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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

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