Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Departments guidance on Energy-saving materials and heating equipment (VAT Notice 708/6) updated in April 2022, whether batteries used for solar panels are zero rated for VAT.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Battery storage supplied as part of the installation of solar panels will benefit from the VAT zero rate for the next five years. Battery storage itself has not been added to the list of qualifying materials and therefore will continue to be standard rated when installed as a standalone product.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support his Department has provided to families in response to recent increases in gas and electricity prices.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The government is committed to help protect households from price spikes and is very aware of the difficulties that families are experiencing as a result of the rise in energy prices. The government is providing significant financial support – up to £350 – to the majority of households, which will cover more than half of the April rise in energy bills for the average household. This support is worth £9.1bn in 2022-23.
The government is also providing an additional £500m for the Household Support Fund from April, on top of the £500m we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £1 billion. In England, Local Authorities are best placed to direct this help to those in their areas who need it most and will receive £421m, whilst the devolved administrations will receive £79m through the Barnett formula.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether businesses that support and are associated with the agricultural industry will be permitted to use red diesel in their machinery from 1 April 2022; and whether he plans to provide financial support to businesses that fall outside the exemptions for use of that fuel in the context of increased cost associated with changing to white diesel being passed on to their customers in the agricultural sector.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At Budget 2020, the Chancellor announced that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel from most sectors from April 2022. 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.
The activities accepted as falling within the definition of agriculture, horticulture and forestry (and which will continue to be eligible to use rebated fuel from April 2022) are already defined in HMRC Excise Notice 75. HMRC have published interim guidance on the implementation of the changes to the tax treatment of rebated fuels, which is available at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-rebated-fuels-entitlement-from-1-april-2022
To support the development of alternatives that affected businesses can switch to, the Government is at least doubling the funding provided for energy innovation through the £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio. From that portfolio, the Government announced the £40 million Red Diesel Replacement Competition, which will provide grant funding for projects that develop and demonstrate lower carbon, lower cost alternatives to red diesel for the construction, and mining and quarrying sectors.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether contractors using heavy machinery to build reservoirs on farms as part of work related to agriculture and food production can continue to use red diesel after 1 April 2022.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At Budget 2020, the Chancellor announced that the Government will remove the entitlement to use red diesel from most sectors from April 2022. 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.
The Government recognised that these tax reforms would be a significant change for some businesses and ran a consultation to gather information from affected users on the expected impact of these tax changes and make sure it had not overlooked any exceptional reasons why affected sectors should be allowed to continue to use red diesel beyond April 2022. During the consultation period, the Government engaged directly with a wide variety of organisations.
The activities accepted as falling within the definition of agriculture, horticulture and forestry are already defined in HMRC Excise Notice 75. HMRC have published interim guidance on the implementation of the changes to the tax treatment of rebated fuels, which is available at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-rebated-fuels-entitlement-from-1-april-2022
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the merits of supporting the River Severn Partnership to help provide (a) flood defence and (b) economic growth in the Shropshire region.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing the likelihood and impact of flooding remains a priority for the Government and we recognise the important work of the River Severn Partnership. In the English Severn and Wye region £170 million will be invested in flood and coastal erosion risk management from 2021-2027.
The government wants every region to thrive. This is why the Government has invested £1.05bn over five years to the West Midlands to transform local transport networks, and there were 11 successful bids in the West Midlands for the £1.7bn first round of the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund. Further, Shropshire and other places across the West Midlands will benefit from the Government’s £5bn national programme, Project Gigabit, to support rollout of gigabit capable broadband.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to support the parts of the gig economy which have experienced economic downturn during covid-19 lockdown and which have not benefitted from Government covid-19 financial support during covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government provided unprecedented support to protect jobs and businesses. For example, some gig workers who are self-employed may have benefited from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), designed to support the incomes of self-employed individuals who were temporarily unable to carry out their business or were impacted by reduced demand due to COVID-19, leading to a significant reduction in profits.
Government action has helped to lay the foundations for an economic recovery, and this plan is working: the UK has seen faster-than-anticipated growth, and a strong recovery in jobs across the country. The recent Budget and Spending Review builds on this, by taking action to help businesses - including those in the gig economy - to recover, invest, grow and create jobs. The Government is also taking steps to support families and working people, many of which will benefit those individuals who work in the gig economy.
Gig workers who claim Universal Credit will benefit from the reduced taper rate, which will help to make work pay; and from the Government’s new £99 million In-Work Progression offer, which will mean more people in work on Universal Credit will be able to access individualised work coach support to help them progress and increase their earnings.
Alongside individuals across the economy, gig economy workers should also benefit from investment in skills, announced at Spending Review 2021, which will give adults more opportunities to upskill and retrain to improve access to higher paid jobs. This includes continuing to offer free Level 3 courses in high value subjects, quadrupling the scale of Skills Bootcamps in growing sectors, and a brand new scheme to boost adult numeracy - Multiply. Improving numeracy can boost earnings by up to 14%.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 September 2021 to Question 49075 on Insurance: Floods, whether the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is classed as a saving in a Business Interruption claim.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. The FCA’s rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly and settle claims quickly once settlement terms are agreed.
Insurers should calculate claims payments due to the policyholder in accordance with the terms and conditions of the relevant policy.
Policyholders who feel that their claim has not been handled fairly may be able to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service, an independent body set up to provide arbitration in such cases.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether insurance companies are permitted to deduct the cost of furlough payments made to staff in a business insurance claim for flood damage.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Insurers must treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) rules.
As insurance policies differ significantly, businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers. The individual policy wording generally sets out the basis on which the sum due to the policyholder following an insured event will be calculated. Insurers should therefore calculate claims payments due to the policyholder in accordance with the terms and conditions of the relevant policy.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for specific sectors, such as aerospace and aviation, to avoid redundancies due to reduced orders as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was designed as a temporary, economy-wide measure to support businesses while widespread restrictions were in place. Closing the scheme at the end of September is designed to strike the right balance between supporting the economy as it opens up, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and ensuring that incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns. This approach has worked; the OBR have estimated that without the short-term fiscal easing announced in the Budget, and in particular the CJRS extension, unemployment would have been about 300,000 higher in the fourth quarter of this year than the 2.2 million in the central forecast.
The Government recognises the particular challenges that the travel industry has faced as a result of COVID-19. In England travel agents have recently benefited from Restart Grants worth up to £6,000, and can continue to benefit from the £2 billion of discretionary grant funding that has been made available to local authorities in England through the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). Furthermore, the aviation and aerospace sectors are being supported with over £12 billion that has been made available through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) and grants for research and development. In addition, airports continue to benefit from the renewed Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme announced at Budget.
The Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) report sets out a clear framework for the Government’s objective of establishing a safe and sustainable return to international travel, which is key to enabling the sector’s recovery. It has been created following extensive engagement with the international travel and tourism industries, and changes following the recent checkpoint review of the GTT are a vital step in enabling the recovery of travel operators and those whose jobs rely on the travel industry.
The Government has shown throughout the pandemic that it is prepared to adapt support if the path of the virus changes. It continues to engage closely with sectors across the economy, including the travel industry, in order to understand their recovery horizons as the vaccine is rolled out and restrictions ease.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the FCA and PRA plan to (a) manage and (b) control the new value transfer mechanisms from decentralised finance that will potentially see asset and cash ownership of UK PLC leave the UK.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which are operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA and PRA. The FCA and PRA will reply directly to the honourable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.