Asked by: Faisal Rashid (Labour - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will increase the £66 million funding for early years education announced in the Spending Round 2019 by 10 per cent by 2021.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
At Spending Round 2019 the government announced an additional £66m to increase the hourly rate paid to early years providers through the government’s free hours offers. The Department for Education will share further details of funding for 2020-21 in due course.
Asked by: Faisal Rashid (Labour - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to (a) prevent pension phone scams and (b) bring people who undertake pension phone scams to justice.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to protecting people from pension scams, and pursuing those who perpetrate pension scams wherever possible. That is why the government established Project Bloom, a joint taskforce between government, regulators and law enforcement to share intelligence, raise awareness of scams through communications campaigns, and take enforcement action when appropriate.
Regulations to ban pensions cold calling came into force in early January 2019, using the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) as a legal framework. Firms who break the rules could face penalties of up to half a million pounds. As well as deterring cold callers by making their activities illegal, the cold calling ban makes it clear to the public that any pensions cold call they receive is illegal and likely to be a scam call.
The Government also recently amended PECR to allow fines on individual directors who consent to or connive in or neglect to prevent serious contraventions of PECR by their organisation(s). The new measure came into force in December 2018. This measure gives the Information Commissioner the power to impose civil monetary penalties of up to £500,000 on those in positions of responsibility in all forms of corporate entities.
In addition, the Government has recently provided the National Trading Standards Scams team up to £640,000 for the roll out of call blocking devices, free of charge, to vulnerable people, including old aged pensioners. The National Trading Standards launched this project on 15 October of this year.
Asked by: Faisal Rashid (Labour - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will increase the minimum wage to £10.50 in the next Budget.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
Both the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage rates for younger workers and apprentices saw above inflation increases in April. The National Living Wage is currently on target to reach 60 per cent of median hourly earnings in 2020, subject to sustained economic growth. The independent Low Pay Commission will recommend next year’s rates to us later this month, and we will announce the rates at the next Budget.
The Chancellor has also announced his intention to increase the National Living Wage to two-thirds of median hourly earnings within five years. He will confirm this at the next Budget.
Asked by: Faisal Rashid (Labour - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to reduce the level of beer duty in Budget 2019.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government supports consumers, pubs and breweries. To this end, the Government has cut or frozen beer duty at six of the last seven Budgets. These actions have ensured the price of a pint of beer is 14p is lower than it otherwise would have been since ending the beer duty escalator in 2013.
All taxes are kept under review and the impact of a change to beer duty is considered at each fiscal event, including its effect on pubs and the wider economy.
Asked by: Faisal Rashid (Labour - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure those affected by IR35 changes and who pay national insurance contributions will receive holiday and sick pay and other benefits associated with employment.
Answered by Jesse Norman
At present there is no direct link between employment status for rights and employment status for tax.
Those who wish to challenge their employment status for rights can take their case to an employment tribunal, regardless of their tax status. In order to modernise and enhance the enforcement of the employment rights for workers, the government is currently consulting on the proposal to introduce a new single enforcement body for employment rights. The government is also consulting on strengthening enforcement and extending entitlement to statutory sick pay.
Asked by: Faisal Rashid (Labour - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HMRC takes in responding to complaints on online VAT fraud; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of HMRC's response to such complaints.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC take all complaints seriously. When complaints are received, HMRC aim to deal with them effectively and learn from them to improve services and operations for the benefit of all customers. HMRC have complete operational independence from Treasury Ministers, and therefore the Chancellor of the Exchequer will not be privy to the results of how HMRC has responded to specific complaints.
Asked by: Faisal Rashid (Labour - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what safeguards his Department has put in place to prevent online VAT fraud.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has led the way in tackling this complex and international problem. A package of measures was announced at Budget 2016 to tackle abuse by overseas businesses selling goods to UK customers through online marketplaces. This included holding online marketplaces jointly liable for the future unpaid VAT of non-compliant overseas businesses and the introduction of the Fulfilment House Due Diligence Scheme which went live in April 2019. At Budget 2017 the Government strengthened the joint and several liability rules for online marketplaces to include UK businesses, where they either knew or should have known that an overseas business should have been registered for VAT and required them to display a valid VAT number where provided with one. Taken together, these measures are expected to deliver just under £1bn by 2023.
Asked by: Faisal Rashid (Labour - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will reduce beer duty in Budget 2019.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
This government remains clear in its support for consumers, pubs and breweries, and we have taken action to this end – ensuring the price of a pint of beer is 14p is lower than it otherwise would have been since ending the beer duty escalator in 2013.
All taxes are kept under review and the impact of a change to beer duty is considered at each fiscal event, including its effect on pubs and the wider economy.
Asked by: Faisal Rashid (Labour - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will reopen the compensation scheme for Equitable Life victims.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Since 2010, we have taken more action than any previous government to resolve this issue by allocating up to £1.5bn, tax free, for payment to affected policyholders. There are no plans to allocate any further funds to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme, or reopen it.
Asked by: Faisal Rashid (Labour - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to implement an affordable repayment plan for people affected by the disguised remuneration loan charge.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Disguised Remuneration (DR) schemes are contrived arrangements that pay loans in place of ordinary remuneration with the sole purpose of avoiding income tax and National Insurance contributions.
HMRC is working hard to help individuals get out of tax avoidance for good and is encouraging anyone who is concerned about their ability to pay to contact them as soon as possible to discuss their options. In November 2017, HMRC set up a dedicated helpline for those wanting to settle their avoidance scheme use, and discuss payment options. HMRC will work with all individuals to reach a manageable and sustainable payment plan wherever possible.
HMRC has also introduced a simplified process for those who choose to settle their use of DR avoidance schemes before the loan charge arises. Those earning less than £50,000 a year and who are no longer engaging in tax avoidance can agree a payment plan of up to five years without the need for detailed supporting information.
There is no maximum period within which an overall settlement can be agreed, and HMRC will deal with individual cases appropriately and sympathetically.