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Written Question
Houseboats: VAT
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting VAT on mooring licenses for people who live on houseboats capable of self-propulsion.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited by both legal and fiscal considerations. This request should be viewed in the context of over £50 billion of requests for relief from VAT received since the EU referendum.

The Government keeps all taxes under review, as part of the tax policy making cycle and Budget process.


Written Question
Cryptocurrencies: Regulation
Wednesday 26th July 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to give the Financial Conduct Authority further powers to regulate crypto-related companies.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

HMT published a public consultation on 1 February 2023 on the ‘Future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets’, outlining how the Government will set the regulatory perimeter for the FCA to make rules regulating crypto-related companies. Under these proposals, firms providing cryptoasset services would need to become FCA authorised and meet a range of new requirements, including (for example) prudential, data reporting, consumer protection, location policy and operational resilience requirements.


Written Question
Mental Health Services: VAT Exemptions
Monday 26th June 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he has made an assessment of the potential merits of applying a VAT exemption to services provided by (a) counsellors and (b) psychotherapists.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The standard rate of VAT applies to most goods and services. Exceptions have always been strictly limited by legal and fiscal considerations.

Many services provided directly or supervised by registered health professionals are exempt from VAT. Registered professionals are those who are enrolled or registered on the appropriate statutory register. This includes registered practitioner psychologists, but means the relief does not apply to professionals who do not have statutory registers, such as counsellors and psychotherapists.

The UK’s approach of linking exemption to statutory registration is a clear and objective criterion for defining ‘health professionals’ for VAT purposes. While we keep all taxes under review, there are no current plans to make changes to these rules.


Written Question
Treasury: Vodafone Group
Tuesday 20th June 2023

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment their Department has made of the potential effect of the merger between Three and Vodafone on his Department's contracts with Vodafone.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

As an open economy, this Government welcomes and encourages investment where it supports the Prime Minister’s goal of boosting UK growth and jobs, meets our stringent legal and regulatory requirements, and does not compromise our national security. The Government has robust powers under the National Security & Investment Act, which it introduced, to block or impose remedies on transactions that pose a national security risk.

As you will appreciate, we cannot comment on specific acquisitions nor the applicability of the National Security and Investment regime.

It is the responsibility of Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to assess the impact on consumers and competition in the market, with input from sectoral regulators.

The Investment Security Unit works closely with the Competition and Markets Authority on cases that are being considered for both national security and competition reasons. A memorandum of understanding has been agreed between the Investment Security Unit and the CMA to assist joint working. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operation-of-the-national-security-and-investment-act-2021-memorandum-of-understanding/mou-between-beis-and-the-cma-on-the-operation-of-the-national-security-and-investment-act-2021


Written Question
Debts
Wednesday 7th December 2022

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the amount of international debt held by (a) private sector companies and (b) individuals registered in the UK.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The amount of sovereign debt held by private sector creditors differs significantly across countries. Over the last decade, the share of sovereign debt held by different types of private sector creditors has increased relative to official bilateral and multilateral creditors, particularly in low-income countries. For example, a recent World Bank publication noted that at end-2020, low-and middle-income countries owed five times as much to private sector creditors as they did to bilateral creditors. According to the IMF, for the 73 low-income countries eligible for the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative, the share of external debt owed to the private sector increased from 10 percent of GDP in 2006 to 19 percent of GDP in 2020.

As most private debt takes the form of tradable instruments, the amount of international debt held by individuals registered in the UK can fluctuate on a regular basis. Figures from the Office for National Statistics estimate that UK investors owned around £12,663 billion of investment in international assets at the end of 2021.


Written Question
Debts: Developing Countries
Friday 2nd December 2022

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of levels of sovereign debt on the ability of lower income countries to invest in climate change (a) mitigation and (b) adaptation.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The UK recognises the significant debt vulnerabilities faced by many low-income countries and that high debt service levels may impact efforts to invest in and respond to climate change, as well as other development goals.

We are fully committed to helping the most vulnerable countries address the challenges they face. At COP27, the UK announced that UK Export Finance will become the first export credit agency in the world to offer Climate Resilient Debt Clauses (CRDCs) in its direct sovereign lending. These clauses build in debt repayment pauses when a climate shock or natural disaster hits. We also developed and published key design principles for CRDCs in private sector lending.

The UK is also delivering on our commitment to spend £11.6bn of International Climate Finance (ICF), striking a balance between mitigation and adaptation spending.


Written Question
Poverty
Tuesday 29th November 2022

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of public sector pay on (a) child, (b) fuel, (c) food and (d) other forms of poverty in the next three years.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government recognises that public sector workers play a vital role in the running of our economy, and in delivering our world-class public services.

Pay for most frontline workforces – including nurses, teachers, armed forces, and police officers – is set through an independent Pay Review Body process. The Pay Review Bodies consider a range of standard evidence and other special considerations when forming their recommendations.

The Government has accepted the pay recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies for the NHS, teachers, police, and the armed forces for 2022/23. These are the highest uplifts in nearly twenty years, reflecting the vital contributions public sector workers make to our country and the cost-of-living pressures facing households. For 23/24 the government has decided to let the process run as normal and will be seeking recommendations from PRB’s. The government will carefully consider these recommendations and in due course public sector workers will see fair and affordable pay rises across the next financial year (2023-24).

Pay awards strike a careful balance between recognising the vital importance of public sector workers, whilst delivering value for the taxpayer and not increasing the country’s debt further. The government will continue to ensure all pay awards are fair and non-discriminatory.


Written Question
Equal Pay: Ethnic Groups
Tuesday 29th November 2022

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of public sector pay on the ethnicity pay gap in the next three years.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government recognises that public sector workers play a vital role in the running of our economy, and in delivering our world-class public services.

Pay for most frontline workforces – including nurses, teachers, armed forces, and police officers – is set through an independent Pay Review Body process. The Pay Review Bodies consider a range of standard evidence and other special considerations when forming their recommendations.

The Government has accepted the pay recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies for the NHS, teachers, police, and the armed forces for 2022/23. These are the highest uplifts in nearly twenty years, reflecting the vital contributions public sector workers make to our country and the cost-of-living pressures facing households. For 23/24 the government has decided to let the process run as normal and will be seeking recommendations from PRB’s. The government will carefully consider these recommendations and in due course public sector workers will see fair and affordable pay rises across the next financial year (2023-24).

Pay awards strike a careful balance between recognising the vital importance of public sector workers, whilst delivering value for the taxpayer and not increasing the country’s debt further. The government will continue to ensure all pay awards are fair and non-discriminatory.


Written Question
Equal Pay
Tuesday 29th November 2022

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of public sector pay on the gender pay gap in the next three years.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government recognises that public sector workers play a vital role in the running of our economy, and in delivering our world-class public services.

Pay for most frontline workforces – including nurses, teachers, armed forces, and police officers – is set through an independent Pay Review Body process. The Pay Review Bodies consider a range of standard evidence and other special considerations when forming their recommendations.

The Government has accepted the pay recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies for the NHS, teachers, police, and the armed forces for 2022/23. These are the highest uplifts in nearly twenty years, reflecting the vital contributions public sector workers make to our country and the cost-of-living pressures facing households. For 23/24 the government has decided to let the process run as normal and will be seeking recommendations from PRB’s. The government will carefully consider these recommendations and in due course public sector workers will see fair and affordable pay rises across the next financial year (2023-24).

Pay awards strike a careful balance between recognising the vital importance of public sector workers, whilst delivering value for the taxpayer and not increasing the country’s debt further. The government will continue to ensure all pay awards are fair and non-discriminatory.


Written Question
Public Expenditure: Equality
Monday 28th November 2022

Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an equality impact assessment of the Autumn Statement 2022 on (a) women, (b) Black, Asian, and ethnic minority people and (c) disabled people.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

In developing proposals for fiscal events, such as the Autumn Statement on 17 November, the Treasury takes care to ensure compliance with legal requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in the Equality Act 2010, to consider the impact of its decisions on those sharing protected characteristics.

This is in line with both our legal obligations to pay “due regard” to equality impacts; and with our strong commitment to promoting fairness.

In the interests of transparency, and going beyond legal requirements, HMRC publishes a summary of equality impacts for tax measures within the Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) alongside the associated legislation.