Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to extend the zero rate of VAT to digital publications.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government keeps all taxes under review, including VAT on e-publications.
Any amendments to the VAT regime as it applies to physical publications and e-publications must be carefully assessed against policy, economic and fiscal considerations.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support his Department makes available to children under the age of 16 that are carers.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Children and young people should be protected from inappropriate and excessive caring responsibilities, and we have changed the law to improve how young carers and their families are identified, assessed and supported. Government set out further details on our plans to support young carers in the Carers Action Plan earlier this year.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Financial Conduct Authority has the statutory power to prosecute offences under (a) Sections 327-329 and (b) Sections 330-332 of the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) can prosecute offences under these provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) where doing so is in accordance with its statutory functions and it is not expressly prohibited from doing so as a result of statutory restrictions or other conditions. It has obtained, prosecuted and secured 10 convictions against five individuals for money laundering offences under POCA.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to promote personal savings and investments in (a) the North East and (b) England.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to supporting savers across the UK at all stages of life and has introduced a range of measures in recent years to help people build their savings in the way that is right for them.
This year we are introducing a new Help to Save scheme to support working families on low incomes to build up a rainy-day fund, by offering a 50% bonus on up to £50 of monthly savings. We have also increased the ISA allowance by a record amount to £20,000 and introduced a Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher rate taxpayers. Thanks to these measures over 95% of people pay no tax on their savings income.
ISA statistics detailing the percentage of the adult population who hold an ISA and their average market value, broken down for different regions and countries in the UK, can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/individual-savings-account-statistics