Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to encourage retailers to abolish charges for customers using card payments for transactions.
Answered by Simon Kirby
Merchants currently pay a merchant service charge to process all card transactions. Part of this covers the fees that a merchant acquirer can be charged by a card issuing bank for processing transactions known as interchange fees. The Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR), which came into force in December 2015, caps the fees that could be passed on to consumers from merchants in the form of higher prices at 0.2% and 0.3% for debit and credit cards respectively.
The Government has been clear that it would like to see merchants passing on these savings to their customers so that they continue to benefit from the interchange fee caps.
From January 2018, the Payment Services Directive 2 introduces a ban on surcharging which means that retailers will no longer be able to charge consumers to use payment instruments for which interchange fees are regulated, which includes the majority of consumer debit and credit cards.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure the appropriate administration of payments of child benefit in circumstances where there are disputes relating to which parent receives payment.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Where there are disputes relating to which parent receives payment of Child Benefit, HM Revenue and Customs will consider each claim in line with its guidance, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/child-benefit-technical-manual/cbtm08030
The GOV.UK website also provides advice for people involved in these cases at: https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-child-lives-with-someone-else
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the timeframe to implement the Apprenticeship Levy; and what steps he is taking to ensure that businesses affected by the levy are given adequate time to make adjustments.
Answered by David Gauke
From April 2017 the government will introduce a levy to fund the step change needed to achieve 3 million apprenticeship starts and an uplift in their quality by 2020. The systems required to implement this in time for April 2017 are on track and are being tested on a regular basis. This includes progress by both HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), with regards to the collection of the levy, and from the Skills Funding Agency who are building the digital accounts for employers to access levy funds.
The Department for Education has issued guidance for employers regarding the apprenticeship levy. Further guidance, confirming the funding policy, will be published shortly. HMRC has also issued guidance to software developers to ensure that employers’ payroll systems are ready for the apprenticeship levy and will publish further guidance for employers in December.
The government have been working with employers and training providers since the concept of the apprenticeship levy was introduced to ensure that it works for them. These conversations have played a major part in shaping how the apprenticeship levy will work and we will continue these discussions to assist employers and providers as they prepare for the introduction of the levy.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that Teesside is not disadvantaged by the withdrawal of EU funding when the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by David Gauke
To ensure stability and certainty in the period leading up to our departure from the EU, the Chancellor has announced that structural and investment fund projects in the UK that are signed before the Autumn Statement will be guaranteed. In addition, projects where UK organisations bid directly and competitively for EU funding, such as Horizon 2020 funded projects, will be guaranteed by the UK Government if the bids are won before our departure.
Leaving the EU means we will want to take our own decisions about how to deliver the policy objectives previously targeted by EU funding. Over the coming months, we will consult closely with stakeholders to review all EU funding schemes in the round, to ensure that any ongoing funding commitments best serve the UK‘s national interest, while ensuring appropriate investor certainty.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Enterprise Investment Scheme, Venture Capital Trust, tax relief or Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme have offered low-risk investment opportunities in energy generation; and what his Department's definition of low-risk is in this context.
Answered by David Gauke
The purpose of the tax-advantaged venture capital schemes is to provide funding to smaller, higher-risk companies that would otherwise struggle to access finance to develop and grow. To target the schemes at these companies, and to ensure investment is not crowded out by low-risk investment opportunities, the schemes exclude certain activities from qualifying for investment under the schemes.
The list of excluded activities is updated as necessary to exclude activities that are able to access finance from the market and which may therefore be regarded as lower risk. These include asset-backed activities, such as property dealing and development, leasing of assets or exploiting acquired copyrights, general financial and professional services, and financing activities that can divert the tax reliefs to non-qualifying activities. For these activities, a lack of proven track record is unlikely to affect the company’s ability to access finance. In addition, such activities are likely to have collateral against which loans can be secured.
In recent years, the Government has been concerned about the disproportionate amount of tax-advantaged investment in certain energy generation activities. Their asset-backed nature makes it easier for these activities to access mainstream finance. Therefore the Government has taken several steps to exclude certain types of energy generation from the schemes, including in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
The Government keeps all tax-advantaged venture capital schemes under review, and makes changes where necessary to ensure the schemes remain well-targeted and effective.
Asked by: Anna Turley (Labour (Co-op) - Redcar)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the interest rate hedging products redress scheme operated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The information requested is available on the Financial Conduct Authority’s website:
http://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/financial-services-products/banking/interest-rate-hedging-products.