Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of child benefit claims made for children living in each other EU member state in each of the last 10 years; and what the estimated cost to the public was of such claims.
Answered by Damian Hinds
Around 7m people are receiving Child Benefit. To extract and collate the value of all payments made to EU migrants for children living outside the UK in the format requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Information relating to the number of Child Benefit claims paid to families with children living overseas is available in the Government publication , “The best of both worlds: the United Kingdom's special status in a reformed European Union”. This publication is available on Gov.uk
The Government’s new settlement between the UK and the EU means that EU nationals whose children live abroad will ultimately receive Child Benefit at a rate that reflects the conditions – including the standard of living and child benefit paid – of the country where their child lives. This will restore fairness to the system.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) English airports and (b) aviation connectivity of the devolution of Air Passenger Duty.
Answered by Damian Hinds
Any potential effects of Air Passenger Duty (APD) devolution are contingent on the extent of devolution in the UK and subsequent decisions made by devolved administrations and central government.
The Government is delivering the Smith Agreement by devolving APD to the Scottish Parliament. It is also considering the case and options for devolving APD to Wales, informed by a review of options to support English regional airports from potential impacts caused by its devolution.
As part of this review, HM Treasury published a discussion paper at Summer Budget 2015 exploring a number of options. We are carefully considering the evidence received from stakeholders and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many notices or demands for payment were posted to companies and individuals by HM Revenue and Customs for amounts less than £1 in each financial year since 2012-13.
Answered by David Gauke
The number of notices or demands for payment for amounts less than £1 could only be provided at a disproportionate cost. HM Revenue and Customs does not automatically collect the data on how many notices or demands for payments are issued for amounts less than £1.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to publish the results of the economic modelling of the effect of a 50 per cent reduction in air passenger duty in Scotland on the aviation and travel industry in the rest of the UK with its review and discussion paper on that issue; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Damian Hinds
In 2012, HMRC published analysis on the effect that differential prices at UK airports could have on overall demand for aviation and passengers' choice of airport. This included an analysis of the impact of price reductions equivalent to 50% of the value of APD in Scotland. The analysis can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modelling-the-effects-of-price-differentials-at-uk-airports
In response to the concerns voiced by airports about the potential impacts of devolution, the government published a discussion paper at Summer Budget 2015. The paper explores the options for supporting regional airports from such impacts. The paper can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discussion-paper-on-options-for-supporting-english-regional-airports-from-the-impacts-of-air-passenger-duty-devolution