Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the consultation, Cash and digital payments in the new economy, published in December 2017, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the increase in cashless and electronic payments on homeless people.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government recognises that people are increasingly moving away from cash and that the growth in the use of digital payments has been rapid. However, the Government also recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many people, especially the more vulnerable members of society and the elderly. Government has been engaging and will continue to engage with the regulators and industry, including LINK, to ensure that it is maintained.
The Government established the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in 2015 with a statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users. As part of this, the PSR is monitoring developments within ATM provision.
The PSR have also set out three requirements of LINK: that LINK must maintain the current geographical spread of ATMs; that any changes made to interchange fees must be incremental to allow LINK to monitor the impact and take action if the impact is not as expected; and for a greater focus on LINK’s financial inclusion programme, to continue to fill gaps in the network.
Indeed, to ensure the provision of ATMs in rural, isolated or vulnerable areas, LINK announced it will enhance its financial inclusion plan to include in the programme all ATMs that are a kilometre or further from the next other free-to-use ATM.
While the Government has not made a formal assessment of the issue in question, the Government is open to hearing views, as evidenced by its recently closed call for evidence on cash and digital payments in the new economy. This sought information on how the shift from cash to digital payments impacts on different sectors, different regions and different demographics. The Government will formally respond to the call for evidence in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of fuel duty tax revenues in (a) 2020, (b) 2030 and (c) 2040.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts fuel duty receipts for the next five years; The 2020-21 forecast is £29.6 billion. This forecast assumes that fuel duty is uprated in line with the Retail Price Index.
However, since 2011, fuel duty has been frozen – a cut in real terms. The announced freezes to fuel duty have meant the Exchequer has not collected around £46 billion in revenues through to 2018-19, and a further £38 billion of revenues will be foregone over the forecast period as a result of these previously announced freezes. For the purposes of comparison, £46bn is around twice as much as we spend on all NHS nurses and doctors each year.
Although longer term forecasts are not published, the OBR’s Fiscal Risks Report highlights that, in the long-term, revenues from fuel duty will decline as vehicles switch from liquid fuels to electric power and become more efficient. The government recognises that these changes may impact tax revenues, but it believes fuel duty will continue to have an important role in the tax system.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the increasing use of and reliance on electronic cashless payments on people (a) with protected characteristics and (b) on low incomes; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
While the Government has not made the described assessment, the Government does recognise that people are increasingly moving away from cash and that the growth in the use of digital payments has been rapid.
Cash continues to be important, especially for the more vulnerable members of society and the elderly, and for the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK.
The Government therefore wants to make sure that our economy is fit for the future and keeps pace with changes in the ways that people manage their finances whilst also ensuring that the public’s legitimate cash needs continue to be met.
In Spring, the Government launched a call for evidence on cash and digital payments in the new economy. It sought information on how the shift from cash to digital payments impacts on different sectors, different regions and different demographics. The Government will respond to the call for evidence in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the (a) economy, (b) consumers and (c) small and medium-sized enterprises of the Visa outage on 1 June 2018.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We take the operational resilience of the finance sector and any detrimental impacts very seriously. HM Treasury works closely with the Bank of England, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (collectively the ‘Financial Authorities’) – as well as other organisations where relevant such as the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) - to improve the resilience of the sector and to respond to any major disruption. As part of this work the Financial Authorities routinely assess the impact of any major operational disruption and as noted in the record of the Financial Policy Committee meeting on 19 June 2018, this incident will inform further work by the regulators.
You may find it helpful to note that the Chief Executive of Visa Europe set out the impact of the service disruption in a letter to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee. This is available at:
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to limit profit levels over the duration of private finance initiative contracts.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Over 86% of current PFI projects were signed prior to 2010. Since then, the standard PFI model has been reviewed and reforms have been implemented, leading to the launch of a new model – PF2 – in 2012. The new PF2 model has improved transparency, reduced procurement times and improved the flexibility of private finance contracts. Data on PFI and PF2 projects has been published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/696091/PFI_and_PF2_projects_2017_summary_data_March_2018_web.pdf
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what procedures his Department has in place to (a) support and (b) audit local authority (i) procurement and (ii) management of private finance initiative contracts.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) provides a wide range of support to authorities. The Green Book contains a set of methodologies and processes for all types of procurement, including PFI. Our standard form of PFI contract, SOPC, ensures certain core principles are followed in the design of PFI contracts. The IPA has also published a range of advice on managing PFI contracts, covering areas such as operational savings, refinancing and termination. Finally, the IPA offers bespoke advice to authorities, relating to procurement and contract management, on their request.
It is the responsibility of the sponsoring department to develop a policy for auditing the activities of local authorities.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the role of his Department is on contributing to UK implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 on sustainable consumption and production.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
HM Treasury supports the wider work of the government on this issue through spending but also sets environmental tax policy, encouraging more sustainable production and consumption.
For example, the Carbon Price Support incentivises investment in renewable energy and has contributed to a rapid decline in the use of coal in power generation. This helps to deliver cleaner energy for manufacturers and consumers. In the construction industry, the Aggregates Levy is shifting demand towards recycled and byproduct building materials and reducing the need to quarry for new materials. Tax is also transforming how we deal with waste. Since the Landfill Tax was introduced in 2000, the amount of waste going to landfill has decreased by 65% in the UK. Recycling has increased from 18% to 44% over the same period.
HM Treasury is now exploring how the tax system or charges could be used to make the production and consumption of single-use plastics more sustainable. The Chancellor further supported this goal by committing £20m to businesses and universities, acting now to stimulate new thinking and rapid solutions in this area.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the quantum of additional funding to be provided to enable the establishment of a new UK Environmental Protection Agency.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been allocated £310m additional funding in 2018-19 from the Reserve to address additional activities arising from the UK’s exit from the European Union. These activities include establishing a new environmental body. The government will be consulting shortly on environmental governance, including proposals for this body.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make his policy to require the National Infrastructure Commission to analyse the distributional effect of different infrastructure options by geographical area, income group, gender, and ethnicity.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has been established to provide impartial, expert advice, and make independent recommendations to the government on economic infrastructure. The NIC will deliver the first-ever National Infrastructure Assessment in the summer, taking a strategic view on the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs and how to meet them.
The NIC’s recommendations must be aligned with their objectives of supporting sustainable economic growth across all regions of the UK, improving competitiveness, and improving quality of life. When producing its outputs, the NIC must include a transparent assessment of the impact on costs to businesses, consumers, government, public bodies and other end users of infrastructure that would arise from implementing the NIC’s recommendations.
The government must respond formally to the NIC’s recommendations, stating clearly whether the government accepts or rejects these recommendations. When government policy is made, officials must consider and advise ministers on the impact on protected groups and promoting greater fairness for them.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that the National Infrastructure Commission assesses the potential effect of proposals for infrastructure building on biodiversity.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has been established to provide impartial, expert advice, and make independent recommendations to the government on economic infrastructure. The NIC will deliver the first-ever National Infrastructure Assessment in the summer, taking a strategic view on the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs and how to meet them.
Supporting sustainable economic growth is one of the NIC’s key objectives, and the government has asked the Natural Capital Committee, chaired by Professor Dieter Helm, to advise the NIC and ensure green and blue infrastructure are appropriately considered within wider infrastructure discussions.
This government is committed to this being the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it, and we have developed a 25-year Environment Plan[1] to deliver this vision.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/693158/25-year-environment-plan.pdf