Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member printed question first answered answering member label attachment file name title
tabling member	label

Search

100015

	registered interest
	date	20/10/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	UK Trade with EU
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the risk of the Eurozone returning to recession and the statement by the Chancellor of Exchequer that Britain could not be immune from any such event, they plan to encourage industry and commerce to diversify their markets and reduce their reliance on the European Union market.
	tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
	uin	HL2230
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p>We have to recognise that the UK is not immune to problems elsewhere in the world. The UK has one of the most open economies in the world through trade and financial channels. In particular, growth in the euro area – our largest trading partner – is weak and we have to expect that to dampen our own recovery.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Since entering office, this Government has worked consistently towards a rebalancing of the UK economy and growing our trade with all parts of the world, including key emerging markets. Since 2010, for example, UKTI has increased the number of its overseas-based staff working outside the EU from 875 to 1060, reflecting the growing priority being given to non-EU markets; and, excluding aircraft, nearly all of the exports supported by UK Export Finance in recent years have been to markets outside the EU. Ministers continue to take an active role, including through the Chancellor-led annual Economic and Financial Dialogues with India and China, the most recent of which secured £2.4 billion in bilateral investment deals.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Deighton question first answered 03/11/2014 17:17:00 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
	tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

100042

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	EU Budget
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations within the European Union that any spending increases will be met through countervailing spending cuts and not by increasing the financial contributions of member states.
	tabling member printed	Lord Stoddart of Swindon
	uin	HL2248
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2014 answer text <p>The UK has been consistently clear: at a time when governments across the EU are taking difficult decisions to manage their deficits, the European Commission should not be asking Governments across the EU for more money.</p><p> </p><p>The UK strongly believes in limiting the size of the EU budget and will continue to press for necessary restraint and discipline in order to get the best deal for British taxpayers.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Deighton question first answered 04/11/2014 16:56:36 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
	tabling member	950 label Biography information for Lord Stoddart of Swindon

45763

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Office for Budget Responsibility concerning explanations suggesting that there is a £20 billion shortfall in public finances.
	tabling member printed	Lord Barnett
	uin	HL6412
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2014 answer text <p>The independent OBR publish a log of all substantive contact with Ministers, their offices and special advisers on their website.</p> answering member printed Lord Newby question first answered 08/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1916 label Biography information for Lord Newby attachment 1 file name 3379LW 1314.pdf title OFFICE FOR BUDGET RESPONSIBILITY CONTACT LOG
	tabling member	1018 label Biography information for Lord Barnett

45764

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider that an agreement between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England overrides the reserve powers given to HM Treasury in section 19(2) of the Bank of England Act 1998.
	tabling member printed	Lord Barnett
	uin	HL6413
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2014 answer text <p>The powers set out in section 19 of the Bank of England Act 1998 cannot be removed or amended except by further legislation approved by Parliament which amends that section of the 1998 Act.</p><p> </p><p>The Treasury may only make an order giving directions under section 19 after consultation with the Governor of the Bank of England, if the directions are required in the public interest and by extreme economic circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Since the Monetary Policy Committee was given operational independence in 1997, covering the worst financial crisis in generations leading to the deepest recession since the Second World War, these powers have never been used.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Newby question first answered 09/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1916 label Biography information for Lord Newby
	tabling member	1018 label Biography information for Lord Barnett

45992

	registered interest
	date	31/03/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Deighton on 27 March to remarks by Lord Myners, Lord Higgins and Lord Flight (HL Deb, col 676) and the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 3 July 2013 (WA 143), whether they continue to consider that borrowing from the central bank is illegal under Article 123 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; and, if so, what options are available in respect of government debt and quantitative easing while the United Kingdom remains a member of the European Union.
	tabling member printed	Lord Stevens of Ludgate
	uin	HL6470
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England has operational responsibility for monetary policy. The MPC makes decisions on its policy tools, including quantitative easing (QE), in order to meet the 2% inflation target in the medium term.</p><p> </p><p>The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is a key feature of the UK's economic policy framework. To use monetary policy tools to meet fiscal objectives, such as financing government borrowing, could conflict with the MPC's objective of price stability and undermine confidence in the UK's monetary policy framework. Additionally, government borrowing from the central bank is illegal under Article 123 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Newby question first answered 11/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1916 label Biography information for Lord Newby
	tabling member	2227 label Biography information for Lord Stevens of Ludgate

45994

	registered interest
	date	31/03/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidelines are followed by HM Revenue and Customs and the Crown Prosecution Service in determining whether to investigate or prosecute VAT carousel fraud.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL6472
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2014 answer text <p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) seek to disrupt VAT carousel (Missing Trader Intra-Community - MTIC) fraud using both civil and criminal interventions.</p><p> </p><p>When using criminal action HMRC seek to investigate the 'guiding minds' behind MTIC fraud, as well as, selectively, other participants, including key enablers.</p><p> </p><p>Such cases are notified and referred to the relevant independent prosecutors. The final charging decision is made by the prosecuting agency, based on the evidence presented as a result of the HMRC investigation. Cases in England and Wales will be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Newby question first answered 09/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1916 label Biography information for Lord Newby
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

46011

	registered interest
	date	31/03/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will establish a formal investigation, independent of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), into the FCA's handling of the announcement it made via the press on 28 March of an investigation into closed insurance funds; and whether they have made an estimate of the financial consequences of the creation of a possible false market in insurance securities as a result of the initial announcement and subsequent amendments.
	tabling member printed	Lord Myners
	uin	HL6489
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2014 answer text <p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Board has announced an investigation which will be independent of the FCA executive. A senior independent lawyer will investigate what went wrong and make appropriate recommendations.</p><p> </p><p>The Chancellor has written to the Chair of the FCA setting out the questions that the investigation should answer. This includes the question of to what extent a false or disorderly market was present in the period before the FCA issued its statement of clarification. The letter was copied to the Treasury Committee and has been published on the Treasury's website.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Newby question first answered 11/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1916 label Biography information for Lord Newby attachment 1 file name 3420LW 1314.pdf title Letter FCA
	tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners

46401

	registered interest
	date	01/04/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government on how many occasions an action under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 has also been investigated by HM Revenue and Customs to ensure that tax has been paid by the individuals concerned.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL6498
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/04/2014 answer text <p>Actions under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002) (POCA) could include a variety of different provisions within the Act. For instance, the use of POCA investigative powers, a prosecution for a POCA money laundering offence, the use of criminal confiscation following conviction, the use of POCA civil recovery procedures or financial intelligence received by way of the Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) regime.</p><p> </p><p>Where a law enforcement agency has suspicions of tax evasion it is up to that agency to refer the matter to HMRC to review and investigate as appropriate, using civil or criminal powers. HMRC does not keep a record of how many such referrals are made to them.</p><p> </p><p>Where HMRC is the investigating agency conducting the POCA actions, they routinely also assess the correct tax position and seek to recover outstanding amounts</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Deighton question first answered 14/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4262 label Biography information for Lord Deighton
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

46403

	registered interest
	date	01/04/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have (1) applied for, and (2) been granted, help through (a) the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, and (b) the Help to Buy equity loan scheme, in each of the ten districts of Greater Manchester.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bradley
	uin	HL6500
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2014 answer text <p>LORD NEWBY</p><p>a) On 23 March, the Prime Minister announced that 2,572 mortgages were supported by the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme in its first four months. 342 of these were in the North West. The Government does not generally collect data on the number of applications participating lenders receive for mortgages supported by the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme. However, as a single submission to the Government, two of the largest lenders in the Scheme, Lloyds and RBS, have said they received 9,569 applications, and one of the smallest lenders in the Scheme, Aldermore, received 2,313 applications.</p><p> </p><p>Now the Scheme is open, the Government is collecting data on mortgages covered by the guarantee, and will report in due course.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>b) The Government publishes monthly statistics on the cumulative number of homes purchased (legal completions), with the support of Help to Buy: equity loans, by local authority in England. The data can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Newby question first answered 11/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1916 label Biography information for Lord Newby attachment 1 file name 3434LW 1314.xlsx title Help to buy - Cumulative number
	tabling member	452 label Biography information for Lord Bradley

46406

	registered interest
	date	01/04/2014
	answering body	HM Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many VAT inspectors, tax inspectors and senior tax inspectors were employed by HM Revenue and Customs in the financial year 2009–10; and how many will be employed in 2014–15.
	tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
	uin	HL6503
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2014 answer text <p>HM Revenue &amp; Customs was formed by the merger of Inland Revenue and HM Customs &amp; Excise in 2005 and the VAT Inspector and Tax Inspector are no longer roles in the organisation. There are some 17,000 tax professionals in HM Revenue &amp; Customs carrying out a range of duties from tackling non-compliance with tax obligations to advising Ministers on changes in legislation.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the overall numbers of tax professionals has largely been maintained from 2009/10 to the present day, and will be into 2014/15, the way in which those tax professionals have been deployed has changed to address priority areas of tax risk. This is reflected in the compliance yield, which almost doubled between 2005 and 2011 to £13.9 billion, and increased again to reach £20.7 billion in 2012/13 as key risks were addressed.</p><p> </p><p>HM Revenue &amp; Customs continues to recruit substantial numbers of graduates and suitable internal candidates to develop as senior tax professionals, around 600 in the period 2012/13 to 2014/15, to maintain numbers and enhance capability.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Newby question first answered 09/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1916 label Biography information for Lord Newby
	tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham