Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders on the closure of high street bank branches and the potential effect of those closures on businesses that deposit cash.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Treasury ministers and officials engage with stakeholders on a variety of issues. However, the decision to close a branch is a commercial issue for banks and building societies and the Government does not intervene in these decisions or make direct assessments of the impact of closures.
However, the Government also firmly believes that the impact of branch closures should be understood, considered and mitigated where possible so that all customers and businesses continue to have access to banking services. That is why the Government continues to be supportive of the Access to Banking Standard which commits firms to ensure customers are well informed about branch closures, the bank’s reasons for closure and options for continued access to banking services. Alternative options for access include the Post Office, which allows 95% of business and 99% of personal banking customers to carry out their everyday banking at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.
In September 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority also published guidance setting out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of a planned closure on their personal and small business customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs, and other relevant branch services and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This will ensure the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.
The Government also recognises that cash is important to the daily lives of millions of individuals and businesses across the UK. I have announced that the Government will consult this summer on further legislative proposals for protecting access to cash for the long term.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with (a) NICE and (b) NHS England and NHS Improvement on setting levels of ambition in the NICE Methods Review.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)’s review into its methods and processes for assessing new medicines is currently live. The review has sought input from a wide range of stakeholders, and officials from across Government – including those in HM Treasury – have been engaged as appropriate. NICE is an independent body, and I look forward to seeing the outcome of the Review in due course.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with (a) NICE and (b) NHS England on the changes needed in the NICE methods and process review to deliver on the Government’s ambition to be a global life sciences hub.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)’s review into its methods and processes for assessing new medicines is currently live. The review has sought input from a wide range of stakeholders, and officials from across Government – including those in HM Treasury – have been engaged as appropriate. NICE is an independent body, and I look forward to seeing the outcome of the Review in due course.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department published before the Budget on 3 March 2021 on the requirement to have filed a 2019-20 self-assessment tax return by 2 March 2021 in order to be eligible for the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government announced at Budget on 3 March that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue until September, with a fourth and a final fifth grant. This provides certainty to business as the economy reopens and means the SEISS continues to be one of the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world.
The Chancellor also announced that the fourth and fifth SEISS grants would be based on 2019-20 Self-Assessment tax returns and individuals must have submitted their 2019-20 tax return by 2 March 2021. This date balances access for the vast majority of eligible self-employed individuals, with the duty to protect the taxpayer against fraud as the details of the SEISS grants became public.
HM Revenue & Customs waived the late filing penalty for Self-Assessment tax returns filed online by 28 February to provide relief to all self-assessment taxpayers and agents at a time of unprecedented pressure. The statutory filing deadline of 31 January did not change.
Further information about the fourth grant is available in recently published guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme.
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 representatives of the Financial Conduct Authority on enabling lenders to (a) restructure and (b) extend loans in light of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to regulating only where there is a clear case for doing so, in order to avoid putting additional costs on lenders that would ultimately lead to higher costs for business customers. Business lending is unregulated and is not generally within the scope of the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA's) conduct rules.
However, the Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through the emergency Covid-19 loan schemes which have been open since March 2020: over 1.6 million businesses have accessed over £75 billion of finance through the schemes to date.
Whilst it is important that businesses are responsible for repaying any facility they take out, to help businesses repay their loans the Government has taken steps to give them time to get back on their feet. This includes “Pay as You Grow” (PAYG) options for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), giving businesses the option to: repay their BBLS facility over ten years, move temporarily to interest-only payments for periods of up to six months (an option which they can use up to three times), or to pause their repayments entirely for up to six months.
The Government has also amended the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) rules to allow lenders to extend loan terms from six to a maximum of ten years at their discretion and where they judge that the borrower is in difficulty and this will help them repay their loan, helping to reduce their monthly repayments.
Businesses which need support should discuss options with their lenders, who are best placed to offer tailored engagement based on individual business’ circumstances.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what targeted support the Government plans to offer to businesses that will lose revenue as a result of cancelled events in the spring and summer.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on sectors like events.
During this difficult time the Treasury is working intensively with employers, delivery partners, industry groups, and other government departments to understand the long-term effects of Covid-19 across all key areas of the economy.
We have already announced considerable and unprecedented support for businesses and individuals.
Businesses forced to close can claim grants of up to £3,000 per month (worth over £1 billion per month) through the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed). Any business in England forced to close due to national or local restrictions can claim grants, via their local authority, of up to £3,000 per month, per business premises, depending on rateable value.
In addition, on 5th January, the Government announced an extra £4.6 billion to protect jobs and support affected businesses as restrictions get tougher. Businesses forced to close can claim a one-off grant of up to £9,000. This is in addition to the monthly closed grant amounts above. Local authorities (in England) will also be given an additional £500 million discretionary funding to support their local businesses. This builds on the £1.1 billion discretionary funding (worth £20 per head of population) which local authorities in England have already received to support their local economies and help businesses impacted
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been extended until the end of April. This provides a substantial grant for employers to cover 80% of the wages of their employees.
Eligible events and businesses may have also benefit from business rates relief, a moratorium on commercial tenant evictions and the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund supporting thousands of cultural organisations including theatres, music venues, comedy clubs and festivals.
Looking forward, we will continue to monitor the impact of government support on public services, businesses, individuals and sectors, including the events sector, as we respond to this pandemic. The Budget in March will be an opportunity to take stock of our wider support and set out the next stage of our economic response to the pandemic. But we must recognise that it will not be possible to preserve every job or business indefinitely, nor stand in the way of the economy adapting and people finding new jobs or starting new businesses.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to provide financial support to businesses that incur extra costs through having to apply for a visa to resume work in Europe.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government recognises that our new relationship with the EU requires businesses to adapt to new rules whilst at the same time responding to the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic.
We have already invested funds to help businesses adapt to changes, which includes:
Moreover, the Government is taking a flexible and pragmatic approach to allow businesses to prepare. For example, recognising the impact of Coronavirus, we decided to introduce our border controls in three stages up until 1 July 2021, giving businesses extra time to adjust to the new procedures.
Going forward, we are continuing to engage intensively with business in sectors that are most affected by our changing relationship with the EU to help them adjust and to continue to successfully compete on the global stage.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the business rates holiday to the 2021-22 financial year.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government will continue to look at how to adjust support in a way that ensures people can get back to work, protecting both the UK economy and the livelihoods of people across the country. The Government will consider all reliefs in the round, against the broader fiscal and economic impacts of COVID-19, as part of the Business Rates Review.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will raise the FSCS compensation rate of £85,000 at the end of the transition period.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is responsible for setting the UK’s deposit protection limit. The current limit of £85,000 has been in place since 2017 and protects more than 97% of eligible depositors’ accounts.
There are currently no plans for the coverage level to change. However, from the end of the transition period the PRA will be required to review the limit at least once every five years and may adjust the limit following such a review, subject to HM Treasury approval.
Asked by: Anne Marie Morris (Conservative - Newton Abbot)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support sole employees of limited companies who are unable to access support with lost earnings.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Those not eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), such as sole employees of limited companies, may still be eligible for other elements of the unprecedented financial support provided by the Government. The Government has temporarily increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for 2020-21 by £20 per week and relaxed the Minimum Income Floor, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have significantly fallen, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. They may also have access to Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants, with a new extended deadline of 30 November.
In addition to this, up to half a million businesses which deferred their VAT bills will also be given more breathing space through the New Payment Scheme. This gives them the option to spread their payments over the financial year 2021-2022. In addition, all 11 million UK self-assessment taxpayers will be able to benefit from the recently enhanced Time to Pay ‘self-service’ facility to form a 12-month, interest-free payment arrangement for up to £30,000 of self-assessment debt.