Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of Exchequer, whether bakeries will receive the higher rate of Business Rates Relief in addition to the basic rate of relief.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
At Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced a package of changes and tax cuts worth £13.6 billion over the next five years. This includes an increased 75 per cent relief for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business for 2023-24.
This is a tax cut worth over £2 billion for around 230,000 RHL businesses, to support the high street and protect small shops. This support builds on the previous temporary 50 per cent RHL scheme announced at Autumn Budget 2021, as well as the unprecedented £16 billion of relief provided to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors throughout the pandemic.
Local Authorities determine eligibility for the 2023-24 scheme with regard to Government guidance which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-rates-relief-202324-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-scheme-local-authority-guidance
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which type of bakeries fall within the higher (a) discount and (b) relief rate for business rates.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
At Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced a package of changes and tax cuts worth £13.6 billion over the next five years. This includes an increased 75 per cent relief for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business for 2023-24.
This is a tax cut worth over £2 billion for around 230,000 RHL businesses, to support the high street and protect small shops. This support builds on the previous temporary 50 per cent RHL scheme announced at Autumn Budget 2021, as well as the unprecedented £16 billion of relief provided to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors throughout the pandemic.
Local Authorities determine eligibility for the 2023-24 scheme with regard to Government guidance which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-rates-relief-202324-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-scheme-local-authority-guidance
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the average time HM Revenue and Customs takes to issue tax refunds.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HMRC covers a wide range of taxes where refunds may be made. These include, for example, Income Tax (both Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment), Corporation Tax, Stamp Duty Land Tax, Value Added Tax (with a number of different regimes in use), Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax, amongst others.
The speed of repayment, and our service level agreements (SLAs) for speed of repayment, will vary across these different areas, making it impossible to provide an estimate covering all tax refunds.
For example, HMRC has an SLA of 15 days to issue the majority of Self Assessment repayments, and for Corporation Tax repayments due to loss carry back the SLA is 40 working days. HMRC is currently meeting both those SLAs. HMRC publish how they are performing against their service level agreements here: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/guidance/HMRC-service-dashboard/HMRC-service-dashboard-start
Some repayments do take longer than the published SLAs due to additional security and compliance checks.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much steel produced in the UK was exported to other countries in (a) 1997, (b) 2010 and (c) 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics, which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria
Classification codes (according to the Harmonised System) are available to assist you in accessing published trade statistics data in the UK Global Tariff. Goods moving to and from the UK are identified by an eight-digit commodity code. These are publicly available from the UK Trade Tariff at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date he plans to respond to the letter of 12 January 2023 from the ABIM, Craft Bakers Association, Federation of Bakers, Scottish Bakers and UKAPY on the Government's announcement on the Energy Bill Discount Scheme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I confirm that the letter in question was received on 12 January 2023 and a response will be issued in due course in line with the usual timeframes.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the letter from the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on funding for British Steel.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Chancellor engages regularly with the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Security of State for Levelling up, House and Communities on a range of matters. It would not be appropriate to comment on commercial discussions.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Investment Allowance on the investment commitments made by industry in the North Sea Transition Deal.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The North Sea Transition Deal is a transformative partnership between the UK Government and the UK’s offshore oil and gas sector. It will harness the power of the UK offshore oil and gas industry to deliver net-zero by 2050, and in the process, could unlock up to £16bn in investment, secure up to 40,000 energy jobs, reduce emissions by up to 60mn metric tons and deliver new business and trade opportunities to support our transition to a low carbon future.
The recently introduced Energy Profits Levy includes an Investment Allowance. Government has published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) on the Energy Profits Levy changes announced at the Autumn Statement. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-energy-oil-and-gas-profits-levy/energy-oil-and-gas-profits-levy. The TIIN sets out that the levy is not expected to have a significant macroeconomic impact on the level of business investment.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the average change in the cost of tax for businesses following the freeze to National Insurance thresholds announced in the Autumn Statement 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Taken together with the changes made since Summer 2022, businesses will receive an overall average tax cut on their National Insurance contributions bill of £6,300 in 2023-24.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the average increase in the cost in tax for businesses in Sefton Central constituency following the freeze to National Insurance announced in the Autumn Statement 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HMRC does not hold or publish this data.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made on the reform of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 announced on 16 June 2022.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
On 16th June, the government announced its intention to reform the Consumer Credit Act 1974 to ensure it remains fit for purpose and keeps pace with technological advancements and changing consumer needs.
Since this announcement, officials have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders across industry and consumer groups to seek initial views about the direction of reform. The government is currently working towards a public consultation on the approach to reform of the CCA, which it expects to be publish soon.
This will be followed by a period of policy development and further consultation with stakeholders. Implementation of the final approach will likely require primary legislation. This will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows.