Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the annual VAT threshold on small business growth.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Views on the VAT registration threshold are divided and the case for change has been regularly reviewed over the years. While some businesses have argued that a higher threshold would reduce administrative and financial burdens, others contend that a lower threshold would provide a fairer competitive environment.
In 2018, the Government consulted on how the design of the VAT registration threshold could better incentivise growth. However, there was no clear option for reform.
It was announced at Autumn Budget 2022 that the VAT threshold will be maintained at its current level of £85,000 until 31 March 2026.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reforms to VAT to encourage small businesses growth.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government recognises that accounting for VAT can be a burden on small businesses. This is why, at £85,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with Capita on the potential impact of the cyber attack on their systems on members of the Mineworkers Pension Scheme.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has not held discussions with Capita on the potential impact to members of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme from the recent cyber incident.
HM Treasury has worked closely with the Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority, and the National Cyber Security Centre to monitor any impacts in the finance sector of the cyber incident. The financial regulators have engaged directly with Capita.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to provide financial support to people living in coalfields in the context of rises in the cost of living.
Answered by John Glen
The Government understands that people are worried about the cost-of-living challenges ahead. That’s why decisive action has been taken to support all households across the UK, whilst remaining fiscally responsible.
We have already announced further support for next year worth £26 billion in 2023-24, meaning over 8 million of the most vulnerable households will continue to be supported through next winter via additional Cost of Living Payments and an extension to the household support fund.
The Chancellor is fully committed to ensuring the benefits of economic development are felt right across the country, including with billions in support for local growth, skills training and transport.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the (a) formula and (b) sources of data used to calculate motoring costs.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. The government sets the AMAP rates to minimise administrative burdens.
The AMAP rates aim to reflect running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Depreciation is estimated to constitute the most significant proportion of the AMAP rates.
There is no formula or calculation which delivers the AMAPs rates for cars of 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25 pence per mile thereafter. The decision on what rates to adopt is a policy decision taken by the Chancellor after considering a range of factors. These factors include:
• the costs of motoring per business mile for a range of cars and mileages;
• the transport needs of business;
• the cost to the Exchequer of changing the rate;
• the overall fiscal position.”
Employers are not required to use the AMAPs rates. Instead, they can agree to reimburse a different amount that better reflects their employees’ circumstances. If an employee is paid less than the AMAP rate, they can claim Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) on the shortfall. However, where payments exceed the relevant AMAP rate, there will be a tax and National Insurance charge on the difference.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will exempt charities from VAT where a minimum donation on goods is required.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Where a charity chooses to offer its goods or services for free and invites voluntary donations, with no minimum payment required and with no expectation of anything in return, no VAT is charged.
Where the charity wishes to sell its goods and services for a set price, and is VAT registered, it must charge VAT unless a VAT relief exists. There is no VAT due on an amount paid voluntarily over and above the set price.
Charities benefit from a range of tax reliefs, including a zero-rate relief for the sale of donated goods. Costed tax reliefs value these at over £5.4 billion in the year ending April 2022.
While all taxes are kept under review, we have no plans to make changes to the VAT treatment of minimum donations.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to ringfence funding allocated to Horizon Europe for alternative programmes in the event of the UK no longer being a participant in that programme.
Answered by John Glen
Consistent with the sector’s preference to associate to EU R&D programmes, the Government and set aside funding for association at Spending Review 2021 and has continued negotiations with the EU, while ensuring the sector is supported by funding the Horizon Guarantee. If the EU does not formalise the UK’s association soon, we will ensure that the UK’s science superpower and innovation nation ambitions are supported by putting in place an ambitious alternative, funded from the budget we set aside for our association to these programmes.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the UK Research and Development Roadmap, published in July 2020, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing a plan for funding research and development spending up to 2027.
Answered by John Glen
The government publishes plans for funding research and development in multi-year spending reviews. The 2021 Spending Review published plans for the period 2022/23 to 24/25. Future Spending Reviews will cover years beyond that.