🗣️ Speeches and Debates
-
We thank the noble Lord for standing in for the Minister at the end of term; I do appreciate that. A recent Charity Commission survey found that nearly one in five charities has experienced difficulties in opening a new bank account. This has been repeatedly discussed in your Lordships’ House, including throughout the passage of the current Financial Services and Markets Bill. How will the...
-
I thank my noble friend Lord Harlech of the Coldstream Guards for securing this debate and I thank the Minister for hosting us with such courtesy, as he always does. I start by noting that the strategic defence review presented our defence position very clearly last year, but at that time made almost no commitments to expenditure and, fatefully, made just a reference to an ambition for 3% of...
-
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate and the Minister for his usual courtesy in hosting it and for his explanation of the rather undefined windfall tax that my noble friend talked about. In particular, I note the lively contributions of my noble friend Lord Fuller and the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, who both touched on the fraught areas of contracts for difference and...
-
My Lords, the closure of bank branches presents a case study in increasing regulation and declining service. The regulations were put in place to preserve access to retail banking. Will the Minister commit to reviewing the overarching settlement for banks in the UK to ensure that retail banking does not decline any further?
-
I thank the Minister for hosting this debate with such courtesy and speaking so well at the start. I declare my interest as a director of South Molton Street Capital and also as former director of the Co-operative Bank. I follow the words of my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe in saying that we welcome this Bill. It addresses a widespread sense that financial regulation has become a little too...
-
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his patience and care in listening to this debate. I declare my interest as a director at South Molton Street Capital. I thank the noble Lord, Lord St John, for speaking in our debate this evening, and for his work for this House and our country. We are privileged to have the Minister with us, because he has been central to the Government’s economic policy...
-
I thank the Minister for his usual courtesy in hosting the debate. The amendments in this group all underscore another substantial shortcoming in how the Bill has been approached: its effects and impacts have not been properly assessed in advance. I suspect that the Minister does not have the information on how the Bill will affect pensions saving adequacy, which I highlight in my Amendment...
-
My Lords, I thank the Minister for listening so carefully, as ever, and considering the comments made by our Benches. The amendments in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, are well written and would ensure that, before regulations are made to implement the cap, the Government must publish the relevant information on how many basic rate taxpayers are affected. The policy rests on a...
More of Lord Altrincham's speeches and debates
✍️ Written Questions and Answers
-
To ask His Majesty's Government how many P85 forms were submitted to HMRC in each month from July 2024 to June 2026.
-
To ask His Majesty's Government whether student loan repayments made under the Plan 2 student loan scheme align with the levels originally expected when the plan was introduced; and what assessment they have made of the stability of the student loan scheme and the sustainability of this funding arrangement for higher education in the UK.
-
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill on pension saving behaviour in the private sector; and whether they expect the measures to have a disproportionate effect compared to the public sector.
-
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the resilience of specialist schools in the face of a reduction in pupil numbers, and (2) the ability of the state sector to deliver a comparable specialist educational service.
-
To ask His Majesty's Government how many additional state school places they estimate will be required by 2026 to accommodate those children anticipated to leave the independent education sector.
-
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of VAT on independent school fees on smaller schools within the private sector and their ability to continue to operate in the face of a reduction in pupil numbers.
-
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of pupils who would have to leave the independent schools sector following the imposition of VAT on school fees for expenditure on additional state school places to exceed the additional tax revenue generated.
-
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted an impact assessment of their policy to charge VAT on independent school fees, and if so, whether they will place a copy in the Library of the House.
More of Lord Altrincham's written questions
