Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has had discussions with the Bank of England on incorporating the impact of climate change in inflation modelling.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury meet with the Bank of England regularly to discuss their assessment of the economy, inflation and the impact of shocks and structural trends, including climate change.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the government’s official forecaster. They published their latest assessment of the economic and fiscal outlook (EFO) which includes inflation on 6th March. The Fiscal risks and sustainability report, published in July 2023, included discussion of the long-term impact of climate change on the fiscal position.
The Bank of England has operational independence over monetary policy and publishes its own forecasts, including for inflation, in its quarterly Monetary Policy Report.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 6.11 in the report of the Royal Trustees on the Sovereign Grant Review 2023, if he will take steps to ensure that the increased surplus to the Exchequer from the Crown Estate in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 is used to train UK resident workers to meet the demand for supply chain jobs in Renewable Energy Zones.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government continues to work with industry, The Crown Estate and other partners to support the UK's offshore wind manufacturing sector. Funding is allocated in line with the government’s overall priorities, primarily through the spending review process, with the overall amount of spending informed by the wider fiscal position.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of tickets on higher rate flights incurrent the (a) reduced and (b) standard rate of Air Passenger Duty in each of the last five years.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
HMRC is unable to publish information on tickets and revenue received from higher rate flights where the plane was over 20 tonnes and equipped to carry fewer than 19 passengers. This is because the information is disclosive.
HMRC produces estimates of Air Passenger Duty passenger numbers and receipts, at the following link:
Air Passenger Duty Bulletin - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If ‘higher rate flights’ in PQ80793 refers to travel to Band B destinations, reduced and standard rate Band B passenger numbers are published in the above link. The table below displays this information for each of the last five years.
APD passengers by financial year | Reduced Rate Band B Passengers (thousands) | Reduced Rate Band B Passengers (% of Total Band B Passengers) | Standard Rate Band B Passengers (thousands) | Standard Rate Band B Passengers (% of Total Band B Passengers) | Total Band B Passengers (thousands) | Total Passengers (thousands) |
2017 to 2018 | 18,742 | 78.2% | 5,235 | 21.8% | 23,977 | 118,352 |
2018 to 2019 | 19,372 | 78.5% | 5,312 | 21.5% | 24,683 | 122,394 |
2019 to 2020 | 19,597 | 78.6% | 5,338 | 21.4% | 24,935 | 118,692 |
2020 to 2021 | 1,535 | 77.5% | 446 | 22.5% | 1,981 | 12,118 |
2021 to 2022 [provisional] | 5,403 | 75.9% | 1,711 | 24.1% | 7,114 | 39,115 |
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Air Passenger Duty revenues have been from flights where the plane was over 20 tonnes and equipped to carry fewer than 19 passengers in each of the last five years.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
HMRC is unable to publish information on tickets and revenue received from higher rate flights where the plane was over 20 tonnes and equipped to carry fewer than 19 passengers. This is because the information is disclosive.
HMRC produces estimates of Air Passenger Duty passenger numbers and receipts, at the following link:
Air Passenger Duty Bulletin - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
If ‘higher rate flights’ in PQ80793 refers to travel to Band B destinations, reduced and standard rate Band B passenger numbers are published in the above link. The table below displays this information for each of the last five years.
APD passengers by financial year | Reduced Rate Band B Passengers (thousands) | Reduced Rate Band B Passengers (% of Total Band B Passengers) | Standard Rate Band B Passengers (thousands) | Standard Rate Band B Passengers (% of Total Band B Passengers) | Total Band B Passengers (thousands) | Total Passengers (thousands) |
2017 to 2018 | 18,742 | 78.2% | 5,235 | 21.8% | 23,977 | 118,352 |
2018 to 2019 | 19,372 | 78.5% | 5,312 | 21.5% | 24,683 | 122,394 |
2019 to 2020 | 19,597 | 78.6% | 5,338 | 21.4% | 24,935 | 118,692 |
2020 to 2021 | 1,535 | 77.5% | 446 | 22.5% | 1,981 | 12,118 |
2021 to 2022 [provisional] | 5,403 | 75.9% | 1,711 | 24.1% | 7,114 | 39,115 |
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many penalties have been issued by HMRC in respect of late payment of VAT in financial years (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2020-21.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The number of Default Surcharge penalties issued in respect of both late return submissions and of late payment of VAT in the 2020-21 financial year was 279,430 and was 610,170 in the 2021-22 financial year.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC is aware of any data lost in the most recent program upgrade of the Digital Tax Program.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC is not currently aware of any data loss that has occurred within, or as a result of, any of HMRC’s programmes to digitalise tax.
HMRC take security matters very seriously and maintain strict protocols in terms of cyber-security and the security, storage, management, and processing of customer data.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding the Government provided to the aviation industry via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HM Revenue and Customs regularly published statistics on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
The statistics published in August 2020 can be found on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-august-2020.
These statistics report that employers classified under Passenger air transport and Freight air transport and space transport (Standard Industry Classification 2007, groups 51.1 and 51.2) claimed £283 million for staff on furlough between the start of the scheme and 31 July 2020.
Statistics published on 3 June 2021 report that employers in the Passenger air transport and Freight air transport and space transport sectors claimed £295 million from 1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021. These figures can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-3-june-2021.
Further statistics published on 16 December 2021 report that employers in the Passenger air transport and Freight air transport and space transport sectors claimed £172 million from 1 May 2021 to 30 September 2021. These figures can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-16-december-2021.
There are no figures available for the value of CJRS claims for the Passenger air transport and Freight air transport and space sectors from 1 August 2020 to 31 October 2020.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what processes are in place to protect the data protection rights of migrants in the event that their personal tax data is used to determine (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications for indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC have a duty of confidentiality for information they hold on all taxpayers. HMRC only share or disclose information that is necessary and proportionate for the intended purpose, through strict adherence to data protection principles such as UK GDPR, and only with comprehensive governance in place to monitor those exchanges and the purposes to which data can be used or retained.
In the event that the Home Office and HMRC undertake an exchange in relation to applications for indefinite leave to remain, the processes in place to uphold the data protection rights of migrants are the same as for all applicants. It is the responsibility of the Home Office to determine whether applications are successful or unsuccessful.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to extend full business rates relief to all English Language Teaching (ELT) schools in (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance on eligibility for the relief, which is targeted at premises that are wholly or mainly being used as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues; for assembly and leisure; or as hotels, guest and boarding premises, and self-catering accommodation.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department taking to ensure that (a) pubs and (b) other SME’s can claim business interruption insurance policies for extended periods of closure and financial loss due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly and settle claims quickly once settlement terms are agreed. The FCA has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.
The Government is pleased that a final judgment has been reached by the Supreme Court in the FCA Business Interruption test case and trust that this will provide the legal clarity urgently sought by policyholders. The FCA has set out its expectation that insurers should communicate to all impacted policyholders what this judgment means for their claim and should move quickly to resolve claims as determined by the judgment, making interim payments wherever possible.