Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of landlords in each local authority area who are registered for self-assessment with HM Revenue and Customs.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The table attached presents the number of individuals who declared income from property on their Self-Assessment tax returns for the 2015-16 tax year, the latest year for which data is available, excluding those who declared income from furnished holiday lettings.
Note that (i) these figures are based on tax return data, and not Self-Assessment registrations; and (ii) the locations given in the Table relate to the residences of the individuals with property income, and not the locations of properties from which they declared income.
HMRC do not hold information about the total number of landlords and so it is not possible to provide a proportion of the numbers in Self-Assessment against that total.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other cabinet colleagues on measures to maintain free ATM provision following reports of a review being undertaken by LINK.
Answered by Simon Kirby
In line with the practice of successive administrations details of ministerial discussions are not routinely disclosed.
The Government believes that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers in the UK. To this end, the Government is engaging with LINK and its members, including banks and Independent ATM Deployers, to ensure that widespread free access to cash is maintained. The Government is encouraged to hear that LINK’s members have committed to further work to find a solution to the dispute.
The Government is also working closely on the issue with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which was established in 2015 to promote competition, innovation and the needs of end users within payment systems. The PSR is in regular contact with LINK, and is monitoring the situation closely.
The PSR has the power to act if LINK or any of its members act in a way that conflicts with any of its objectives.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect of changes to the level of access to free ATMs on high streets and local communities.
Answered by Simon Kirby
In line with the practice of successive administrations details of ministerial discussions are not routinely disclosed.
The Government believes that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers in the UK. To this end, the Government is engaging with LINK and its members, including banks and Independent ATM Deployers, to ensure that widespread free access to cash is maintained. The Government is encouraged to hear that LINK’s members have committed to further work to find a solution to the dispute.
The Government is also working closely on the issue with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which was established in 2015 to promote competition, innovation and the needs of end users within payment systems. The PSR is in regular contact with LINK, and is monitoring the situation closely.
The PSR has the power to act if LINK or any of its members act in a way that conflicts with any of its objectives.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on ensuring a sustainable future for the LINK scheme in advance of approval of the sale of Vocalink.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is responsible for strengthening business competition and preventing and reducing anti-competitive activities. The Payment Systems Regulator, which the Government set up in 2015, is responsible for promoting competition and innovation within the payments market, and ensuring that payment systems are operated and developed in a way that considers and promotes the interests of those that use them.
The CMA is investigating the anticipated acquisition by MasterCard UK Holdco Limited, an affiliate of MasterCard International Incorporated, of VocaLink Holdings Limited. The Government does not involve itself with CMA investigations.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with representatives from the LINK scheme on steps being taken to place the LINK system on a sustainable footing.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The Government believes that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers in the UK. To this end, the Government is engaging with LINK and its members, including banks and Independent ATM Deployers, to ensure that widespread free access to cash is maintained. The Government is encouraged to hear that LINK’s members have committed to further work to find a solution to the dispute.
The Government is also working closely on the issue with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which was established in 2015 to promote competition, innovation and the needs of end users within payment systems. The PSR is in regular contact with LINK, and is monitoring the situation closely.
The PSR has the power to act if LINK or any of its members act in a way that conflicts with any of its objectives.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with banks and independent ATM operators on steps being taken to place the LINK system on a sustainable footing.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The Government believes that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers in the UK. To this end, the Government is engaging with LINK and its members, including banks and Independent ATM Deployers, to ensure that widespread free access to cash is maintained. The Government is encouraged to hear that LINK’s members have committed to further work to find a solution to the dispute.
The Government is also working closely on the issue with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which was established in 2015 to promote competition, innovation and the needs of end users within payment systems. The PSR is in regular contact with LINK, and is monitoring the situation closely.
The PSR has the power to act if LINK or any of its members act in a way that conflicts with any of its objectives.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what engagement his Department has had with the working group set up by LINK scheme members to consider how to place the LINK system on a sustainable footing.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The Government believes that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers in the UK. To this end, the Government is engaging with LINK and its members, including banks and Independent ATM Deployers, to ensure that widespread free access to cash is maintained. The Government is encouraged to hear that LINK’s members have committed to further work to find a solution to the dispute.
The Government is also working closely on the issue with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which was established in 2015 to promote competition, innovation and the needs of end users within payment systems. The PSR is in regular contact with LINK, and is monitoring the situation closely.
The PSR has the power to act if LINK or any of its members act in a way that conflicts with any of its objectives.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what mechanism has been put in place to assess whether the Government will guarantee funding for specific ESF and ERDF projects signed after the Autumn Statement; how such projects will be assessed against the two criteria of value for money and alignment with domestic priorities; and whether such assessments will be undertaken before or after agreements have been signed.
Answered by David Gauke
Each government department will take responsibility for the allocation of money to projects in line with the stated criteria and the wider rules on public spending. These conditions will be applied in such a way that the current pipeline of committed projects is not disrupted.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many challenges against council tax banding on the current council tax valuation list are yet to be resolved in (a) total and (b) more than four months after the challenge was lodged in (i) Barnsley, (ii) Chesterfield, (iii) Doncaster, (iv) North East Derbyshire, (v) Bolsover, (vi) Bassetlaw, (vii) Derbyshire Dales, (viii) Rotherham and (ix) Sheffield.
Answered by David Gauke
The Valuation Office Agency does not publish this information.
Asked by: Clive Betts (Labour - Sheffield South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many challenges to (a) the 2005 Rating List and (b) the 2010 Rating List are yet to be resolved in (i) Barnsley, (ii) Chesterfield, (iii) Doncaster, (iv) North East Derbyshire, (v) Bolsover, (vi) Bassetlaw, (vii) Derbyshire Dales, (viii) Rotherham and (ix) Sheffield.
Answered by David Gauke
The information is published in Valuation Office Agency published statistics which is on gov.uk.