Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total cost has been of the Trader Support Service to date.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The total spend on the Trader Support Service since its commencement to December 2021 is £213 million.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cyber attacks against Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs have been recorded in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The Government can neither confirm nor deny whether HMRC has been the target of any cyber-attacks.
HMRC is responsible for the collection of around £700 billion in tax annually and undertakes a range of actions to monitor and maintain the security of their systems and services from cyber-attacks. To disclose the number is likely to attract additional questions which may include specific threats or incidents identified and dealt with, aiding criminals to determine weaknesses in HMRC’s defences or the methods used to identify and respond to such threats.
To provide the information requested would reveal the extent to which HMRC had been subject to such attacks, revealing where cyber intrusion had been successful.
The National Cyber Security Centre advice continues to be that Government departments should withhold detailed and specific information which may provide insight into the likelihood of success of specific techniques. In some cases, the successful application of such insight may still pose a security risk with the potential to prejudice the prevention of crime and/or national security. A successful attack could lead to the loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of Government information.
HMRC publish details about security breaches reported to the Information Commissioner in their annual reports: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether financial assistance will be provided to marinas in Northern Ireland to adapt their fuel sale facilities, in the context of HMRC imposing a ban on red diesel for propulsion of leisure craft from 1 October 2021 as a result of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Budget 2021 announced that private pleasure craft users in Northern Ireland will no longer be allowed to use red diesel to propel their craft and that the Government will introduce a new relief scheme on non-propulsion fuel in Northern Ireland. These changes will take effect from 1 October 2021. The average private pleasure craft user in Northern Ireland will pay the same rate of duty on their diesel use as they do now.
More information on these changes, including on the expected impacts, is set out in the tax information and impact note published on 1 July 2021, which can be found here:
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what impact assessment he has undertaken on changes to pleasure craft fuel rules banning red diesel use in Northern Ireland, as a result of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Budget 2021 announced that private pleasure craft users in Northern Ireland will no longer be allowed to use red diesel to propel their craft and that the Government will introduce a new relief scheme on non-propulsion fuel in Northern Ireland. These changes will take effect from 1 October 2021. The average private pleasure craft user in Northern Ireland will pay the same rate of duty on their diesel use as they do now.
More information on these changes, including on the expected impacts, is set out in the tax information and impact note published on 1 July 2021, which can be found here:
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (a) how many businesses have signed up to the Trader Support Service and (b) and what the cost to the public purse has been of operating that service since that service was launched.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Trader Support Service (TSS) currently has 41,446 Traders registered to use the service. The total spend on the Trader Support Service, since the service was launched to August 2021, is £164 million (including VAT).
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2021 to Question 1224 on No-interest Loans Scheme, what recent progress he has made towards the pilot of a no-interest loan scheme.
Answered by John Glen
On 6 September, Fair4All Finance announced they had been appointed to deliver the pilot and further details of their plans. This included that the pilot will run in up to six locations one of which is expected to be in Northern Ireland. Further information on the pilot can be found at: https://fair4allfinance.org.uk/news/plans-announced-for-new-uk-wide-no-interest-loan-scheme-pilot/.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue was raised as a result of VAT on school uniforms in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HMRC do 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.Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of the removal of VAT on school uniforms to assist disadvantaged families.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Under the current VAT rules, all children’s clothing and footwear designed for young people less than 14 years of age, including school uniforms, attract a zero-rate of VAT, meaning that no VAT is charged on the sale of these items.
Extending these reliefs would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. VAT raised around £130 billion in 2019/20, and helps to fund key spending priorities. Any reduction in tax paid is a reduction in the money available to support important public services, including the NHS and policing.
There are no current plans to change the VAT treatment of children’s clothing and school uniforms. However, the Government keeps all taxes under review.