Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to increase the £450,000 property cost limit for Lifetime ISAs in line with house price inflation.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Lifetime ISA is intended to support younger people saving for their first home or for later life by offering a generous government bonus of 25% on up to £4,000 of savings each year. These funds, including the government bonus, can be used to purchase a first home up to the value of £450,000.
The Government considers that the £450,000 price cap is suitable to support the majority of first-time buyers across the UK (who typically purchase less expensive properties than other buyers), while ensuring sustainable public finances.
The most recent Office for Budget Responsibility forecast stated that bonus payments will have an exchequer cost of £3.7 billion between 2021 and 2027. The price cap ensures that this significant investment of public money is more precisely targeted towards households that may find it more difficult to get onto the property ladder.
First-time buyers who can purchase a home valued over £450,000 are likely to have an income significantly above that of the average household in the UK and are therefore more likely to be able to purchase a first home without the support of this scheme.
The Government continues to keep all aspects of savings policy under review.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans for the Business Rates: Covid-19 additional relief fund to assist suppliers as the economy reopens following the outbreak covid-19; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund will be allocated to Local Authorities (LAs) which will use their knowledge of local businesses and the economy to make the awards.
Formal guidance to LAs will follow in due course, which will set out the specific considerations that they should consider when providing relief.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the monies allocated to the Business Rates: Covid-19 additional relief fund are being distributed in a timely way.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Covid-19 Additional Relief Fund will be allocated to Local Authorities (LAs) which will use their knowledge of local businesses and the economy to make the awards.
Formal guidance to LAs will follow in due course, which will set out the specific considerations that they should consider when providing relief.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department made, prior to the decision being made, of the potential effect of the rise in Employer National Insurance Contributions from April 2022 on (a) employment rates and (b) wages.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government has made a number of assessments of the impact of the introduction of the Health and Social Care Levy, which were published alongside the announcement. These include the distributional analysis of the impact of the combined tax and spending announcements, a technical annex in our plan for health and social care, and a Tax Information and Impact Note.
Further, the Office for Budget Responsibility set out their assessment of the economic effects of the Levy, including the impact on labour supply and wages, in their latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2021/