Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing further fiscal measures to reduce the consumption of foods high in sugar and fat.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The government keeps all taxes under review at fiscal events and we will consider this issue carefully as part of the Autumn Budget process.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce couple penalties for people on universal credit or in receipt of tax credits.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The government is committed to making the welfare system fair for those who pay for it as well as those who benefit from it. This means ensuring that it is appropriately targeted to those that most need support.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to increase the take-up of the marriage allowance.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Marriage Allowance was introduced in April 2015, to recognise the importance of marriage in the tax system, and support those on low incomes by helping them keep more of the money they earn.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) ran a number of advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the savings Marriage Allowance can bring to eligible couples. The first campaign ran between October 2015 to March 2016, and the second between November 2016 to March 2017. A variety of channels were used including press, radio adverts, and digital advertising.
2.4 million couples have successfully claimed Marriage Allowance. In 2017-18, eligible couples can receive a tax reduction of £232, or £662 if they make a backdated claim to 2015-16. Couples who have yet to claim will not lose out as they have until 5 April 2020 to backdate it.
Marriage Allowance can be claimed through the personal tax account, on the GOV.UK website, or by telephone to HMRC.
Asked by: David Amess (Conservative - Southend West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the recruitment industry will contribute in apprenticeship levy payments in 2017-18.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The most recent UK wide forecasts of the number of employers paying the levy in different sectors and amount paid by sector are published by the Department for Education, and can be found online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/545145/Apprenticeships_-expected_levy_and_total_spend_-_Aug_2016.pdf.
This suggested that 1,730 employers would be in the Administrative and Support Service sector, which includes employers in the recruitment industry. A more detailed sector breakdown, splitting out companies registered under UK Standard Industry Classification Code Section 78 (Employment Activities), is not available.
The Apprenticeship Levy applies to all employers operating across all sectors. An allowance of £15,000 means only those with a pay bill exceeding £3 million have to pay the levy. Therefore companies in the recruitment industry are liable to pay the Apprenticeship Levy only if they have a pay bill of over £3 million.
Guidance on what counts towards the paybill can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pay-apprenticeship-levy