Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of the UK Finance proposal for a Faster Payment Scheme Change Request to provide a long-term sustainable funding system for reimbursing of victims of authorised push payment fraud.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government takes Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud extremely seriously. Victims and their families can suffer both serious financial and emotional harm and it is right that industry takes the necessary steps to protect consumers.
The Payment Systems Regulator, which was set up by the Government in 2015, established a steering group to develop a voluntary industry Code of good practice that set the circumstances in which customers will be reimbursed if they fall victim to these kinds of scam. The Code became effective on 28 May 2019.
Pay.UK, under whom the Faster Payments Scheme sits, have consulted on the Change Request, which would introduce a levy on Faster Payments transactions for the reimbursement of victims in the long-term. The final decision sits with Pay.UK and it would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on the specifics of this proposal.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much (a) English and (b) Welsh police services did claim from the apprenticeship levy in 2018.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Due to taxpayer confidentiality we are unable to publish the amount each institution has received in levy funds. Skills policy is devolved and the devolved administrations will receive a population share of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2016 forecast of revenue from the levy. The Welsh Government will receive £128 million in 2017-18 and £133 million in 2018-19.Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average length of time was for HMRC to notify people of their failure to complete their tax self-assessment by the deadline in each of the last three years.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Initial filing penalties for those customers who have failed to send their SA returns in on time are issued each year starting 30 days after the final filing date of 31st January. For operational reasons, the issue of the notices is staggered over a period of a few days; all penalty notices are issued by the end of the first week of March each year.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the higher charges applied to rates of vehicle tax when paid biannually as opposed to annually on the ability of people on lower incomes to afford that tax.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
It is a long-standing feature of the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) system that rates for biannual and monthly payments are higher than annual VED.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) are currently engaged in a programme of large scale technical change to move their services on to new technical platforms. As part of this work, HM Treasury and the DVLA are committed to reviewing the current administration of vehicle tax, including these surcharges.
In the meantime, DVLA does offer a monthly direct debit, which also helps affordability for people who are cash-constrained.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support he offers to Credit Unions; and what steps his Department is taking to encourage their use.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government is committed to supporting credit unions, which provide vital services to financially underserved communities and contribute to the diversity of the UK’s financial services sector. The government has done this by:
Announcing at Autumn Budget 2017, that where a credit union’s membership conditions are based on locality, a credit union will be able to increase the number of potential members it can have from 2 to 3 million.
Announcing at Autumn Statement 2016 that, from 2018, a scheme which incentivises credit union membership in communities at risk of being targeted by loan sharks, will be expanded. This uses funds recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act from convicted loan sharks.
Contributing £600,000 to an initiative developed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Young Enterprise, to start savings clubs in primary schools and educate young children in the benefits of saving. Lifesavers works with local credit unions to help run savings clubs in schools.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the length of time available for people to respond to the consultation on the [Draft] Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2018.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The government has consulted extensively since 2016 on Making Tax Digital. This included an initial 13 week consultation in the second half of 2016 on the core design of Making Tax Digital for VAT, followed by a consultation on an overview of the proposed VAT regulations between September and November 2017. A third period of technical consultation on the draft regulations was launched in December 2017. The consultation will run for 8 weeks.
HM Revenue and Customs has engaged proactively with stakeholders to raise awareness of the consultations. The draft regulations take into account representations from stakeholders following the previous consultation.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he has any plans to extend the length of consultation relating to the [Draft] Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2018.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The government has consulted extensively since 2016 on Making Tax Digital. This included an initial 13 week consultation in the second half of 2016 on the core design of Making Tax Digital for VAT, followed by a consultation on an overview of the proposed VAT regulations between September and November 2017. A third period of technical consultation on the draft regulations was launched in December 2017. The consultation will run for 8 weeks.
HM Revenue and Customs has engaged proactively with stakeholders to raise awareness of the consultations. The draft regulations take into account representations from stakeholders following the previous consultation.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the anti-money laundering supervisory regime.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The government is committed to ensuring the UK’s financial system is a hostile environment for illicit finance, and as part of this we are reforming the anti-money laundering supervisory regime to address the issues identified in the 2015 National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing.
I am in regular conversations with colleagues in other Departments as these reforms are developed and implemented.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has introduce a breathing space scheme to allow people with debt a period without interest, charges or debt collection activity while they seek advice and try to improve their financial situation.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The government has committed to exploring whether some form of “breathing space” would be a useful and viable addition to the current range of debt solutions available to consumers and creditors. Work is continuing on this review, and the government plans to provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to review the effectiveness and operation of alcohol taxation policy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Chancellor keeps all taxes under review, including alcohol taxation. Any decisions on changes to alcohol taxation will be made as part of the Budget process.