Treasury: Financial Conduct Authority: Loyalty Penalties in Insurance Market. (20 Dec 2022)
John Glen: The Government welcome the Financial Conduct Authority's pricing rules, introduced in January this year, which require insurers to offer a renewal price no greater than the price the firm would offer to a new customer for the same policy. The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed there is no evidence of widespread non-compliance with those rules.
John Glen: I am very happy to look at that question further. The Government previously considered, but rejected, asking Ofgem to implement a relative rather than an absolute price cap in energy markets, which would have similarly prevented energy suppliers from charging those large differentials, because it was judged that it was more likely to distort competition in the fixed-term tariff market. As...
John Glen: For four and a half years, I was the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, and many of those reforms were baked up over a lot of consultation with industry over many months. The Edinburgh reforms represent an incremental advance on those reforms and have high prudential regulatory standards very much at their core.
John Glen: I gave evidence to that inquiry and I heartily agree with its conclusions. Stability is at the core of the regulators' objectives, but so is the need to look at the competitive landscape across the globe and ensure that the UK, with the city of London as a global hub for financial services, evolves and remains competitive, taking account of the risks but also developing frameworks in line...
Treasury: Levelling Up Communities: Fiscal Steps (20 Dec 2022)
John Glen: The Treasury is making significant investments to level up communities across the UK—101 towns, including Dewsbury, will benefit from more than £3.2 billion from the towns fund, supporting long-term economic and social regeneration. Of course, communities will also benefit from the £4.8 billion levelling-up fund, the £2.6 billion shared prosperity fund and the £250 million community...
John Glen: I can absolutely reassure my hon. Friend that all round 2 bids are undergoing a robust and thorough assessment through that decision-making process. That is consistent with the approach taken in round 1. Of course, the individual decisions will be made in due course in the very near future.
John Glen: I obviously cannot answer that specifically, but I can say that the Government have, over recent weeks, shown the commitment to helping the most vulnerable across the United Kingdom. But I take the hon. Lady's question seriously, and I am very happy to look into that and to work with colleagues across Government to find an answer.
John Glen: I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend, who is, as ever, fighting strongly for his constituents. As he knows, the investment zones are designed to be a meaningful mechanism to catalyse growth, sometimes, although not exclusively, through university, looking at where we can find clusters across the United Kingdom to drive the economy forward.
John Glen: We are working very closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to look at specific interventions. We have just released an extra amount of capital money to work alongside the Ukraine support scheme. But I totally recognise that this is a critical issue, and we will make further announcements about it in due course at the next fiscal event.
John Glen: I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend—perhaps unsurprisingly. The Government have developed a bespoke and objective index of priority places. We are very keen for this investment to work effectively, wherever it is. I very much respect the representations he has made this morning for the bid in his own constituency.
John Glen: We keep these matters under review, but I am sure my colleague the Financial Secretary, who takes a close interest in these matters, will follow up in the appropriate way.
Treasury: Public Spending: Value for Money (20 Dec 2022)
John Glen: Value for money is a central priority for the Government and at the heart of every decision we take. The Government take our responsibility for managing the public purse seriously. The Government recently launched the efficiency and savings review, and that will help to keep spending focused on the Government's priorities and manage pressures from higher inflation. It will include renewing...
John Glen: I acknowledge that figure in that report, but it refers to the write-down that was necessary following a situation where we acquired a lot of PPE at a time of acute demand and shortage of supply. It was an adjustment for that. Of course, 97% of all PPE was suitable for use in healthcare and non-healthcare settings. While I take the general point that the hon. Lady is making about concern for...
John Glen: Strikes are obviously very regrettable, and we as Ministers work closely with civil servants day in, day out, and we very much value the contribution they make to government. I will be looking carefully with Secretaries of State in the coming weeks at efficiencies across government and how we can get the economy, the country and public finances in the best possible place as we move forward...
John Glen: I can be very open with my hon. Friend today. We are absolutely committed to driving forward productivity across the economy and in the public sector. I will look into the specific question he has not had answered. That will involve conversations with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, as well as across the Cabinet.
John Glen: As the right hon. Gentleman knows, we have instituted a range of interventions, investing in His Majesty's Revenue and Customs fraud prevention measures to embed those in business as usual. I have been in post for the past eight weeks, and I will be having a series of meetings in January.
John Glen: I agree with the right hon. Gentleman about the imperative of chasing down all waste. The Government are providing continued funding for the Bulb Energy special administration regime while the sale of Bulb's customers to Octopus is pursued by the energy administrator as an exit route from the SAR, but I will look at what the right hon. Gentleman said and reflect carefully on what we can do...
Treasury: Inflation: Student Maintenance Loan Increases (20 Dec 2022)
John Glen: Treasury Ministers meet regularly with Ministers at the Department for Education to discuss matters of shared interest, including student finance. The Government are considering options for changes to loans and grants for 2023-24, and an announcement will follow in due course.
John Glen: I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I have a lot of respect for him and I recognise the issue that he refers to. Of course, many higher education providers have hardship funds that students can apply to, and there is £261 million—a quarter of a billion pounds—of student premium funding available this year to support disadvantaged students. On the specific issue of the uprating,...
John Glen: At spending review 2021, the Department for Education was allocated a total of £87 billion, providing a cash increase to our education system of about £18 billion by 2024-25. Young people and adults benefited from the biggest long-term settlement for post-16 education in England since 2015. Of course, at the recent autumn statement, an additional cash increase of £2 billion was provided...