Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to limit the interest rates charged by financial institutions; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen
HM Treasury has worked closely with the financial regulators and the major banks and building societies to provide relief to customers and businesses impacted by COVID-19.
In March, a three-month mortgage holiday was made available to customers, and 1.8 million mortgage payment holidays have been granted by lenders to date. The period in which borrowers can apply for a payment holiday has been extended, in line with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to 31 October 2020.
In April, the FCA also announced a series of temporary measures intended to provide emergency support for consumers who are facing temporary cash flow problems as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. These measures included three-month payment freezes to credit cards and certain personal loans. On overdrafts, firms are required to provide a £500 interest-free buffer on main personal accounts and also to ensure that no customer is paying more than they were prior to the other recent overdraft pricing changes that came into force in April following an earlier FCA review.
For the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, an affordable flat interest rate after the first 12-month period has been agreed between the Government and lenders at 2.5%. This reflects the Government’s desire to balance a low price point for businesses with providing sufficient access to businesses through a range of banks. This will help ensure that UK businesses can access and benefit from these loans quickly and effectively.
All providers should stand ready and able to offer support to customers who are impacted directly or indirectly by COVID-19. We advise any customer who is concerned about their finances to contact their provider.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will temporarily extend the time limit within which inheritance tax must be paid during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government is aware of concerns about the six-month deadline for paying inheritance tax and the twelve-month deadline for filing a return. Where a taxpayer is unable to file their return on time because of COVID-19, HMRC will consider that within the scope of a reasonable excuse and as grounds for appeal against late filing penalties. The Government continues to explore all avenues to help those affected.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of whether supply teachers who teach under an umbrella company have not been furloughed by their company during the covid-19 outbreak due to that company's fear of incurring additional liabilities; and if he will provide guidance to umbrella companies on holiday pay entitlements for employees furloughed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) covers employees on any type of employment contract, including full-time, part-time, agency, flexible or zero-hour contracts. It covers agency workers (including those employed by umbrella companies), so long as the other conditions of the scheme are met.
It is for employers to decide to whom to offer a furlough. Equality and discrimination laws will apply to such decisions in the usual way.
For the purposes of making a claim under CJRS, it is not possible for the Government to set out how the scheme will apply to every possible set of contractual arrangements. However, employers should follow the published online guidance in order to calculate the correct reference pay.
Where an employee is on furlough and is also on annual leave in accordance with their contract and any relevant employment law, the employer can claim for that employee under CJRS.
No additional funds can be claimed under CJRS, beyond those specified in the online guidance. BEIS will be issuing further guidance on issues relating to furloughed employees and accrued leave.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support employers that have re-employed staff who left their employment after the 28 February 2020 for the purposes of eligibility for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Where an employer subsequently re-employs a member of staff who left their employment on or after 28 February 2020, upon re-employment the employee may be furloughed.
From the date the employee is furloughed, the employer is then eligible to claim towards the wages of their employee under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. This applies regardless of when they are re-employed.
In order to qualify, the employee must have been on the employer’s PAYE payroll as of 28 February 2020. This means a Real Time Information (RTI) submission notifying payment in respect of that employee to HMRC must have been made on or before 28 February 2020.
An employee on a fixed term contract can also be re-employed, furloughed and claimed for, if either:
- their contract expired after 28 February 2020 and an RTI payment submission for the employee was notified to HMRC on or before 28 February 2020, or
- their contract expired after 19 March 2020 and an RTI payment submission for the employee was notified to HMRC on or before 19 March 2020
In these circumstances, employers can apply for a grant that covers 80% of the usual monthly wage costs for their furloughed, re-employed member of staff, up to £2,500 a month. In addition, the employer can also claim the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and pension contributions (up to the level of the minimum automatic enrolment employer pension contribution) on that subsidised furlough pay.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish (a) guidance and (b) FAQs online to clarify the eligibility of furnished holiday lettings businesses for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced new support for the self-employed on 26 March 2020.
The new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will help those with lost trading profits due to COVID-19. To qualify, an individual’s self-employed trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and more than half of their income must come from self-employment. Some 95% of people who receive most of their income from self-employment could benefit from this Scheme.
Income from furnished holiday lets is not considered to be ‘trading profit’, but is property related income which is not included in the scope of SEISS.
Guidance on how HMRC work out total income and trading profits for SEISS has been published on GOV.UK and is updated regularly. The guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme