Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with his international counterparts on the potential merits of (a) suspending, (b) restructuring and (c) cancelling some of Pakistan’s external debt in the context of the recent flooding in that country.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government expresses deep concern and condolences for the severe humanitarian and economic impact of flooding in Pakistan. The UK recently announced an uplift in Pakistan flood relief funding, taking the total amount pledged to £16.5m. In addition, at COP26, the UK announced more than £55m of support to help Pakistan tackle climate change.
The Government regularly engages on debt issues with our international partners in a number of fora. The UK acts in concert with its partners in the Paris Club on international debt issues and we stand ready to consider any request through the Paris Club or Common Framework process.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislation to protect (a) Pakistan and (b) other countries affected by climate disasters from being sued in English courts for outstanding debts.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government expresses deep concern and condolences for the severe humanitarian and economic impact of flooding in Pakistan. When countries request a debt treatment, the UK is committed to ensuring the private sector participates fully by providing debt relief on comparable terms to that of official bilateral creditors, such as the UK.
The Government does not currently intend to pursue a legislative approach that would force private lenders to participate in debt relief initiatives. Any legislative approach would need to address a number of challenges. For example, legislating may increase the cost – or reduce the availability - of finance for low-income countries.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of increasing levels of sovereign debt repayments on extreme poverty in developing countries.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK recognises the significant debt vulnerabilities faced by many low-income countries and that high debt service levels may impact efforts to invest in measures to tackle poverty.
That is why, in May 2020, the UK, together with the G20 and the Paris Club, agreed to the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). This aimed to provide eligible countries with additional fiscal space to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, freeing up resources to fund social, health and economic measures. Preliminary estimates suggest the DSSI has suspended over $12.9 billion in debt service repayments.
The DSSI was a short-term tool to address immediate financing needs. To deliver a longer-term, more sustainable approach to dealing with debt vulnerabilities the UK, along with the G20, also agreed a new Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the DSSI. This was designed to provide more efficient, equitable and effective debt treatments that are better able to set countries on a more fiscally sustainable path, freeing up resources to spend on reaching development goals.
The UK is fully committed to implementing the Common Framework in coordination with our international partners.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to include the rechannelling of IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to low-income countries within the 0.5 per cent Official Development Assistance budget.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The UK’s channeling of its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) provides valuable financial support to the poorest and the most vulnerable countries.
Departmental ODA budgets will be increasing significantly over the Spending Review period, from the £10 billion that was allocated in 2020 to at least £12.3 billion by 2024-25. The ODA scored through SDR channelling is additional to these growing departmental ODA budgets and will not require cuts to existing programming. As with all ODA eligible spend, it will count towards the UK’s annual ODA spending plans, in line with international rules.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to count the cost of the donated covid-19 vaccine doses as additional to the 0.5 per cent Official Development Assistance budget.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The cost of COVID-19 vaccine donations for 2021 has been additional to the ODA budget set out at the Spending Review 2020 (SR20) for 2021-22, but is expected to remain within 0.5% of GNI given the growth in GNI forecasts since SR20.
Departmental ODA budgets are increasing significantly over the Spending Review 2021 (SR21) period due to forecast growth in gross national income. SR21 fully covers the cost of vaccine donations to meet the Prime Minister’s commitment to donate 100 million surplus doses by June 2022, as part of the G7 dose-sharing commitments, to drive an intensified effort to vaccinate the world by 2022.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the reduction in Official Development Assistance spending from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent of GNI in 2021 on the UK fiscal situation.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In the context of unprecedented economic and fiscal circumstances, the Government decided at the 2020 Spending Review that sticking rigidly to spending 0.7% of gross national income as Official Development Assistance (ODA) was not an appropriate prioritisation of resources.
To ensure coherence and maximum value for money from the UK’s ODA spending, the Foreign Secretary led a cross-government process after the 2020 Spending Review to review in detail how ODA is allocated against the Government’s priorities. This has ensured that UK ODA is focused on our strategic priorities, spent where it will have the maximum impact, has greater coherence and delivers most value for money.
The Government intends to return to the 0.7% target when the fiscal situation allows. We cannot at this moment predict with certainty when the current fiscal circumstances will have sufficiently improved.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made on the potential effect of reducing Official Development Assistance spending in 2021 from 0.5 per cent to 0.7 per cent of GNI on the value for money of existing UK aid investments.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In the context of unprecedented economic and fiscal circumstances, the Government decided at the 2020 Spending Review that sticking rigidly to spending 0.7% of gross national income as Official Development Assistance (ODA) was not an appropriate prioritisation of resources.
To ensure coherence and maximum value for money from the UK’s ODA spending, the Foreign Secretary led a cross-government process after the 2020 Spending Review to review in detail how ODA is allocated against the Government’s priorities. This has ensured that UK ODA is focused on our strategic priorities, spent where it will have the maximum impact, has greater coherence and delivers most value for money.
The Government intends to return to the 0.7% target when the fiscal situation allows. We cannot at this moment predict with certainty when the current fiscal circumstances will have sufficiently improved.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Oral Statement of 25 November 2020, Official Report, column 830, what plans he has to set out in detail the measurements that will be used to define the fiscal situation under which Official Development Assistance spending can return to .the 0.7 of GNI level.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In the context of unprecedented economic and fiscal circumstances, the Government decided at the 2020 Spending Review that sticking rigidly to spending 0.7% of gross national income as Official Development Assistance (ODA) was not an appropriate prioritisation of resources.
To ensure coherence and maximum value for money from the UK’s ODA spending, the Foreign Secretary led a cross-government process after the 2020 Spending Review to review in detail how ODA is allocated against the Government’s priorities. This has ensured that UK ODA is focused on our strategic priorities, spent where it will have the maximum impact, has greater coherence and delivers most value for money.
The Government intends to return to the 0.7% target when the fiscal situation allows. We cannot at this moment predict with certainty when the current fiscal circumstances will have sufficiently improved.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Oral Statement of 25 November 2020, Official Report, column 830, how his Department will (a) measure and (b) define the fiscal situation to determine whether Official Development Assistance spending can return to 0.7 per cent of GNI.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In the context of unprecedented economic and fiscal circumstances, the Government decided at the 2020 Spending Review that sticking rigidly to spending 0.7% of gross national income as Official Development Assistance (ODA) was not an appropriate prioritisation of resources.
To ensure coherence and maximum value for money from the UK’s ODA spending, the Foreign Secretary led a cross-government process after the 2020 Spending Review to review in detail how ODA is allocated against the Government’s priorities. This has ensured that UK ODA is focused on our strategic priorities, spent where it will have the maximum impact, has greater coherence and delivers most value for money.
The Government intends to return to the 0.7% target when the fiscal situation allows. We cannot at this moment predict with certainty when the current fiscal circumstances will have sufficiently improved.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average time taken is for investigating and resolving an incorrectly refused Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme claim.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In order to decide if a case has been incorrectly refused, HMRC must obtain evidence of alleged errors and investigate them. Cases differ widely, and the time taken to resolve a case will vary depending on the circumstances and complexity.
HMRC have received a total of 7,293 complaints (up to 4 February 2021) relating to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Of this figure, 374 have been upheld, 225 have been partially upheld, and 5,579 have been rejected. A further 1,115 claims are currently being investigated.