Contributions
1,763 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTackling Fraud and Preventing Government WasteWhen we designed the schemes, it was clear that we had to put in reasonable measures around the identity of individuals and that we had to allow people to self-report their…01 Feb 2022HANSARDInsurance Industry RegulationWe are making progress. We are in deep conversations with the Prudential Regulation Authority and its actuaries on the way that the risk margin and the matching adjustments should…01 Feb 2022HANSARDInsurance Industry RegulationThe FCA has been looking at this matter, and last week my colleague the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities wrote to the FCA to ask it to look at whether…01 Feb 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend, who has great expertise in this area, makes a reasonable point. The Government’s Help to Save scheme is under way, but the Government continue to work very closely…01 Feb 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am grateful to be able to confirm to the hon. Lady, as I have on numerous occasions in Committees over the last two or three years, that this is a key priority for us in the…01 Feb 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thank my hon. Friend for his question. He has a long-standing interest in the issue. The difference between the two is that people received compensation from Equitable Life on…01 Feb 2022HANSARDInsurance Industry RegulationI hold regular discussions, usually on a six-weekly basis, with the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority on a range of issues regarding the regulation of financial…01 Feb 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudSince March 2020, the Government have delivered a comprehensive multibillion-pound package to support individuals and businesses during the pandemic. As the House would expect,…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudI thank the right hon. Gentleman for his comments, which I am very happy to address. First, we are not writing anything off. The figures quoted are what we expect that taxpayer…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudI listened very carefully, as I always do, to the hon. Lady. I totally agree that we must not accept any fraud and error as inevitable, and we will continue to bear down on that.…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudI thank my hon. Friend for the clear point behind his question. We were straining every sinew in the Treasury to get money out as quickly as possible. On 14 April 2020, a Labour…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudI can certainly confirm that the intention behind the range of interventions was to find the most appropriate delivery mechanism for the different support payments, and obviously…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudI am sorry, but I cannot give the hon. Gentleman an exact answer. What I can say to him is that, according to HMRC, the expectation of fraud as part of that particular…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudI recognise that the gymnastics club in Kettering, along with so many other clubs of that type around the country, provides an enormously valuable point of contact for young…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudI know that the hon. Lady’s Select Committee is conducting an in-depth inquiry. I believe that the second permanent secretary and others appeared before the Committee last week,…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudI thank my right hon. Friend for his question. He helpfully highlights that many of these grants and schemes were very effective in getting money to the right people in a timely…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudAs a former arts Minister who visited many of those organisations in the hon. Lady’s constituency in years past, I recognise the enormous contribution that creative industries…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudI do not accept the premise of the hon. Gentleman’s question. The estimate of the amount of fraud is broadly in line with what we see in other Departments, including the…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudI have been in the Treasury for more than four years under three Chancellors. I have supported them all to the best of my ability, and I will continue to do so. What I can tell…18 Jan 2022HANSARD Coronavirus Grant Schemes: FraudThis Government made a range of interventions to support people in different forms and in different ways. We were clear from the very start that we would not be able to help…18 Jan 2022