Asked by: Allan Dorans (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the regulation of car insurance premiums.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, including the financial services regulators, on an ongoing basis.
Insurers make commercial decisions about the pricing of insurance based on their assessment on the likelihood and expected cost of a claim. The Government does not intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers as this could damage competition in the market.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent regulator and responsible for supervising the insurance industry. The FCA have introduced several reforms, including the Consumer Duty rules, to ensure consumers are treated fairly in regard to pricing.
Asked by: Allan Dorans (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what checks his Department conducts to help prevent unauthorised third parties claiming commission on refunds from HMRC.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to maintaining trust in the tax system and protecting customers. However, the Government is aware that some taxpayers face issues and feel misled when using companies that specialise in claiming tax refunds from HMRC. This service is provided at a cost (often on a no-win, no fee commission basis) unlike claiming directly from HMRC which is free of charge.
Following a consultation last year, ‘Raising standards in tax advice: Protecting customers claiming tax repayments’, the Government is taking action to address concerns raised. This includes introducing new transparency requirements in the HMRC Standard for Agents, published in January 2023, to ensure customers are clear on the agent’s fees and charging structure.
The Government has also introduced legislation in the Finance Bill 2023 to end the use of assignments in income tax repayment claims and announced on 27th April the introduction of a requirement for repayment agents to register with HMRC.
There are many ways in which a customer can authorise a third party to act on their behalf. Following the consultation, HMRC is also undertaking further work to develop options for a more modern and secure approach to agent authorisation.
HMRC monitors agents and challenges them when there are potential concerns about their practices. HMRC will take action if a tax agent does not adhere to the HMRC Standard for Agents including suspending claim processing until any issues are resolved.
Asked by: Allan Dorans (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of equalising the payments being made to families in the UK assisting Ukrainians arriving under the Family Reunion Scheme with the payments being made to those accepting refugees under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.
Answered by Simon Clarke
This government cares deeply about helping those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine. This is why we have announced two visa schemes which both support the integration of Ukrainian refugees by providing them with full access to social services and welfare in the UK for up to three years.
The Ukraine Family Scheme is similar to existing family visa routes, and provision of public services from this route will be managed in the usual way. The UK-based family member is expected to provide support and accommodation for those coming to join them, who in turn benefit from the wider integration advantages in joining an existing family network.
Homes for Ukraine on the other hand is a unique scheme that has been set up specifically to support those escaping the conflict in Ukraine who are not able to rely on family support. The government is providing additional funding to local authorities which includes resource to enable them to carry out sponsorship-specific functions such as safeguarding checks and property checks, administering payments, as well as providing support such as English language training to help their integration into communities.
Asked by: Allan Dorans (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of changes to the state pension age for women born in the 1950s on revenue accruing to the Exchequer from (a) income tax, (b) national insurance, (c) VAT and (d) other fiscal sources.
Answered by Simon Clarke
No such estimate has been made of the effect of changes to the state pension age for women born in the 1950s on revenue accruing to the Exchequer.
The Government decided over 25 years ago that it was going to make the State Pension age the same for men and women.
Raising State Pension age in line with life expectancy changes has been the policy of successive administrations over many years
DWP estimate that the total additional cost if we had not implemented any increases in State Pension age would be in the region of £215bn for the period 2010/11 to 2025/26, in 2018/19 prices. This figure takes into account State Pension, other pensioner benefits, and savings made on .working age benefits.
Asked by: Allan Dorans (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Loan Charge, who the deemed employer or promoter was of loan schemes used by Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services (RCTDS)-employed contractors post 2017; for what reason use of those schemes reportedly continued for three years after the enactment of the Finance Act 2017; and whether the then Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office audited and signed off RCTDS accounts in 2018.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services Limited (RCDTS) has never participated in disguised remuneration tax avoidance schemes, for example by remunerating contractors through loans or payments to trusts. Since RCDTS engages contractors via agencies or via companies providing services, it is possible for contractors to use disguised remuneration without the participation or knowledge of RCDTS.
It is not possible for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to provide details of any employers, promoters or schemes due to their statutory duty of confidentiality.
Use of disguised remuneration schemes continued after the enactment of the Finance Act 2017 because promoters continued to sell them, despite the clear view of HMRC that these schemes do not work.
Any RCDTS contractor identified in the course of HM Revenue and Customs’ compliance work as using a disguised remuneration scheme would be investigated in the same way as any other contractor. Where the use of disguised remuneration is found to be current, the relevant engagement is terminated with immediate effect.
The Revenue and Customs Digital Services Ltd accounts ending 31 March 2018, 31 March 2019 and 31 March 2020 were audited by the NAO under Statute.
Asked by: Allan Dorans (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support private investment in the UK hydrogen economy.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
At Spring Budget 2020, the Chancellor announced a commitment of at least £800m for the deployment of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in the 2020s. These assets will play an important role in the production of hydrogen made from fossil fuels, otherwise known as blue hydrogen as they share the same infrastructure. .
Additionally, last year, the Government announced a £100m Low Carbon Hydrogen Production Fund to incentivise future private sector investment in low carbon hydrogen, whilst in July this year, the Government published a response to a consultation on CCS business models, including for low carbon hydrogen production.
These measures will ensure that the UK economy is well-placed for future strategic decisions on the use of hydrogen, and that the private sector has sufficient confidence to provide investment.