Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff of HM Revenue and Customs are employed in monitoring whether undertakings in respect of public access to heritage assets that have been exempted from inheritance tax and capital gains tax are adhered to.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The estimated cost of the inheritance tax exemption for heritage assets can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs The cost of the capital gains tax exemption for heritage assets is not available.
The legislation was introduced to protect national heritage assets. Where there has been a failure to meet the undertakings, HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) approach is to work with owners in order to put things right. It has not in the last 10 years been necessary for HMRC to remove an exemption.
The table below sets out the number of exemptions (by claim) granted in each year for the categories listed within the legislation over the last ten years:
| Pre-eminent objects s.31(1)(a)IHTA and (aa) | Land s.31(1)(b)IHTA | Buildings & amenity land s.31(1)(c) and (d) IHTA | Historically associated objects s.31(1)(e)IHTA |
2007/08 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
2008/09 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
2009/10 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
2010/11 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
2011/12 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
2012/13 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
2013/14 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
2014/15 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
2015/16 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
2016/17 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Sixteen people within HMRC are involved in ensuring undertakings are adhered to.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many exemptions from inheritance tax and capital gains tax have been withdrawn as a result of a failure to meet undertakings to (a) look after the item, (b) make the item available to the public and (c) keep the item in the UK in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The estimated cost of the inheritance tax exemption for heritage assets can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs The cost of the capital gains tax exemption for heritage assets is not available.
The legislation was introduced to protect national heritage assets. Where there has been a failure to meet the undertakings, HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) approach is to work with owners in order to put things right. It has not in the last 10 years been necessary for HMRC to remove an exemption.
The table below sets out the number of exemptions (by claim) granted in each year for the categories listed within the legislation over the last ten years:
| Pre-eminent objects s.31(1)(a)IHTA and (aa) | Land s.31(1)(b)IHTA | Buildings & amenity land s.31(1)(c) and (d) IHTA | Historically associated objects s.31(1)(e)IHTA |
2007/08 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
2008/09 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
2009/10 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
2010/11 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
2011/12 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
2012/13 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
2013/14 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
2014/15 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
2015/16 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
2016/17 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Sixteen people within HMRC are involved in ensuring undertakings are adhered to.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of inheritance tax and capital gains tax exemptions for heritage assets.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The estimated cost of the inheritance tax exemption for heritage assets can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs The cost of the capital gains tax exemption for heritage assets is not available.
The legislation was introduced to protect national heritage assets. Where there has been a failure to meet the undertakings, HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) approach is to work with owners in order to put things right. It has not in the last 10 years been necessary for HMRC to remove an exemption.
The table below sets out the number of exemptions (by claim) granted in each year for the categories listed within the legislation over the last ten years:
| Pre-eminent objects s.31(1)(a)IHTA and (aa) | Land s.31(1)(b)IHTA | Buildings & amenity land s.31(1)(c) and (d) IHTA | Historically associated objects s.31(1)(e)IHTA |
2007/08 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
2008/09 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
2009/10 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
2010/11 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
2011/12 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
2012/13 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
2013/14 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
2014/15 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
2015/16 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
2016/17 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Sixteen people within HMRC are involved in ensuring undertakings are adhered to.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people his Department employs in Wales.
Answered by Simon Kirby
HM Treasury does not employ anyone in Wales. For the Chancellor’s other departments, HMRC has 3,510 employees in Wales, The Valuation Office Agency has 280 and the Government Internal Audit Agency has 20.
HM Treasury does however have a team dedicated to devolved issues which has strong working relationships with all three of the devolved administrations. In the case of Wales, this was recently exemplified by the joint agreement with the Welsh Government on their new fiscal framework.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, in which parliamentary constituency each project referred to in paragraph 2.47 of the Summer Budget 2015 is based.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The majority of the recipient charities and good causes mentioned in paragraph 2.47 of the Summer Budget 2015 are Defence related and can be considered to be “National”. The exceptions being:
Ludlow Museum £0.25 million – to facilitate the publication online of the unique and historically important geological collections held in Ludlow - Ludlow;
regeneration of the National Memorial Arboretum £2 million – to protect the long term future of the Memorial and to preserve it for the next generation – Lichfield;
Clock Tower Foundation £3 million – to provide a bespoke rehabilitation centre to support the Special Forces – North Herefordshire; and
Battle of Britain Bunker £1 million – to renovate and maintain the Battle of Britain Operations Room at RAF Uxbridge which coordinated the air defence of London and the South of England in WWII – Uxbridge.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.318 of the Summer Budget 2015, HC 264, from which budget has the £10 million expenditure on broadband been found; how many more premises will be reached by broadband as a result of that expenditure; and whether national projects will be ineligible to bid for that expenditure.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
To support connectivity in the South West, the government will allocate up to £10m to the broadband programme in the South West, commencing April 2016. The fund will be available for local projects to bid into, with priority given to those delivering ultrafast speeds of 100mbps and above. Broadband Delivery UK will start working with local projects immediately to determine the most effective way of delivering support.
This scheme begins in the financial year 2016-17, budgets for this year and beyond will be set at the forthcoming Spending Review. Government is working to determine the most effective way of delivering support, with further details published in due course.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Summer Budget 2015, what criteria he plans to use to determine which employers are affected by the apprenticeship levy.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Employer investment in skills has been a problem since the 1990s and it needs to change. Large companies will now have direct control via the digital apprenticeship voucher and firms that are committed to training will be able to get back more than the put in. Further details will be set at the Spending Review following a formal engagement with business.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the reason is for the apparent disparity between paragraph 2.113 of Budget 2015, which states that the government has committed £75 million of LIBOR fines over the next five years to support military charities and other good causes and paragraph 2.47 of Summer Budget 2015, which states that the government has committed nearly £70 million of banking fines over the next five years to support military charities and other good causes.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The reason for the apparent discrepancy is that the documents refer to two separate figures in two separate budgets. Paragraph 2.113 of Budget 2015 allocated £75 million. Paragraph 2.47 of Summer Budget 2015 allocated a further £70 million of banking fines to military charities and good causes.
This takes it to a total of £145m committed in this calendar year.
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the full text of the agreement reached with the BBC that the BBC will fund the provision of TV Licences for those age over 75, announced on 6 July 2015.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The full text of the agreement reached between the BBC and the government on funding of the over-75s free television licences has been published on the Gov.uk website, and can be found using the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443735/Letter_from_George_Osborne_and_John_Whittingdale_to_Tony_Hall_FINAL.PDF
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish all correspondence he has had with the BBC on the agreement announced on 6 July 2015 that the BBC will fund the provision of TV licences for over-75s.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The correspondence relating to the agreement has been published as follows:
Letter from the government to the BBC detailing the agreement: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443735/Letter_from_George_Osborne_and_John_Whittingdale_to_Tony_Hall_FINAL.PDF
Letter from the BBC to the government: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/tony-hall-letter-coe-sscms.pdf
Letter from the BBC Trust to the government: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/news/press_releases/2015/chancellor_sos