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1285848

registered interest
date	10/02/2021
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Council Tax
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether current council tax bands in England adequately reflect changes to property prices since 1991.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL13277
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2021 answer text <p>Council tax bands in England reflect the sale value of properties at 1 April 1991 and provide a proxy for relative ability to pay. This banding system is well understood and provides a stable income stream to local authorities and predictable annual bills for taxpayers.</p> answering member printed Lord Greenhalgh question first answered 24/02/2021 13:08:31 answering member 4877 label Biography information for Lord Greenhalgh
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1285849

registered interest
date	10/02/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Tax Avoidance
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 effectiveness in deterring tax avoidance of the policies of (1) France, (2) Denmark, (3) Belgium and (4) Poland, which exclude companies (a) registered in, or (b) linked to, offshore tax havens from accessing taxpayer funded relief programmes.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL13278
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2021 answer text <p>The Government does not have access to information about how these other countries’ policies have been applied or the impact they have had on businesses’ behaviour, and cannot therefore comment on the policies’ effectiveness.</p><p>The Government has introduced a substantial support package, designed to be targeted at the businesses and individuals who most need support, while ensuring measures are simple, certain and introduced in a timely manner to protect livelihoods.</p><p>The Government expects everyone to act responsibly by only claiming and using support as intended and is keeping measures under regular review.</p><p>The Government continues to be at the forefront of global action to tackle tax avoidance, with a series of robust measures in place to tackle profit shifting arrangements.</p><p>Since 2010, the Government has introduced over 100 new ways to tackle tax avoidance, protecting over £200 billion that would have otherwise gone unpaid. That has included adopting many of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project’s recommendations including the Corporate Interest Restriction rules, effective from April 2017, which raise approximately £1 billion a year and the Hybrid mismatch rules, effective from January 2017, which are expected to raise £900 million between 2016/17 and 2020/21.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also led on implementing international standards in tax transparency, including the Common Reporting Standard and Country-by-Country Reporting (‘CbCR’), which ensure tax authorities have the information they need to identify and challenge avoidance.</p><p>As part of the Finance Act 2016, large corporations and multinational enterprises are already required to publish a tax strategy document, which (amongst other things) outlines the company’s attitude towards tax planning and its approach towards its dealings with HMRC.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 25/02/2021 16:51:04 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1285850

registered interest
date	10/02/2021
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Tax Avoidance: Contracts
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 ethical implications of awarding public contracts to firms which (1) directly, or (2) indirectly, help to promote tax avoidance.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL13279
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2021 answer text <p>Aggressive tax avoidance is unacceptable.</p><p> </p><p>The grounds for exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures relating to tax are set out in The Public Contracts Regulations 2015.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord True question first answered 22/02/2021 12:21:05 answering member 4200 label Biography information for Lord True
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1283763

registered interest
date	03/02/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Environmental Land Management Schemes
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that farmers involved in the Environmental Land Management Scheme are adequately compensated for the impact of introducing nature-based solutions on future flood risk on their land.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL12974
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>We are working with stakeholders and end users to determine the specific land management actions that will be paid for under the Environmental Land Management scheme. We will set out more details on this later this year. The Path to Sustainable Farming: An Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 to 2024’ set out examples of the types of actions that we envisage paying for under the Environmental Land Management scheme. This included the potential to contribute to reducing the risk of harm from environmental hazards such as flooding with natural flood management. We will set out more details on what the Environmental Land Management scheme will pay for this later this year.</p><p> </p><p>We are in the process of developing our approach to making payments under the scheme. We recognise that providing the right level of payment to participants will be critical to this. We are therefore exploring how best to balance providing a fair payment to farmers and ensuring delivery of environmental objectives, against maximising value for money and respecting our international obligations. We will also set out more details on this later this year.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble question first answered 17/02/2021 14:58:44 answering member 4161 label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1283764

registered interest
date	03/02/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Water Abstraction
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the abstraction of high flow water to reduce the amount of surplus rainwater being wasted.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL12975
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/02/2021 answer text <p>The Environment Agency has worked with abstractors and the National Farmers Union (NFU) to temporarily abstract flood water to fill large reservoirs, subject to it not causing derogation to existing licensed abstractors or creating any environmental risk or damage. Where abstractors applied to take more water than their current licensed quantities, the Environment Agency assessed these as one off requests and asked abstractors to apply to vary their licences to properly reflect their needs and provide access to this water in the future.</p><p> </p><p>The temporary period of high flow abstraction ended on the 7 February. The Environment Agency has so far only received 5 applications, of which 3 were approved. This reflects the fact that most farm reservoirs are already full due to the wet winter and saturated soil conditions. The NFU does not anticipate any further requests from their members to extend the period of high flow abstraction beyond this date.</p><p> </p><p>This initiative follows on from the so called ‘flexible abstraction’ approach that the Environment Agency implemented over the last few years to help farmers with water availability during prolonged dry weather, including refilling reservoirs outside of licensed abstraction periods when river flows were sufficiently high to protect other abstractors and the environment.</p><p> </p><p>We highlighted the potential of high flow abstraction to help abstractors improve access to water in our Water Abstraction Plan, published in 2017. Since then the Environment Agency has undertaken trials to investigate its feasibility. It has published results in the relevant Abstraction Licensing Strategies, for the Lincolnshire Witham and the East Midlands Idle and Torne. In the Witham Catchment, it concluded that high flow abstraction could be used to fill reservoirs throughout the year. However, in the Idle and Torne catchment, it concluded that high flows are important for controlling sedimentation and that more evidence would be needed before any high flow abstraction licences could be granted.</p><p> </p><p>The Environment Agency will continue to consider applications for new and varied abstraction licences on a case-by-case basis to ensure maximum access to water is possible whilst protecting the rights of other abstractors and the environment.</p> answering member printed Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park question first answered 17/02/2021 14:42:16 answering member 4062 label Biography information for Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1282344

registered interest
date	01/02/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Financial Markets
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 actions of some retail stock brokerages preventing retail traders from purchasing specific stocks on 28 January; and what plans the Financial Conduct Authority has to investigate the matter.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL12850
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/02/2021 answer text <p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the UK’s financial markets conduct regulator and is responsible for protecting consumers, ensuring market integrity and promoting effective competition. As set out in the FCA’s statement of 29 January, broking firms are not obliged to offer trading facilities to clients and may withdraw or suspend services if it is necessary or prudent to do so. The FCA’s statement also said that they would take appropriate action wherever they see evidence of UK firms or individuals causing harm to UK consumers or markets.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises that the pace and creativity of innovation in UK financial services creates new opportunities for businesses and consumers to participate in markets through technologies such as app-based platforms. However, investors should be aware that investing in securities comes with risks. The FCA’s statement of 29 January warned consumers that any losses that result from such investments are unlikely to be covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL12851 question first answered 15/02/2021 12:53:58 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1282345

registered interest
date	01/02/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Financial Markets
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 (1) benefits to institutional finance firms, and (2) costs to retail traders, of the decision by some retail stock brokerages to prevent traders from taking long positions on specific stocks on 28 January.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL12851
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/02/2021 answer text <p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the UK’s financial markets conduct regulator and is responsible for protecting consumers, ensuring market integrity and promoting effective competition. As set out in the FCA’s statement of 29 January, broking firms are not obliged to offer trading facilities to clients and may withdraw or suspend services if it is necessary or prudent to do so. The FCA’s statement also said that they would take appropriate action wherever they see evidence of UK firms or individuals causing harm to UK consumers or markets.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises that the pace and creativity of innovation in UK financial services creates new opportunities for businesses and consumers to participate in markets through technologies such as app-based platforms. However, investors should be aware that investing in securities comes with risks. The FCA’s statement of 29 January warned consumers that any losses that result from such investments are unlikely to be covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL12850 question first answered 15/02/2021 12:53:58 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1282347

registered interest
date	01/02/2021
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Ethiopia: Eritrea
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they have made to the government of Eritrea to encourage its military withdrawal from Ethiopia.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL12852
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2021 answer text <p>We are concerned by involvement of Eritrean forces in hostilities throughout the Tigray region of Ethiopia and the growing weight of credible evidence of their involvement in human rights violations. We have raised our concerns with Ministers in both governments, making clear the overriding need to protect civilians and adhere to international law and international human rights law. We continue to urge all parties to bring an end to fighting, prioritise the protection of civilians and allow unfettered humanitarian access. The Foreign Secretary raised these points when he met with Prime Minister Abiy on 22 January.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 12/02/2021 12:43:20 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1282348

registered interest
date	01/02/2021
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Tigray: Cultural Heritage
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they have made to UNESCO about the establishment of a task force to assess, document and protect cultural sites in Tigray.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL12853
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2021 answer text <p>We are concerned by reports from Tigray of attacks on places of worship as well as damage to cultural monuments and artefacts. Our Embassy in Addis is in contact with UNESCO in Addis and monitoring matters carefully. Our top priorities remain the provision of unfettered humanitarian access to the region and a complete cessation of hostilities.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 12/02/2021 11:59:58 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1282349

registered interest
date	01/02/2021
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	China and Hong Kong: British National (Overseas)
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 decision by the governments of Hong Kong and China not to continue to recognise British National (Overseas) passports as valid travel documents.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL12854
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/02/2021 answer text <p>We are disappointed but not surprised by the Chinese decision not to recognise British National (Overseas) passports. However, whatever obstacles China puts in the way of BN(O)s leaving Hong Kong, we will do all we can to enable them to come to live, work and study in the UK. BN(O)s and their families will be able to use documentation other than BN(O) passports to take up this visa. We look forward to welcoming those who wish to settle here.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 15/02/2021 15:10:40 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans