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384867

registered interest
date	23/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Royal Bank of Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the cost and benefits of (a) converting Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) into a network of local stakeholder banks, (b) breaking up RBS into a series of challenger banks, (c) converting RBS into a state-owned business bank and (d) other options for the future of RBS considered by his Department; and if he will place a copy of any such assessments in the Library.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Northfield
tabling member printed	Richard Burden
uin	3801
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2015 answer text <p>The Government has been consistent and clear that its objective in respect of RBS ownership is to return the bank to the private sector in full.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This policy is supported by recent advice from the Governor of the Bank of England that “it is in the public interest for the Government to begin now to return RBS to the private sector”, and that “there could be considerable net costs to taxpayers of further delaying the start of a sale”. The findings of the recently published Rothschild report into the Government’s shareholding in RBS concur with this assessment.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 30/06/2015 14:12:43 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	301 label Biography information for Richard Burden

384868

registered interest
date	23/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Consumers: Billing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that consumers are given the choice to receive bills, statements and other important information on paper from their financial service providers without charge.
tabling member constituency	North West Leicestershire
tabling member printed	Andrew Bridgen
uin	3793
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2015 answer text <p>The Government takes the firm view that consumers must be able to easily access clear and transparent information about their accounts with banks and other financial service companies.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government is continuing to drive forward a wide-reaching and ambitious programme of reforms to open up competition in the banking sector, including enabling innovation in the use of bank data so that customers are able to use online information more effectively. This includes initiatives like the Midata current account tool, which will help customers switch to the best current account for them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Financial Conduct Authority is also currently reviewing cost-cutting initiatives that affect a significant number of customers, including the withdrawal of paper statements.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 29/06/2015 13:52:21 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	4133 label Biography information for Andrew Bridgen

384869

registered interest
date	23/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Royal Bank of Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral statement by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury of 11 June 2015, Official Report, column 1373, what the evidence base is for his statement that the Royal Bank of Scotland has not been able to play its full part in small and medium-sized enterprise lending because of public ownership.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	3794
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2015 answer text <p>The Chancellor has previously set out his objectives for the banks in state ownership, including Royal Bank of Scotland. We want to maximise the ability of these important banks to support the British economy, and we want to get the best value for money for the taxpayer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Large scale public ownership has an inhibiting effect on the involvement of private institutions in a company such as RBS, and therefore naturally impacts on broader commercial performance. The best way to deliver our objectives is to return RBS to private ownership. Commercial organisations are more efficient, more innovative and more effective when they are in the private sector.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This policy is supported by advice from the Governor of the Bank of England and independent analysis from Rothschild investment bank. In their recent report into this issue, Rothschild note that by starting to sell down its stake in RBS, “the Government can bring about broader benefits for the institution, which could help to accelerate its recovery”, as well as improving the share price and securing value for the taxpayer.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 30/06/2015 14:20:21 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

384875

registered interest
date	23/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Banks
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with (a) the Royal Bank of Scotland and (b) Ulster Bank on steps to assist with any potential future problems with their critical infrastructure.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	3630
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2015 answer text <p>The failure of IT infrastructure at Royal Bank of Scotland, or any other bank on which customers rely to manage their money, is completely unacceptable. Responsibility for infrastructure in the UK financial sector is primarily for the firms themselves. However, financial regulators have a role to play in supervising, coordinating and driving change to improve the operational resilience of the sector.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) jointly launched, in October 2014, a review of firms’ critical infrastructure and technology resilience. The review focuses on the most significant UK retail deposit-taking organisations, and is expected to conclude later this summer. The results will not be published, but the FCA and PRA will provide feedback to the firms individually on their findings and agree any follow-up actions.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 30/06/2015 14:21:17 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

384876

registered interest
date	23/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the forthcoming consultation on a charge cap for savers withdrawing their money from pensions will include a proposal for a charge cap on income drawdown products.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	3643
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2015 answer text <p>The government announced on 17 June that it will launch a consultation to look at making the process for transferring pensions from one scheme to another quicker and smoother, including, if there is sufficient evidence, options to address excessive early exit penalties. The Financial Conduct Authority will, in parallel, gather information from pension providers to establish an evidence base for action in this area. This is part of a wider programme of action by government and regulators to ensure that consumers can take advantage of the new pensions freedoms, introduced in April.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 30/06/2015 14:24:32 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

384878

registered interest
date	23/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Interest Rates
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Governor of the Bank of England on the likelihood that interest ratios will remain at their present level.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	3629
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2015 answer text <p>The UK’s monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998, gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has frequent discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England on a wide range of issues relating to the UK economy.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 30/06/2015 13:59:26 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

384885

registered interest
date	23/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Mortgages: Misrepresentation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information he holds on how many complaints have been received by the Financial Services Ombudsman relating to compensation for the mis-selling of endowment mortgages; what proportion of those complaints has been resolved; and what the average time taken to reach a resolution of those complaints was.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Helen Jones
uin	3871
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2015 answer text <p>The issues raised are a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) who are operationally independent from Government.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>These questions have been passed on to the FOS. The FOS will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 29/06/2015 13:54:17 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	432 label Biography information for Helen Jones

384521

registered interest
date	22/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Treasury: Buildings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the office space owned or leased by his Department is not in regular use; what the total (a) rental and (b) retail value is of all such office space; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his most recent departmental real estate valuation.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	3483
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2015 answer text <p>Holdings of real estate are assessed as either being required to deliver departmental functions (forming the Core estate) or surplus to this requirement (Non-Core). There is no system for classifying frequency of use. The government's top priority for surplus holdings is to reduce property costs by exiting leasehold agreements, selling freeholds or by sub-letting to external tenants. We have a portal - Find Me Some Government Space (https://www.gov.uk/find-government-property) – for more efficient marketing of surplus land and buildings. This is searchable by developers, community groups and the general public.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It is considered not to be in the public interest to disclose real estate valuation reports, as this information can be commercially sensitive and any disclosure could adversely affect the Government’s future ability to negotiate efficiencies and achieve value for money to the taxpayer. However, the value of HM Treasury’s land and buildings is available in its annual report and accounts, which is accessible on www.gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 30/06/2015 14:07:23 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

384561

registered interest
date	22/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bradwell Power Station
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had on the future of the Magnox site at Bradwell in the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Workington
tabling member printed	Sue Hayman
uin	3405
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2015 answer text <p>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.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm" target="_blank">http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 25/06/2015 14:37:23 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	4395 label Biography information for Baroness Hayman of Ullock

384579

registered interest
date	22/06/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bilderberg Group
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the briefing packs received by John Kerr, Rona Fairhead, Ed Balls and himself at this year's Bilderberg Conference.
tabling member constituency	Oldham West and Royton
tabling member printed	Mr Michael Meacher
uin	3370
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2015 answer text <p>The First Secretary of State and Chancellor of the Exchequer attended the 2015 Bilderberg conference in a private capacity.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency West Worcestershire answering member printed Harriett Baldwin question first answered 25/06/2015 14:39:21 answering member 4107 label Biography information for Dame Harriett Baldwin
tabling member	454 label Biography information for Mr Michael Meacher