Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support golf (a) courses and (b) clubs in Southport.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sport England, receives £323m in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year.
Since 2019 Sport England have invested over £13.7m into projects which facilitate participation in golf. This includes £7.9m of system partner investment to England Golf to grow and develop the sport across the country between 2022 and 2027.
Sport England also provides support for grassroots sport through the newly established Movement Fund, which offers crowdfunding pledges, grants and resources to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most.
On top of this Active Partnerships are a system partner of Sport England and work in collaboration with local partners to deliver physical activity and sport. Clubs in your constituency may wish to contact the Merseyside Sports Partnership in their capacity as the local Active Partnership for the area, as they may be able to signpost to further funding opportunities.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support coastal communities with tourism industries in summer 2024.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the central role of our coastal communities in the tourism sector.
This is why on Heritage Day in March, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced that it will be launching a dedicated fund to support enhancements to our seaside heritage, to help protect and rejuvenate coastal assets which are in need of further support.
At the Autumn Statement 2023, the Government also announced an extension to the 75% business rate relief for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties for 2024-25.
We have also supported coastal communities to level up through dedicated funding under the Coastal Communities Fund, while the Levelling Up Fund has provided around £1 billion to projects in coastal areas. Over £400 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is going to lead local authorities within or serving coastal areas.
Across this Spending Review period, the Government has allocated over £100m to the British Tourist Authority to support VisitBritain and VisitEngland with marketing activity that includes championing visiting Britain’s coastline.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office for National Statistics' report entitled GDP first quarterly estimate, UK: January to March 2024, published on 10 May 2024, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the growth figures in that report on towns and cities in the North West.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The economy has performed better than expected in the face of unprecedented shocks, and the plan is working. The economy grew by 0.6% in the first quarter of 2024, the fastest quarterly growth rate in over two years, and growth is forecast to pick up both this year and next.
Subnational GDP figures over the same period are not yet available therefore no assessment has been made of the latest UK GDP growth figure on towns and cities in the North West.
The North West continues to benefit from over £15bn of local growth funding announced since 2019, including over £52m going to the Liverpool City Region through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent fiscal steps his Department has taken to help support small and local businesses in the (a) seasonal tourism and (b) service industries.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting small and local businesses in the hospitality, tourism, and services sectors, which provide a significant contribution to the UK economy and society.
At the Autumn Statement 2023, the Government announced an extension to the 75% business rate relief for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties for 2024-25, a tax cut worth £2.4 billion.
Spring Budget 2024 goes further to support SMEs by increasing the VAT registration threshold from £85,000 to £90,000 which means the UK now has the joint highest VAT registration threshold in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out.
Our Small Business Rates Relief means one-third of business properties in England already pay no Business Rates. We provide other tax reliefs benefiting SMEs such as the Annual Investment Allowance and Employment Allowance, and support investment in SMEs through British Business Bank programmes.
Furthermore, over this Spending Review period – the Government has allocated over £100m to the British Tourist Authority to support VisitBritain and VisitEngland with marketing activity to promote Britain as a destination.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that the Horizon compensation scheme is tax free.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is working with the Post Office to ensure all victims of the Horizon IT Scandal receive full and fair financial redress.
The Government has already granted tax exemptions for payments related to the Overturned Convictions (OC) and Group Litigation Order (GLO) compensation schemes.
Compensation payments for the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) are subject to tax. However, to ensure postmasters get the full financial redress they deserve, the Government announced on 19 June 2023 a tax-exempt top-up payment for HSS postmasters to ensure that the underlying amount they receive is not unduly reduced by tax. Elements specifically for the shortfalls that were repaid, or distress that was caused, are not taxable
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to encourage investment in the defence sector.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The UK is committed to increasing investment in the defence sector to meet the challenges of an increasingly volatile and complex world. In the 2023 Integrated Review Refresh, the Government committed to an additional £5 billion to be provided to the Ministry of Defence over the next two years alongside the ambition to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP in the long term. The Government also works closely with the private equity and venture capital community to attract private investment in dual use technologies through the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF) and nascent NATO Innovation Fund (NIF).
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to increase sanctions on companies that approve credit applications for people subject to Court of Protection Orders.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Protecting vulnerable consumers is a key priority for the Government and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates the consumer credit market.
Financial institutions are entitled to provide credit to individuals who have a Court of Protection Order. Approval of these applications are individualised in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act and FCA guidance which can found at: https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/CONC/2/10.html.
The guidance makes clear that firms should take reasonable steps to ensure that they have suitable business practices and procedures in place for the fair treatment of customers who they understand, or reasonably suspect, have or may have a mental capacity limitation. This includes customers who are subject to Court of Protection Orders.
The FCA proactively monitors the market to ensure firms follow its rules and it has various methods to punish breaches. There is no limit on the fines it can levy and it can require firms to compensate consumers. In addition, consumers have recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service for independent arbitration if they believe their formal complaint to a firm has not been dealt with satisfactorily.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has guidance on whether debt collection companies can be sanctioned for not providing (a) suitable and (b) timely methods to contact them to dispute claims.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The independent Financial Conduct Authority regulates debt purchase, collection and administration arising from credit agreements.
The FCA has an extensive Handbook (particularly CONC 7) setting out their expectations of firms undertaking the collection of these debts, including firms’ approach to contacting customers in arrears (CONC 7.9) and handling disputed debts (CONC 7.14.1R). The FCA utilises a range of supervisory and enforcement tools to deal with those breaching these rules. In addition to this, the enhanced requirements under the incoming Consumer Duty, particularly around the FCA’s expectations on consumer support, will aim to ensure debt collection firms provide a higher standard of care to their customers.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to balance the potential financial impact of changes to Vehicle Excise Duty from 2025 on owners of (a) internal combustion engine vehicles and (b) electric vehicles with potential national economic impacts.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced that from April 2025 electric cars, vans and motorcycles will begin to pay VED in the same way as petrol and diesel vehicles.
The tax treatment for ICE vehicles will remain the same, with those registered after 2017 paying a first-year rate, based on emissions, before moving to a standard annual rate – currently set at £180.
Removing the VED exemption from April 2025 adds fairness to the tax system, and its impact should be minimal given the marginal cost of VED compared to the overall cost of a vehicle . The government has also announced the continuation of incentives for electric vehicles through company car tax, which will likely continue to be effective in incentivising EV take up, and investment in chargepoint infrastructure.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that UK banks are trading responsibly in global markets.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
All UK regulated banks are subject to robust prudential and conduct regulation and supervision, overseen by the UK’s independent regulators, who operate under a legislative framework set by the Government and Parliament.
Authorised UK banks are subject to prudential requirements, overseen by the Prudential Regulatory Authority, which includes minimum requirements for capital and liquidity, in line with international standards.
In addition, any business carrying out a regulated activity on a UK regulated market must be authorised by the FCA, unless they are otherwise exempt. Once authorised, the FCA requires such firms to meet the standards for authorisation on a continuous basis, and supervises them including to ensure that their conduct on markets does not compromise market integrity.
The IMF has said that the UK ‘operates a sound and transparent regulatory and supervisory framework for banks’ and that the UK’s ‘effective prudential and supervisory structure is helping support the safety and soundness of the United Kingdom’s banking… system’.