Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What fiscal steps he is taking to help companies in the live entertainment industry remain in business during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government has announced unprecedented support for businesses during the pandemic, including those in the live entertainment industry.
Measures include a £1.57 billion fund to support the cultural sectors including live music, theatre and performing arts, and a temporary reduction in VAT to boost the tourism and hospitality industries, for example by reducing the cost of admission to concerts, theatres, fairs, exhibitions and similar events.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the UK budget deficit by the end of 2020; and what that deficit equates to per household.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Treasury does not publish forecasts of the economy or the public finances; the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the UK’s official forecaster.
On 14 April, the OBR published a coronavirus reference scenario outlining the potential impact of COVID-19 on the economy and public finances. This was not an official forecast and the OBR highlight that the duration and scale of the economic disruption is highly uncertain. On 14 May the OBR published revised fiscal aggregates and monthly profiles relating to this scenario, estimating PSNB will reach £298.4 billion or 15.2% of GDP in 2020/21. The OBR did not produce an estimate on a per household basis.
While it is clear that the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and the government's necessary response to it will lead to an increase in borrowing this year, the OBR have noted that the costs of inaction would have been greater.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value is of notes and coins in pounds sterling in circulation in the (a) UK and (b) rest of the world.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The issue of banknotes is the responsibility of the Bank of England. The Bank of England calculates that the aggregate value of its notes in circulation is £71bn.
Furthermore, the aggregate value of banknotes in circulation issued by the Scottish and Northern Irish commercial banks authorised to do so is £7bn.
The Royal Mint calculates the total face value of coins in circulation is £4.7bn.
It is not possible for the Bank of England or the Royal Mint to calculate what value of notes and coins are freely circulating and what is being held as a store of value.
The Bank of England and the Royal Mint do not hold information on the value of notes and coins held outside the UK.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total value is of gilts issued in the (a) UK and (b) rest of the world.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As of 31 March 2020, the total market value of gilt holdings was £2,057.80 billion. Overseas investors held a market value of £620.14 billion of gilts, representing 30.1% of total gilt holdings. This left 69.9% of total holdings at a market value of £1,437.66 billion of gilts held in the UK.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to extend the soft drinks industry levy to sugary milk drinks.
Answered by Jesse Norman
If the evidence shows that industry has not made enough progress on reducing sugar, the Government may extend the SDIL to sugary milk drinks.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department has made an assessment of the potential benefits of reducing pools duty to 10 per cent to the industry and local economy in the North West.
Answered by Simon Clarke
No assessment has been made. Cutting Pool Betting Duty to 10% is unlikely to increase usage of the football pools which has been in long term decline due to the popularity of other gambling products.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will undertake a review of the effectiveness of the pools duty rate.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has no current plans to review the rate of Pool Betting Duty.
HM Treasury however keeps all taxes, including Pool Betting Duty, under active review.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to reduce the tax on the football pools to bring it in line with taxation rates applying to bingo.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government has no current plans to reduce Pool Betting Duty. Reducing it to 10% is likely to have a negligible effect on the football pools, but could put revenue at risk particularly through incentivising switching of products from fixed odds bets to pooled bets.
HM Treasury however keeps all taxes, including Pool Betting Duty, under active review.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue his Department has raised from VAT on e-publications in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018 and (d) 2019 to 11 July 2019.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The information that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collect from taxpayers on their VAT returns does not provide enough detail to be able to quantify the revenue raised from these supplies precisely. HMRC do not require detail on particular products and customer types because it would place a considerable administrative burden on businesses.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support the Government’s cross-departmental commitment to prioritising a public health approach in the forthcoming Spending Review, and whether that support will include allocating funding for evidence-based parenting support.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Decisions on public spending will be made in the round as part of the Spending Review process. As such, we will be working closely with other departments to assess public health priorities and ensure a joined-up approach across government.