Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support his Department is providing to people who paid money to the Safe Hands Funeral Plan.
Answered by John Glen
In January 2021, the government legislated to bring all pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means that by 29 July 2022 all funeral plan providers must be authorised by the FCA.
Safe Hands Plans has recently gone into administration. The government understands that this development will be concerning for customers of Safe Hands and continues to monitor the implementation of regulation in this sector closely.
I was very pleased to see Dignity’s recent commitment to provide ongoing support to Safe Hands’ customers for the next six months. This will ensure that any planholders who die during this time will receive a funeral without any additional charge.
It is unfortunate but unavoidable that bringing a previously unregulated sector into regulation – whatever form that may take – creates a possibility that some providers are not able to meet the threshold for authorisation. However, a well-regulated market should promote effective competition and drive better outcomes for consumers in the long-term.
Where a provider is unable to obtain FCA authorisation because of underlying issues, it is important to understand that this is not an issue created by bringing the sector into regulation. Rather, bringing the sector into regulation exposes these unsustainable business models and prevents these problems from getting worse.
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 farmers on the impact of the current entitlement for farmers’ use of red diesel during ploughing competitions.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Chancellor confirmed at Spring Budget 2021 that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel for most uses from April 2022, other than for defined agricultural purposes and a limited number of other uses. This will help to ensure fairness between the different users of diesel fuels and that the tax system incentivises the development and adoption of greener alternative technologies.
Agricultural vehicles will be entitled to run on rebated fuel after April 2022 for purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture, forestry and fish farming. They will also be able to use rebated fuel when cutting verges and hedges that border a road, clearing snow, gritting, and clearing or otherwise dealing with flooding.
The activities accepted as purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture and forestry are defined in HMRC Excise Notice 75. As agricultural shows and ploughing matches provide information and education that benefits agricultural purposes, the Government considers that running or participating in these activities are purposes relating to agriculture, for which rebated fuel may be used in qualifying vehicles and machines, and will be updating Excise Notice 75 accordingly. Rebated fuel can also be used to travel to and from where the vehicles or machines are to be used for these activities.c
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential viability of changing the entitlement for farmers’ use of red diesel for a single day of ploughing competition.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Chancellor confirmed at Spring Budget 2021 that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel for most uses from April 2022, other than for defined agricultural purposes and a limited number of other uses. This will help to ensure fairness between the different users of diesel fuels and that the tax system incentivises the development and adoption of greener alternative technologies.
Agricultural vehicles will be entitled to run on rebated fuel after April 2022 for purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture, forestry and fish farming. They will also be able to use rebated fuel when cutting verges and hedges that border a road, clearing snow, gritting, and clearing or otherwise dealing with flooding.
The activities accepted as purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture and forestry are defined in HMRC Excise Notice 75. As agricultural shows and ploughing matches provide information and education that benefits agricultural purposes, the Government considers that running or participating in these activities are purposes relating to agriculture, for which rebated fuel may be used in qualifying vehicles and machines, and will be updating Excise Notice 75 accordingly. Rebated fuel can also be used to travel to and from where the vehicles or machines are to be used for these activities.c
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect on consumer (a) rights and (b) choice of the introduction of the energy bills rebate.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
All domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will receive a £200 reduction in their electricity costs from this October. This will be delivered via energy suppliers and will be clearly identifiable as a line item on electricity bills.
The reduction in costs will help people with the increase in energy bills by spreading the increased costs over a few years, so they are more manageable for households.
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 waiving VAT on defibrillators.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The Government already maintains VAT reliefs to aid the purchase of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), including VAT relief on purchases made by local authorities and those made through voluntary contributions, where the AED is donated to eligible charities or the NHS. Otherwise, they attract the standard rate of VAT.
Any new VAT relief would come at a cost to the Exchequer and the Government has received over £50 billion worth of requests for relief from VAT since the EU referendum.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.