Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to review the Apprenticeship Levy; what assessment they have made of any imbalance between (1) the amount paid by logistics and transport businesses since its introduction, and (2) the amount they have been entitled to withdraw; and whether they have plans to replace it with a more flexible training levy.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved, meaning the devolved administrations receive funding through the Barnett formula on English apprenticeship spending. A comparison between UK-wide Levy receipts and apprenticeship spend in England is not available and we are therefore unable to provide an assessment of the difference between the amount paid and available levy funds for the logistics and transport sectors.
The Apprenticeship Levy is a key part of the Government’s reforms to the apprenticeship system, which enables employers of all sizes to make a long-term, sustainable and high-quality investment in training. There are no plans to reform the Apprenticeship Levy or replace it with a more flexible training Levy at this time. We are committed to protecting the quality of apprenticeship training and simplifying our system and processes so that employers and providers can focus on delivering high-quality apprenticeships.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what were the construction costs of each of the seven Inland Border Facilities; and for what purposes each of them have been used in the last year.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
HMRC work to ensure all build costs associated with inland border facilities represent value for money. Under the bounds of the Public Procurement Regulations, HMRC undertake a stringent tender process within a competitive environment.
The total construction cost for the six Inland Border Facilities developed by HMRC is £42 million. This is broken down as follows:
Holyhead remains under construction. The costs detailed reflect the spend on the facility to 28 February 2023.
The facilities act as a government office of departure and destination, where hauliers can start and end journeys under the Common Transit Convention.
Sevington Inland Border Facility was constructed by the Department for Transport. The total costs were £154 million. It includes £70 million on the Border Control Post (BCP), which is capable of carrying out biosecurity checks on sanitary and phytosanitary goods (SPS).
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Northern Powerhouse Rail is classified as an England and Wales project for the purposes of Barnett consequential funding; and if so, what aspects of that funding are spent in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Barnett formula determines changes in devolved administration funding for responsibilities that are devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The UK Government is responsible for heavy rail infrastructure across England and Wales so spends money on this in Wales rather than funding the Welsh Government to do so.
This is consistent with the funding arrangements for all other policy areas reserved in England and Wales as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. For example, the Welsh Government similarly does not receive Barnett funding in relation to UK Government spending on prisons in England because the UK Government also funds prisons in Wales directly.
The UK Government’s existing rail investment in Wales includes upgrading the signalling on the Cambrian Line, developing upgrades for Cardiff Central Station, re-opening Bow Street Station, and the electrification of the Severn Tunnel.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to raise the mileage rate allowance for electric vehicles, specified by HMRC in relation to vehicle usage for work purposes, to bring it into line with that specified for petrol and diesel vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Government introduced the Advisory Electric Rate (AER) in 2018. It applies to employees who use a fully electric vehicle as a company car.
The AER was raised in December 2022 from 5 pence per mile (ppm) to 8ppm and is currently reviewed on a quarterly basis. The revised value of the AER was calculated using the quarterly index for domestic electricity published by the Office for National Statistics and the average electrical energy consumption values for each car model, provided by the Department for Transport.
Employers are not required to use the AER. Instead, they can use different rates to reflect their employees’ circumstances. Provided they can show that the bespoke rates do not result in a profit for the employee, there will be no tax to pay. Otherwise, when employers reimburse employees at a higher rate than the published AER (8ppm), the excess is subject to Income Tax and National Insurance contributions.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost of acquiring the land for the Dover Inland Border Facility; and what has been the cost of (1) preparatory works undertaken so far to the site, and (2) access to the site.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Department for Transport (DfT) is the owner of the land at Dover White Cliffs and bought the asset as a strategic and important site for the Government to establish functions that would ease pressure at the border. The Government is currently reviewing potential future use of the site. The initial cost of the land is currently confidential, pending the previous owner’s agreement that this can be released.
The cost for developing the site was £18.3 million, with £6.4 million being spent on preparatory works by HMRC, and a further £11.9 million was spent by DfT towards site readiness before handing the site over to HMRC. These costs include £3.3 million being spent on the access to the site, which would have been incurred anyway in developing the fast-track road. Some of the costs such as site surveys, design, and materials, can be re-used by Government for the subsequent use of the land.
The decision has been made to cease delivery of the Dover IBF following the end of staged customs controls in January 2022. The demand on the IBF’s has been lower than expected, and trade is flowing well into and out of GB, utilising the services HMRC and commercial operators offer.
The revised forecasting shows a substantial reduction in demand which has resulted in an opportunity to review the current size of the IBF network and identify substantial savings to the public purse of up to £120 million by ceasing delivery of Dover IBF.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) the Competition and Markets Authority, (2) the Health and Safety Executive, and (3) the Food Standards Agency, have sufficient staff to manage additional responsibilities following the UK’s exit from the EU; and whether they will allocate additional funding to these agencies to ensure they can fulfil their regulatory responsibilities.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Spending Review 2021 set departmental budgets, including those for the Competition and Markets Authority, the Health and Safety Executive and the Food Standards Agency from 2022-23 to 2024-25. These settlements took account of new responsibilities following EU exit.
Secretaries of State and accounting officers hold responsibility for departmental workforce matters, including, for example departmental workforce planning, recruitment, and resourcing decisions.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the GVMS IT system stopped working as planned with the CHIEF and CDS systems; and what is their assessment of the effects of this on (1) the process for importing and exporting from the UK, and (2) the economy of (a) Kent, and (b) the UK.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to recover the emergency funding provided to P&O Ferries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was available to any employer providing they met the eligibility criteria.
Now that the scheme has closed, current decisions by employers to make employees redundant does not affect previous claims.
HMRC have a statutory duty in respect of customer confidentiality so cannot disclose information on individual customers or businesses as specified in the question.
The Transport Secretary has set out a series of measures to ensure UK ferry operators pay the minimum wage, including actions to prevent fire-and-rehire tactics and working with international partners to deliver national minimum wage corridors. The Transport Secretary has also written to the Insolvency Service asking them to consider whether the P&O Chief Executive should be disqualified as a director.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the discrepancy between the public charging VAT rate of 20 per cent for electric vehicles and the five per cent domestic VAT rate for electricity.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Electricity supplied at electric vehicle charging points in public places is subject to the standard rate of VAT of 20 per cent. In order to keep costs down for families, the supply of electricity for domestic use, including charging electric vehicles at home, attracts the reduced rate of VAT of 5 per cent.
Expanding the relief already available would come at a cost to the Exchequer. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing, or increased taxation elsewhere.
The Government keeps all taxes under constant review.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what green initiatives are being undertaken as part of the Dover Inland Border Facility; and how the initiatives will enable Dover District Council to reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
HMRC’s teams are developing key features as part of the Dover Inland Border Facility (IBF) development to ensure their wider goal of reducing carbon impacts. These include reducing the environmental impact, enhancing the socio-economic standing of the areas and surrounding sites, and working to achieve a Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method – ‘Very Good’ rating.
The inclusion of initiatives incorporated into the site masterplan for the Dover IBF will be delivered through the retention and protection of key ecological features. This includes the formation of a landscape buffer between the operational areas of the proposed development and the local residential area. The colour scheme of the proposed buildings is being designed in accordance with the guidance published by the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the buildings themselves are adaptable for re-use elsewhere if required.
External lighting on the site has been designed to minimise any potential effects in accordance with the appropriate British Standards. In conjunction with these initiatives, the site has been designed to minimise carbon emissions and will include an engine off policy when vehicles are parked. Electric hook up provision will be provided on site to allow goods vehicles with refrigeration units to be powered whilst parked. Electric vehicle charging will also be provided on site. The scheme has been designed to encourage methods of sustainable travel for site staff, including a cycle lane and promoting public transport over car travel.