Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the high income child benefit charge on children's living standards.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) only affects Child Benefit recipients who have, or whose partner has, and adjusted net income between £50,000 and £60,000.
Data on children living in low-income households is available in the public domain as part of the Households Below Average Income statistical release, published on GOV.UK by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing changes to the child benefit system.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Child Benefit ensures families receive support for the additional costs they face in raising a child. 7.7m million families across the UK claim Child Benefit.
To ensure that the Child Benefit payments retain their value, they will be increased in line with last September’s CPI at 6.7% from April 2024.
Further support for children from low-income households is also provided through the child element of Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit, which will be uprated in line with CPI.
The Government also offers a broader range of support for parents to help with childcare, including financial support with childcare through Tax-Free Childcare.
As with all Government policy, Child Benefit is kept under regular review.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the child benefit allowance to £50 a week for all children.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Child Benefit ensures families receive support for the additional costs they face in raising a child. 7.7m million families across the UK claim Child Benefit.
To ensure that the Child Benefit payments retain their value, they will be increased in line with last September’s CPI at 6.7% from April 2024.
Further support for children from low-income households is also provided through the child element of Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit, which will be uprated in line with CPI.
The Government also offers a broader range of support for parents to help with childcare, including financial support with childcare through Tax-Free Childcare.
As with all Government policy, Child Benefit is kept under regular review.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the high income child benefit charge on women.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Child Benefit statistics (which include data on the High Income Child Benefit Charge) are published annually by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on GOV.UK . They include information on Child Benefit claimants, and High Income Child Benefit Charge liability by gender.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the self-assessment process on individuals that receive child benefit and pay the high income child benefit charge; and whether he plans to simplify the self-assessment process.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Self Assessment tax return is currently the only means for HM Revenue and Customs to establish the correct HICBC liability.
The Government announced in July 2023 that steps will be taken to enable employed individuals to pay the HICBC through their tax code, removing the need to register for Self Assessment. This will make the process of paying the charge simpler for individuals who become liable to the charge, reaffirming the Government’s commitment to a simpler and fairer tax system.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on (a) supermarket and (b) domestic energy prices.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
It is for the Office for Budget Responsibility to provide economic and fiscal forecasts.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February 2023 to Question 148721 on Students: Fuels, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of rises in the cost-of-living on students in Scotland.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures, which can also impact students.
In this financial year, the government has provided households with support on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. At Spring Budget, the government announced the Energy Price Guarantee would be maintained at £2,500 for the next three months from April, saving households an additional £160, bringing total government support for energy bills to £1,500 for a typical household since October 2022.
The Scottish Government is well-funded to deliver all its devolved responsibilities, receiving around 25% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK.
It is for the Scottish Government to allocate its funding in devolved areas as it sees fit, including support for Scottish students, and it is accountable to the Scottish Parliament for these decisions.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2023 to Question 148722 on cost of living: ethnic groups, what recent discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on (a) students, (b) ethnic minorities, (c) low-income households and d) people earning the national average wage.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government understands that people are worried about the cost of living challenges ahead. In the Spring Budget, the Chancellor has taken a further step to support all households with rising costs by extending the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500. This brings the total support over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with higher bills to £94 billion – an average of £3,300 per UK household.
Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the policy process and delivery. In accordance with our principles of transparency, details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at HMT ministers' meetings, hospitality, gifts and overseas travel - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the cost of living on ethnic minorities in the UK.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government understands that people are worried about the cost of living challenges ahead.
That’s why the government has announced support worth £26 billion for 2023-24, designed to target the most vulnerable households.
The Treasury carefully considers the equality impacts of the individual measures announced at fiscal events on those sharing protected characteristics, including gender, ethnicity and disability – in line with both its legal obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and its strong commitment to equality issues.
The government is committed to promoting economic growth and supporting all individuals and communities to achieve their full potential
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support has been made available for those earning the national average wage in response to the cost of living crisis.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Hard-working people are the backbone of our economy. That is why last year the Government increased the national insurance starting threshold by £2,690, taking around 2.2 million working people out of paying national insurance. It is now possible to earn over £12,500 a year without paying any tax or national insurance.
The Government has also taken decisive actions to support all households across the UK through cost of living challenges with a package worth £26 billion in 2023-24, including by reducing bills through the Energy Price Guarantee.
Going further, the government’s priorities to halve inflation and growth the economy are the most effective way to build a more prosperous future for all.