Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to prevent UK-registered companies being used in money laundering schemes.
Answered by John Glen
This Government is committed to making the UK a hostile place for illicit finance. Knowing who ultimately owns and controls a company is an important part of the global fight against corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing. It can assist law enforcement in their investigations, and additionally act as a deterrent. Our public register of company beneficial ownership, the People with Significant Control register, went live in June 2016. In June last year, this requirement was extended to Scottish Limited Partnerships. Last year we further strengthened our anti-money laundering regime through the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, bringing our system into line with the international standards as set by the Financial Action Task Force.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of parents under the Childcare Voucher scheme who will not be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The Government is committed to supporting working families with the cost of childcare. We are doubling the free childcare available to working parents of 3&4 year olds to 30 hours a week, saving them around £5,000 a year per child. By 2019/20 we will spend around £6bn per annum on childcare support – a record amount.
Childcare vouchers are only offered by a minority of employers and are unavailable to self-employed parents, or those who do not earn enough to participate in salary sacrifice schemes. Tax-Free Childcare is designed to be fairer and better targeted. It will have a far wider reach than vouchers and is expected to benefit over 1 million working households.
Parents currently using vouchers will be able to continue using them, if they prefer, while they continue to work for the same employer and that employer continues to offer them.
All parents who would have been eligible for childcare vouchers will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare provided they have a child aged under 12, they and their partner if they have one, earn at least the equivalent of the National Living Wage for 16 hours a week and no more than £100,000 a year.
The analysis requested breaking down impacts on basic rate taxpayers is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to provide support to parents who benefit from the Childcare Voucher scheme but who are not eligible for the Tax-Free Childcare scheme.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The Government is committed to supporting working families with the cost of childcare. We are doubling the free childcare available to working parents of 3&4 year olds to 30 hours a week, saving them around £5,000 a year per child. By 2019/20 we will spend around £6bn per annum on childcare support – a record amount.
Childcare vouchers are only offered by a minority of employers and are unavailable to self-employed parents, or those who do not earn enough to participate in salary sacrifice schemes. Tax-Free Childcare is designed to be fairer and better targeted. It will have a far wider reach than vouchers and is expected to benefit over 1 million working households.
Parents currently using vouchers will be able to continue using them, if they prefer, while they continue to work for the same employer and that employer continues to offer them.
All parents who would have been eligible for childcare vouchers will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare provided they have a child aged under 12, they and their partner if they have one, earn at least the equivalent of the National Living Wage for 16 hours a week and no more than £100,000 a year.
The analysis requested breaking down impacts on basic rate taxpayers is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what reports he has received on the number of people who have experienced technical problems with the Childcare Service site in accessing Tax-Free Childcare.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The Government is committed to supporting working families with the cost of childcare. We are doubling the free childcare available to working parents of 3&4 year olds to 30 hours a week, saving them around £5,000 a year per child. By 2019/20 we will spend around £6bn per annum on childcare support – a record amount.
Childcare vouchers are only offered by a minority of employers and are unavailable to self-employed parents, or those who do not earn enough to participate in salary sacrifice schemes. Tax-Free Childcare is designed to be fairer and better targeted. It will have a far wider reach than vouchers and is expected to benefit over 1 million working households.
Parents currently using vouchers will be able to continue using them, if they prefer, while they continue to work for the same employer and that employer continues to offer them.
All parents who would have been eligible for childcare vouchers will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare provided they have a child aged under 12, they and their partner if they have one, earn at least the equivalent of the National Living Wage for 16 hours a week and no more than £100,000 a year.
The analysis requested breaking down impacts on basic rate taxpayers is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the replacement of Childcare Vouchers with Tax-free Childcare on basic rate tax payers with child-care costs of £4000 or less per annum.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The Government is committed to supporting working families with the cost of childcare. We are doubling the free childcare available to working parents of 3&4 year olds to 30 hours a week, saving them around £5,000 a year per child. By 2019/20 we will spend around £6bn per annum on childcare support – a record amount.
Childcare vouchers are only offered by a minority of employers and are unavailable to self-employed parents, or those who do not earn enough to participate in salary sacrifice schemes. Tax-Free Childcare is designed to be fairer and better targeted. It will have a far wider reach than vouchers and is expected to benefit over 1 million working households.
Parents currently using vouchers will be able to continue using them, if they prefer, while they continue to work for the same employer and that employer continues to offer them.
All parents who would have been eligible for childcare vouchers will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare provided they have a child aged under 12, they and their partner if they have one, earn at least the equivalent of the National Living Wage for 16 hours a week and no more than £100,000 a year.
The analysis requested breaking down impacts on basic rate taxpayers is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on whether people associated with human rights abuses and illegal activity in Russia are involved in property investment schemes in the UK.
Answered by Steve Barclay
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.
This government is committed to making the UK’s financial system a hostile environment for illicit finance, and is making the biggest changes to the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime in a decade, including through the new Money Laundering Regulations 2017 and the Criminal Finances Act. We are determined to protect the security and prosperity of our citizens and the integrity of our world-leading financial system.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of supply chain jobs in the UK supported by (a) High Speed 2, (b) Heathrow expansion, (c) Hinkley Point nuclear power station and (d) Crossrail 2.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The contracts announced in July for Phase One of High Speed 2 will support 16,000 jobs in Britain and will create opportunities for thousands of SMEs. In total, construction of the full HS2 route to the north-west and Yorkshire will create up to 25,000 jobs and 2,000 apprenticeships. Another 3,000 people will operate HS2 and it is estimated that growth around new HS2 stations will create another 100,000 jobs.
With regard to Heathrow airport, the final report of the Airports Commission stated that “expansion could generate 59-77,000 additional direct, indirect and induced jobs.”
HM Treasury has made no recent estimate of the number of supply chain jobs in the UK supported by Hinkley Point C nuclear power station or the Crossrail 2 proposal. Such estimates are often undertaken by schemes’ promoters.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the Civil Service workforce in his Department dedicated to planning for (a) the UK leaving the EU and (b) projects relating to the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Andrew Jones
A large proportion of the Treasury’s work is in some way related to exiting the European Union and this fluctuates over time as it interacts with Treasury’s other priorities. It is not possible, therefore, to accurately determine the proportion of the Treasury’s workforce engaged on EU Exit work at any one time.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the proceeds of (a) tax evasion, (b) tax avoidance, (c) corruption and (d) other criminal activities are not used to purchase property in the UK.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The Government is determined to make the UK a hostile environment for illicit finance and is making the biggest changes to our anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime in a decade.
The Government announced in March that the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 will clarify that estate agents must undertake customer due diligence measures on purchasers as well as sellers in a property transaction.
In addition, the Criminal Finances Bill provides new investigative powers, including Unexplained Wealth Orders, that will make it easier for our law enforcement agencies to investigate money laundering in the London property market and recover the proceeds of crime.
The Bill also contains new offences of corporate failure to prevent tax evasion, which will help ensure that companies that facilitate tax evasion will face penalties.
Furthermore, the Government has recently published a call for evidence seeking views on a new register of overseas companies that own property in the UK.