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1237341

	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>This Government is committed to building back better and investing in the green infrastructure that will help us to achieve our climate change objectives and level up the country. At the Plan for Jobs 2020, the Government announced an ambitious £3.05 billion package including the Green Homes Grant, designed to aid homeowners and landlords retrofit to upgrade the energy and cost efficiency of their homes. At Spring Budget 2020 the Government announced at least £800 million to support Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in two initial industrial clusters, the first by the mid-2020s and the second by 2030. CCS has the potential to reduce carbon emissions from power plants and factories. And on Tuesday (22 September), Dogger Bank Wind Farm announced the creation of almost 250 jobs in the North East on a project that will be capable of powering up to 4.5m homes when complete.</p><p> </p><p>Our upcoming National Infrastructure Strategy will set out our long-term economic infrastructure ambitions, focusing on decarbonisation and levelling up the nation.</p><p> </p><p>The UK is a global centre for sustainable finance with an established reputation in green finance and a frontrunner in the structuring, underwriting, and listing of green bonds, with more than 100 bonds listed on the London Stock Exchange, raising over $26 billion across eight currencies</p><p> </p><p>The government has been carefully considering the potential issuance of a UK sovereign green bond and will keep this under review. The government remains open to the introduction of new debt instruments, but would need to be satisfied that any new instrument would meet value-for-money criteria, enjoy strong and sustained demand in the long term and be consistent with wider fiscal objectives.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 91742 question first answered 24/09/2020 09:16:48 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen

1241431

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Money
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's policy is on the right of customers to pay in cash.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	100286
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises that cash remains important to millions of people across the UK, which is why it has committed to legislate to protect access to cash and to ensure that the UK’s cash infrastructure is sustainable long term.</p><p>The Government remains closely engaged with the financial regulators, including through the Treasury-chaired Joint Authorities Cash Strategy Group, to monitor and assess risks around cash relating to COVID-19. In order to help control the virus, all businesses and individuals are encouraged to follow the latest Government advice. To work safely during COVID-19, retailers have been recommended to minimise contact around transactions, for example, considering using contactless payments. However, it remains the individual retailer’s choice as to whether to accept or decline any form of payment, including cash or card.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 15/10/2020 10:40:14 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1241432

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Insurance: Prices
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to respond to the Financial Conduct Authority's report, General insurance pricing practices: Final report, published in September 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Warley
	tabling member printed	John Spellar
	uin	100287
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2020 answer text <p>Consumers should be able to get a fair deal when purchasing insurance. The FCA has set out proposals to deliver this in its report on General Insurance Pricing Practices. We are engaging with the regulator and the sector on next steps and will be interested in the outcome of the FCA’s consultation due in early 2021.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 15/10/2020 10:37:57 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	318 label Biography information for John Spellar

1241829

	registered interest
	date	08/10/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Debts: Developing Countries
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to work with international partners to extend the Debt Service Suspension Initiative beyond the end of 2020; and what plans he has to promote the inclusion of (a) private lenders and (b) multilateral institutions in that agreement.
	tabling member constituency	Dundee West
	tabling member printed	Chris Law
	uin	101031
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/10/2020 answer text <p>To date, the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) has supported 43 countries which have requested suspensions by freeing up $5 billion to fund their COVID-19 responses. Given the depth of liquidity needs in these countries, the Chancellor supports an extension of the DSSI into 2021 and is working with his G20 counterparts to secure agreement on the extension.</p><p>The G20 agreed private sector DSSI participation should be voluntary and at borrowers’ discretion. The Chancellor continues to support this approach, which helps protect these countries’ hard-won market access which will be essential for financing COVID recovery. Where borrowers do make requests, private creditors should implement the DSSI. Where sovereign debt reductions are necessary, it will be important for there to be fair and timely burden sharing between all creditor types, including commercial creditors.</p><p>The G20 has supported the Multilateral Development Banks taking a “net positive flows” approach to complement the DSSI, ensuring that borrowing countries receive significantly more funds from the MDBs in 2020 than they repay. For the poorest countries, much of this funding will be on grant terms. This helps ensure the financial model of the MDBs remains sustainable, while allowing donors to target resources to support the most vulnerable countries.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 13/10/2020 11:25:13 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4403 label Biography information for Chris Law

1174960

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Gold: Armenia
	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 the International Finance Corporation decision to support the Amulsar gold mining project in Armenia.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	10297
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>I refer the Honourable Member to the response from the Department for International Development given to his question of 30 January (UIN10298).</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 04/02/2020 16:38:07 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1174841

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Pensions: Advisory Services
	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 introduce penalties in respect of negligent independent financial advice on transferring pensions.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	10347
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent financial services regulator, to ensure that the market for pensions advice works fairly.</p><p> </p><p>The FCA already has considerable powers to take enforcement action where consumers are harmed by poor financial advice and where an FCA authorised firm has breached FCA rules. The FCA has the power to impose a range of sanctions, including fines on firms or individuals, requirements to carry out redress exercises, and bans on firms or individuals. There are currently no plans to introduce further penalties in respect of negligent pensions transfer advice.</p><p> </p><p>If the FCA suspects that criminal fraud has been committed, the FCA will refer the case to the relevant authorities for further action to be taken. The FCA can also take action through the courts against firms or individuals who carry out regulated activity without authorisation.</p><p> </p><p>The FCA have recently consulted on a number of interventions in the Defined Benefit (DB) pensions transfer market to reduce the number of consumers transferring their pensions when it is not in their best interests. The FCA are in the process of considering the feedback they have received and plan to publish a Policy Statement on the outcome in the first quarter of 2020.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions are introducing legislation, through the Pension Schemes 2019-20 Bill, to allow regulations to be made to stipulate the destinations and circumstances under which a pension scheme member will have a right to transfer their pension savings to another pension scheme. This will further protect members from pension scams by helping trustees of occupational pension schemes ensure transfers are made to safe and not fraudulent schemes.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 06/02/2020 17:10:36 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1174842

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Financial Services: Insurance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to raise professional indemnity cover limits which independent financial advisers are required to have to practise.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	10348
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2020 answer text <p>The requirement for Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) to hold adequate Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) cover is an important element in protecting consumers who receive financial advice. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) handbook sets out the various requirements around the PII cover that IFAs are required to hold.</p><p> </p><p>There is no intention to raise the minimum PII cover levels for IFAs at present. The minimum limit of indemnity of PII is specified by FCA rules and European legislation such as the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), depending upon the type of IFA. The UK is no longer a Member State of the European Union. However, both the UK and the EU are committed to a period of transition – lasting until the end of 2020 – where common rules for businesses and consumers will remain in place, including the IDD.</p><p> </p><p>Many IFAs are in scope of the IDD, because they undertake life assurance type transactions. IDD limits are reviewed every five years via regulatory technical standards and were last reviewed in November 2019 and the revised limits, which have increased slightly, will apply to IFAs that are IDD firms from 12 June 2020.</p><p> </p><p>The FCA are continuing work to examine consumer harms, and potential claims that may arise from certain business activities carried out by IFAs; and these findings may prompt a further examination of the minimum levels of indemnity in the future.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 06/02/2020 16:56:33 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1169153

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Mortgages: EU Law
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the mortgage rules related to the EU Mortgage Credit Directive once the UK leaves the EU.
	tabling member constituency	Morley and Outwood
	tabling member printed	Mrs Andrea Jenkyns
	uin	1063
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>After the UK leaves the EU – which the Government is determined to do - we will have control over the rules that we set for our financial services sector. The UK is committed to uphold global, open markets underpinned by the highest standards of regulation and appropriate levels of supervisory oversight.</p><p> </p><p>Common rules will remain in place until the end of the Implementation Period on 31 December 2020. Any EU measures which become operative during that implementation period would therefore also apply in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The Mortgage Credit Directive (MCD) was introduced by the European Commission following the financial crisis to improve standards for mortgage lending across the EU. The final text of the MCD was published in February 2014, with a requirement for Member States to transpose it into national law by 21 March 2016.</p><p> </p><p>The MCD aims to ensure a high level of consumer protection for mortgage applicants. The majority of its rules already aligned with the existing UK regulatory system for mortgages. For the most part, the Government therefore implemented the requirements through alteration to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) rules. The FCA monitors the impact of its rules on the market closely. For example, their Mortgages Market Study of March 2019 found that broadly the mortgage market is working well for consumers.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 14/01/2020 12:44:46 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4490 label Biography information for Dame Andrea Jenkyns

1149921

	registered interest
	date	16/10/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Cash Dispensing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that people are able to obtain their money from free-to-use ATMs throughout the country.
	tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
	tabling member printed	Ronnie Cowan
	uin	1067
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The Governments’ Call for Evidence on Cash &amp; Digital Payments highlighted changing payment trends. In response, the Government has set up the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy (JACS) Group. This group brings together the key regulators to co-ordinate regulatory work to support the country’s cash infrastructure, including ATMs. It will publicly update on activity in the Autumn.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also believes industry has a crucial role to play in protecting access to cash. In addition to previous commitments, LINK – the UK’s largest ATM network - has recently committed to protect access to cash on high streets with five or more qualifying retailers. It has also created an ATM delivery fund for elected officials to request a new machine in areas with poor access to cash. Furthermore, UK Finance has launched a Community Access to Cash Initiative, offering grants to local communities to improve cash access through alternative solutions.</p><p> </p><p>The Government-established Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) continues to closely monitor developments in the ATM market and has used its powers to hold LINK to account over commitments to preserve the broad geographic spread of ATMs.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 21/10/2019 14:13:46 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4465 label Biography information for Ronnie Cowan

1175529

	registered interest
	date	03/02/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on compensation for people who lost money due to the closure of Equitable Life.
	tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
	tabling member printed	Mr Stephen Morgan
	uin	11545
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2020 answer text <p>In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.</p><p> </p><p>However, on the topic of compensation and the Equitable Life Payment Scheme, I would refer the Hon Member for Portsmouth South to the answer I gave on 13 January 2020.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 11/02/2020 15:30:01 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan