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1504978

registered interest
date	05/09/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Investment: Classification Schemes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his timetable is for the publication of the consultation on the UK's Sustainable Investment Taxonomy in the context of the energy crisis.
tabling member constituency	Rother Valley
tabling member printed	Alexander Stafford
uin	47715
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2022 answer text <p>It is important to get this policy right for the UK. The UK Green Taxonomy Consultation is under review and the Government will be setting out next steps in due course.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 15/09/2022 14:55:50 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	4866 label Biography information for Alexander Stafford

1504990

registered interest
date	05/09/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Treasury: Buildings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the figures supplied by his Department for the Cabinet Office’s weekly publication of civil service headquarters occupancy data, what estimate of the daily capacity of the 1 Horse Guards Road office was used to calculate the percentage of employees working in that building since February 2022.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	47406
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2022 answer text <p>The current capacity estimate for HMT’s occupancy at 1 Horse Guards Road is 996.</p> answering member constituency Kensington answering member printed Felicity Buchan question first answered 14/09/2022 09:34:24 answering member 4821 label Biography information for Felicity Buchan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1505013

registered interest
date	05/09/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Revenue and Customs and Treasury: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many payments were fraudulently charged to the budgets of (a) his Department and (b) HM Revenue and Customs using electronic purchasing cards in the financial years (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21 and (iii) 2021-22; and what was the total value of fraudulent payments (A) made and (B) recovered in each of those years.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	47425
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2022 answer text We have identified no fraudulent payments made by HM Treasury or HM Revenue and Customs using electronic purchasing cards in the financial years (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21 or (iii) 2021-22. answering member constituency Kensington answering member printed Felicity Buchan question first answered 14/09/2022 09:32:32 answering member 4821 label Biography information for Felicity Buchan
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1505087

registered interest
date	05/09/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Commodity Markets
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 potential impact of lifting constraints on commodity market speculation introduced following the 2008 (a) finance and (b) food price crisis.
tabling member constituency	Ealing Central and Acton
tabling member printed	Dr Rupa Huq
uin	47615
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>The Government believes effective commodities markets regulation is a key part of ensuring economic stability. This is a lesson reinforced by both the food and financial crises in the 2000s. In response to G20 commitments, the EU put in place a regime that sets limits on the amounts of commodity derivatives that market participants can hold, to ensure speculation does not lead to economic harm.</p><p> </p><p>The Government supports the application of position limits to the most volatile commodities (including key energy and agricultural products). However, the regime that we have inherited from the EU is overly complicated, needlessly burdensome and poorly designed. In particular, it unnecessarily captures all exchange traded and economically equivalent over-the-counter commodity derivative contracts including those that have low levels of low volatility and risk. This undermines efficient pricing in many such contracts and creates burdens for firms.</p><p> </p><p>To address this, the Financial Services and Markets Bill will ensure exchanges can once again set position limits, within an FCA framework. Exchanges are well placed to ensure that such position limits only apply to contracts that are subject to high volatility. Agricultural products and other key physically settled contracts such as oil and gas will remain subject to position limits. The FCA will also powers to intervene to set position limits if need be.</p><p> </p><p>These changes were consulted on and received broad support[1] and is in line with the Government’s G20 commitments.</p><p> </p><p>[1] Wholesale Markets Review Consultation: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/998165/WMR_condoc_FINAL_OFFICIAL_SENSITIVE_.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/998165/WMR_condoc_FINAL_OFFICIAL_SENSITIVE_.pdf</a></p><p>Wholesale Markets Review Response: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1057897/Wholesale_Markets_Review_Consultation_Response.pdf</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 21/09/2022 07:12:13 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
tabling member	4511 label Biography information for Dr Rupa Huq

1505158

registered interest
date	05/09/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Azure Services: Loans
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to support a cross-party investigation into the Financial Conduct Authority's handling of the mis-selling of timeshares by Azure Services Limited.
tabling member constituency	North Ayrshire and Arran
tabling member printed	Patricia Gibson
uin	47574
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2022 answer text <p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been established as an independent regulator responsible for the supervision and regulation of conduct in financial services. The FCA’s independence from Government does not mean it can act arbitrarily, rather it must operate within the framework of statutory duties and powers agreed by Parliament. As well as being required to operate within this framework, the FCA is fully accountable to Parliament for how it discharges its statutory functions.</p><p> </p><p>This direct accountability to Parliament reflects the FCA’s statutory independence and the fact that it is solely responsible for everyday operational decisions without Government approval or direction, and so it is primarily accountable for them. The Government has no plans to support a cross-party parliamentary investigation into the FCA’s handling of issues relating to Azure Services Limited, as this would be a matter for Parliament. That notwithstanding, the Treasury plays an important role in holding the FCA accountable, including through engaging closely with the FCA across all levels of seniority.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the impact on consumers as a result of Azure Services’ business practices whilst it operated as a credit broker without the relevant Office of Fair Trading (OFT) licence and, later on, FCA authorisation. However, the Government notes the decision by Barclays Partner Finance to refund over £210m to customers who took out a loan following an introduction by Azure Services. Barclays Partner Finance is currently putting in place the necessary arrangements for this programme of remediation and has committed to contact impacted customers before the end of the year to set out the next steps.</p> answering member constituency Havant answering member printed Alan Mak grouped question UIN 47726 question first answered 08/09/2022 09:49:10 answering member 4484 label Biography information for Alan Mak
tabling member	4435 label Biography information for Patricia Gibson

1505176

registered interest
date	05/09/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Public Sector: Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the number of people expected to be affected by the Pensions Increase (Review) Order 2022 (S.I. 2022/333) in the 2023/24 financial year.
tabling member constituency	Leicester South
tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
uin	47544
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2022 answer text <p>Section 59 of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 (as amended) read with the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971 (as amended) provides for public service pensions to be increased annually by the same percentage as State additional pensions (State Earnings Related Pension and State Second Pension). State additional pensions were increased by 3.1 per cent from April 2022, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in the 12 months from September 2020 to September 2021. From 11 April 2022, most public service pensions in payment were also increased by the same percentage, with pro-rata increases for those in payment for less than a year.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Increase (Review) Order 2022 covers “official pensions,” which are those pensions listed in Schedule 2 of the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971. This covers most public service pensions. There are, however, also a small number of other schemes (which are not official pensions) where the benefits are increased by analogy with official pensions under the rules applying to those schemes.</p><p> </p><p>Official pensions are increased as specified within the annual Pension Increase (Review) Orders, and the Order applies to a pension that began before or during the 12 months before the date that the Order commences and where the pension satisfies a condition qualifying for pension increases to be paid. The pensions increase is therefore usually paid to recipients aged 55 and over, or those aged less than 55 who are in receipt of a survivor's pension, or a pension paid on account of ill health.</p><p> </p><p>Pensions increases also apply to pensions in deferment, although the entitlement arises only when the pension comes into payment and the recipient satisfies a qualifying condition. Members currently accruing further pension benefits in schemes covered by these indexation provisions will also be entitled to receive increases under Pension Increase Orders and some who retire in future, particularly in the next few years, might be entitled to increases under the Pensions Increase Order 2022.</p><p> </p><p>Those affected by the Pension Increase (Review) Order 2022 in the 2022/23 financial year are therefore likely to equal:</p><ol><li>Total public service pensions in payment;</li><li>Total public service pensions in deferment, most of which would be affected in due course;</li><li>A proportion of total public service pensions still accruing, where some future pensions in payment and deferment might in due course be affected by the 2022 Order. That proportion cannot be readily assessed as it will depend on many variable and unknown factors, including future decisions by members about careers and retirements.</li></ol><p> </p><p>Table 2 of the last ONS Occupational Pension Schemes Survey, assessing data up to 2019, estimated that there were then 5.3 million public sector pensions in payment; 4.7 million deferred public sector pensions; and 6.6 million active members of public sector pension schemes. However, this data will also include a small proportion of members who, for example, have defined contribution pensions and are not in arrangements necessarily affected by the Pension Increase (Review) Order 2022.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to those noted above, some private sector scheme rules provide that the defined benefit pensions of some or all members will increase in line with increases applying to official pensions.</p><p> </p><p>A further Pensions Increase (Review) Order will be made for the 2023/24 financial year, which would allow for movements in prices since the previous assessment based on September 2021 CPI.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 20/09/2022 12:12:22 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1505183

registered interest
date	05/09/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Azure Services: Loans
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that customers of Azure Services Ltd who were impacted by the mis-selling of loans for timeshares at the Golden Sands Resort in Malta are able to access financial redress.
tabling member constituency	North Ayrshire and Arran
tabling member printed	Patricia Gibson
uin	47726
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2022 answer text <p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been established as an independent regulator responsible for the supervision and regulation of conduct in financial services. The FCA’s independence from Government does not mean it can act arbitrarily, rather it must operate within the framework of statutory duties and powers agreed by Parliament. As well as being required to operate within this framework, the FCA is fully accountable to Parliament for how it discharges its statutory functions.</p><p> </p><p>This direct accountability to Parliament reflects the FCA’s statutory independence and the fact that it is solely responsible for everyday operational decisions without Government approval or direction, and so it is primarily accountable for them. The Government has no plans to support a cross-party parliamentary investigation into the FCA’s handling of issues relating to Azure Services Limited, as this would be a matter for Parliament. That notwithstanding, the Treasury plays an important role in holding the FCA accountable, including through engaging closely with the FCA across all levels of seniority.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the impact on consumers as a result of Azure Services’ business practices whilst it operated as a credit broker without the relevant Office of Fair Trading (OFT) licence and, later on, FCA authorisation. However, the Government notes the decision by Barclays Partner Finance to refund over £210m to customers who took out a loan following an introduction by Azure Services. Barclays Partner Finance is currently putting in place the necessary arrangements for this programme of remediation and has committed to contact impacted customers before the end of the year to set out the next steps.</p> answering member constituency Havant answering member printed Alan Mak grouped question UIN 47574 question first answered 08/09/2022 09:49:10 answering member 4484 label Biography information for Alan Mak
tabling member	4435 label Biography information for Patricia Gibson