Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of losing access to the EU Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme on tackling terrorism in the UK.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
No decisions have been taken regarding how the UK will continue to cooperate with the EU on tackling cross-border crime and security threats as this will be a matter for negotiations. The Government has been clear that one of the 12 negotiating objectives is continuing to work with the EU to preserve European security, to fight terrorism, and to uphold justice across Europe. We are examining a number of options and as part of the negotiations, we will discuss with the EU and its Member States how best to continue cooperation on security, law enforcement and criminal justice, including access to the EU Terrorist Finance Tracking terrorism.
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what records his Department holds on how many (a) free to use ATM machines and (b) charging ATM machines there have been in each local authority area in England and Wales in each year since 2010.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The Treasury does not hold any information on the number of free to use or charging ATMs broken down by local authority.
The Treasury does hold aggregate figures for the UK, published by the LINK payment system.
The number of ATMs in the UK is at an all-time high of nearly 70,000 machines, having risen from 36,000 in 2001. The number of free-to-use ATMs is also at an all-time high of over 53,000 and over 98% of all ATM cash withdrawals by UK cardholders in the UK are made free of charge.
LINK, the network which connects the UK’s ATM machines, runs a financial inclusion programme which subsidises some independent ATM providers to allow them to offer a free cash withdrawal service in those areas of greatest need. LINK has identified 1,694 rural and/or deprived ‘target’ areas, and 87% of these areas are now served by 916 subsidised cashpoints, up from up from 171 in 2007.
Asked by: David Hanson (Labour - Delyn)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people who had completed their VAT return through the Government Gateway by the deadline date received an incorrect late-filing penalty of £100 in each financial year since 2010-11.
Answered by Jane Ellison
VAT does not have a £100 penalty for late filing of returns. Nevertheless, the number of surcharges reviewed, varied and cancelled are published in the ‘Tax Assurance Commissioner’s Annual Report’, which can be found on gov.uk at; https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/how-we-resolve-tax-disputes.