John Glen: The assessment and approval of the proposed sale and demutualisation of Liverpool Victoria is an ongoing and independent process, overseen and scrutinised by the financial services regulators, and subject to approval by the Courts. It is not appropriate for the Government to intervene in an ongoing and independent process. It is not the Government’s role to publish the names of future...
John Glen: HM Treasury has extended its contract with Capita for the administration of the Equitable Life Payment Scheme until 15 November 2023. The service requirements will naturally be reviewed when the service is re-procured. The contract is published on the Contracts Finder website and is available at the following link: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/961dcde2-8...
John Glen: The government has today laid before Parliament the second consultation on the Future Regulatory Framework (FRF) Review, Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework Review: Proposals for Reform (CP 548). The FRF Review provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure that, having left the EU, the UK establishes a coherent, agile, and internationally respected approach to financial...
John Glen: The UK, like many countries, is actively exploring the potential role of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) as a complement to cash and bank deposits. A retail CBDC would be a new form of digital money, denominated in Sterling and issued by the Bank of England, for use by people and businesses for their everyday payments needs. Exploring the opportunities that a CBDC could offer is...
John Glen: The decision to close branches is a commercial issue for banks and building societies and the Government does not intervene in these decisions. Nevertheless, the Government firmly believes that the impact of branch closures should be understood, considered and mitigated where possible so that all customers and businesses continue to have access to banking services. In September 2020, the...
John Glen: The Government believes that contactless payment cards bring benefits to consumersâ¯and businesses across the UK by facilitating easy and secure payments. The legal contactless payment limits are set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) through the Strong Customer Authentication rules, andâ¯the FCAâ¯has the power to amendâ¯these limitsâ¯subject to public consultation and Treasury...
John Glen: On 21 October the Government published a consultation on the regulation of Buy-Now Pay-Later. The consultation closes on 6 January. Following the conclusion of the consultation and a period to analyse responses received, the government will publish a summary of responses, which will include information about the number of responses received, explain the key themes arising from those responses...
John Glen: The Government is determined that all insurers should treat customers fairly. Under the Equalities Act 2010, an insurance provider cannot refuse to cover potential customers or charge more for insurance on the basis of an applicant’s mental health problem, except in specified circumstances as set out in the legislation. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) sets the conduct standard...
John Glen: The Help to Buy: ISA scheme aims to help those struggling to save enough to get onto the housing ladder. The property price cap of £250,000 for those properties outside London (£450,000 within London) therefore allows the Government to target support at the people the scheme is intended to help. The latest statistics show that since the scheme was launched in 2015, 410,075 property...
John Glen: Today the government is publishing the Finance Bill 2021-22 which will include a clause to increase the normal minimum pension age from age 55 to age 57 from 6 April 2028. This increase in the normal minimum pension age was announced in 2014 in the response to the consultation on ‘Freedom and Choice in Pensions’ and the draft clause was published in July 2021. The normal minimum pension...
John Glen: HM Treasury does not hold information on the impact of Buy-Now Pay-Later product usage on credit scores. On 21 October, the Government published a consultation document outlining its proposed approach to the regulation of Buy-Now Pay-Later products. The consultation document can be found at the following link, including details on how to respond:...
John Glen: On 19 April 2021 the government announced the detail of a compensation scheme for London Capital & Finance plc (LCF) bondholders (HCWS922). The scheme provides 80% of LCF bondholders’ principal investment up to a maximum of £68,000 and will be open to all bondholders who hold bonds that have not already been compensated by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Now that the...
John Glen: This government is committed to making the UK a hostile place for illicit finance and economic crime. We are determined to crack down on dirty money and financial exploitation, to protect our security and prosperity. We have taken action through our ‘No Safe Havens’ strategy to ensure the correct UK tax is paid; and our landmark 2019 Economic Crime Plan outlines a comprehensive response...
John Glen: Tax relief on mortgage interest is available for landlords renting properties both as longer-term tenancies and as furnished holiday lets. Tax relief on mortgage interest on properties rented as longer-term tenancies is available at the basic rate of income tax; we estimate that only 1 in 10 landlords are affected by this restriction introduced in 2017 and phased in over four years. The...
John Glen: Tax relief on mortgage interest is available for landlords renting properties both as longer-term tenancies and as furnished holiday lets. Tax relief on mortgage interest on properties rented as longer-term tenancies is available at the basic rate of income tax; we estimate that only 1 in 10 landlords are affected by this restriction introduced in 2017 and phased in over four years. The...
John Glen: I can confirm today the completion of the sale of the share capital of Bradford & Bingley (B&B) plc and NRAM Limited, returning both companies to private ownership. In February 2021, the government announced the agreement of a transaction to sell the share capital of B&B and NRAM, and their remaining loan assets, to a consortium of Citibank and Davidson Kempner Capital Management. The sale of...
John Glen: Distributional analysis published at the Budget and spending review last week shows that in 2024-25, tax, welfare and spending decisions made since the spending round two years ago will have benefited the poorest house- holds most as a percentage of income. This Government believe that work is the best route out of poverty. That is why the Government are investing £6 billion in labour market...
John Glen: The hon. Lady must have missed a number of measures announced by the Chancellor in the Budget last week in which significant investment was made to support families through the household recovery fund and support for women in particular to get back into the labour market, alongside a whole range of other interventions.
John Glen: Banking hubs will absolutely be a part of the solution, alongside a whole range of other interventions. The Government have committed to legislate on this matter, but in the meantime, I am very hopeful that industry will come forward with meaningful proposals for a range of options to deal with the declining use of cash and ensure access is available everywhere.
John Glen: The Government are looking at tightening up the rules around second homes and council tax. We would be very happy to engage with the hon. Gentleman on the matter.