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Written Question
Bank Services: Rural Areas
Wednesday 21st September 2022

Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take through the Financial Markets and Services Bill to protect access to in-person banking services for rural communities such as Harpenden.

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

The Government believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking services.

As part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022, the Government has introduced legislation to protect access to cash. The Bill protects access to cash by establishing the Financial Conduct Authority as the lead regulator and providing it with appropriate powers to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities.

More broadly against the background of changing technology, decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial decision for banks and building societies. However, the Government recognises that in-person access to banking services continues to be important for some customers. FCA Guidance is clear that firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and consider possible alternative access arrangements.

For consumers and SMEs wishing to access over-the-counter services, the Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to carry out their everyday banking at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

Firms are also working together through the Cash Action Group to develop new initiatives to provide shared services including Bank Hubs. The Government welcomes the direction set by industry’s commitments and looks forward to seeing what results they deliver in protecting facilities for local communities across the UK.


Written Question
Fuels: Excise Duties
Friday 16th September 2022

Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that retailers pass on the savings from the reduction in Fuel Duty to consumers.

Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The Government has been clear that it expects all those in the supply chain to pass through the fuel duty cut to consumers buying fuel at the pump.

This summer, the independent Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) undertook an urgent review of the market for road fuel. Their initial findings suggest that the fuel duty cut appears to have been largely passed through. The Government will await further findings from the CMA.


Written Question
Cost of Living: Hitchin and Harpenden
Friday 16th September 2022

Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help support people in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency with rises in the cost of living in the period after August 2022.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The government understands that people across the UK are worried about the rising cost of living and are seeing their disposable incomes decrease as they spend more on the essentials.

On 8 September, government announced that the energy price cap will be superseded with a new Energy Price Guarantee, which means that a typical UK household will pay no more than £2500 a year on their energy bill over the next 2 years from 1 October. The Government will also introduce a six-month scheme to support businesses, charities and public sector organisations, which will protect them from soaring energy costs and provide them with the certainty they need to plan their business through the acute crisis this winter.

This announcement comes in addition to the previously announced support. Eight million of the most vulnerable households, including those in Hitchin and Harpenden, will see £1,200 extra support in Cost of Living Payments, provided in instalments across the year, with additional support for pensioners and those claiming disability benefits. This includes the £400 support through the Energy Bills Support Scheme – available to all households.

We continue to monitor a range of cost of living pressures and their impacts, and later this month the Chancellor will set out a package of measures to deliver on the Prime Minister’s commitment to cut taxes and boost growth, laying the groundwork for the change we need in the long term to make our economy stronger.


Written Question
Cost of Living: Hitchin and Harpenden
Friday 16th September 2022

Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of rises in the cost of living on people in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The government understands that people across the UK are worried about the rising cost of living and are seeing their disposable incomes decrease as they spend more on the essentials.

On 8 September, government announced that the energy price cap will be superseded with a new Energy Price Guarantee, which means that a typical UK household will pay no more than £2500 a year on their energy bill over the next 2 years from 1 October. The Government will also introduce a six-month scheme to support businesses, charities and public sector organisations, which will protect them from soaring energy costs and provide them with the certainty they need to plan their business through the acute crisis this winter.

This announcement comes in addition to the previously announced support. Eight million of the most vulnerable households, including those in Hitchin and Harpenden, will see £1,200 extra support in Cost of Living Payments, provided in instalments across the year, with additional support for pensioners and those claiming disability benefits. This includes the £400 support through the Energy Bills Support Scheme – available to all households.

We continue to monitor a range of cost of living pressures and their impacts, and later this month the Chancellor will set out a package of measures to deliver on the Prime Minister’s commitment to cut taxes and boost growth, laying the groundwork for the change we need in the long term to make our economy stronger.


Written Question
Cost of Living: Hitchin and Harpenden
Friday 16th September 2022

Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help support people in Hitchin and Harpenden constituency with rises in the cost of living in the period between August 2021 and August 2022.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The government understands that people across the UK are worried about the rising cost of living and are seeing their disposable incomes decrease as they spend more on the essentials.

On 8 September, government announced that the energy price cap will be superseded with a new Energy Price Guarantee, which means that a typical UK household will pay no more than £2500 a year on their energy bill over the next 2 years from 1 October. The Government will also introduce a six-month scheme to support businesses, charities and public sector organisations, which will protect them from soaring energy costs and provide them with the certainty they need to plan their business through the acute crisis this winter.

This announcement comes in addition to the previously announced support. Eight million of the most vulnerable households, including those in Hitchin and Harpenden, will see £1,200 extra support in Cost of Living Payments, provided in instalments across the year, with additional support for pensioners and those claiming disability benefits. This includes the £400 support through the Energy Bills Support Scheme – available to all households.

We continue to monitor a range of cost of living pressures and their impacts, and later this month the Chancellor will set out a package of measures to deliver on the Prime Minister’s commitment to cut taxes and boost growth, laying the groundwork for the change we need in the long term to make our economy stronger.


Written Question
Fuels: Taxation
Monday 20th June 2022

Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total amount raised by HM Treasury is on taxes relating to fuel sold to (a) domestic and (b) business consumers for every fiscal year since 2010 in both (i) nominal and (ii) inflation adjusted terms.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The information is not available.

HMRC does not hold information on VAT revenue from specific products or services because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level on their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.

Revenue from Fuel Duty is paid upon clearance to the market rather than point of sale, and therefore no breakdown between domestic and business consumers is held.


Written Question
Bank Services
Monday 4th April 2022

Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to bring forward further legislative proposals to protect (a) access to cash and (b) in-person banking services.

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

The Government recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, and remains committed to legislating to protect access to cash.

From 1 July to 23 September last year, the Government held the Access to Cash Consultation on further proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities.

The Government received responses to the consultation from a broad range of respondents, including individuals, businesses, and charities. The Government has carefully considered responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course.

More broadly, the government wants to ensure that people have appropriate access to financial services, and recognises the importance of appropriate access to banking. Options for access can be via fixed and mobile bank branches, telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.

Following the Government’s commitment to legislate to protect access to cash, firms are working together through the Cash Action Group to develop new initiatives to provide shared services including bank hubs. The Government welcomes the direction set by industry’s commitments at the end of last year and looks forward to seeing what results they deliver in protecting cash facilities for local communities across the UK.


Written Question
Government Departments: Civil Servants
Friday 1st April 2022

Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the civil service payroll in central government was, by department, in (a) 2010, (b) 2015, (c) 2019 and (d) March 2022.

Answered by Simon Clarke

Detailed information of staff costs for each departmental group may be found in their respective Annual Reports and Accounts (ARAs). These can be found here: Annual Reports and Accounts for Central Government Departments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). 2010, 2015, and 2019 data is available but information for 2021-22 will not be available until after the end of the financial year. ARAs are expected to be published from Summer 2022.

Additional pay-bill costs, including employer’s social security and pension costs, severance payments and capitalised staff costs, are the difference between salary bill and pay-bill. For salary bill costs please refer to the answer to PQ UIN 145964.

Aggregate level staff costs for central government are reported in the Whole of Government Accounts, which can be found here: Whole of Government Accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data for 2010, 2015 and 2019 is available. Data for 2022 will not be available until after 2021-22 departmental Annual Reports and Accounts have been published and the Whole of Government Accounts have been produced.

HM Treasury’s own data collections, at present, do not differentiate between the different types of employment when looking at salary and pay-bill costs. Central government data will therefore include Public Servants, NHS, Armed Forces, and Academies, as well as Civil Servants.


Written Question
Government Departments: Pay
Friday 1st April 2022

Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total salary bill for the civil service in central government was, by department, in (a) 2010, (b) 2015, (c) 2019 and (d) March 2022.

Answered by Simon Clarke

Total salary bill for the civil service can be approximately calculated using data from Cabinet Office owned national statistics, Civil Service Statistics.

Mean earnings data is available, by department, as part of the Civil Service Statistics. These figures represent the mean earnings of all permanent employees on a full-time equivalent basis. They are available by gender and can be found in table 31.

Total employees on a full-time equivalent basis, by department, can also be found as part of the Civil Service Statistics. This data can be found in table 8. Using this data, alongside table 36, which gives the gender split in the civil service by department, and table 31 it is possible to calculate an approximate total paybill for each civil service department.

Full tables for 2010, 2015 and 2019 can be found here: Civil Service statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). 2022 data is not yet available but is expected to be published in Summer 2022 on the same website.


Written Question
Mortgages: Coronavirus
Monday 13th September 2021

Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle cases of lenders potentially penalising mortgage applicants on the basis of them taking furlough or a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants.

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

Decisions concerning the pricing and availability of loans, including application requirements, remain commercial decisions for lenders and the Government does not seek to intervene. For individuals applying for new credit, it remains important that lenders are able to carry out proper checks to ensure that they are not lending in an unaffordable way, especially if, for example, a borrower’s income had not yet returned to the level it was at pre Covid-19. Where an individual has been refused a mortgage with one provider we would also urge them to shop around, recognising lenders do not all take the same approach to assessing affordability.