Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the cost of taxi trips for care home staff that were paid for by the Infection Control Grant are treated by HMRC as a benefit in kind for employees and so are taxable; and if he will instruct HMRC to publish updated guidance on that matter.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The provision or reimbursement of the costs of taxis, or similar road transport, for travel between an employee’s home and workplace will not be taxed if all the following conditions are met:
Where the employer funds the provision or reimbursement of costs of transport using the Infection Control Grant, the same conditions apply.
Where the conditions are not met, the provision of transport or reimbursement of the costs of transport to employees for travel between the employee’s home and workplace will be taxable.
HMRC updated its guidance on paying or refunding transport costs during coronavirus (COVID-19) on 23 March 2021: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-treat-certain-expenses-and-benefits-provided-to-employees-during-coronavirus-covid-19#paying-or-refunding-transport-costs
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to provide support for people who have lost money in the Premier FX collapse.
Answered by John Glen
Premier FX, an authorised payment institution, was placed into administration in August 2018 on the application of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and subsequently entered insolvency.
An FCA investigation, which reported in February 2021, found that Premier FX had misled its customers by informing them that it was able to hold their funds indefinitely, that their funds would be held in secure, segregated client accounts and that their funds would be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. As a result, the FCA has publicly censured Premier FX for breaches of the Payment Services Regulations. The FCA continues to investigate whether there were breaches of its rules by other parties and, if so, will take action, including steps to recover redress for any breaches that may have caused of contributed to losses from customers.
The Government has great sympathy for the creditors of Premier FX and encourages them to continue to engage with the insolvency process.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the level of VAT levied on the Cycle to Work scheme following the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by John Glen
There are no current plans to change the VAT rate on the Cycle to Work Scheme. VAT registered businesses are normally able to reclaim any VAT incurred on the purchase of bicycles and safety equipment provided to their employees under the scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a government-backed insurance scheme for festivals and events.
Answered by John Glen
On 22nd February, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s roadmap to cautiously ease lockdown restrictions in England, including an ambition to lift restrictions on large events in Step 4, subject to the outcome of the Events Research Programme.
Officials are considering the most appropriate way to support the events sector to safely reopen, informed by the findings of the research programme in the Spring.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of people who have benefitted from stamp duty relief for first time buyers have been women in each year since the introduction of that relief.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HM Revenue & Customs do not directly hold information on the sex or gender of first-time buyers, as this information is not a mandatory requirement for the independent calculation of the amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax liable on the purchase of a property.Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of making house purchases above £250,000 outside London eligible for Help to Buy ISA bonuses.
Answered by John Glen
The Help to Buy: ISA scheme aims to help those that are struggling to save enough to get onto the housing ladder. The property price cap allows the Government to target support at the first-time buyers who need it the most. Since the scheme launched in 2015, 359,250 property completions have been supported through the scheme with a mean property value of £174,281, below the average first-time buyer house price of £204,964 and well within the property price cap outside London of £250,000.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2021 to Question 153293, on Buildings: Insulation, what additional funding the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish governments will receive through the Barnett formula as a result of the £3.5 billion announced on 10 February 2021 for the removal of unsafe cladding on buildings over 18 metres.
Answered by Steve Barclay
The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government made an oral statement to the House of Commons on building safety on 10 February 2021.
The Barnett formula is applied to changes in departmental funding. Therefore, the level of Barnett will be confirmed at future fiscal events and spending reviews when there are changes to the level of funding for MHCLG.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of retaining the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief sunset clause beyond its current expiration date of April 2022.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Since the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief (MGETR) was introduced in 2017, the Government has provided a total of £20 million of support to 1,345 exhibitions.
The Government has committed to reviewing MGETR before its expiry in 2022. Further information will be provided in due course.