Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of distanced working during the covid-19 lockdown on the proposals for the closure of local branches of his Department's offices.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HMRC remain committed to their locations strategy of moving to regional centres and specialist sites. Timescales for some existing office closures are currently under review due to the impact of COVID-19 on the construction of some regional centres. As is always the case, if there are ways in which HMRC can improve how they deliver their vital public services then they will seek to implement those improvements. This includes reviewing how HMRC have been able to respond to COVID-19 and determining whether and how they might be able to sustain any changes to ways of working that are proven to lead to better outcomes for both HMRC and taxpayers.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value was of (a) tear gas, (b) rubber bullets and (c) riot shields exported to the US in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are responsible for the collection and publication of data on UK imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC release this information monthly, as a National Statistic: the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics.
The trade data collected does not enable HMRC to distinguish exports of tear gas from other spring, air or gas guns and pistols or truncheons. The trade data collected also does not enable HMRC to distinguish exports of rubber bullets from other ammunition and projectiles or riot shields from other plastic articles.
However, there is aggregated trade data available for the goods and periods requested on the uktradeinfo website, under ‘Build your own data tables’. The site also contains a ‘Help’ function with information on how to extract trade data.
Trade data relating to all spring, air and gas guns and pistols and truncheons exported to the US can be found using commodity code 9304000000. Trade data relating to the value of all ammunition and projectiles can be searched for using commodity code 9306909000. Trade data relating to riot shields and other plastic articles can be found using commodity code 3926909790.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2020 to Question 13414 on Debts: China, whether his Department has made a revised assessment of that risk level since the answer was given.
Answered by John Glen
Recent data suggests that Chinese debt increased further in the first quarter of 2020, as the Covid-19 shock is pushing public and private borrowing even higher.
Several institutions, including the International Monetary Fund, raised concerns prior to the Covid-19 outbreak on the risks high levels of Chinese debt could pose to global financial stability. The Covid-19 shock is likely to exacerbate these risks.
In its interim Financial Stability Report published on 7 May 2020, the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee found that major UK banks should remain resilient to the Covid-19 shock to both UK and global economies, including China. HMT will continue to work alongside both the Bank of England and global institutions in monitoring the risks posed by Chinese indebtedness.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the (a) UK and (b) world economy of the decision of the German Constitutional Court on funding for the European Central Bank bailout package.
Answered by John Glen
HM Treasury regularly monitors global economic developments, including those in the euro area, and their impact on the UK as part of the normal process of policy development. It is not for the UK Government to comment on euro area monetary policy issues.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with their counterparts in the German Finance Ministry on the decision of the German Constitutional Court on funding for the European Central Bank bailout package.
Answered by John Glen
HM Treasury Ministers and Officials regularly speak with their counterparts in Germany. We have been in regular touch regarding our respective countries' response to COVID-19 and will continue to work closely in the weeks to come. It is not for the UK Government to comment on euro area monetary policy issues.