Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for how long HMRC's website has been unavailable for people reporting and paying Capital Gains Tax as of 13 June 2022; how many paper forms have been dispatched to customers during that period; and on what date he expect that web service to be back online.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
HMRC’s Capital Gains Tax Digital Service includes the following:
There are no outages detected in any of these services.
We can confirm there were 92 paper Capital Gains Tax UK Property Disposal returns issued on 13th June 2022. As there was no outage their issue was for unrelated reasons.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Secretary of State for Education on increasing the allowance of Universal Free School Meals from April 2022 in response to the impact of increasing rates of inflation on the cost of food.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Department for Education spend around £600million per year ensuring around 1.3 million infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime following the introduction of the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy in 2014.
The per meal rate of £2.34 per child per meal was increased in 2020-21. The funding rate for the 2022-23 will be published with the funding allocations in June.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to coronavirus home-working tax relief, for what reason volunteers for charitable organisations that are office holders are treated differently from those volunteers who are not.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Neither volunteers nor voluntary office holders pay tax on out-of-pocket expenses reimbursed by the organisation, providing the amount reimbursed is no more than the additional expenditure incurred. This includes expenses for additional household costs if they have had to work at home, including if they have had to work at home because of Coronavirus. Tax will be due on any allowances received which exceed expenditure.
Neither voluntary office holders nor volunteers can claim tax relief from HMRC for additional costs related to their volunteering as they have no earnings against which the relief could be set.
Following a legislative change in April 2020, voluntary office holders are classed as employees to ensure that no liability to Income Tax arises in respect of a payment to a person who holds a voluntary office, if the payment is in respect of reasonable expenses incurred when carrying out the duties of that office. This change ensured the tax treatment of their private expenses, such as travel between home and the place the work is done, is comparable to those of volunteers.
Employers can reimburse employees, including voluntary office holders, for homeworking expenses under Section 316A of ITEPA03 which allows exempt payments to be made in a wider set of circumstances, including where there is a voluntary homeworking scheme. However, where volunteers must work at home because of Coronavirus, it is advisable for the volunteer organisation to determine the appropriate rates of reimbursement, ensuring such payments do not give rise to a profit.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to help improve the ability of high street bank customers to (a) challenge and (b) scrutinise past decisions made by financial institutions which have caused hardship and distress, including the repossession of a property.
Answered by John Glen
In most circumstances, the provision of a bank’s services is a commercial decision for the bank and the Government does not intervene in these decisions. The terms and conditions of the contract between the two parties govern that contract, and although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services it does not have investigative or prosecuting powers of its own.
Disputes arising between a bank and its customers is usually best resolved by the parties involved. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require the banks to properly investigate all complaints and, through ongoing supervision, it continues to monitor the banks’ complaint handling processes. If customers are unable to resolve the issue with their bank, they will be eligible for further review by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS provides a free, independent dispute resolution service for bank customers.
The Government has also taken action aimed at helping people avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans to homeowners on a low income and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders. As lenders should only take steps to enforce a repossession order as a last resort, it is vital that homeowners who are having trouble paying their mortgage, or are worried about meeting payments in future, make early contact with their lender.
Homeowners who are worried about their mortgage payments may also want to get in touch with Money Helper which has been set up by Government to support consumers with comprehensive, consistent, guidance for every stage of their financial lives. It offers free and impartial information on money matters, available to all online at: www.moneyhelper.org.uk, or by calling the Money Helper helpline on 0800 138 7777.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will temporarily increase the rate of Gift Aid from 20 per cent to 25 per cent for two years, similar to the Gift Aid Transitional Relief Scheme of 2008.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government is fully committed to supporting charities through the Gift Aid regime. This relief is tied to the basic rate of tax paid by donors, currently at 20%, so can only be changed if the personal basic tax rate changes.
The Government recognises that the sector is experiencing significant pressures and has made available an unprecedented package of economic support, including a £750 million package specifically for charities.