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1564447

registered interest
date	06/01/2023
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Pension Funds: Investment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the underlying causes of concerns relating to liability driven investment funds in the pensions industry in 2022; and what lessons his Department has learned about the operation of these funds during this period.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	117451
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2023 answer text <p>The Pensions Regulator (TPR) regulates pension schemes, and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates UK-based asset managers that manage LDI funds which are often used by pension schemes. The Government welcomes the recent work of the UK regulators to require that LDI funds hold higher levels of resilience, following volatility in gilt markets in 2022. This work has also been welcomed, as a first step, by the Bank of England’s independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC), which is responsible for identifying and addressing systemic risks to improve UK financial stability. The FPC’s December 2022 Financial Stability Report (FSR), and its assessment of the vulnerabilities associated with LDI funds, was an important milestone in the ongoing lessons learned process.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 11/01/2023 15:47:57 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1564449

registered interest
date	06/01/2023
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Insurance: Racial Discrimination
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of potential trends in the level of discrimination of people from ethnic minority backgrounds in the provision of insurance.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	117453
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2023 answer text <p>Under the Equality Act 2010 insurers cannot use ethnicity as a risk factor when determining the price of insurance. Insurers must treat customers fairly under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) rules and the FCA has powers to act against firms that fail to comply.</p><p> </p><p>The Treasury met with insurance companies following the Citizens Advice report on the ‘ethnicity penalty’ published in March 2022 and will continue to engage with the insurance industry and the regulator on this important issue.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 11/01/2023 15:53:44 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1563740

registered interest
date	20/12/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Credit Rating
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who have (a) no credit record, (b) an insufficient credit record and (c) no recent credit history.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	114534
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/01/2023 answer text <p>The Government does not hold information on the number of people who have limited or no credit history on their credit files.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently published an interim report on its Credit Information Market Study, which may include information and insights relevant to this question. It can be found at: <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/market-studies/ms19-1-credit-information-market-study" target="_blank">https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/market-studies/ms19-1-credit-information-market-study</a></p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 09/01/2023 14:01:29 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1505290

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	England Illegal Money Lending Team: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide additional resources to the England Illegal Money Lending Team to tackle the threat of illegal money lending.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	48217
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2022 answer text <p>The Government recognises the dangers of illegal money lending, and that is why the Treasury funds the Illegal Money Lending Teams (IMLTs) across the UK via an industry levy collected by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).</p><p> </p><p>Since taking over funding of the IMLTs in 2017, the Treasury has increased their annual funding by 37%. For the 2022/23 financial year, the Treasury increased funding for the England Illegal Money Lending Team by over 6% compared to 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>HMT officials regularly meet the IMLTs to understand the latest intelligence and monitor how funding is being deployed. These discussions will inform decisions about the appropriate levels of funding for the next financial year.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 14/09/2022 16:31:49 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1316417

registered interest
date	19/05/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Cryptocurrencies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 23 April 2021 to Question 180919 on Bitcoin: electricity, what his planned timescale is for providing a common definition for environmentally sustainable economy activities for (a) Bitcoin and (b) other crypto-currencies.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	3796
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/05/2021 answer text <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 stands ready to respond to emerging risks or changes in the market and will continue to monitor developments in cryptoassets.</p><p> </p><p>In November 2020, the Chancellor announced that the UK will implement a green taxonomy – a common framework for determining which activities can be defined as environmentally sustainable – which will improve understanding of the impact of firms’ activities and investments on the environment and support our transition to a sustainable economy. More details on the green taxonomy will be announced in due course.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 26/05/2021 11:47:34 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1308940

registered interest
date	14/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bitcoin: Electricity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what environmental impact assessment his Department has made of the electricity demand of Bitcoin mining.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	180918
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2021 answer text <p>I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 14 April.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 23/04/2021 11:14:25 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1309030

registered interest
date	14/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bitcoin: Electricity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the environmental impact of the electricity demand of bitcoin mining will be on the COP26 agenda.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	180919
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2021 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>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 stands ready to respond to emerging risks or changes in the market and will continue to monitor developments in cryptoassets.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 23/04/2021 11:15:49 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1293362

registered interest
date	01/03/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	International Transport: Republic of Ireland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of TIR procedures for vehicles crossing the UK from Ireland to travel onward to the EU since the end of the transition period.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	160526
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2021 answer text <p>HMRC have not carried out any assessments of effectiveness of TIR procedures for vehicles crossing the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The UK is a member of both the Common Transit Convention (CTC) and Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) conventions. Depending on preferences and suitability, a trader can choose to use the TIR or CTC process to move goods across borders using transit.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 09/03/2021 14:15:31 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1284160

registered interest
date	04/02/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Business: Coronavirus
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 equity of companies (a) maintaining or (b) increasing (i) dividends and (ii) management bonuses while receiving financial support during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	149160
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2021 answer text <p>The Government acted quickly to deliver an unprecedented package of support measures, well-targeted at businesses in genuine need. It is our expectation that everyone should act responsibly and in the spirit of the package, and only claim and use support as intended.</p><p> </p><p>Under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), borrowers are required to restrict dividend payments and are only allowed to make dividends payments which were a) declared before the CLBILS loan was taken out, b) are in keeping with similar dividends payments made in the preceding 12 months, and c) do not have a material negative impact on the borrower’s ability to repay the loan. Firms borrowing more than £50m will be required to agree to defer dividend payments and share buybacks, alongside restrictions on pay and bonuses for senior management. These restrictions remain in place until the loan has been repaid.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, Companies accessing the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) beyond 19 May 2021, are required to defer capital distributions, pay rises and cash bonuses to senior management. The Government continues to keep all measures under constant review.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 11/02/2021 14:17:32 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1284162

registered interest
date	04/02/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Tax Avoidance: Netherlands
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 prevent companies funnelling profits into low tax subsidiaries in the Netherlands.
tabling member constituency	Warley
tabling member printed	John Spellar
uin	149161
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2021 answer text <p>The UK has led international efforts to tackle avoidance by multinationals, including through the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) Project which looks at aggressive tax planning strategies that exploit tax rules to artificially shift profits to low tax jurisdictions where there is little or no economic activity.</p><p> </p><p>This international collaboration has led to the introduction of hybrid mismatch rules that prevent multinationals exploiting differences in the tax systems of different countries, a requirement for UK headed large businesses to provide HMRC with a country-by-country report, detailing their global profits, tax and assets to ensure they are paying the correct tax on all their UK activity, and a Corporate Interest Restriction that protects against companies using intra-group loans to shift profits overseas.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside these multilateral efforts are UK domestic rules that have complemented these changes.</p><p> </p><p>In April 2015, the UK Government introduced the Diverted Profits Tax (‘DPT’). DPT was designed to counter contrived arrangements used by multinational corporations to shift their profits offshore and avoid paying tax in the UK on their economic activities here.</p><p> </p><p>In January 2019 HMRC launched a new Profit Diversion Compliance Facility (‘PDCF’) to encourage businesses to stop diverting profits and pay what is due. About two-thirds of the large businesses targeted so far have decided to use the facility to bring their tax affairs up to date quickly and efficiently, enabling HMRC to focus even more resources on investigating businesses which continue to divert profits.</p><p> </p><p>Multinationals can often have complicated tax affairs and HMRC are determined to ensure that their profits are correctly attributed, and they are paying all the tax they owe.</p><p> </p><p>Additional information about HMRC’s work to tackle profit diversion by multinational companies is available on GOV.UK along with the most recent Transfer Pricing and Diverted Profits Tax statistics:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transfer-pricing-and-diverted-profits-tax-statistics-2019-to-2020/tackling-profit-diversion-by-multi-national-companies" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transfer-pricing-and-diverted-profits-tax-statistics-2019-to-2020/tackling-profit-diversion-by-multi-national-companies</a></p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transfer-pricing-and-diverted-profits-tax-statistics-2019-to-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transfer-pricing-and-diverted-profits-tax-statistics-2019-to-2020</a></p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 12/02/2021 13:51:40 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar