Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 115096 on Revenue and Customs: Disability, what recent assessment he has made of whether HMRC's Regional Centre in 3 Glass Wharf, Bristol meets the 2018 edition of British Standard 8300.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HMRC aim to deliver excellent workplaces for all of their staff. This means allowing people to access and work in their buildings confidently, independently and with dignity regardless of their age, disability, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
3 Glass Wharf, Bristol meets building regulations required by law. Building Standard 8300 (BS8300) brings together a further range of inclusive design guidance, with the previous 2009 edition being revised in 2018. The 2009 version sought provision well beyond those required by building regulations, with the 2018 edition going still further. Planning permission was granted and construction commenced before the 2018 revision.
Standards are considered voluntary guidance, without the force of law, and are not retrospective. However, HMRC have decided to go further than what is required by law and have additional reasonable work planned at 3 Glass Wharf, beyond the 2009 version, in relation to the 2018 edition of BS8300.
HMRC have a number of policies and processes in place that are designed to ensure the needs of colleagues requiring adjustments are met. Health Related Special Leave is one element. As a person’s health and medical conditions are sensitive, HMRC’s HR systems do not record the reason for granting special leave. The reason for an individual’s Special Leave is only recorded by their manager and is not collated as part of a data set.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 115096 on Revenue and Customs: Disability, how many HMRC staff have been granted Health Related Special Leave because they are awaiting reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 to be made at the HMRC Regional Centre in 3 Glass Wharf, Bristol.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HMRC aim to deliver excellent workplaces for all of their staff. This means allowing people to access and work in their buildings confidently, independently and with dignity regardless of their age, disability, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
3 Glass Wharf, Bristol meets building regulations required by law. Building Standard 8300 (BS8300) brings together a further range of inclusive design guidance, with the previous 2009 edition being revised in 2018. The 2009 version sought provision well beyond those required by building regulations, with the 2018 edition going still further. Planning permission was granted and construction commenced before the 2018 revision.
Standards are considered voluntary guidance, without the force of law, and are not retrospective. However, HMRC have decided to go further than what is required by law and have additional reasonable work planned at 3 Glass Wharf, beyond the 2009 version, in relation to the 2018 edition of BS8300.
HMRC have a number of policies and processes in place that are designed to ensure the needs of colleagues requiring adjustments are met. Health Related Special Leave is one element. As a person’s health and medical conditions are sensitive, HMRC’s HR systems do not record the reason for granting special leave. The reason for an individual’s Special Leave is only recorded by their manager and is not collated as part of a data set.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 115096 on Revenue and Customs: Disability, how many HMRC staff have been granted Health Related Special Leave (formerly Disability Adjustment Leave) because they are awaiting reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 to be made at the HMRC Regional Centre in 3 Glass Wharf, Bristol, since September 2019.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HMRC aim to deliver excellent workplaces for all of their staff. This means allowing people to access and work in their buildings confidently, independently and with dignity regardless of their age, disability, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
3 Glass Wharf, Bristol meets building regulations required by law. Building Standard 8300 (BS8300) brings together a further range of inclusive design guidance, with the previous 2009 edition being revised in 2018. The 2009 version sought provision well beyond those required by building regulations, with the 2018 edition going still further. Planning permission was granted and construction commenced before the 2018 revision.
Standards are considered voluntary guidance, without the force of law, and are not retrospective. However, HMRC have decided to go further than what is required by law and have additional reasonable work planned at 3 Glass Wharf, beyond the 2009 version, in relation to the 2018 edition of BS8300.
HMRC have a number of policies and processes in place that are designed to ensure the needs of colleagues requiring adjustments are met. Health Related Special Leave is one element. As a person’s health and medical conditions are sensitive, HMRC’s HR systems do not record the reason for granting special leave. The reason for an individual’s Special Leave is only recorded by their manager and is not collated as part of a data set.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether self-employed people who have No Recourse To Public Funds as an immigration condition are able to apply for the Self-employed Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The revised guidance published alongside the legal direction is clear that grants under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) are not counted as ‘access to public funds’ and that taxpayers on all categories of visa can claim the SEISS grant. This treatment of SEISS grant payments aligns with that of payments from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the insurance industry on compensating (a) hospitality, (b) events and (c) entertainment businesses for lost business resulting from the outbreak of covid 19.
Answered by John Glen
The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector about its contribution to handling this unprecedented situation.
In addition, the Chancellor has made clear that, for those businesses which have an appropriate policy that covers pandemics, government’s medical advice of 16th March is sufficient to allow businesses to make a claim against their insurance, provided the other terms and conditions in their policy are met.
The FCA’s rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed.
However, most businesses have not purchased insurance that covers pandemic related losses. As such, any affected businesses should note the government’s full package of support.
The Chancellor has announced two packages to support the people and businesses of the UK. A three-point plan providing £12 billion of support for public services, individuals and businesses whose finances are affected by the outbreak, and a package to provide further support for businesses and individuals totalling £350bn.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's news story entitled, Off-payroll review launched, published on 7 January 2020, what the timeframe is for the publication of the findings of that review.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government launched a review of reform to the off-payroll working rules on 7 January 2020 to determine if there were further steps that could be taken to ensure the smooth and successful implementation of the reform, which will come into force in April 2020.
The review of the off-payroll working reform has now concluded and the outcome of the review was published on 27 February 2020.
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 ensure that (a) sole traders and (b) people working in the gig economy are not adversely affected by changes to IR35 legislation.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The IR35 rules were introduced in 2000. They only apply to individuals who are working like employees under the current employment status tests, and do not apply to the self-employed or sole traders.
The Government will introduce a legal requirement for clients to implement a status disagreement process to allow individuals to challenge their status determination directly and in real time. This right is an additional statutory layer of protection for off-payroll workers.
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 ensure that people on low incomes have local access to a free-to-use ATM.
Answered by John Glen
The Government is committed to supporting digital payments whilst safeguarding access to cash for those who need it. To support this, the Government has launched the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy (JACS) Group – which brings together the Payment Systems Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England – to ensure a comprehensive oversight of the UK’s overall cash infrastructure.
The Government expects industry to play a crucial role in protecting access to cash. As part of its Financial Inclusion Programme, LINK, the scheme that runs the UK’s largest ATM network, has introduced premiums of up to £2.75 per transaction that support ATMs in the most deprived areas of the UK and runs an initiative for local areas to request an ATM.
The Government-established Payment Systems Regulator regulates LINK, and is holding LINK to account over their commitments to maintain the broad geographic spread ATMs that are free at the point of use.