Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Mansion House speech of 20 June 2019, when he plans to issue a second sovereign sukuk; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Over the coming weeks the relevant teams at HM Treasury will work with the Debt Management Office and other officials on formulating the procurement process for the appointment of structuring and legal advisers. A specific timetable has not yet been determined for this. Further announcements, including on the timing of the issuance, will be made in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount of (a) tax credits and (b) child benefit to which claimants were entitled but did not claim in each year since 2010.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Estimates of the amounts of tax credit which have not been claimed by eligible households are published annually in “Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit Take-up rates” on the gov.uk website. The latest publication relating to 2016-17 is here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/763597/Child_Benefit__Child_Tax_Credit_and_Working_Tax_Credit_take-up_rates_2016_to_2017.pdf
The table below show estimates of the total amount of tax credit expenditure unclaimed since 2010-11.
Year | Central estimate of expenditure unclaimed (£bn) |
2010-11 | 4.6 |
2011-12 | 4.1 |
2012-13 | 4.0 |
2013-14 | 3.7 |
2014-15 | 4.1 |
2015-16 | 5.1 |
2016-17 | 4.4 |
Variations in the amounts unclaimed are related to changes in the rates and thresholds in the tax credit system. The proportion of Child Tax Credit expenditure which is claimed has remained at 90 per cent or above since 2010-11, and the proportion of Working Tax Credit expenditure which is claimed has remained at between 83 and 86 per cent over the same period.
The proportion of eligible children who have Child Benefit claimed on their behalf is included in the publication referenced above and remains high at 93 per cent in 2016-17. Information relating to the amounts of Child Benefit unclaimed can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the elderly to accrue personal savings.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to supporting people of all incomes and at all stages of life to save.
Older people will continue to benefit from a number of measures this Government has introduced in recent years.
The amount of money that people can save into their ISAs each year (the annual subscription allowance) has been increased to a record £20,000.
Since April 2016, individuals have also been able to benefit from a new Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and up to £500 for higher rate taxpayers.
As a result of these measures, over 95% of people with savings income pay no tax on that income.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to review the rates of Company Car Tax in light of changes resulting from the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Testing Procedure; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The government has engaged with stakeholders as part of the review of WLTP on vehicle taxes which closed on 17 February.
The review sought evidence on how reported carbon dioxide emissions are impacted by the introduction of WLTP and whether any adjustment should be made to Vehicle Excise Duty and company car tax from April 2020.
Responses to the review are currently being analysed and the government has committed to publishing a response in the spring.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of freezing at 2018-19 levels the rates of Company Car Tax for vehicles registered before the implementation of the Worldwide Harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure in April 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The government has engaged with stakeholders as part of the review of WLTP on vehicle taxes which closed on 17 February.
The review sought evidence on how reported carbon dioxide emissions are impacted by the introduction of WLTP and whether any adjustment should be made to Vehicle Excise Duty and company car tax from April 2020.
Responses to the review are currently being analysed and the government has committed to publishing a response in the spring.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of an increase in non-tariff barriers on consumer prices in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
On 28 November 2018, the government published a robust assessment of how exiting the EU may affect the UK economy in the long-run, detailing the effects on GDP, GDP per capita, exports and imports across four scenarios. This analysis is available on gov.uk.
While the analysis does not seek to assess the effect of non-tariff barriers on consumer prices specifically, the lower GDP in the modelled no deal scenario compared to today's arrangements reflects the combined impact of trade frictions, including non-tariff barriers, on households' purchasing power as well as on firms' gross output and their productivity. The White Paper scenario would deliver significantly higher economic output compared to no deal.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, from what date was BT’s Next Generation Access lines assessed separately for business rates from the rest of the BT network.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The independent Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for the valuation of non-domestic properties for business rates purposes in England and Wales. The Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 restricts VOA from providing specific information to protect ratepayer confidentiality.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the additional import tariff revenue accruing to HM Treasury in respect of imports from the EU in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The amount of customs revenue collected in the event of “no deal” is dependent on the rates of import duty set. The Government will publish new UK duty rates, in due course, before we leave the EU.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to Answer of 29 November 2018 to Question 195470 on PAYE, whether the 95 per cent of RTI submissions reported on time refers to the (a) pay date self-certified by the employer in their PAYE Full Payment Submission or (b) date on which payment was credited to the employee's bank account as reported by the BACS hash information.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
HMRC’s assessment of timely filing of Real Time Information (RTI) is based on the pay date provided by employers and pension providers.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the BACS hash information feed provides HMRC with the date on which an employee's earnings are credited to the employee's bank account.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The BACS hash information feed that HMRC receives to support the validation of Real Time Information (RTI) submitted by customers contains the date that earnings are credited to an employee’s bank account. The availability of this information is restricted to that automated process.