Asked by: Ruth Edwards (Conservative - Rushcliffe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has undertaken any studies to determine the potential merits for female entrepreneurs of extending from two to three years the maximum time someone has been trading in order to be eligible for SEIS.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC does not require companies which receive investment through the SEIS to declare the genders of the individuals who are directors, shareholders, or founders of said companies. Therefore, HMRC does not hold any data on the number of female or male entrepreneurs which have participated in the SEIS scheme.
HMRC does however hold information on the genders of the individuals who invested in SEIS qualifying companies, since this is reported on Self-Assessment returns. In 2018/19, around 1,120 SEIS investors declared themselves as female on their Self-Assessment return, compared to around 6,240 male SEIS investors.
The SEIS provides a range of tax reliefs to individuals who invest in small, higher risk companies to support their growth and development. The SEIS has been designed to encourage investment in very early-stage companies that face the biggest challenges to accessing growth capital.
Whilst no study on the benefits to female entrepreneurship of changes to the SEIS has been undertaken, the Government keeps the scheme, including the company age requirement, under review in order to ensure it continues to meet policy objectives in a way that is fair and effective.
Asked by: Ruth Edwards (Conservative - Rushcliffe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data his Department holds on the number of female entrepreneurs that have participated in the SEIS scheme, compared with male counterparts.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC does not require companies which receive investment through the SEIS to declare the genders of the individuals who are directors, shareholders, or founders of said companies. Therefore, HMRC does not hold any data on the number of female or male entrepreneurs which have participated in the SEIS scheme.
HMRC does however hold information on the genders of the individuals who invested in SEIS qualifying companies, since this is reported on Self-Assessment returns. In 2018/19, around 1,120 SEIS investors declared themselves as female on their Self-Assessment return, compared to around 6,240 male SEIS investors.
The SEIS provides a range of tax reliefs to individuals who invest in small, higher risk companies to support their growth and development. The SEIS has been designed to encourage investment in very early-stage companies that face the biggest challenges to accessing growth capital.
Whilst no study on the benefits to female entrepreneurship of changes to the SEIS has been undertaken, the Government keeps the scheme, including the company age requirement, under review in order to ensure it continues to meet policy objectives in a way that is fair and effective.
Asked by: Ruth Edwards (Conservative - Rushcliffe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what engagement he has had with the Payment Systems Regulator on the powers they require to introduce mandatory protections for victims of authorised push payment scams.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to tackling fraud and ensuring that victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams are protected.
The Government welcomed the publication of the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) call for views on APP scams in February 2021, which set out various potential measures for reducing APP scams and improving customer outcomes, including new requirements on payment service providers to reimburse APP scam victims. The Government is of the view that the introduction of Faster Payments Service rules setting reimbursement requirements on all scheme participants is the best possible solution to the issue of APP scams.
The PSR’s call for views has now closed and the Government is engaging with the PSR and industry on next steps, including considering what further actions may be necessary to make progress on this issue.