Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to recover tax avoided through disguised remuneration tax avoidance schemes from people who (a) recommended, (b) promoted and (c) operated those schemes.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC has taken action to tackle the promoters of avoidance schemes, implementing a wide range of actions to disrupt their activities and supply chains, including publishing the details of promoters.
However, liability for the tax is always that of the individual and there is no legal mechanism to transfer disguised remuneration liabilities from the scheme users to the promoters.
As of 31 December, HMRC has published the details of 59 promoters, 23 directors and details of 64 tax avoidance schemes.
HMRC has also issued over 20 stop notices to promoters and published details of 16 of these arrangements. Publishing this information supports taxpayers in identifying tax avoidance schemes so they can steer clear of or exit them.
The current Finance Bill is introducing tougher consequences for promoters of tax avoidance. This includes a new criminal offence to strengthen the deterrent to promoting tax avoidance, making it clear promoters must stop promoting these schemes, and a power enabling HMRC to act more quickly to disqualify directors of companies involved in tax avoidance.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will have discussions with HMRC on ending actions on the loan charge.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Loan Charge was introduced to ensure that people who had not had tax deducted from their incomes paid their fair share.
The Government has already had an independent review. In 2019 Lord Morse led an independent review of the Loan Charge and its implementation. Lord Morse had full discretion over how the review was run, whom he consulted, and the recommendations made. The Government accepted 19 of his 20 recommendations, which benefited more than 30,000 people, including around 9,500 who were removed from the scope of the Loan Charge entirely.
As well as recommending changes to the policy, Lord Morse was clear that the Loan Charge was necessary, in the public interest and should remain in force.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will commission an independent review into the loan charge.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Loan Charge was introduced to ensure that people who had not had tax deducted from their incomes paid their fair share.
The Government has already had an independent review. In 2019 Lord Morse led an independent review of the Loan Charge and its implementation. Lord Morse had full discretion over how the review was run, whom he consulted, and the recommendations made. The Government accepted 19 of his 20 recommendations, which benefited more than 30,000 people, including around 9,500 who were removed from the scope of the Loan Charge entirely.
As well as recommending changes to the policy, Lord Morse was clear that the Loan Charge was necessary, in the public interest and should remain in force.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) promoters and (b) operators of schemes subject to the loan charge have been prosecuted.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Promotion or operation of mass marketed tax avoidance schemes is not in, or of itself, a criminal offence. However, there are a range of offences which might be committed by those who promote tax avoidance schemes or advise on their use.
On that basis, to date, while there have been no prosecutions of individuals for the promotion and/or operation of schemes subject to the Loan Charge, one individual involved in selling Disguised Remuneration schemes subject to the Loan Charge has been convicted for a related offence. Also, a number of individuals are currently under criminal investigation by HMRC for offences linked to schemes subject to the Loan Charge.
In addition to schemes subject to the Loan Charge, since 1 April 2016, more than 20 individuals have been convicted for offences relating to arrangements which have been promoted and marketed as tax avoidance. These have resulted in over 100 years of custodial sentences and 9 years of suspended sentences being ordered, the majority of which relate to promoters.
Prosecutions are only one type of intervention available to HMRC where they identify concerns.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps the (a) police and (b) National Crime Agency have taken to tackle county lines operations in (i) Hampshire and (ii) the UK.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is determined to crack down on county lines gangs which is why, through the 10-year Drug Strategy, we are bolstering our flagship County Lines Programme, investing up to £145m over three years to tackle this violent and exploitative distribution model.
County lines is a national issue which affects all forces which is why, through the Programme, we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Hampshire Constabulary, with additional funding to tackle county lines.
Since the County Lines Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 5,100 line closures, over 15,600 arrests and over 8,000 safeguarding referrals. This includes over 2,100 line closures by the Programme taskforces since April 2022, meeting the Drugs Strategy commitment of over 2,000 by April 2025 in half the time.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to help facilitate the entry of new lenders offering long-term fixed rate mortgages backed by institutional bonds to the market.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The pricing and availability of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene.
However, lenders in the UK already do offer this type of mortgage product, and those looking to take out a long-term fixed rate mortgage are encouraged to shop around and speak to a broker to find the best possible product for them.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of changes to SEND Regulations in 2014.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As part of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) review, the department examined how the SEND system has evolved since 2014 and how the department could ensure it works best for all families with effective and sustainable use of resources.
During the review, the department heard frequently that, whilst the 2014 reforms had high aspirations and were underpinned by principles that continue to be broadly supported, insufficient attention was paid to their implementation which meant their ambitions were never fully realised.
That is why the department has committed in the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, and reaffirmed in the SEND and AP Improvement Plan, to support delivery of the new reforms through a £70 million Change Programme which was launched in September 2023. The department is working through nine Change Programme Partnerships, covering 32 local areas, to test and refine key reform proposals and to support local SEND and AP systems across the country to manage local improvement.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Question 191368 on Motorways: Speed Limits, and the report entitled Evaluation of the National HGV Speed Limit Increase in England and Wales, Year 2 Interim Report, published in March 2019, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of each 1mph increase to the speed limit on (a) motorways and (b) dual carriageways on (i) levels of (A) productivity and (B) economic growth and (ii) the cost of transporting goods.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No assessment of this specific nature has been undertaken.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has plans to increase access to shared ownership properties in the South East.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government’s 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme seeks to deliver thousands of new affordable homes for rent and to buy right across the country. This includes the delivery of new shared ownership homes in the South East. Since 2014-15, over 27,200 new shared ownership homes have been delivered in the South East.
Asked by: Ranil Jayawardena (Conservative - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to increase the allocation of funding for the police in Hampshire.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
In December 2023 the Government published the provisional Police Funding Settlement for 2024-25 which proposed a total police funding settlement of up to £18.4 billion in 2024-25, an increase of up to £842.9 million compared to 2023-24.
Hampshire Police will receive funding of up to £464.2 million of funding in 2024-25, an increase of £29.2 million compared to 2023-24.