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1142105

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government has taken to support people affected by the Equitable Life scandal.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	282454
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>In 2010 the government allocated up to £1.5bn, tax free, for payment to affected policyholders. More detail on the history of the action taken on this issue can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report</a></p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/09/2019 08:16:00 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1141689

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Health Insurance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of people in the UK have private medical insurance.
tabling member constituency	Bootle
tabling member printed	Peter Dowd
uin	281774
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government monitors the insurance market and is responsible for setting the overall legal framework of financial services regulation.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does not hold information on the amount spent on private medical cover, or on the number and proportion of people in the UK with private medical insurance.</p><p> </p><p>However, data from the Office for National Statistics reports that total expenditure on voluntary health insurance was £6 billion in 2017.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 281775 question first answered 03/09/2019 07:04:19 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4397 label Biography information for Peter Dowd

1141690

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Health Insurance: Expenditure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was spent on private medical health cover in the UK in 2018.
tabling member constituency	Bootle
tabling member printed	Peter Dowd
uin	281775
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government monitors the insurance market and is responsible for setting the overall legal framework of financial services regulation.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does not hold information on the amount spent on private medical cover, or on the number and proportion of people in the UK with private medical insurance.</p><p> </p><p>However, data from the Office for National Statistics reports that total expenditure on voluntary health insurance was £6 billion in 2017.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 281774 question first answered 03/09/2019 07:04:19 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4397 label Biography information for Peter Dowd

1141856

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bank Services: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK banks fulfuil their obligations under the EU Payment Accounts Directive; and whether he plans to retain the consumer protections in that directive after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	281633
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Payment Accounts Directive 2014 has three main objectives: (1) to improve the transparency and comparability of fees related to payment accounts that are used for day-to-day payment transactions; (2) to facilitate the switching of those accounts; and (3) to ensure access to payment accounts with basic features (‘basic bank accounts’) for EU residents. The Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 (PARs) transposed this Directive into UK law.</p><p> </p><p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the Payment Accounts Regulations’ requirements on payment service providers. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is responsible for designating and monitoring alternative switching schemes.</p><p> </p><p>Designated UK banks must provide accessible information and assistance about the features and conditions of basic bank accounts under the Payment Accounts Regulations (PARs). The PARs also require the FCA to gather and submit to HM Treasury certain data on basic bank accounts and the switching of payment accounts. This information is reported to HM Treasury every two years. HM Treasury also collects data on basic bank accounts and this is published annually.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has amended the PARs to ensure that they continue to operate effectively in the UK once the UK has left the EU.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/09/2019 07:03:34 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141857

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bank Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the percentage of adults in the UK who do not have a UK bank account.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	281634
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Treasury does not make assessments of the number of people who do not have a bank account. However, in 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority published the results of the Financial Lives Survey which found that 1.3 million UK adults were unbanked, i.e. have no current account or alternative e-money account.</p><p> </p><p>The Financial Lives Survey report contains further information on the characteristics of the unbanked. The report analyses survey results across the four nations of the UK, the nine regions of England, and by rural and urban areas. The FCA intend to repeat the Financial Lives Survey on a regular basis in future. The report can be found here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research/financial-lives-consumers-across-uk.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research/financial-lives-consumers-across-uk.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>This government is committed to building an economy where everyone, regardless of their background or income, can access the financial services and products they need, including a bank account. Under the Payment Account Regulations 2015 (PARs) the nine largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to customers who do not have a bank account or who are ineligible for a bank’s standard current account. Accounts have all the standard payment features such as direct debits and standing orders, though no overdraft or cheque book facilities. The Treasury’s December 2018 publication shows that in total there are nearly 7.5 million basic bank accounts open in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>More generally, in November 2017, the Government announced the creation of the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum. The Forum has now met three times and has successfully brought together key leaders from industry, charities and consumer groups, as well as Government ministers and the regulators, to provide leadership in tackling financial exclusion. The Forum has delivered important work already, and made tangible progress. A sub-group of the Forum set up last summer, examined the issue of access to affordable credit, and made a number of recommendations, many of which formed part of a package on affordable credit presented at Budget 2018. The Government also published its first annual financial inclusion report on 25 March which takes stock of the Government’s progress in this area.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/09/2019 07:03:54 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen attachment 1 file name Financial Lives Survey - page 47.pdf title Page 47 from report as mentioned in the response
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141861

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Cash Dispensing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making protecting access to cash a statutory duty of the Payment Systems Regulator.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	281636
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>On 3 May 2019, in response to a Call for Evidence on Cash &amp; Digital Payments in the New Economy, the Government committed to supporting digital payments whilst safeguarding access to cash for those who need it.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will carefully consider whether legislation would be required to support access to, and acceptance of, cash, though there are important steps that can safeguard access to cash without changes to the law. We will therefore engage closely with industry and regulators on their role in these issues.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has launched the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy (JACS) Group, which brings together the Payment Systems Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England to ensure a comprehensive oversight of the overall cash infrastructure in light of changing trends.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/09/2019 10:10:03 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141864

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	No-interest Loans Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the economic effectiveness of the no-interest loan scheme pilot announced in Budget 2018.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	281637
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>At Budget 2018, the Government announced that it will carry out a study into the feasibility of establishing a no-interest loans scheme in the UK, and design a pilot.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has now launched the feasibility study, which is examining issues such as access, eligibility and funding models in order to determine how a pilot could work. The feasibility study is due to conclude shortly and the Government will be considering its recommendations.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/09/2019 07:04:04 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141425

registered interest
date	23/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Cash Dispensing: Sutton
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information the Treasury holds on the number of (a) free-to-use and (b) fee-charging ATMs in the London Borough of Sutton in each year since 2015.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Tom Brake
uin	280901
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government does not hold information on the number of ATMs in the London Borough of Sutton. Data on the annual total number of ATMs in the UK since 1998 – including the split between free-to-use and pay-to-use ATMs – is publicly available on the LINK website. LINK also publish information on ATM numbers by Parliamentary Constituency for recent periods. Furthermore, LINK publish monthly data on their Financial Inclusion Programme.</p><p> </p><p>The Government-established Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) continues to monitor developments in ATM provision. The PSR has used its powers to hold LINK to account over its commitments to preserve the broad geographic spread of the ATM network.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/09/2019 07:03:01 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	151 label Biography information for Tom Brake

1141474

registered interest
date	23/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Financial Institutions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to bring forward a review of legislation for Co-op societies, Credit Unions and Community Benefit Societies as proposed by the Financial Conduct Authority in its 22 July 2019 report Alternatives to high-cost credit.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	280908
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>In 2014, the Government undertook a call for evidence to understand the appropriate steps that could be taken to support the credit union sector. Subsequently, the maximum interest a credit union can charge on loans was raised from 2% to 3% per month, and the upper limit on the geographical common bond was raised from 2 to 3 million people.</p><p> </p><p>The Government continues to be open to considering the case for further reform. ABCUL, the sector’s largest trade body, is currently carrying out a sector-wide consultation which is due to conclude later this year. HMT will consider its conclusions in the development of future credit union policy.</p><p> </p><p>At Autumn Budget 2018, the Government also announced a package of measures to support the availability of affordable credit, including:</p><p>o A £2 million affordable credit challenge fund, harnessing the UK’s FinTech sector to address challenges faced by social and community lenders, including credit unions.</p><p>o A change in the regulatory boundary of credit broking to make it easier for registered social landlords such as housing associations to refer their tenants to social and community lenders.</p><p>o A prize-linked savings pilot scheme, to encourage the growth of the credit union sector and encourage consumers to build up their personal savings. We hope credit unions will be able to use the deposits gained from their participation in the scheme to increase their overall lending.</p><p>o A feasibility study to design a pilot for a UK No-Interest Loans Scheme.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/09/2019 08:11:12 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1139767

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Business and Consumers: Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of two-factor payment authentication on (a) consumers and (b) businesses.
tabling member constituency	Streatham
tabling member printed	Chuka Umunna
uin	278491
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The implementation of Strong Customer Authentication, which mandates two-factor authentication for some online payments, will introduce more secure payments for individuals and businesses.</p><p> </p><p>This was introduced by the second Payment Services Directive. HM Treasury published an impact assessment on the implementation of this EU directive in 2017.</p><p> </p><p>In an Opinion published on 21 June, the European Banking Authority acknowledged the complexity of payments markets and the practical challenges arising from the changes that are required by Strong Customer Authentication across the EU, which may lead to some actors in the payments chain not being ready by 14 September 2019.</p><p> </p><p>The FCA is therefore working closely with industry to develop a migration plan to implement Strong Customer Authentication in a timely and effective manner.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 22/07/2019 13:24:49 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4128 label Biography information for Chuka Umunna