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Written Question
Travel: Insurance
Tuesday 12th September 2023

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of diagnosis of terminal and likely terminal health conditions on travel insurance rates offered to consumers.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Insurers make commercial decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. The Government does not intend to intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers as this could damage competition in the market. The respective capabilities of insurers to assess risk is a key element on which they compete.

The Government recognises that it is important that everyone has access to suitable insurance. Since April 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has required firms to signpost consumers to a directory of specialist providers if they are declined cover, offered cover with an exclusion, or charged a significantly higher premium based on their pre-existing medical conditions.


Written Question
Azure Services: Loans
Tuesday 18th October 2022

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that customers of Azure Services Ltd who were impacted by the mis-selling of loans for timeshares at the Golden Sands Resort in Malta have been (a) identified and (b) offered financial redress through the Barclays Bank remediation programme.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government does not hold information on how many customers who took out loans from Barclays Partner Finance which were brokered through Azure Services have been offered redress.

However, the Government understands that Barclays Partner Finance has begun communicating next steps to customers on how they can obtain redress for loans that were brokered through Azure Services. The Government notes that the remediation programme will be undertaken in phases, and that groups of customers will receive communications at different times. More detail on the remediation programme can be found at: https://www.barclayspartnerfinance.com/home/personal/azure/

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) holds regular meetings with Barclays Partner Finance to monitor progress on the remediation programme for customers of Azure Services. The Treasury engages regularly with the FCA on the remediation programme to understand how it is progressing.


Written Question
Azure Services: Loans
Tuesday 18th October 2022

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2022 to Question 47726 on Azure Services: Loans, how many and what proportion of affected customers have been offered financial redress.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government does not hold information on how many customers who took out loans from Barclays Partner Finance which were brokered through Azure Services have been offered redress.

However, the Government understands that Barclays Partner Finance has begun communicating next steps to customers on how they can obtain redress for loans that were brokered through Azure Services. The Government notes that the remediation programme will be undertaken in phases, and that groups of customers will receive communications at different times. More detail on the remediation programme can be found at: https://www.barclayspartnerfinance.com/home/personal/azure/

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) holds regular meetings with Barclays Partner Finance to monitor progress on the remediation programme for customers of Azure Services. The Treasury engages regularly with the FCA on the remediation programme to understand how it is progressing.


Written Question
Incontinence
Wednesday 2nd February 2022

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing VAT from the cost of incontinence pads.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Incontinence products are already eligible for the zero rate of VAT when sold to an individual who is disabled or chronically sick and the goods are for their personal use. This applies to sales over the counter or on the internet and in most circumstances the customer does not need to complete an eligibility declaration.

No assessment has been made of the potential impact of removing VAT from other sales of incontinence pads.


Written Question
Business: Finance
Tuesday 26th January 2021

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing grants for businesses that have accrued excess stock as a result of Government policy changes on covid-19 restrictions.

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

The Government recognises that this continues to be a challenging time for businesses in a wide variety of sectors, and that the restrictions which are necessary to save lives and protect the NHS cause disruption for businesses.

The Government has made available an unprecedented package of economic support, including several grant schemes. Businesses that are legally required to close due to Covid restrictions are eligible for cash grants from the Local Restrictions Support Grant of up to £3,000 per month. In addition, these businesses will benefit from one-off grants of up to £9,000 as announced on 5 January.

Businesses which are not eligible for grants for closed businesses may be able to benefit from the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). We recently increased the funding available under this scheme to £1.6 billion across England. It is up to each local authority to determine eligibility for this scheme based on their assessment of local economic need; however, we encourage local authorities to support businesses which have been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, but which are ineligible for the other grant schemes.

In addition to the grant schemes, businesses can benefit from an extension of the furlough scheme until April; an extension of the COVID-19 loan schemes until March; support for the self-employed via the SEISS; a business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure business properties; mortgage holidays; enhanced Time to Pay for taxes; and VAT cuts and deferrals.


Written Question
Wholesale Trade: Non-domestic Rates
Thursday 21st January 2021

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential merits of extending business rates relief to food service wholesalers.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.

The Government understands the impact that COVID-19 has had on businesses, and has provided various schemes to support specific firms such as wholesalers, including Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans, Bounce Back Loans, grants and VAT deferrals.

In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.


Written Question
Parents: Coronavirus
Wednesday 25th November 2020

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial provision is available within the 14-day self-isolation period for the parents of schoolchildren who have been told to stay at home and self-isolate through NHS Test and Trace but who have have not themselves been notified to self-isolate and therefore do not have an 8-digit NHS Test and Trace code with which to recoup lost earnings during that period.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government has committed to a significant package to support individuals through this difficult time. This includes the introduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, as well as the injection of an additional £9.3bn into the welfare system according to Office for Budget Responsibility estimates.

If an employee has average weekly earnings of at least £120 per week, they will be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if they are self-isolating under Government guidance and cannot work from home. This includes parents living in the same households as children self-isolating with symptoms of COVID-19. The Government has changed the rules so that SSP is now payable from day 1, not day 4, for COVID-19 cases.

Parents of children who are self-isolating under Government guidance may be eligible for “new style” Contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) if they are ineligible for SSP and unable to work from home. The Government has made it easier for people to claim by removing the seven-day waiting period which means people can get support from day one.

In terms of wider support, the Chancellor has recently announced that the CJRS will be extended until the end of March 2021. The Government has striven to ensure that the CJRS can be accessed by as many people as possible. All employers with a UK bank account and a PAYE payroll scheme registered on or before 30 October can claim, while employees are required to have been employed and on an employer’s PAYE payroll on 30 October 2020. Any employee who meets the eligibility criteria can be furloughed by their employer.

Parents on lower incomes can also benefit from the Government’s wider changes to the welfare system to support the most vulnerable. These changes include a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit (UC) standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element, and a nearly £1 billion increase in support for renters through increases to the Local Housing Allowance rates for UC and Housing Benefit claimants.


Written Question
Non-domestic Rates: Coronavirus
Wednesday 25th November 2020

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the business rates holiday granted for retail, hospitality, leisure and nurseries for the 2020-21 tax year for (a) part or (b) all of 2021-22.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The unprecedented full business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure properties for the financial year is worth £10 billion to business in 2020-21. The Government will continue to look at how to adjust support in a way that ensures people can get back to work, protecting both the UK economy and the livelihoods of people across the country. The Government will consider all reliefs in the round, against the broader fiscal and economic impacts of COVID-19, as part of the Business Rates Review.


Written Question
Business: Coronavirus
Wednesday 25th November 2020

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide (a) sliding scale grants or (b) greater financial support for business sectors most effected by the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

The Government is acutely aware of the extreme disruption to people’s lives, jobs, and businesses due to the necessary actions to tackle COVID-19.

This is why we announced the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) scheme, which will provide businesses in England which are legally required to close with grants of up to £3,000 per four-week closure period, depending on their rateable value.

Through the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open), local authorities which were subject to restrictions on socialising between 1 August and 5 November will also receive additional funding so that they can make grants of up to £2,100 per month of closures to hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses which were able to remain open but which experienced a severe reduction in demand due to restrictions on socialising.

On top of this, we have provided Local Authorities with a further £1.1 billion across England via the Additional Restrictions Grant. Local Authorities have discretion on how to use this funding to support businesses in their areas, but we encourage them to set up discretionary grant schemes to support businesses which can remain open, but which are nonetheless severely affected by the enhanced COVID-19 restrictions.

Businesses across the country should also be able to benefit from others measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for businesses, including:

  • The extension to 31 March of the CJRS, through which employees will receive up to 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked up to a maximum of £2,500 per month;
  • Support for the self-employed via the SEISS, which will provide the self-employed with grants worth up to 80% of trading profits, covering November to January;
  • The extension of the application deadline for loan guarantee schemes to the end of January 2021;
  • An adjustment to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme rules to allow those businesses who have borrowed less than their maximum (i.e. less than 25% of their turnover) to top-up their existing loan; and
  • Help for businesses in repaying loans from Government-backed schemes through the Pay as you Grow scheme and allowing lenders to extend the terms of CBILS loans to up to 10 years.

Written Question
Business: Coronavirus
Wednesday 25th November 2020

Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford and Eccles)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce a mechanism for businesses to opt to close once they meet certain criteria to enable access to more appropriate financial support and furloughing schemes .

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

Throughout the pandemic the government’s economic priority has remained the same: to protect jobs and livelihoods. Since March, the government has provided support for people, businesses and public services totalling an estimated £200 billion. We are committed to ensuring we take the right action at the right time to support individuals and businesses in every region and nation of the United Kingdom.

That is why we have a substantial support package available for businesses regardless of whether they are open or closed. The Chancellor recently announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been extended until the end of March 2021. This provides businesses with a grant to cover 80% of the wages of their employees. We have added additional flexibility so it can be used to cover reduced hours as well as for businesses that are closed. To date CJRS has support 9.6 million jobs at the cost of roughly £41.9bn.

Alongside the CJRS, businesses have also benefited from the access to finance schemes, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. Under the BBLS, the government provides lenders with a 100% guarantee to enable them to provide loans between £2,000 and £50,000 to the smallest businesses across the UK with a simple, streamlined application process. All eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will pay no business rates in England for 12 months from 1 April 2020. Businesses will also benefit from the reduced rate of VAT for tourist attractions and goods & services supplied by the hospitality sector.

For businesses that remain open but are severely affected by restrictions can receive support through the Local Restrictions Support Grant (open), which provides up to £2,100 of support per month. They can also access one-off funding through the Additional Restrictions Grant, worth £1.1bn nationally and distributed by local authorities.