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1692929

registered interest
date	29/02/2024
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Small Businesses: Bank Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports that many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have had their bank accounts closed, what steps they are taking to ensure SMEs have continued access to banking services.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2925
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>While the decisions about what products are offered to individual businesses remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies, the Government recognises the vital role SMEs play in fuelling economic growth, and it is important they can access the banking services they need. Last year the Chancellor asked the FCA to collect evidence to help the Government understand where account closures and refusals are happening and why. The FCA are now doing further work to better understand the reasons behind account refusals.</p><p>The Government is also acting to increase customer protections, increasing the minimum notice period in cases of contract termination to 90 days – giving customers more time to challenge a decision through the Financial Ombudsman Service, or find a replacement service – and requiring providers to spell out to affected customers why they are terminating their contract. Both requirements will be subject to certain exceptions, including if to do so would be unlawful.</p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 07/03/2024 12:47:31 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1692615

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Mortgages: Interest Rates
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to assess any correlation between recent increases in swap rates and rising mortgage rates.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2856
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>While the pricing of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene, we regularly monitor swap rates and mortgage rates. We are also regularly in contact with mortgage lenders on all aspects of their mortgage business to understand their position and current lending conditions.</p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 07/03/2024 13:54:01 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1691876

registered interest
date	26/02/2024
answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept id	211
answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
hansard heading	First Time Buyers and Private Rented Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to promote housing affordability and stability for renters, and (2) to support first-time buyers.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2766
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>This Government is committed to delivering a better deal for renters, improving the private rented sector for responsible tenants and good landlords.</p><p><a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbills.parliament.uk%2Fbills%2F3462&amp;data=05%7C02%7CParliamentary%40levellingup.gov.uk%7Ca8ddcc4fb10d4503ce8e08dc3dfceb4c%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C638453403690112276%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=vgeB%2F4YUzSH9mukFSufoX5%2BNhOdHHPL89IZvPlaw2r0%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">The Renters (Reform) Bill</a> was introduced in Parliament on 17 May 2023 and will deliver the government’s commitments. The Bill increases security of tenure for tenants by abolishing section 21 evictions. The new tenancy system will also reassure tenants that, apart from in specific circumstances set out in legislation, their rented home is theirs for as long as they want.</p><p>We continue to work towards our ambition of delivering 300,000 homes per year to help create a more sustainable and affordable housing market. Individuals who need help to make rent payments may be eligible for financial support through the welfare system. From April 2024, we will invest £1.2 billion restoring Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to the 30<sup>th</sup> percentile of local market rents. For others who face a shortfall, Discretionary Housing Payments are available from local authorities; the Government has provided almost £1.7 billion of this funding to local authorities since 2011.</p> answering member printed Baroness Scott of Bybrook question first answered 07/03/2024 15:12:52 answering member 4553 label Biography information for Baroness Scott of Bybrook attachment 1 file name HL2766 - Renters (Reform) Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.pdf title The Renters (Reform) Bill
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1691298

registered interest
date	22/02/2024
answering body	Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept id	216
answering dept short name	Science, Innovation and Technology
answering dept sort name	Science, Innovation and Technology
hansard heading	Artificial Intelligence: Equality
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the developers of artificial intelligence technologies concerning how they verify the accuracy of their outputs, particularly with regard to racial and gender bias.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2716
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>Preventing bias and ensuring the accuracy of AI outputs are essential for building public trust in AI and encouraging its adoption and growth.</p><p> </p><p>The Government engaged with AI developers through our AI Regulation White Paper consultation and the response published this month, which details how we are protecting UK citizens from AI-related bias.</p><p> </p><p>The Government launched the Fairness Innovation Challenge, granting over £465,000 to support the development of socio-technical solutions to address bias in AI.</p><p> </p><p>We published the 'Introduction to AI Assurance', guide for AI developers and deployers, which outlines how techniques like bias audits can help verify AI systems.</p> answering member printed Viscount Camrose question first answered 07/03/2024 13:06:25 answering member 4939 label Biography information for Viscount Camrose
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick