Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which company is contracted to resolve technical issues with the tax free childcare online application system; what targets are set in that contract; and how much money that is paid to that company under that contract.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The vast majority of parents can use the childcare service (through which they apply for Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare) without any problems. HMRC has been working with their delivery partner National Savings & Investments (NS&I) and NS&I’s supplier Atos to make improvements to the service. As a result over 99% of parents are now receiving their eligibility decision within 5 working days.
It is not the Government’s usual practice to comment on contractual matters between departments and their contactors since they may be commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many parents using the tax free childcare online application system have submitted compensation claims after not receiving a top-up from HMRC; what the average amount of those claims is; what the average response time for such claims has been; and how much compensation has been paid (a) to each such claimant and (b) in total.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 12 March 2018 (PQ 131774).
HMRC currently processes the vast majority of payments in lieu of government top-up within 5 working days.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what per head spending from the public purse was in each financial year since 2010-11 in (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) St Helens, (c) Merseyside and (d) the North West.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Public sector spending per head for the St Helens North constituency, St Helens or for Merseyside are not held centrally by the UK Government. However, identifiable expenditure per head for the North West region are available from the Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) of public expenditure. Please refer to Table 1.
Communities and Local Government do provide expenditure data at Local Authority level on the GOV.UK website. However, this only shows local government spend and not total public sector expenditure.
Table 1 Total identifiable expenditure on services per head: North West
Year | £ per head |
2010-11 | 9,074 |
2011-12 | 8,995 |
2012-13 | 9,102 |
2013-14 | 9,073 |
2014-15 | 9,275 |
2015-16 | 9,419 |
2016-17 | 9,429 |
Source: 2010-11 data taken from CRA 2015. 2011-12 data taken from CRA 2016. 2012-13 to 2016-17 data taken from CRA 2017
Note: Data for 2010-11 and 2011-12 were taken from earlier editions of the CRA so will not be fully comparable to data from 2012-13 onwards that was taken from CRA 2017 due to possible changes to methodology between editions.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average change will be in national insurance contributions for self-employed people in (a) St Helens North, (b) North West and (c) the UK will be after the new rate announced in the Spring Budget 2017.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Following the Chancellor’s oral statement in the House of Commons on 15 March, the Government will no longer be proceeding with the changes announced at Spring Budget 2017 to increase Class 4 National Insurance contributions (NICs) in April 2018 and April 2019. The abolition of Class 2 NICs will continue as announced in April 2018 meaning 3.6 million people will gain on average £135 per year. No self-employed person will have to pay more NICs as a result of these changes.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the (a) regulation of the insurance industry and (b) implementation of the Solvency II Directive.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
Action taken by the Government and the Bank of England over the last six years has substantially strengthened the resilience of the financial system, and the authorities have all the necessary tools in place to protect financial stability.
Following the referendum result, the Government must now prepare for a negotiation to exit the EU to ensure that the interests of all parts of the UK are protected and advanced. I want us to agree an economic relationship with the rest of Europe that provides for the best possible terms of trade in financial services, including insurance.
The Prime Minister has been clear that the negotiation for Britain’s future relationship with Europe will begin under a new Prime Minister. In the meantime, and during the negotiations that follow, there will be no change to the way that insurance is sold or regulated.
Much financial regulation currently applicable in the UK derives from EU legislation, including Solvency II. Until negotiations are concluded, we remain a full member of the EU and must meet our obligations as a member of the EU.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the transposition of the Basel III reform measures into UK law.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government continues to support the need for international standards, such as the capital framework developed by the international Basel Committee on Banking Standards. These are important to ensure both financial stability and a level playing field for the UK’s world-leading financial services industry.
The Prime Minister has been clear that the negotiation for Britain’s future relationship with Europe will begin under a new Prime Minister. Until negotiations are concluded, we remain a full member of the EU and must meet our obligations as a member of the EU.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential economic effect of the UK leaving the EU on (a) St Helens North constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK.
Answered by Greg Hands
While it is clear that we do now face a significant economic challenge as a result of the referendum decision, the UK economy is well placed to respond. Over the last six years we have taken a series of difficult decisions in order to rebuild our economy.
The government has invested in the Northern Powerhouse, securing agreement to elect five new powerful mayors across the north, and making substantial investment commitments in transport, science, research and culture. The employment rate in the North is close to record highs.