Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with sectoral representatives on steps to increase levels of bank lending to small businesses.
Answered by Simon Kirby
Treasury ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of HM Revenue and Customs' preparedness for handling customer enquiries in advance of the January 2017 self-assessment deadline.
Answered by David Gauke
January is always a peak time for customer contact and, as in previous years, will be subject to detailed resource planning. This planning is still at an early stage.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2016 to Question 37088, which body is responsible for publishing information about funds collected through the Mutual Assistance Recovery Directive; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is required to submit information about funds they collect through the Mutual Assistance Recovery Directive (MARD) on an annual basis. HMRC does not publish this information. Under the MARD, the EU Commission is required to produce a regular report summarising the use of the mutual assistance arrangements.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been collected by other EU countries on behalf of the Government through the Mutual Assistance Recovery Directive in each year since that Directive came into effect.
Answered by David Gauke
This information is not published by the UK Government or by the EU Commission.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Revenue and Customs has collected from UK citizens through the Mutual Assistance Recovery Directive in each year since that Directive came into effect.
Answered by David Gauke
This information is not published by the UK Government or by the EU Commission.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of trends in the level of wage growth and inflation.
Answered by Damian Hinds
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in the three months to January, Real Average Weekly Earnings grew 2 percent compared to a year earlier.
Wage growth has outstripped inflation for 16 consecutive months. And the OBR forecast wages to grow faster than inflation in each of the next five years.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the sale of illegally-produced alcohol in shops.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The Government is committed to tackling alcohol fraud. Alcohol producers have to be licensed or gain approval by HMRC to operate. Illegal production is off-record and often involves the counterfeiting of established alcohol brands; chiefly spirits.
Detections of illegally produced alcohol in shops are low. However, because of the potentially serious health consequences of consumption, vigilance by enforcement agencies and the public is crucial.
HMRC responds robustly to all discoveries of illegal production of alcohol and works collaboratively with other enforcement agencies such as Local Authority Trading Standards and the Police, to tackle the sale of counterfeit alcohol. As well as exchanging intelligence, HMRC and Trading Standards Officers take part in joint exercises targeting retailers in specific regions to detect illegal products. Agencies working together can bring a broader range of sanctions and penalties against those who chose to flout the laws.
Sales of alcohol that are suspected to be illegally produced, counterfeit or untaxed can be reported to HMRC by using hotline number 0800 595 000, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.