Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide data on UK import of spirits from (a) the USA, (b) France, (c) Germany and (d) other EU member states for each year between 2016 and 2021.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria.
Trade data related to “spirits – beverages” is publicly available on www.uktradeinfo.com under commodity code heading 22 of the Trade Tariff.
The site also contains a ‘Help’ function with information on how to extract trade data. Further assistance can also be obtained via the Customer Services team on phone number: 03000 594 250 or email: uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his timeframe is for bringing forward legislative proposals on the designation and enablement of freeports.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Freeports are playing a crucial role in our post-COVID-19 recovery, helping to build back better, drive clean growth and contribute to realising the Levelling Up agenda. We have designated tax sites through secondary legislation in four Freeports and we will continue to designate more tax sites this year. Legislation has also been laid to underpin the customs and VAT regime and two customs sites have been already designated in law in different Freeports. HMG continues to support Freeports with the delivery of their customs sites and will continue to designate customs sites as the relevant criteria are demonstrated. Maps for designated tax and customs site are available on gov.uk. Freeports will be fully operational following designation of tax and primary customs sites, with seed funding to be released on approval of their full business cases, expected later this year.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which elements of freeport customs benefits might trigger the application of the OECD Code of Conduct for Clean Free Trade Zones and for what reason in UK freeports and freeport-based businesses.
Answered by Simon Clarke
As part of the Freeport customs model, customs site operators are required to have Authorised Economic Operator (Safety and Security) (AEO(S)) (a well-recognised international standard) or equivalent authorisation. Freeport businesses must also be authorised by HMRC before being permitted to operate and benefit from the customs facilitations. These authorisations support our robust commitment to the OECD Code of Conduct for Clean Free Trade Zones and ensure Freeports play their role in combating illicit trade, attract reputable businesses and protect consumers.Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including all grassroots sports clubs in the list of exemptions in relation to the use of Red Diesel.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
Following last year’s consultation on reforms to the tax treatment of red diesel announced at Budget 2020, the Government accepted the arguments made by representatives from the sports sector that removing the entitlement to use red diesel would increase costs on amateur sports clubs, which would be passed down to members, and that this could affect people’s ability to participate in sport and impact on health and well-being. The Government therefore announced at Budget 2021 that amateur sports clubs will qualify for continued use of red diesel beyond April 2022 if they are registered as community amateur sports clubs (CASCs), which are non-profit organisations that can benefit from a range or tax reliefs. There are over 7,300 clubs registered with HMRC as CASCs, and relying on this definition of an amateur sports club will aid HMRC to ensure compliance.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to further extend the cut off date for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, in response to the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown measures, to allow people who have changed jobs between October and January to be eligible for support from that scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
For all eligibility decisions under CJRS, the Government must balance the need to support as many jobs as possible with the need to protect the scheme from fraud.
Under the CJRS extension, an employer can claim for employees who were employed and on their PAYE payroll on 30 October 2020. The employer must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee. The use of RTI allows HMRC to verify claims in the most efficient and timely way, ensuring payments can be made quickly while reducing the risk of fraud. Without the use of RTI returns it would be difficult to verify claims without significant additional checks, which would delay payment for genuine claims.
The 30 October 2020 cut-off date allowed as many people as possible to be included by going right up to the day before the announcement, while balancing the risk of fraud that existed as soon as the scheme became public. Extending the cut-off date further would have significantly increased the risk of abuse because claims could not be confidently verified against the risk of fraud by using the data after this point.