Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's consultation on the new alcohol duty system, if he will take steps to ensure that winemakers from hotter climates who produce wines with a high alcohol content do not pay a higher rate of alcohol duty.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government set out at the Budget its proposal to tax all products, including wine, in line with their ABV content. This will consistently apply the principle that stronger products should pay higher amounts of duty. This means that sparkling wines and still wines below 11.5% ABV will pay less duty than now, while still and fortified wines above this level will pay more duty.
The consultation on the new alcohol duty system closed on 30 January. The Government is considering the feedback received from producers and will respond in due course.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to recent comments by Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, in the report entitled SME Inquiry Report, by the Wine and Spirit APPG, on the proposed new alcohol duty system, if he will take steps to reduce complexity in the proposed framework.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government is currently considering all proposals put forward through the alcohol duty review consultation, which closed on 30 January. The Government will respond to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data his Department holds on the level of imports of bourbon whiskey from the United States to the UK for each year between 2016 to 2021.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
HMRC is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly in its Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics, which is available here: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/
It is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria here: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/ots-custom-table/?id=fe2418fe-ac77-4e16-9cbd-e7fa8a8500a2
Statistics on imports of bourbon whiskey from the US between 2016 and 2021 are set out below.
Calendar Year | Net Mass (kg) | Supplementary Unit (Litres) | Value £ |
2016 | 12,471,221 | 5,301,569 | 81,888,310 |
2017 | 16,173,512 | 6,829,720 | 120,044,006 |
2018 | 7,773,522 | 3,496,934 | 55,492,104 |
2019 | 3,108,182 | 1,440,312 | 14,499,473 |
2020 | 4,749,687 | 2,282,670 | 20,749,231 |
2021 | 3,359,107 | 2,003,139 | 13,864,750 |
The figures for 2021 are provisional and cover January to November 2021. Statistics for December are yet to be published.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the timetable for completion of the project for the replacement of the Real Time Gross Settlement system.
Answered by John Glen
The Real-Time Gross Settlement (“RTGS”) service is the infrastructure that holds accounts for banks, building societies and other institutions at the Bank of England (“the Bank”). The balances in these accounts can be used to move money in real time between these account holders, delivering final and risk-free settlement. A programme of work (“the Programme”) has been established by the Bank to deliver a renewed RTGS service.
The Programme consists of around 200 Bank employees, who work on a range of activities, including the technical build of the new system, supporting industry readiness and designing the Bank’s target operating model once the service goes live. This figure also includes all programme overheads, such as colleagues forming a Programme Management Office. Given the Programme is a major financial infrastructure programme, industry participants are also involved in preparing their organisations and relevant systems for the renewed RTGS service. No Treasury officials work directly on the Programme, though the Bank updates the Treasury on the status of the Programme as a key stakeholder.
Given the Programme is only part way through its timeline, it would not be meaningful to provide a specific cost figure for the Programme as of 8 December 2021. The costs of the Programme will be fully recovered from participants via the RTGS tariff, which the Bank is currently reviewing to ensure it will be fit for purpose once the renewed service goes live. Industry will be consulted on the Bank’s proposed approach in Spring 2022, and an accompanying consultation document will include indicative total costs for the Programme.
The indicative timeline for the Programme is publicly available on the Bank’s website. For reference, this can be found at the following location:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/payment-and-settlement/rtgs-renewal-programme
This indicative timeline is the result of close industry engagement. As would be expected of any major technology programme, the Bank of England continually assess readiness for this timeline and make contingency plans to ensure the stability and resilience of the RTGS service.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the project work on the replacement for the Real Time Gross Settlement System has cost as of 8 December 2021.
Answered by John Glen
The Real-Time Gross Settlement (“RTGS”) service is the infrastructure that holds accounts for banks, building societies and other institutions at the Bank of England (“the Bank”). The balances in these accounts can be used to move money in real time between these account holders, delivering final and risk-free settlement. A programme of work (“the Programme”) has been established by the Bank to deliver a renewed RTGS service.
The Programme consists of around 200 Bank employees, who work on a range of activities, including the technical build of the new system, supporting industry readiness and designing the Bank’s target operating model once the service goes live. This figure also includes all programme overheads, such as colleagues forming a Programme Management Office. Given the Programme is a major financial infrastructure programme, industry participants are also involved in preparing their organisations and relevant systems for the renewed RTGS service. No Treasury officials work directly on the Programme, though the Bank updates the Treasury on the status of the Programme as a key stakeholder.
Given the Programme is only part way through its timeline, it would not be meaningful to provide a specific cost figure for the Programme as of 8 December 2021. The costs of the Programme will be fully recovered from participants via the RTGS tariff, which the Bank is currently reviewing to ensure it will be fit for purpose once the renewed service goes live. Industry will be consulted on the Bank’s proposed approach in Spring 2022, and an accompanying consultation document will include indicative total costs for the Programme.
The indicative timeline for the Programme is publicly available on the Bank’s website. For reference, this can be found at the following location:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/payment-and-settlement/rtgs-renewal-programme
This indicative timeline is the result of close industry engagement. As would be expected of any major technology programme, the Bank of England continually assess readiness for this timeline and make contingency plans to ensure the stability and resilience of the RTGS service.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) Treasury officials and (b) other individuals are engaged in work on the replacement for the Real Time Gross Settlement System.
Answered by John Glen
The Real-Time Gross Settlement (“RTGS”) service is the infrastructure that holds accounts for banks, building societies and other institutions at the Bank of England (“the Bank”). The balances in these accounts can be used to move money in real time between these account holders, delivering final and risk-free settlement. A programme of work (“the Programme”) has been established by the Bank to deliver a renewed RTGS service.
The Programme consists of around 200 Bank employees, who work on a range of activities, including the technical build of the new system, supporting industry readiness and designing the Bank’s target operating model once the service goes live. This figure also includes all programme overheads, such as colleagues forming a Programme Management Office. Given the Programme is a major financial infrastructure programme, industry participants are also involved in preparing their organisations and relevant systems for the renewed RTGS service. No Treasury officials work directly on the Programme, though the Bank updates the Treasury on the status of the Programme as a key stakeholder.
Given the Programme is only part way through its timeline, it would not be meaningful to provide a specific cost figure for the Programme as of 8 December 2021. The costs of the Programme will be fully recovered from participants via the RTGS tariff, which the Bank is currently reviewing to ensure it will be fit for purpose once the renewed service goes live. Industry will be consulted on the Bank’s proposed approach in Spring 2022, and an accompanying consultation document will include indicative total costs for the Programme.
The indicative timeline for the Programme is publicly available on the Bank’s website. For reference, this can be found at the following location:
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/payment-and-settlement/rtgs-renewal-programme
This indicative timeline is the result of close industry engagement. As would be expected of any major technology programme, the Bank of England continually assess readiness for this timeline and make contingency plans to ensure the stability and resilience of the RTGS service.