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1362384

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Assets and Bank Services: Hong Kong
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of (1) UK assets and bank accounts owned by officials of the government of Hong Kong, and (2) the UK property market’s exposure to the Evergrande liquidity crisis.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL3263
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2021 answer text <p>The Government does not comment on the financial positions of individuals.</p><p> </p><p>In its October 2021 record, the Financial Policy Committee of the Bank of England noted that “the interim results of the 2021 Solvency Stress Test indicate that the UK banking system is resilient to the direct effects of a severe downturn in China and Hong Kong, and sharp adjustments in global asset prices”.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 04/11/2021 15:46:12 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1362385

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Assets: China and Hong Kong
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 number of officials of the government of Hong Kong whose families hold UK citizenship; and what plans they have, if any, to audit the UK assets of officials of the governments of (1) Hong Kong, and (2) China.
tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
uin	HL3264
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2021 answer text The Government does not assess the number of officials of the government of Hong Kong whose families hold UK citizenship. The Government does not comment on the financial positions of individuals. answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 04/11/2021 15:45:39 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1362398

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Just Eat: Climate Change
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 Financial Conduct Authority about enforcement action against the food delivery company Just Eat over its failure to comply with the mandatory requirement to disclose climate change risks to investors in its annual report.
tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
uin	HL3288
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2021 answer text <p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not generally confirm or deny whether it is investigating a particular firm or individual.</p><p> </p><p>The FCA has powers to take a variety of enforcement actions against firms that breach its rules. It is the responsibility of the independent regulator to investigate and decide upon the appropriate course of action in a particular case. The Treasury has no general power of direction over the FCA and cannot intervene in individual cases.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 03/11/2021 15:51:00 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	3792 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

1362403

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Air Passenger Duty: Northern Ireland
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Airport Passenger Duty is applied to internal flights from Northern Ireland within the UK; and if so, what plans there are for this to cease.
tabling member printed	Lord Kilclooney
uin	HL3294
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2021 answer text <p>Air Passenger Duty (APD) is a per-passenger tax levied on flights departing from UK airports, including those between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.</p><p> </p><p>At Budget, the Government announced that, from April 2023, it would introduce a new reduced domestic band of APD, covering flights between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in order to support connectivity across the UK.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 04/11/2021 15:46:49 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	657 label Biography information for Lord Kilclooney

1362408

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Income Tax
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much revenue would be raised by increasing the income tax rate applicable to Schedule A income by 1.25 per cent.
tabling member printed	Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court
uin	HL3306
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2021 answer text <p>As a result of the Tax Law Rewrite, taxation of Schedule A income for individuals was repealed in 2005, and for companies in 2009. As a result, it would only be possible to estimate the revenue raised through an increase to the tax rate of Schedule A at a disproportionate cost.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 04/11/2021 12:05:32 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4586 label Biography information for Lord Macpherson of Earl's Court

1362419

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Employees' Contributions: Tax Thresholds
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much it would cost to raise the national insurance contributions threshold to an annual income of £12,570.
tabling member printed	Lord Sikka
uin	HL3317
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2021 answer text <p>Estimates of various policy changes can be approximated using the ‘Direct effects of illustrative tax changes’ publication which can be found on gov.uk.</p><p> </p><p>This includes the costs of increasing National Insurance contributions (NIC) thresholds for the employee entry threshold by £2 per week and lower profit limits by £104 per year.</p><p> </p><p>This can be used to scale the proportionate costs using the projected NIC threshold in 2022-23, which at the time of publication was £9,724, and increasing it by £2,846 to £12,570 in that year.</p><p> </p><p>Published estimates are based on the 2017-18 Survey of Personal Incomes, which are projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2021 economic and fiscal outlook.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 04/11/2021 12:01:50 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4885 label Biography information for Lord Sikka

1362424

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
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 Centre for Progressive Policy report Women in the Workforce – Boosting Mothers’ employment and earnings, published on 14 October, and in particular the finding that the UK has the second lowest public spend on childcare among OECD economies.
tabling member printed	Lord Watson of Invergowrie
uin	HL3325
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2021 answer text <p>I welcome the report from the Centre for Progressive Policy on Women in the Workforce – Boosting Mothers’ employment and earnings. As the report highlights, inadequate childcare provision can act as a barrier to women’s participation in the labour market. This is why childcare policy in the UK is designed to provide working parents with support to continue to work.</p><p> </p><p>To support working parents with their childcare costs, the government introduced Tax-Free Childcare (TFC), which provides eligible working parents with 20% support on childcare costs, up to £2,000 per child per year (£4,000 for disabled children). The number of working parents benefiting from this is increasing: 308,000 families used TFC for 364,000 children in June 2021, up from 282,000 families using childcare for 329,000 children in March 2021.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to TFC, the government spent around £3.6bn in 20-21 on early childcare entitlements and we continue to support families with their childcare costs. All three- and four-year-olds can access 15 hours of free childcare per week, regardless of circumstance. Eligible working parents of three- and four-year-olds can also access an additional 15 hours of free childcare per week, also known as 30 hours free childcare. Some parents may also be able to access the disadvantaged 2-year-old offer which gives 15 hours of free childcare per week to 2-year-olds who meet certain social and economic criteria.</p><p> </p><p>This approach is working – evidence shows that the government approach to childcare is helping to improve the employment rate for married/cohabiting women with dependent children, which has risen to 77.9% in, up 0.6% on the year (Q2 2021 vs Q2 2020), and 1.1% pre-covid (Q2 2021 vs Q2 2019).</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 04/11/2021 12:06:58 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1241 label Biography information for Lord Watson of Invergowrie

1362427

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Financial Services
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 decision to restrict (1) non-cryptocurrency blockchain, and (2) non-cryptocurrency distributed ledger technology financial innovation, through its implementation of the cryptoasset register; and in particular, the compatibility of this decision with (a) Her Majesty’s Government’s policy of encouraging innovation in financial services, and (b) the recommendations of the Kalifa review.
tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
uin	HL3328
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2021 answer text <p>The government believes that having an effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime goes hand-in-hand with supporting British fintech firms and consumers by providing confidence that new technologies can be used both reliably and safely. The scope of the UK’s anti-money laundering registration regime for cryptoassets is based on international standards agreed at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This applies to cryptoassets regardless of whether they are intended to function as a medium of exchange or as an investment. As the Kalifa review noted, the UK has a hard-won reputation of trust regarding regulation and the rule of law which we must build on. The government supports the FCA’s approach to establishing the regime, which will provide the confidence needed to support genuine innovation in the cryptoassets sector.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst it is open to UK cryptoasset firms to relocate to another jurisdiction, most major financial centres worldwide are in FATF member jurisdictions, which are expected to implement AML standards for cryptoasset firms that are broadly in line with those in the UK. Firms based overseas that do not carry on their cryptoasset business in the UK may still interact with UK consumers. The government launched a consultation on its regulatory approach to cryptoassets and stablecoins on 7 January and will outline next steps in due course. The FCA’s consumer protection objective applies where the FCA is discharging one of its general objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and does not apply with regard to functions conferred under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (the MLRs).</p><p> </p><p>Under the MLRs, firms are expected to assess money laundering and terrorist financing risks when considering the services they provide to current or potential customers. The ultimate decision about whether to provide services to a customer belongs to the bank, which may take into account commercial considerations in addition to financial crime risks.</p><p> </p><p>To comply with the MLRs, cryptoasset firms must demonstrate systems, controls, policies and procedures adequate to deal with the particular risks of the cryptoasset market. That a firm is already permitted to carry out activities in one area therefore does not mean it meets the required standards for another area. It is therefore necessary for a firm to apply to be registered for its cryptoasset activities, even though it has already registered with the FCA for AML supervision related to other activities.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL3329 HL3331 HL3333 question first answered 03/11/2021 16:16:43 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

1362428

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Cryptocurrencies: Registration
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) whether the Financial Conduct Authority’s cryptoasset registration scheme permits UK cryptocurrency firms to move offshore and still serve UK consumers, and (2) the impact of this scheme on the FCA’s objective to secure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers.
tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
uin	HL3329
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2021 answer text <p>The government believes that having an effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime goes hand-in-hand with supporting British fintech firms and consumers by providing confidence that new technologies can be used both reliably and safely. The scope of the UK’s anti-money laundering registration regime for cryptoassets is based on international standards agreed at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This applies to cryptoassets regardless of whether they are intended to function as a medium of exchange or as an investment. As the Kalifa review noted, the UK has a hard-won reputation of trust regarding regulation and the rule of law which we must build on. The government supports the FCA’s approach to establishing the regime, which will provide the confidence needed to support genuine innovation in the cryptoassets sector.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst it is open to UK cryptoasset firms to relocate to another jurisdiction, most major financial centres worldwide are in FATF member jurisdictions, which are expected to implement AML standards for cryptoasset firms that are broadly in line with those in the UK. Firms based overseas that do not carry on their cryptoasset business in the UK may still interact with UK consumers. The government launched a consultation on its regulatory approach to cryptoassets and stablecoins on 7 January and will outline next steps in due course. The FCA’s consumer protection objective applies where the FCA is discharging one of its general objectives under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and does not apply with regard to functions conferred under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (the MLRs).</p><p> </p><p>Under the MLRs, firms are expected to assess money laundering and terrorist financing risks when considering the services they provide to current or potential customers. The ultimate decision about whether to provide services to a customer belongs to the bank, which may take into account commercial considerations in addition to financial crime risks.</p><p> </p><p>To comply with the MLRs, cryptoasset firms must demonstrate systems, controls, policies and procedures adequate to deal with the particular risks of the cryptoasset market. That a firm is already permitted to carry out activities in one area therefore does not mean it meets the required standards for another area. It is therefore necessary for a firm to apply to be registered for its cryptoasset activities, even though it has already registered with the FCA for AML supervision related to other activities.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL3328 HL3331 HL3333 question first answered 03/11/2021 16:16:43 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

1362429

registered interest
date	21/10/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Money Laundering
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 impact on UK companies of the registration thresholds resulting from the implementation in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority of the EU’s 5th anti-money laundering directive; and what assessment have they made of whether the directive is leading to UK companies’ tax revenues being driven offshore.
tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
uin	HL3330
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2021 answer text <p>The UK’s Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs), set out the high-level requirements on regulated entities to combat money laundering.</p><p> </p><p>When the EU’s 5<sup>th</sup> Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5MLD) was introduced in May 2018, the UK was required to transpose the requirements of 5MLD into domestic legislation, which included the expansion of the scope of the regulated sector. The UK completed the transposition of 5MLD in October 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The MLRs are designed to detect and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing before it occurs, both directly through the UK’s financial institutions and through enablers who may be involved in transactions such as lawyers, accountants and estate agents. 5MLD expanded the threshold for firms and sole practitioners who are regulated under the MLRs, and therefore required to register for anti-money laundering supervision, to include: letting agents, art market participants, cryptoasset firms, and tax providers. The government consulted in 2019 on how best to include these sectors within the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime, seeking to ensure that the regime effectively deters money laundering and terrorist financing activity, whilst being proportionate and managing burdens on businesses and legitimate customers.</p><p> </p><p>The UK is a global leader in the push towards greater tax transparency, driving forwards cooperation between jurisdictions to help to tackle tax evasion by making it harder to hide offshore financial assets. HMRC has a strong record in tackling offshore non-compliance, whether stopping this through leading international activity, providing easy ways for people to disclose correctly their tax affairs, or by acting against those who are trying to deliberately cheat the public.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 03/11/2021 16:18:11 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley