Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential challenges people with disabilities experience when accessing online banking services.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In 2021, 86% of UK customers used a form of remote banking such as telephone banking, a banking app or online banking services. UK banking customers have never had more choice in how they fit their banking into their everyday lives.
It is important that those with a characteristic of vulnerability, such as people with disabilities, have appropriate access to banking services. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers, setting out a number of best practices. The guidance explores, among other things, how firms can understand the needs of vulnerable customers and provide targeted services for this cohort. Examples range from staff having the skills and capability to recognise and respond to the needs of vulnerable customers, to product and service design, customer services and communication. In addition, like all service providers, banks and building societies are bound under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments, where necessary, in the way they deliver their services.
Some people with disabilities may find online banking services preferable and easier to use, however the Government recognises that some people may continue to prefer to carry out their banking in-person. In light of closing bank branches, the Government cannot reverse the changes in the market and in customer behaviour; nor can it determine firms’ commercial strategies in response to those changes.
Guidance from the FCA sets out its expectation of banks and building societies when they are deciding to close their branches or free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of a planned closure on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This Guidance has recently been strengthened to ensure firms pay closer attention to the needs of their consumers, particularly those in vulnerable circumstances. Alternative forms of banking may include by telephone or via the Post Office, which allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business customers to carry out their everyday banking at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.
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 an assessment of the potential merits of introducing targeted cost of living support for blind and partially sighted people.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government recognises that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and especially to the most vulnerable members of society, such as blind or partially sighted people. That is why the Government is taking decisive action to get households through this winter, while ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way.
People who are blind or partially sighted and in receipt of extra-costs disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 from 20th September, to help with the extra costs disabled people are facing. The DWP has already processed around 6 million such payments. This payment can be received in addition to the other £650 Cost of Living Payment for households on means-tested benefits that was announced as part of the same package.
People who are blind or partially sighted will also benefit from the £400 of support for energy bills that the Government is providing through an expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme, as well as from the £150 Council Tax rebate and the recently announced Energy Price Guarantee, which will support millions of households with rising energy costs this winter.
This cost of living support is in addition to the existing specific financial support to help blind or partially sighted people. The Government provides the Blind Person's Allowance (BPA), an extra amount of tax-free allowance that can be added to an individual’s Personal Allowance, to those who are blind or severely sight impaired. In 2022-23, the allowance is £2,600 and therefore worth £520 given the basic rate of 20%. If the recipient does not pay tax or earn enough to use their full BPA, the remainder of the allowance can be transferred to a spouse or civil partner.
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 an assessment of the potential merits of removing VAT on subscriptions to Ukrainian news providers.
Answered by Richard Fuller
VAT has been designed as a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to the vast majority of goods and services, including television broadcasting services. While there are exceptions to the standard rate, these have always been strictly limited by both legal and fiscal considerations.
One such exception is the zero rate on supplies of e-publications, brought into effect on 1 May 2020. This was introduced to make it clear that e-books, e-newspapers, e-magazines, and academic e-journals are entitled to the same VAT treatment as their physical counterparts. Further guidance on the application of the zero rate on e-publications, including subscriptions to e-publications, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/zero-rate-of-vat-for-electronic-publications.
The Government keeps all taxes under review and welcomes representations to help inform future decisions on tax policy, as part of the tax policy making cycle and Budget process.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) the requirement for British nationals living overseas requesting a NI38 document for National Insurance contributions to do so by telephone and to return signed paper documents to the Department and (b) moving the entire process online.
Answered by Richard Fuller
The NI38 document is freely available on gov.uk, guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-security-abroad-ni38. Once the NI38 is reviewed online, if appropriate, the customer should complete the CF38 form and return it to HMRC.
No comparative assessments have been made and the CF38 form is not on the digital migration plans at this time.
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 has taken recent steps to help ensure that people affected by the Equitable Life scandal are compensated.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Equitable Life Payment Scheme closed to claims in 2015. There are no plans to reopen the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.
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 the Government is taking to ensure that financial support provided to (a) the Ukrainian Government and (b) NGOs involved in Ukraine is being used for its intended purposes; and whether he plans to make that information available publicly.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK is one of the largest aid donors to Ukraine, committing over £3.8 billion in assistance. This comprises approximately £2.3 billion in military assistance, and £400 million in economic and humanitarian grant support, including a £220 million package of humanitarian aid. The £3.8 billion package also includes a commitment of approximately £1.3 billion in loan guarantees to support Multilateral Development Banks, particularly the World Bank, to scale up their lending to support the Government of Ukraine’s delivery of essential services. The World Bank has robust financial and risk management systems that ensure support is well-targeted and effectively delivered.
The UK government pledges to support Ukraine are published on gov.uk.
The UK is also the largest donor to the United Nation’s (UN) Ukraine Humanitarian Fund which grants funding to Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). Our support through this fund will help reach over 2.1m people in need in Ukraine. Inside Ukraine, we are providing support directly to the Government of Ukraine and through the UN, Red Cross and NGOs, including with in-kind assistance. This support is delivered in accordance with the FCDO’s programme management standards to minimise risk and ensure compliance of partners. The UK funds trusted international partners like Mercy Corps and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, through whom we can identify suitable local responders and organisations to provide assistance to communities most in need of support. These organisations have processes to ensure that local responders meet FCDO standards on financial management and preventing exploitation, as well as ensuring they have sufficient capacity to deliver the project to ensure good value for money. We are also conducting independent monitoring to provide assurance that funds are well spent
The UK government remains determined to continue to work with international partners, multilateral institutions, and civil society organisations to support Ukraine and its government, by ensuring pledged economic support reaches the country and those affected by the conflict as rapidly as possible.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for the one-off energy rebate for those in receipt of contribution-based disability benefits.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government is helping domestic electricity customers in Great Britain to cope with the impact of higher energy bills, with £400 off their bills from October through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS). This is a doubling of the £200 of support announced in February, and there will no longer be any repayments. All households with a domestic electricity meter will be automatically eligible to receive EBSS.
The Government understands that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and especially to the most vulnerable members of society, such as disabled people. That is why the Cost of Living package announced on 26 May includes UK-wide support to help disabled people with the particular extra costs they are facing, with 6 million people who receive non-means-tested extra-costs disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment due to receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150.
Receipt of New Style Employment and Support Allowance (NS ESA) alone does not confer eligibility for this payment. NS ESA is an incapacity benefit providing income support to those whose ability to work is affected by a disability or health condition – it is not an extra-costs disability benefit. If someone in receipt of NS ESA requires further financial support because of the additional costs associated with living with a disability, then they may be able to apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – receipt of NS ESA does not preclude receipt of this benefit. However, claims for PIP made after 25 May will be ineligible for the one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150.
The Government is also providing a one-off Cost of Living Payment of £650 for over 8 million households across the UK in receipt of means-tested benefits, paid in two instalments. These payments will only be made to those on means-tested benefits in order to support households on the lowest incomes. Contributory ESA and other new style benefits were not included as qualifying benefits for this Cost of Living Payment because they are not means-tested, so households in receipt of these benefits may have other financial resources available to them.
To support households who need additional help, the Government is providing an extra £500 million towards the cost of essentials. In England this will be via an extension to the Household Support Fund with the Devolved Administrations receiving £79 million. This is in addition to the £1 billion already provided via the Household Support Fund.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC includes estimates of fraud and error in Research and Development tax credit claims in its calculation of the tax gap.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Estimates of error and fraud relating to Corporation Tax research and development tax credit claims are out of the scope of HMRC’s ‘Measuring tax gaps publications’, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/measuring-tax-gaps. The tax gap estimates only cover the taxes administered by HMRC and excludes payments made by HMRC, including research and development tax credits.
Estimates of error and fraud in research and development tax credit claims are published in HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts. In 2020-21, the estimated level of error and fraud in research and development tax credits claims was 3.6 per cent (£336 million) of the estimated cost of the reliefs (£9.3 billion). The estimated level of error and fraud is 5.5 per cent (£303 million) in the small and medium enterprises scheme and 0.9 per cent (£33 million) in the research and development expenditure credit scheme.
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 estimate he has made of the impact of profit shifting by multinational enterprises on the tax gap.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC does not make a separate estimate of the amount of made of the impact of profit shifting by multinational enterprises on the tax gap.
Some forms of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) are included in the Corporation Tax gap where they represent tax loss that HMRC can address under UK law. The tax gap does not include BEPS arrangements that cannot be addressed under UK law.
The Corporation Tax gap is estimated to be 9.0 per cent of the overall Corporation Tax total theoretical liability in the tax year 2020-21, which equates to £5.6 billion.
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 estimate he has made of the impact of tax fraud on the tax gap.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC does not make a separate estimate of the amount of the impact of tax fraud within the tax gap.
HMRC defines fraud as any deliberate omission, concealment, or misinterpretation of information, or the false or deceptive presentation of information or circumstances in order to gain a tax advantage.
Tax fraud covers a wide range of illegal activity, including:
Some of this is carried out by dishonest individuals, but organised criminals also deliberately target the tax system for financial gain.
The tax gap includes the following illustrative estimates by customer behaviour for the tax year 2020-21.
Behavior | Value | Share of tax gap |
Failure to take reasonable care | £6.1bn | 19% |
Criminal attacks | £5.2bn | 16% |
Non-payment | £4.9bn | 15% |
Evasion | £4.8bn | 15% |
Legal interpretation | £3.7bn | 12% |
Hidden economy | £3.2bn | 10% |
Error | £3.0bn | 9% |
Avoidance | £1.2bn | 4% |