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Written Question
Remittances
Thursday 16th July 2020

Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2020 to Question 64077, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of disclosing the full cost of fees and charges including the exchange rate margin as calculated from the mid-market rate provided by the ECB to ensure that consumers are able to make informed decisions when sending money abroad by bank transfer.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Further to my response of 3 July 2020 to Question 64077, before the end of the Transition Period, the Government will bring forward secondary legislation under the EU Withdrawal Act 2018 to ensure that the provisions of the Cross Border Payments Regulation which require transparency of currency conversion fees and charges for credit transfers, continue to work effectively in UK law after the end of the Transition Period.


Written Question
Directors: Coronavirus
Monday 6th July 2020

Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) including limited company directors in the Self Employed Income Support Scheme and (b) including dividends as income in relation to covid-19 support schemes.

Answered by Jesse Norman

I refer the Honourable Member to the written answer to Parliamentary Question 54215 given on 9 June 2020: www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-03/54215/.


Written Question
Employment: Government Assistance
Thursday 25th June 2020

Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he plans to offer new starters who cannot claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and have (a) been denied furlough pay by their previous employer and (b) are not eligible for universal credit.

Answered by Jesse Norman

It has not been possible to include in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme individuals for whom HMRC had not received a Real Time Information submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before the 19 March, as this would have significantly increased the risk of fraud.

Individuals with sufficient National Insurance contributions who have lost their job may be entitled to support from the welfare system, notably new style Jobseeker’s Allowance, which does not assess capital or partner income.

The Government has introduced wider measures to support those who may be in difficulty during the Covid-19 crisis, including mortgage holidays, a pause on evictions, hardship funds from local authorities, and help with utility bills.


Written Question
Treasury: Correspondence
Wednesday 17th June 2020

Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his Department’s policy to respond to all correspondence from Members of Parliament with (a) a generic Dear Colleague letter months after the initial query or (b) a detailed and prompt answer addressing the points that have been raised by that Member.

Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade

It is the Treasury’s policy to respond to correspondence from Members with an individual reply that addresses the points the member has raised, within 15 working days. However, the unprecedented volumes of correspondence received since the outbreak of COVID-19 has caused delays in responding.

Detailed Dear Colleague letters have occasionally been issued to Members to update them on changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and to help them reply to their constituents as quickly as possible. The Treasury is working with any Members who have highlighted they cannot use the Dear Colleague letter to reply to their constituents and will provide a further reply to those Members as soon as possible.


Written Question
Self-employed: Coronavirus
Tuesday 16th June 2020

Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to provide financial support to self-employed people who are ineligible for the (a) Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and (b) Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and who cannot access (i) universal credit and (ii) self-employment income support.

Answered by Jesse Norman

Self-employed individuals who are ineligible for the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), may be able to benefit from the other elements of the unprecedented financial support provided by the Government. This package includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support,?mortgage holidays, and other business support grants.


Written Question
Primary Health Care: Non-domestic Rates
Friday 27th March 2020

Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to include medical premises such as dental practices in the (a) business rate relief and (b) loan and grant scheme that has been announced to tackle the economic effect of covid-19.

Answered by Jesse Norman

At present properties providing medical services, including dental practices, are not eligible for the business rates Expanded Retail Discount.

Information on the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which launched on Monday 23 March, is available on the British Business Bank’s website. Medical premises may be eligible for small business grant funding of £10,000 where the property is eligible for small business rate relief.

The Government stands ready to provide further financial support to businesses and individuals as necessary.


Written Question
Revenue and Customs: Payments
Tuesday 16th July 2019

Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of checks undertaken to guarantee the accuracy of the payment of monies greater than £10,000 by HMRC to private citizens.

Answered by Jesse Norman

HMRC take care to ensure the accuracy of their payments to all their customers. Managers also make sure standards are set before an activity takes place and then conduct checks afterwards to ensure payments processes are properly designed and operating as intended.

Finally, independent assurance over HMRC’s processes including payments is obtained from Internal Audit, the Audit & Risk Committee and the National Audit Office as part of the third line of defence.


Written Question
Press and Publications: VAT
Monday 12th November 2018

Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take following the passage of EU Directive 2006/112/EC on the rates of value added tax applied to books, newspapers and periodicals.

Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Value Added Tax (VAT) generates over £120 billion each year for our vital public services. With this in mind, any amendments to the VAT regime as it applies to physical and digital publications must be carefully assessed against policy, economic and fiscal considerations.

HM Treasury officials have discussed EU Directive 2006/112 in the usual UK and EU fora. In respect of EU legislative changes relating to physical and digital publications, HM Treasury has received representations from the industry and discussed the matter at official level with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.


Written Question
Publications: VAT
Monday 12th November 2018

Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions his Department has had and with whom on (a) EU Directive 2006/112/EC and (b) the UK VAT regime on print and digital publications.

Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Value Added Tax (VAT) generates over £120 billion each year for our vital public services. With this in mind, any amendments to the VAT regime as it applies to physical and digital publications must be carefully assessed against policy, economic and fiscal considerations.

HM Treasury officials have discussed EU Directive 2006/112 in the usual UK and EU fora. In respect of EU legislative changes relating to physical and digital publications, HM Treasury has received representations from the industry and discussed the matter at official level with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.


Written Question
Publications: VAT
Thursday 14th June 2018

Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the effect on the public purse of equalising at zero the VAT rate for e-publications and print publications; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Under EU law, a standard rate of VAT must be applied to e-publications. Although Member States are discussing a legislative proposal to allow the application of a zero rate of VAT to e-publications, this is yet to be agreed.