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902278

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Unpaid Work: Recruitment
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many employers have been contacted by HMRC in the past year regarding their advertisement of unpaid internships; whether they will publish a list of those employers; and whether they will publish the correspondence sent by HMRC to such employers.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL7804
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2018 answer text <p>The government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum and Living Wage (NMW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 or use the online pay and work rights complaints form on gov.uk. HMRC review all complaints that are referred to them.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC has contacted over 1,000 employers who advertise unpaid internships over the past year, signposting them to NMW guidance to help ensure they are compliant. The names of the employers contacted cannot be divulged for confidentiality reasons, and there are no plans to publish the correspondence sent by HMRC to such employers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There are no special rules in respect of interns for NMW purposes, and depending on the arrangements between the parties an intern can either be a worker, a voluntary worker or a volunteer. When HMRC investigate an intern’s entitlement to the NMW the reality of the working relationship is carefully considered.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 23/05/2018 11:40:03 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

1109887

	registered interest
	date	04/04/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Students: Loans
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, following Office for National Statistics changes to the recording of student loans in the national accounts, what proportion of student loan payments will be classed as (1) government lending, and (2) government spending.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL15079
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published updated estimates of potential fiscal impacts from the new student loans accounting treatment in Annex E of their March 2019 Economic and fiscal outlook.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has made it clear that there is a lot to decide before their methodology is finalised. The ONS plan to fully implement the new treatment for student loans in the public sector finances in September 2019.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 15/04/2019 14:51:23 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

933753

	registered interest
	date	02/07/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Retirement Outcomes Review
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish a response to the Financial Conduct Authority's forthcoming Retirement Outcome Review; and if so, when.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL9139
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2018 answer text <p>The government does not ordinarily respond to reports by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).</p><p> </p><p>We will consider the findings of the FCA’s Retirement Outcomes Review and consider the implications for consumers and industry and the recommendations carefully.</p><p> </p><p>The government welcomes the FCA’s work in this area ensuring that the market supports consumer choice and consumers have the right information when making decisions on how to manage their retirement income.</p><p> </p><p>The government stands ready to work with industry and regulators to ensure customer demands are being met and any potential barriers to a thriving, competitive market can be addressed. We look forward to working with the FCA and industry to consider the review’s recommendations.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 16/07/2018 12:09:10 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

1355118

	registered interest
	date	13/09/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Renewable Energy: Cryptocurrencies
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the Crypto Climate Accord initiative ahead of COP26; and what steps they plan to take to build support among the UK (1) crypto, and (2) fintech, industries for the cryptocurrency sector to be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy sources.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL2658
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2021 answer text <p>The Government’s private finance objective for the upcoming COP26 climate change forum is to ensure that every professional financial decision takes climate change into account. The recovery from COVID-19 will determine the mitigation and adaptation pathways for decades to come.</p><p> </p><p>The finance campaign will provide the conditions for a future that is genuinely greener, more resilient and more sustainable than the past. Action on finance underpins all the other COP campaigns: adaptation and resilience, energy transition, nature and zero-emission vehicles. Without the right levels of finance, the rest is not possible.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has already taken action to ensure the UK is the world-leading centre for green finance including through announcing an intention to make disclosures aligned with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) fully mandatory across the economy by 2025, making the UK the first country to do so.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, the Government has committed to the implementation of a green taxonomy.  This will allow us to accelerate our work towards a greener financial sector, by providing a common definition for environmentally sustainable economy activities.</p><p> </p><p>The Cryptoasset Taskforce, comprising HM Treasury, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the Bank of England, considers the impact of cryptoassets and assesses what, if any, regulation is required in response. The Government has been monitoring developments within the cryptoasset industry, including rising energy usage.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to upholding its pledge relating to the Paris Climate Agreement and have enacted a legally binding target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Between 1990 and 2018, the UK reduced its emissions by 43% while growing the economy by 75% – the best performance in the G7 on a per person basis and will continually assess any emerging environmental threats.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL2661 question first answered 27/09/2021 08:52:26 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

1270993

	registered interest
	date	14/12/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Private Equity: Taxation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the taxation of carried interest.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL11419
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/12/2020 answer text <p>The UK’s approach to the taxation of carried interest is in line with the approaches currently taken by other G7 countries.</p><p> </p><p>It is a balanced approach, which recognises that the hybrid nature of carried interest limits capital gains treatment to carried interest relating to long-term investments. The government keeps all taxes under review.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 30/12/2020 11:00:53 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

937003

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Pensions: Fees and Charges
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) conclusion that people could be paying too much in charges to access their pensions early; and whether they support the proposal by the FCA for pension providers to send "wake-up" packs to their customers at the age of 50 and for every five years after that until they access their pension.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL9341
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2018 answer text <p>The government thinks it is important that there is a competitive, innovative retirement income market and that customers are treated fairly and benefit from appropriate protections. However, it also recognises that the retirement income market continues to evolve.</p><p> </p><p>We welcome the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s Retirement Outcomes Review, and support the FCA’s work to enable consumers to be better informed and able to make decisions on how to manage their retirement income. The FCA is considering changes to make charges more transparent and comparable to help consumers shop around and switch providers if appropriate. It expects the market to deliver competitive charges for all drawdown solutions and has said it will take action if it does not.</p><p> </p><p>We look forward to working with the FCA and industry on the next steps of the review, including the FCA’s consideration of any potential charge cap.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL9344 question first answered 23/07/2018 12:42:50 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

937005

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Pensions: Fees and Charges
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total costs to consumers of charges made for early access to pensions since the age limit was lowered to 55 in 2015.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL9343
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2018 answer text <p>The government does not hold this information in this format.</p><p> </p><p>After the pension freedoms were introduced, some consumers were facing early exit charges of 5% or more of the fund value. Consequently, the government legislated for the FCA to introduce a cap on early exit charges. We estimated that the 1% cap introduced by the FCA would lead to savings for consumers of £42.7m between 2017 and 2020.</p><p> </p><p>In its Retirement Outcomes Review, the FCA found that the average total charges faced by non-advised consumers with drawdown products ranged from 0.4 to 1.6%. We look forward to working with the FCA and industry on the next steps of the review, including the FCA’s consideration of any potential charge cap.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 23/07/2018 12:43:58 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

937006

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Pensions: Fees and Charges
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider a charge cap on pension drawdowns.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL9344
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2018 answer text <p>The government thinks it is important that there is a competitive, innovative retirement income market and that customers are treated fairly and benefit from appropriate protections. However, it also recognises that the retirement income market continues to evolve.</p><p> </p><p>We welcome the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s Retirement Outcomes Review, and support the FCA’s work to enable consumers to be better informed and able to make decisions on how to manage their retirement income. The FCA is considering changes to make charges more transparent and comparable to help consumers shop around and switch providers if appropriate. It expects the market to deliver competitive charges for all drawdown solutions and has said it will take action if it does not.</p><p> </p><p>We look forward to working with the FCA and industry on the next steps of the review, including the FCA’s consideration of any potential charge cap.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates grouped question UIN HL9341 question first answered 23/07/2018 12:42:50 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

921806

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Pensions: Advisory Services
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they estimate the lack of competition in the pension advice market has cost pensioners; and whether the Financial Conduct Authority or the Competition and Markets Authority have raised concerns about the lack of competition in the market for pension advice.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL8506
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2018 answer text <p>The Government has acted to support the development of a market that provides consumers with affordable and accessible pensions advice. That is why the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) in August 2015.</p><p> </p><p>HM Treasury and the FCA have, as part of FAMR, identified a range of indicators, to understand the demand and supply of financial advice in the market and establish a baseline. These include issues such as the cost of advice, number of firms in the market, consumer engagement, and reasons for not taking advice<sup><sup>[1]</sup></sup>. HM Treasury and the FCA will be carrying out a follow-up exercise in 2019 to see the extent to which issues in the market have been addressed.</p><p> </p><p>FAMR also proposed remedies to improve supply of affordable advice in the market. These included setting up an Advice Unit by the FCA to provide firms developing large-scale automated advice models with regulatory support to help bring these to the market more quickly. Automated advice has the potential to provide affordable advice to the mass market, with some existing models charging a fixed fee of below £500.</p><p> </p><p>The FCA has also been considering various issues regarding consumers who do not take advice in relation to their pension. They published the interim report of their Retirement Outcome Review<sup><sup>[2]</sup></sup> last year and will publish its final findings shortly. The government will be following the FCA’s findings closely.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[1] https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/research/financial-advice-market-review-famr-baseline-report</p><p>[2] https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/market-studies/retirement-outcomes-review</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 25/06/2018 16:03:23 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

921807

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2018
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Pensions: Advisory Services
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the risks to those seeking early redemption of Pension Funds from the lack of competition in the market for pension advice.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL8507
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2018 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of people being able to access affordable financial advice, especially when making decisions about their life savings. This is why the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) in August 2015, to explore how the financial advice market could work better for consumers.</p><p> </p><p>FAMR made 28 recommendations, all of which the Treasury and FCA have either completed or are on track to complete. The Government believes that taken together, the measures will improve the market for pension advice and make advice more accessible and affordable.</p><p> </p><p>Financial advice is particularly important for people seeking early withdrawal of their pension savings as the Government imposes a charge on early withdrawals, which can be from 40% to 70% depending on the circumstances. For the majority of savers, pension contributions are tax-free and this pensions tax relief is one of the most expensive reliefs in the personal tax system. The charge on early withdrawals is therefore in place so the Government can recoup this tax relief, to ensure there is an incentive to save for the long-term.</p><p> </p><p>To further support people who wish to make decisions about their defined contribution pension, the government has set up PensionWise, which provides free and impartial guidance.</p> answering member printed Lord Bates question first answered 25/06/2018 16:04:07 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn