Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of increasing levels of debt in low-income families; and what steps they are taking to help such families manage their debt.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government regularly monitors trends in household debt levels in order to inform its policy making to help people manage their money well and access support if they need to get their finances back on track. It does so by working closely with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and engages regularly with a range of other stakeholders on their research and findings.
The latest findings from the FCA’s biennial Financial Lives Survey were published in February 2021 and showed that between March and October 2020, the number of people with low financial resilience increased by 3.5 million, from 10.7 million to 14.2 million. MaPS monitors financial difficulty through the Debt Need Survey of approximately 22,000 people, with data on regional levels of over-indebtedness last published in 2018. MaPS will publish the results of the 2021 Debt Need Survey early next year.
The Government is strongly committed to supporting the financial wellbeing of the most vulnerable in society, and to tackling problem debt. This is why the Government put in place an unprecedent package of support to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the Government recognises that the full impact of the pandemic on people’s personal finances is still unfolding and that some require extra support at this challenging time. To help people in problem debt get their finances back on track, the Government agreed to maintain record levels of funding for free-to-consumer debt advice in England in 2021-22, bringing this year’s debt advice budget for MaPS to £94.6 million. This is a more than 70% increase since 2019-20 to help more people who are struggling with their finances during the pandemic.
In addition to this, the Breathing Space scheme launched in England and Wales, offering people in problem debt a pause of up to 60 days on most enforcement action, interest, fees and charges, and encouraging them to seek professional debt advice.
The Government has also changed the existing monetary eligibility limits for a Debt Relief Order in England and Wales; increasing the value of assets that a debtor can hold, the level of surplus income received and the total debt allowable. This will give more people with low levels of assets and low income who are in problem debt access to a suitable and proportionate solution.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support victims of financial scams.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government works closely with industry to close down the vulnerabilities that fraudsters exploit and ensure members of the public have the information they need to spot a scam and stand up to fraudsters. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires banks to maintain effective systems and controls to prevent the risk that they might be used to further financial crime. This includes controls to prevent fraud.
The Government is committed to tackling fraud within payments networks. With regards to Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, the Government considers rules within Faster Payments as the best solution for ensuring that victims are reimbursed.
The Government recognises the actions taken to-date by the financial services industry to help tackle fraud, including through investment in anti-fraud capabilities, the creation of a voluntary reimbursement Code, and the implementation of initiatives such as Confirmation of Payee. While the Government welcomes these initiatives, it is clear that more needs to be done both to prevent these scams, and to ensure that victims are not left paying for fraud through no fault of their own.
The Government is engaging with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and industry on what further actions are needed to better protect customers, and welcomed the PSR’s recent consultation on APP scams, which set out various potential measures that could improve scam prevention and outcomes, including proposals to introduce mandatory requirements to reimburse victims. The Government has confirmed it intends to legislate to address any barriers to regulatory action regarding mandatory reimbursement when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to raise taxes in order to pay for their environmental policies.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and has published the Net Zero Strategy on how the UK will deliver on its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The government has also published the Net Zero Review exploring the key issues and trade-offs as the UK decarbonises. As the Net Zero Review stated, if there is to be additional public spending, the government may need to consider changes to existing taxes and new sources of revenue during the transition in order to deliver net zero sustainably, and consistently with the government’s fiscal principles.
The government keeps all taxes under review, and any changes are made in the round at fiscal events.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make further payments to individuals who lost their savings following the collapse of Equitable Life.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Equitable Life Payment Scheme closed to claims in 2015. There are no plans to reopen the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to investigate and address tax evasion.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government is committed to tackling tax evasion at all levels. The Government has introduced over 100 measures to tackle tax evasion, avoidance and other forms of non-compliance since 2010. Together with HMRC’s compliance work, the government has secured and protected an additional £200 billion in tax revenue which would otherwise have gone unpaid.
This success demonstrates the Government’s continued efforts to address tax evasion, avoidance and non-compliance in all its forms.
HM Revenue and Customs strategic approach is to use the most appropriate, cost-effective, and highest-impact way to encourage and support all taxpayers in complying with their obligations.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what EU customs declarations will be undertaken in Northern Ireland on goods from mainland UK after December 2020.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Northern Ireland will continue to be part of the UK’s customs territory. Some practical information will be required for goods moving from the rest of the UK to Northern Ireland. This will be provided electronically and the Government will work with the EU to minimise the impact on traders.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on air passenger duty.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Treasury Ministers and officials have regular discussions with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers and officials on a wide variety of topics.
Any further devolution of air passenger duty to Northern Ireland, as a means to achieve a reduction in rates, would need to be funded by the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have been prosecuted for fuel laundering in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.
Answered by Priti Patel - Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is not a prosecuting authority. Where cases do proceed to the criminal courts in Northern Ireland the prosecution is carried out by the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPSNI).
HMRC’s records do not differentiate between the forms of fuel fraud it investigates and so they cannot identify prosecutions solely for fuel laundering. Prosecutions instigated for oils offences in Northern Ireland since April 2013 were as follows:
2013-14: 6
2014-15 (to December) 6
HMRC fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. The UK has recently announced, jointly with Ireland, an improved new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it much harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.