Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data his Department used to estimate the number of short-term lets that would be suitable for primary residences when the furnished holiday let tax regime has ended.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced that it will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax regime, equalising the tax treatment of landlords with short-term holiday lets and those with standard residential properties. This will make the taxation of property fairer and simpler while raising revenue for public services. The changes will not penalise or prohibit the provision of FHLs more widely.
The Government keeps all aspects of tax policy under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the laundry industry is not eligible for support under the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries scheme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We have taken a consistent approach to identifying the most energy and trade intensive sectors, with all sectors that meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity eligible for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) support under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS). The firms eligible for ETIIs support are those operating within sectors that fall above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, and those within sectors eligible for the existing Energy Intensive Industries compensations and exemption schemes. Further information on the methodology can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-discount-scheme-factsheet/energy-bills-discount-scheme-energy-and-trade-intense-industries-assessment-methodology.
All other eligible businesses, except for those experiencing low energy costs, will automatically receive a unit discount on their bills of up to £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas. This will help those locked into contracts signed before recent substantial falls in the wholesale price manage their costs and provide others with reassurance against the risk of prices rising again.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 4.18 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC1183, published on 15 March 2023, what support his Department provides to community-run swimming pools.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring continued public access to public swimming pools. Swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy as well as being a crucial life skill in terms of water safety. Furthermore, swimming facilities are important centres for the local community. That is why the Chancellor has announced, as part of the Spring Budget, over £60 million to safeguard public swimming pools in England as the first step to future proof the sector.
Details of the eligibility process will be published shortly, however, this fund will focus on those public swimming pool providers whose cost pressures are most acute, leaving them most vulnerable to closure. The Government intends for community and charitable trusts to be eligible to receive this funding. Sport England will manage a competitive application process and set out further detail on eligibility shortly.
This funding is on top of unprecedented levels of support provided for energy costs over the winter by the Energy Bills Relief Scheme (EBRS). From 1 April 2023 following the end of the EBRS, further support will be provided to eligible non-domestic users, including swimming pools, through the new Energy Bills Discount Scheme, which will run until 31 March 2024. This will help those locked into contracts signed before the recent substantial fall in wholesale prices manage their costs.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the relevant stakeholders on expanding the Annual Investment Allowance to cover workplace training.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) is available for investment in plant and machinery. In the 23 September Growth Plan, the government announced that it would permanently set the AIA at £1 million. Unlike capital expenditure, workplace training is tax-deductible for companies and so expanding the AIA to cover workplace training is not something the government is considering.
The Government is, however, supporting workplace training. The Government has transformed apprenticeships – which are jobs with training for anyone of any age – to align with employer needs and the Spending Review 2021 increased total government spending on skills in England by £3.8 billion by 2024-25.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Health and Social Care Levy rise in National Insurance is an increase of 1.25 percentage points or 1.25 per cent; and what the equivalent percentage rise is in the amount take from a standard taxpayer.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Health and Social Care Levy is an increase of 1.25 percentage points in the main and additional rates of Class 1, 1a, 1b and 4 in 2022-23. From April 2023 onwards, the rates will reduce back to previous levels and there will be a separate 1.25 per cent charge on all earnings above the Primary Threshold subject to the same Classes of National Insurance Contributions (NICs).
In the tax year 2022-23, a taxpayer earning the median income would be subject to 13.25 per cent in Class 1 NICs on earnings above the Primary Threshold. From April 2023 onwards they would be subject to 12 per cent in Class 1 NICs, plus 1.25 per cent on their earnings above the Primary Threshold.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2021 to Question 45954, on Carbon Emissions: Costs, when his Department will publish the expected cost of achieving the Government's net zero emissions target.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HM Treasury has published the Net Zero Review (NZR), which is an analytical report that uses existing data to explore the key issues and trade-offs as the UK decarbonises. This is against a backdrop of uncertainty on technology and costs, as well as changes to the economy over the next thirty years. It focuses on the potential exposure of households and businesses to the transition, and highlights factors to be taken into account in designing policy that will allocate costs over this time horizon.
As highlighted in the NZR, the overall impact is uncertain and challenging to estimate. Existing estimates suggest that the impact on GDP by the end of the transition is likely to be relatively small, and dwarfed by the costs of global inaction. The economic impact will be uneven across the economy. The scale of the change for some businesses, sectors and regions is likely to be substantial.
As the transition will be dynamic and take place over thirty years, it is not possible to forecast impacts on households and assessments of abatement costs in the future are highly speculative. The net zero transition will also entail a number of technology transitions, and there is significant uncertainty in relation to their costs, although technology costs for some green technologies have shown that projected costs have been far higher than actual costs. The eventual impact will therefore depend on policy choices and the way the economy adjusts over time.
The NZR has not sought to duplicate existing analysis and uses the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) analysis on costs and benefits in line with Carbon Budget 6 and the Net Zero Strategy (NZS). In the NZS, BEIS estimate that the net cost, excluding air quality and emissions savings benefits, will be equivalent to 1-2% of GDP in 2050.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to share further details on the additional £1.5 billion of business rates relief for businesses that are ineligible for retail discount or business grant schemes as announced on 25 March 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is currently preparing guidance to support local authorities ahead of rollout of the £1.5 billion business rates relief fund. The final guidance, its specifics and level of prescription, will reflect considerations including the existing framework of Government support, information held by local authorities and their capacity to administer various parameters, as well as subsidy control considerations.
This discretionary relief pot approach has been taken to get funding to businesses as soon as possible and on the basis of their actual economic exposure to COVID-19 rather than the pandemic’s hypothetical impact on property rental values. The alternative of prolonged litigation and appeals through the Material Change of Circumstance provision could have taken years.
The Government will support local authorities to enable ratepayers to apply for relief awards as soon as possible this year, once the legislation relating to Material Change of Circumstance provisions has passed, and local authorities have set up local relief schemes.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support businesses with employees who may be reluctant to come off of furlough arrangements and return to the workplace as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As clearly stated in the CJRS guidance, employees will need to be able to work for the employer that has placed them on furlough if their employer decides to stop furloughing them or start flexibly furloughing them.
If the employer decides to take an employee off furlough and has followed the correct contractual procedures and it is reasonable to expect the employee to return, then the employee may be in breach of contract and subject to disciplinary action if they refuse to work.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has been made of the impact of employers being responsible for holiday leave accrued by staff while on furlough, on small businesses.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The CJRS operates within the employment law framework. Rights as an employee are not affected by being on furlough. Existing legislation means that furloughed employees continue to accrue leave as per their employment contract.
In terms of wider support, businesses have access to the Recovery Loan Scheme until 31 December 2021. Eligible businesses will continue to benefit from business rate reliefs until 31 March 2022, and as of 1 April have access to the one-off Restart grant of up to £18,000. In addition, over £2 billion of discretionary business grant funding has been provided to local authorities via the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) fund, including the £425 million top-up announced at the Budget.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government plans to take to support businesses that are responsible for holiday pay accrued while staff were on furlough during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The CJRS operates within the employment law framework. Rights as an employee are not affected by being on furlough. Existing legislation means that furloughed employees continue to accrue leave as per their employment contract.
In terms of wider support, businesses have access to the Recovery Loan Scheme until 31 December 2021. Eligible businesses will continue to benefit from business rate reliefs until 31 March 2022, and as of 1 April have access to the one-off Restart grant of up to £18,000. In addition, over £2 billion of discretionary business grant funding has been provided to local authorities via the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) fund, including the £425 million top-up announced at the Budget.