Jun262017

This marks another decisive blow against this Government’s failing austerity agenda – Abrahams

Labour

Debbie Abrahams MP, Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, commenting on the
Prime Minister’s decision to drop her manifesto commitment to ending the
‘triple lock’ on state pensions and cutting the Winter Fuel Payment from ten
million pensioners, said:

“We
welcome that the Prime Minister has been forced to drop these punitive
austerity measures, which would have hit the living standards of millions of
older people.

“This
marks another decisive blow against this Government’s failing austerity agenda,
which was not supported at the general election.

“After
refusing to last week, the Work and Pensions Secretary must now rule out any
future threat to the ‘triple lock’.

“This
Conservative chaos and confusion shows that only Labour can be trusted to guarantee
older people a secure and dignified retirement.”

Jun262017

Let’s call this grubby deal what it is: this is a straightforward political bribe to desperately prop up Theresa May in office – McDonnell

Labour

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, commenting on the Tory-DUP deal,
said:

“The price of Theresa May’s political weakness is now becoming clear. The
same Conservative Party which spent the recent election campaign saying there
was no money available for the crisis in the NHS and schools has now found at
least £1 billion to buy a Parliamentary majority, with some reports suggesting
it could be as much as £2bn.

"As this is additional spending beyond that laid out in the Spring Budget,
the Chancellor must now come forward with an explanation as to how it will be
funded. In the context of a forecast increase in Government borrowing this
year, the public must be told whether this additional spend will be funded
through spending cuts elsewhere, additional tax rises or more borrowing.

"There are also important questions to be answered about the
implementation and fiscal consequences of devolving corporation tax, VAT and
Air Passenger Duty, as well as what this could mean for other devolved administrations.

“Let’s call this grubby deal what it is:
this is a straightforward political bribe to desperately prop up Theresa May in
office.

"This Tory-DUP deal is clearly not in the national interest but in May’s
party’s interest to help her cling to power.”

Jun262017

Does this deal help or hinder the process of restoring power-sharing in Northern Ireland? – Smith

Labour

Owen
Smith MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, commenting on the release of the
Tory DUP Deal, said:

“Labour
argued at the election just a few weeks ago that public services require extra
funding across the UK, so I welcome the announcement today that additional
funding has now been found for Northern Ireland.

“However,
the deal between the Tories and the DUP throws up all manner of questions, not
least whether more money can now also be found for schools, hospitals, social
care and emergency services in desperate need of cash in England, Scotland and
Wales.

“Most
important of all, does this deal help or hinder the process of restoring
power-sharing in Northern Ireland? Already, it is clear that other parties in
Northern Ireland consider the deal to compromise the ability of the British
Government to be truly impartial as stipulated under the Good Friday Agreement.“

Jun262017

News story: UK Export Finance joins Equator Principles steering committee

HM Government

Minister for International Trade Greg Hands welcomed the news, saying:

As a member of the Equator Principles steering committee, UKEF will play its role in promoting sustainable business practices among the global trade community. Its appointment is a recognition of the UK government’s commitment to sustainable financial decision-making.

The Equator Principles, which UKEF adopted in April 2016, is a global set of standards that promotes sustainable environmental, social and human rights decision-making in financing projects.

As a member of the steering committee, UKEF will play a leading role in ensuring that the standards are comprehensively applied across project and other financing. UKEF will also contribute to the future development of the Equator Principles.

Since their introduction in 2003, the standards have been adopted by 90 financial institutions in 37 countries, covering over 70% of international project finance in emerging markets. The Equator Principles Association has brought these financial institutions together with stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations, business and industry, to develop mutual environmental and social principles.

UKEF joins nine other financial organisations on the steering committee, which is currently chaired by Standard Bank Group.

Find out more about the Equator Principles here.

Jun262017

News story: CMA issues final determination in NI gas distribution appeal

HM Government

In December 2016, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) granted permission to Firmus Energy (Distribution) Ltd (FE) to appeal on 4 grounds against the UR’s decision to modify its licence.

FE has the licence to develop a gas distribution network in 10 towns across Northern Ireland (NI). This appeal relates to the price control on FE, which was one of the price controls made by the UR for the 6-year period from January 2017 to December 2022.

In its determination, the CMA has allowed the appeal on some of the grounds. It has allowed the appeal on one ground, concerning the incentive to connect new customers to the gas network. The CMA has also allowed the appeal in part on one other ground in relation to FE’s operational expenditure (opex) – the amount allowed for the costs of operating its gas distribution network. It will therefore quash the UR’s decision on those points. The CMA rejected FE’s appeal in whole on 2 other grounds.

The CMA has remitted the connection incentive matter back to the UR for reconsideration, requiring it to determine the appropriate value within 6 months.

In addition, the CMA determined that the opex allowance for FE should include an allowance for extra costs for one omitted item. The UR has already, last month, implemented a modification to FE’s licence allowing an increase in opex allowance to account for these costs.

The UR announced the details of the price controls in September 2016 and published its final decision on 28 October 2016.

The final determination will be published shortly on the case page, where other information relating to this appeal can be found.

Notes

  1. An energy licence holder may appeal to the CMA against a decision by the UR to amend the conditions of its licence. The CMA must decide whether the appellant has demonstrated that the UR’s decision was wrong on one or more of the grounds set out in its notice of appeal.

  2. The CMA’s group of panel members determining the appeal (the Group) has been: Phil Evans (Chair), Roger Finbow and Jon Stern.

  3. The Group received and considered submissions from interested parties in addition to those from FE and the UR.

  4. The appeal has been conducted according to the CMA’s published rules and guidance for energy licence modification appeals.

  5. There were 4 grounds of appeal, with 12 sub-grounds in total. The 2 grounds which were rejected in whole concerned the treatment of under-recoveries (through which FE can delay receipt of allowed revenue), and the appropriate weighted average cost of capital and the ability of FE to finance its operations.

  6. The ‘connection incentive’ is a mechanism designed to promote connections by customers to the gas network.