"uri","answering body","answer > is ministerial correction","answer > date of answer","answer > answer text","answer > answering member constituency","answer > answering member printed","answer > grouped question UIN","answer > question first answered","answer > uri","answer > answering member > label","answering dept id","answering dept short name","answering dept sort name","date","hansard heading","house id","legislature > pref label","question text","registered interest","tabling member > label","tabling member constituency","tabling member printed","uin" "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1523437","Treasury","false","2022-10-26","
Ensuring a fair deal for renters remains a priority for this government. The government has committed to the ban on section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions to protect tenants and the government is carefully considering next steps to support the rental market.
The government understands that people across the UK are worried about the cost of living, and are seeing their disposable incomes decrease as they spend more on the essentials. That is why the government has announced £37 billion of support for the cost of living this financial year. It has taken decisive action to support millions of households and business with rising energy costs this winter through the Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.
In addition to the Energy Price Guarantee, millions of the most vulnerable households will receive £1200 of support this year through the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme, £150 Council Tax rebate and one-off £650 Cost of Living Payment for those on means-tested benefits, with additional support for pensioners and those claiming disability benefits. The Government has also extended the Household Support Fund in England until March 2023. The fund supports households that are not eligible for one-off Cost of Living Payments or for families that need additional support.
The Government is continuing to keep the situation under review and focus support on the most vulnerable whilst ensuring it acts in a fiscally responsible way.
","Salisbury","John Glen",,"2022-10-26T14:17:01.837Z","http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1523437/answer","Biography information for John Glen","14","Treasury","Treasury","2022-10-18","Rented Housing: Government Assistance","1","House of Commons","To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he will take to help protect people who rent from the potential detrimental effects caused by changes to the UK economy.","false","Biography information for Julian Sturdy","York Outer","Julian Sturdy","65719" "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1439445","Treasury","false","2022-03-18","Surcharging, the practice of charging a fee for using a certain payment method, is banned in the UK for payments made by consumer credit and debit cards. This ban was introduced through amendments made to the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 by the Payment Services Regulations 2017. It remains the individual merchant or retailer’s choice whether to set a certain ‘minimum spend’ for a certain type of payment instrument, and whether to accept or decline any payment method.
Regarding the cost of card payments more generally, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) was established with statutory objectives to ensure that payment systems are operated in a way that considers the interests of all the businesses and consumers that use them, and to promote effective competition between payment systems and services.
The PSR continues to assess the effectiveness of the card-acquiring market for merchants and consumers. On 3 November 2021 the PSR published its Card Acquiring Market Review, examining how effectively the provisions of card-acquiring services are working for merchants, and ultimately consumers. The PSR has since released a Consultation on potential remedies to the problems it identifies. In its Review, the PSR recognise card fees as one area of concern, and have confirmed an additional phase of work to investigate the matter further. The PSR states that it will intervene to address any identified issues as necessary.
","Salisbury","John Glen",,"2022-03-18T11:57:20.393Z","http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1439445/answer","Biography information for John Glen","14","Treasury","Treasury","2022-03-09","Credit Cards: Surcharges","1","House of Commons","To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of (a) removing credit charge surcharges on businesses selling high-value items and (b) policy on the price of consumer goods and services as businesses raise prices to cover the fees charged to them by credit card companies.","false","Biography information for Julian Sturdy","York Outer","Julian Sturdy","137301" "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1439446","Treasury","false","2022-03-18","
The government recognises that the ability to transact in cash remains important to millions of people across the UK and has committed to legislating to protect access to cash.
Last year, the government held an Access to Cash Consultation on proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities.
The FCA has published research on cash acceptance by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which found that the primary motivation for accepting cash is to provide customers with choice. While it remains the individual retailer’s choice as to whether to accept or decline any form of payment, including cash or card, nearly all (98%) of surveyed businesses stated they would never turn away a customer if they needed to pay by cash.
","Salisbury","John Glen",,"2022-03-18T11:59:18.38Z","http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1439446/answer","Biography information for John Glen","14","Treasury","Treasury","2022-03-09","Money","1","House of Commons","To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to encourage businesses to accept cash payments following the end of covid-19 restrictions.","false","Biography information for Julian Sturdy","York Outer","Julian Sturdy","137302" "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1419304","Treasury","false","2022-02-10","The Government is strongly committed to tackling financial exclusion and discrimination and aims for everyone, whatever their background, age or income to be able to access useful and affordable financial products and services. The Government works closely with regulators and stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors to ensure that all consumers of financial services are appropriately protected.
The Financial Services Act 2021 requires the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to consult on whether it should make rules providing that authorised persons owe a duty of care to consumers.
The FCA published an initial consultation on 14 May 2021 proposing a new ‘Consumer Duty’, which seeks to clarify and raise expectations for the standard of care that should be provided by financial services firms to consumers. A subsequent consultation was published on 7 December 2021 and is currently ongoing.
Prior to this, in February 2021, the FCA also published its finalised guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers, setting out a number of best practices (https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/finalised-guidance/guidance-firms-fair-treatment-vulnerable-customers). This applies to all firms where the FCA Principles for Business apply, regardless of sector and in respect of the supply of products or services to retail customers.
UK banks’ and building societies’ treatment of their customers is governed by the FCA in its Principles for Businesses. This includes a general requirement for firms to provide a prompt, efficient and fair service to all of their customers. The FCA’s Handbook requires firms to identify customers who exhibit characteristics of vulnerability, and to deal with such customers appropriately. This includes older people, the disabled, and those who may lack the capacity to manage their account on their own.
In addition, like all service providers, banks and building societies are bound under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments, where necessary, in the way they deliver their services.
","Salisbury","John Glen",,"2022-02-10T14:02:28.993Z","http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1419304/answer","Biography information for John Glen","14","Treasury","Treasury","2022-02-02","Financial Services: Discrimination","1","House of Commons","To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle age discrimination experienced by customers in their dealings with the financial services industry.","false","Biography information for Julian Sturdy","York Outer","Julian Sturdy","116918" "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1350991","Treasury","false","2021-09-06","
The roll-out of the Workplace Daily Contact Testing scheme has been focusing initially on sectors that provide essential services. Workplaces must be approved to take part in this scheme to ensure that they are able to provide on-site testing services safely, effectively and meet reporting requirements. The government rightly prioritised sectors and workplaces where disruption to services as a result of self-isolation would cause serious risk to public welfare.
From 16 August, contacts who are fully vaccinated are no longer required to self-isolate. This means that for fully vaccinated contacts, daily contact testing is no longer necessary as an alternative to self-isolation – instead they are advised to take a PCR test. Given the success of the vaccine roll-out, we expect this to support in easing pressures facing businesses from absence due to self-isolation.
These changes seek to reduce the impact on businesses from self-isolation in a targeted way, while ensuring self-isolation remains an effective tool against the spread of Covid-19.
As set out in the Covid-19 Impact Assessment last November, we cannot forecast with confidence the precise impact of specific changes to restrictions as this will depend on a broad range of factors which are, in many cases, difficult to estimate.
","Salisbury","John Glen",,"2021-09-06T12:58:49.817Z","http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1350991/answer","Biography information for John Glen","14","Treasury","Treasury","2021-08-18","Coronavirus: screening ","1","House of Commons","To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has taken of the potential economic effect of covid-19 daily contact testing, as an alternative to self-isolation, not being available outside of the critical sectors identified by Government.","false","Biography information for Julian Sturdy","York Outer","Julian Sturdy","40880" "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1300808","Treasury","false","2021-03-16","Under the Bounce Back Loan scheme, no repayments are due from the borrower for the first 12 months of the loan, giving businesses the breathing space they need during this difficult time. In addition, the Government covers the first 12 months of interest payments charged to the business by the lender.
In order to give businesses further support and flexibility in making their repayments, the Chancellor has announced “Pay as You Grow” (PAYG) options. Under Pay as You Grow, following the end of the 12-month payment-free period, businesses can pause their repayments for six months – the interest in this case will accrue to the borrower, for payment later. This means that businesses can opt not to make any repayments on their Bounce Back loan for up to 18 months after they received the loan. Borrowers will also have the option to move temporarily to interest-only payments for periods of up to six months (an option which they can use up to three times), and to extend the term of their loan from six to ten years, reducing their monthly payments by almost half.
Together, the 12-month payment holiday and interest-free period for borrowers, along with the PAYG options, form part of the Government’s unprecedented support package for businesses to protect jobs - including paying wages through the furlough schemes and self-employed support payments, generous grants, tax deferrals.
","Salisbury","John Glen",,"2021-03-16T09:21:16.95Z","http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1300808/answer","Biography information for John Glen","14","Treasury","Treasury","2021-03-09","Bounce Back Loan Scheme","1","House of Commons","To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department had made of the potential merits of extending the zero interest period for Bounce Back Loans from 12 months to 18 months to allow for all covid-19 lockdown restrictions to have been lifted before the first businesses must begin paying interest.","false","Biography information for Julian Sturdy","York Outer","Julian Sturdy","165518" "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1287510","Treasury","false","2021-03-01","The European Investment Bank (EIB) has repaid a total of EUR 300 million of the UK’s share of paid-in subscribed capital in a single payment made on 15 October 2020.
The current schedule for repayments to the UK is set out in Article 150(4) of the Withdrawal Agreement. Repayments to the UK will be made over 12 years in 11 equal instalments of EUR 300 million, with the final balance to be paid on 15 October 2031. The repayment schedule dates were amended by decision number 1/2020 of the Joint Committee, dated 10 June 2020, as a result of the entry into force of the Withdrawal Agreement on 31 January 2020 instead of March 2019.
The Government has had no other discussions with the EU on revising the terms of the repayment of the UK’s paid-in subscribed capital in the Bank as agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement.
","Salisbury","John Glen",,"2021-03-01T10:55:37.397Z","http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1287510/answer","Biography information for John Glen","14","Treasury","Treasury","2021-02-19","European Investment Bank: Repayments","1","House of Commons","To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (a) how much of the UK’s share of the European Investment Bank’s paid-in subscribed capital has been repaid under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, (b) what the current schedule for repayments to the UK from the EU is, and (c) what discussions he has had with the EU on any request to revise the terms of the repayment of the UK’s stake in the Bank as agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement.","false","Biography information for Julian Sturdy","York Outer","Julian Sturdy","155022" "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1249501","Treasury","false","2020-11-17","The Prime Minister has been clear that the measures that were announced on 31 October and came into force on 5 November are time-limited. They will end on Wednesday 2 December, when the Government will seek to ease restrictions, going back into the tiered system on a local and regional basis.
Throughout the pandemic, the government’s economic priority has remained the same: to protect jobs and livelihoods. Since the start of the pandemic the government has provided support for people, businesses, and public services totalling an estimated £200 billion.
","Salisbury","John Glen",,"2020-11-17T14:42:15.987Z","http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1249501/answer","Biography information for John Glen","14","Treasury","Treasury","2020-11-09","Coronavirus: Disease Control","1","House of Commons","To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the potential economic effect of an extension to the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown restrictions in England beyond 2 December 2020.","false","Biography information for Julian Sturdy","York Outer","Julian Sturdy","113079" "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1249502","Treasury","false","2020-11-17","As the Chancellor said in his letter to the TSC on 4 November, HM Treasury does not prepare formal forecasts for the UK economy, which are the responsibility of the independent OBR. They will publish their next forecast on 25 November.
In addition, within their statutory mandates, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) produce analysis which reflect their independent judgements regarding the impact of Covid-19 on the likely path of the economy. They updated their projections in their Monetary Policy Report published on 5 November. This reflected UK restrictions announced up to 31 October, including “heightened England-wide measures for the period 5 November to 2 December”. In this scenario, GDP was revised downwards and is now expected to contract by 2% in Q4 reflecting the impact of stricter measures to control Covid-19.
","Salisbury","John Glen",,"2020-11-17T14:30:57.703Z","http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1249502/answer","Biography information for John Glen","14","Treasury","Treasury","2020-11-09","Coronavirus: Disease Control","1","House of Commons","To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish an economic impact assessment of the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown restrictions in England.","false","Biography information for Julian Sturdy","York Outer","Julian Sturdy","113080" "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1229423","Treasury","false","2020-09-08","The branch strategy of individual firms may be driven by a variety of factors, including customer interests, market competition and other commercial considerations. These are commercial decisions for firms and the Government does not intervene in this decision-making.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has been working closely with the financial regulators, banks, building societies and credit unions to ensure they continue to maintain branch access for essential services while balancing the needs of their customers with the safety and welfare of staff. Though many firms have reduced their opening hours the vast majority of branches have remained open for customers. Furthermore, several retail banks have put in place solutions for vulnerable customers, including enabling them to make payments through a trusted person or have their cash securely delivered to them at home. Many firms have also set up dedicated phone lines so these customers can speak to their provider as quickly as possible.
The way consumers interact with their banking is changing. In recent years, over two-thirds of UK adults have used contactless payments and online banking and nearly half have used mobile banking, according to UK Finance. As a result of the pandemic, many customers may have used these channels for the first time. However, the Government still firmly believes that the impact of branch closures should be understood, considered, and mitigated where possible so that all customers, wherever they live, continue to have access to over-the-counter banking services if they wish to use them. That’s why the Government supports the industry’s Access to Banking Standard which informs customers of the bank’s reason for closure and helps customers to understand the options they have locally to continue to access banking services.
The Post Office also allows 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers to carry out their everyday banking at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK. Customers have been able to use the Post Office for essential banking services as an alternative to their branch throughout the pandemic. Customers can also use ATMs or cash machines as normal for cash withdrawals and balance enquiries.
In July 2020, the regulator the Financial Conduct Authority published draft guidance setting out their expectation of firms when they are deciding whether and how to reduce their physical branches or the number of free to use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of a planned closure on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs, and other relevant branch services and consider possible alternative access arrangements, which may include mobile branches. This will ensure the implementation of closure decisions is done in a way that treats customers fairly.
","Salisbury","John Glen","81849 ; 81850","2020-09-08T08:14:35.65Z","http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1229423/answer","Biography information for John Glen","14","Treasury","Treasury","2020-08-28","Banks","1","House of Commons","To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the provision of mobile bank branches.","false","Biography information for Julian Sturdy","York Outer","Julian Sturdy","81848"