setting of SVRs is a generally a matter for lenders, in which the government plays no role. In government sales of NRAM mortgages, however, purchasers have been restricted in the changes they can make to the SVR for at least 12 months after the transfer of ownership. The purchasers in most recent UKAR asset sales have been required to set the SVR by reference to the SVRs charged by a basket of 15 active lenders, for the lifetime of customers’ loans.
Recent data from Moneyfacts found the average standard variable rate (SVR) across the entire mortgage market to be 4.44%. The rates former NRAM customers pay are therefore consistent with market standard rates.
In all sales of UKAR assets, the servicer of customers’ loans has remained FCA-regulated. In all but the first sale, the legal title holder of customers’ loans has also remained FCA-regulated.
The Government is open to considering an extension to the regulatory perimeter where the benefits to consumers and markets can be demonstrated. It is important to note, though, that a change in perimeter will not help customers to switch to a cheaper deal, or materially lower the rates of their mortgage.
Thousands of borrowers will now find it easier to switch to an active lender or continue interest only payments thanks to recent rule changes by the FCA, and we continue to work with the FCA to look for practical new solutions to help borrowers.