Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of 4 July 2022 to Questions 27553 and 27554 on Credit and with reference to Sponsor Designated legal advice, whether his Department, when issuing its debt, provides for its legal advice to be funded by the counter-parties buying that debt.
Answered by Simon Clarke
HM Treasury, when issuing debt through the UK Debt Management Office, does not provide for its legal advice to be funded by the counterparties buying that debt. Each party selects and pays for its own legal advisers as it deems appropriate.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has raised concerns about the use of Sponsor Designated legal advice in the UK debt market with the (a) Financial Conduct Authority and (b) Solicitors Regulation Authority during the last five years; and if he will make statement.
Answered by John Glen
The UK is well known internationally as a hub for high quality capital markets backed by strong and effective regulation. The Treasury is committed to ensuring the proper functioning of capital markets, including working with the Financial Conduct Authority to monitor any potential risks to UK markets.
The Treasury is not aware of any concerns that Sponsor Designation of legal advice poses a risk to UK debt markets, and as such has not raised this matter with the Financial Conduct Authority or the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the total value of transactions in the UK debt market where the legal advice has been provided under Sponsor Designation by the borrower to the lender over the last 10 years; what assessment his Department has made of the potential risk that Sponsor Designation of legal advice poses to the debt market; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen
The UK is well known internationally as a hub for high quality capital markets backed by strong and effective regulation. The Treasury is committed to ensuring the proper functioning of capital markets, including working with the Financial Conduct Authority to monitor any potential risks to UK markets.
The Treasury is not aware of any concerns that Sponsor Designation of legal advice poses a risk to UK debt markets, and as such has not raised this matter with the Financial Conduct Authority or the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to revisit its policy on the Loan Charge; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
An independent review of the Loan Charge, which was conducted by Lord Morse in 2019, concluded that it was right for the Loan Charge to remain in force and for the Government to collect the tax due.
The Government accepted all but one of the 20 recommendations in the review and the Government has no plans to revisit the policy.
The charge on disguised remuneration loans is targeted at contrived tax avoidance schemes which seek to avoid Income Tax and National Insurance contributions by paying users their income in the form of loans, usually via an offshore trust. This kind of tax avoidance deprives the Exchequer of funds to deliver vital public services.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Government's policy is on the continued use of physical currency in the form of notes and coins; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen
The Government recognises that cash is important to the daily lives of millions of individuals and businesses across the UK, particularly to those who may be in vulnerable groups.
Therefore, the Government has committed to protecting access to cash for those who need it and ensuring that the UK's cash infrastructure is sustainable for the long term.
The Government made legislative changes via the Financial Services Act 2021 to support the widespread offering of cashback without a purchase, which will allow shops and other businesses to offer a new form of cash withdrawal service to local communities.
On 1 July the Government published a consultation on broader legislative proposals to protect access to cash. These proposals seek to ensure that people only need to travel reasonable distances to pay in or take out cash, and that the right regulatory oversight for cash access is in place for the future. The consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/access-to-cash-consultation.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to bring forward the date of payment of the next Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant will be available to claim from late April.
Grants are now based on 2019-20 tax returns which is the most up to date information HMRC hold for self-employed individuals. As the deadline for 2019-20 tax returns has now passed, HMRC will use these tax returns for the fourth and fifth grants, provided they were submitted by 2 March.
The 2 March cut-off point comes after HMRC gave until 28 February for individuals to file these returns without incurring a late filing penalty. The effect of this is that the Government is now in a position to provide support to hundreds of thousands of newly eligible self-employed individuals.
Using these returns requires time to deliver, due to the increased population and new data. The Government publishes guidance on how to claim the SEISS grants on GOV.UK.