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Written Question
Landfill Tax
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16898 on Landfill Tax, what discussions has he had with the (a) Environment Agency, (b) Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (c) waste disposal sector on the potential impact of the removal of landfill tax exemptions.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Documents relating to the ongoing review of Landfill Tax in England and Wales are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/landfill-tax-review-call-for-evidence. These confirm the government is considering a range of options to future-proof, simplify and improve environmental outcomes from the tax.

To this end, HM Treasury officials continue to work closely with departments including HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency – as well as with external interested parties, before confirming further next steps.


Written Question
Landfill Tax
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16898 on Landfill Tax, whether he has had recent discussions with the (a) Environment Agency and (b) Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the alignment of landfill tax reforms with environmental policy.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Documents relating to the ongoing review of Landfill Tax in England and Wales are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/landfill-tax-review-call-for-evidence. These confirm the government is considering a range of options to future-proof, simplify and improve environmental outcomes from the tax.

To this end, HM Treasury officials continue to work closely with departments including HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency – as well as with external interested parties, before confirming further next steps.


Written Question
Landfill Tax
Thursday 7th March 2024

Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the (a) Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (b) Environment Agency on changes to Landfill Tax (i)rates, (ii) allowances, (iii) liable activities and (iv) exemptions.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is undertaking a review of landfill tax in England and Northern Ireland with the aim of ensuring the tax continues to support the government’s ambitious environmental objectives, including zero avoidable waste by 2050. Since 2000, the tax has contributed to a 90% reduction in local authority waste sent to landfill in England.

The Government keeps all tax policy under review, any potential changes are considered in the round at fiscal events


Written Question
Inland Border Facilities: Ashford
Monday 29th January 2024

Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HMRC plans to take when the special development order expires for the operation of Sevington Internal Border Facility.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As set out in the Border Target Operating Model, published in August 2023, HMRC is exploring options on how to operate inland border facility services on a commercial basis. This work is being done in conjunction with other government departments who use the site – specifically the Department for Transport (who own the site) and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. This work is being led by Cabinet Office who are considering what the best use of the site should be and the arrangements needed to be put in place for it post-2025, which is when the current planning permission expires.


Written Question
Motor Vehicles: Insurance
Monday 29th January 2024

Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on monthly car insurance premiums.

Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, including the financial services regulators, on an ongoing basis.

Insurers make commercial decisions about the pricing of insurance based on their assessment on the likelihood and expected cost of a claim. The Government does not intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers as this could damage competition in the market.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent regulator and responsible for supervising the insurance industry. The FCA have introduced several reforms, including the Consumer Duty rules, to ensure consumers are treated fairly in regard to pricing.


Written Question
Financial Services: Internet
Monday 27th November 2023

Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of (a) misleading and (b) fraudulent financial advice and services available on the internet.

Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has taken action to address fraudulent activity being hosted online through the Online Safety Act 2023, which includes a new standalone duty requiring large internet firms to remove fraudulent content on their platforms.

In addition, the financial promotions regime seeks to ensure that consumers are provided with clear and accurate information that enables them to make appropriate decisions for their individual circumstances. Under this regime, financial promotions communicated by a firm not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must be approved by an FCA-authorised firm, unless the promotion is otherwise subject to an exemption. The Government has worked with the FCA to introduce a financial promotions gateway which gives the regulator greater oversight of the approval of financial promotions and reduces the number of authorised firms able to undertake such approvals.

The provision of financial advice is an FCA regulated activity. HM Treasury works closely with the FCA to ensure that this market works fairly for both firms and consumers, and that the advice being provided is of high quality.

The Government has also established the Money and Pensions Service to provide free, impartial money and pensions guidance directly to consumers online and by telephone.


Written Question
Financial Services: Internet
Monday 27th November 2023

Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle misleading and fraudulent financial advice and services available on the internet.

Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has taken action to address fraudulent activity being hosted online through the Online Safety Act 2023, which includes a new standalone duty requiring large internet firms to remove fraudulent content on their platforms.

In addition, the financial promotions regime seeks to ensure that consumers are provided with clear and accurate information that enables them to make appropriate decisions for their individual circumstances. Under this regime, financial promotions communicated by a firm not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) must be approved by an FCA-authorised firm, unless the promotion is otherwise subject to an exemption. The Government has worked with the FCA to introduce a financial promotions gateway which gives the regulator greater oversight of the approval of financial promotions and reduces the number of authorised firms able to undertake such approvals.

The provision of financial advice is an FCA regulated activity. HM Treasury works closely with the FCA to ensure that this market works fairly for both firms and consumers, and that the advice being provided is of high quality.

The Government has also established the Money and Pensions Service to provide free, impartial money and pensions guidance directly to consumers online and by telephone.


Written Question
Development Aid
Wednesday 15th November 2023

Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to raise the Official Development Assistance budget to 0.7% of Gross National Income​​​​​​​.

Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 13 June 2023 to Question 188649. [https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-06-08/188649].


Written Question
Pensions: Tax Rates and Bands
Tuesday 24th October 2023

Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people in each of the last five financial years who crystalised their pension assets and had total pension pots in threshold bands of (a) £1.073 million and above, but below £1.25 million, (b) £1.25 million and above, but below £1.5 million, (c) £1.5 million and above, but below £1.75 million, (d) £1.75 million and above, but below £2 million and (e) £2 million and above; and for each of the threshold bands given, how many people were assumed for the purposes of any revenue forecasts, whether made by the Office for Budget Responsibility or by HMRC, to have crystalised their pension assets in the years covered by those forecasts.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

On 15 March the government introduced legislation to remove the LTA charge from 6 April 2023, prior to the full abolition of the LTA from 6 April 2024. By removing the lifetime limit on tax-relievable pension savings and improving the financial incentives of work, this policy ensures that individuals will not be disincentivised from remaining in work by pension tax limits. It therefore supports government efforts to increase labour market productivity. The information requested could only be produced at disproportionate cost.

Lifetime Allowance charges are published by HMRC annually up to tax year 2021 to 2022 in Table 8 of the Private pension statistics publication: Private pension statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Written Question
Credit: Regulation
Thursday 19th October 2023

Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to introduce interim measures to protect buy-now-pay-later borrowers ahead of planned regulation of those products.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government’s consultation on proposed draft legislation to bring Buy-Now Pay-Later into regulation closed in April. Since then the Government has been carefully considering stakeholder feedback. The Government will publish a response to the consultation once it is finalised in due course.