Asked by: Emma Little Pengelly (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of tax-free childcare accounts are used by households of self-employed parents.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The data to answer questions 155901 and 155902 is not readily available and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
The rollout of Tax-Free Childcare began in April 2017 to a small number of parents. Only a limited number of accounts have been open more than one year so accurate and robust data on the annual value of top-up paid to parents will not be available until early 2019, one year after full rollout of TFC.
For question 155904 I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave on 4 December 2017 to the honourable member for Batley and Spen (116593).
Asked by: Emma Little Pengelly (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families have paid into a Tax-Free Childcare accounts as of 11 June 2018.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
As of 31 May 2018 over 74,000 families have paid into their Tax-Free Childcare account and over 70,000 families have used their account to pay their childcare provider. The number of families using their accounts is rising as marketing and parent awareness are increases.
For question 155362, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Batley and Spen on 25 April 2018 (137634).
The statement on the proportion of employees with access to childcare vouchers was based on internal analysis of household survey data.
For question 155364, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Airdrie and Shotts on 25 June 2018 (155823).
Asked by: Emma Little Pengelly (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families have had money paid out of a Tax-Free Childcare account to a childcare provider as of 11 June 2018.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
As of 31 May 2018 over 74,000 families have paid into their Tax-Free Childcare account and over 70,000 families have used their account to pay their childcare provider. The number of families using their accounts is rising as marketing and parent awareness are increases.
For question 155362, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Batley and Spen on 25 April 2018 (137634).
The statement on the proportion of employees with access to childcare vouchers was based on internal analysis of household survey data.
For question 155364, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Airdrie and Shotts on 25 June 2018 (155823).
Asked by: Emma Little Pengelly (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been spent from the public purse on call centre staff for Tax Free Childcare; and whether that expenditure is in addition to the funding allocated to pay ATOS for the administration of the Childcare Choices website.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
As of 31 May 2018 over 74,000 families have paid into their Tax-Free Childcare account and over 70,000 families have used their account to pay their childcare provider. The number of families using their accounts is rising as marketing and parent awareness are increases.
For question 155362, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Batley and Spen on 25 April 2018 (137634).
The statement on the proportion of employees with access to childcare vouchers was based on internal analysis of household survey data.
For question 155364, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Airdrie and Shotts on 25 June 2018 (155823).
Asked by: Emma Little Pengelly (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the evidential basis for the claim in the oral contribution of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the Treasury Select Committee on 31 January that only half of UK employees work for employers that offer childcare vouchers.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
As of 31 May 2018 over 74,000 families have paid into their Tax-Free Childcare account and over 70,000 families have used their account to pay their childcare provider. The number of families using their accounts is rising as marketing and parent awareness are increases.
For question 155362, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Batley and Spen on 25 April 2018 (137634).
The statement on the proportion of employees with access to childcare vouchers was based on internal analysis of household survey data.
For question 155364, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Airdrie and Shotts on 25 June 2018 (155823).
Asked by: Emma Little Pengelly (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of replacing the Tax Free Childcare online service with an alternative online service as a result of the technical problems with the existing service.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
As of 31 May 2018 over 74,000 families have paid into their Tax-Free Childcare account and over 70,000 families have used their account to pay their childcare provider. The number of families using their accounts is rising as marketing and parent awareness are increases.
For question 155362, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Batley and Spen on 25 April 2018 (137634).
The statement on the proportion of employees with access to childcare vouchers was based on internal analysis of household survey data.
For question 155364, I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave to the Honourable Member for Airdrie and Shotts on 25 June 2018 (155823).
Asked by: Emma Little Pengelly (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment Her Majesty’s Government has made of the potential long term effect on retirement incomes of the additional tax being paid by those withdrawing their pensions from retirement savings.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government continues to assess its reforms, and keeps policy under review through the annual budget process, using data collected from a number of sources.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for monitoring the retirement market and collects data from the markets it regulates, consumer surveys and its own operations. The FCA’s Retirement Outcomes Review has examined how the retirement income market is evolving since the introduction of pensions freedoms. The government awaits the final report of the Retirement Outcomes Review and will work with the regulator and industry to consider its recommendations.
The impact of pensions flexibility on tax revenue was costed in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2014 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. HMRC publishes a quarterly statistical release detailing the number of transactions using pension flexibility and the amount of money withdrawn.
The government has made freedom and choice in pensions a key priority, meaning individuals are now free to access their pensions as they wish. The government set up the free and impartial Pension Wise service to provide guidance to individuals over 50 with a defined contribution pension, to help them understand their options. The government is creating a new single financial guidance body.
This will make it easier for people to access information and guidance about their pensions. In making such decisions, individuals need to consider the impact of different options and subsequent income tax implications on their retirement income.
Asked by: Emma Little Pengelly (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment Her Majesty’s Government has made of the long-term effect on retirement incomes of people withdrawing money from their pension pots and placing it in bank current accounts and low-interest savings products.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government continues to assess its reforms, and keeps policy under review through the annual budget process, using data collected from a number of sources.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for monitoring the retirement market and collects data from the markets it regulates, consumer surveys and its own operations. The FCA’s Retirement Outcomes Review has examined how the retirement income market is evolving since the introduction of pensions freedoms. The government awaits the final report of the Retirement Outcomes Review and will work with the regulator and industry to consider its recommendations.
The impact of pensions flexibility on tax revenue was costed in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2014 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. HMRC publishes a quarterly statistical release detailing the number of transactions using pension flexibility and the amount of money withdrawn.
The government has made freedom and choice in pensions a key priority, meaning individuals are now free to access their pensions as they wish. The government set up the free and impartial Pension Wise service to provide guidance to individuals over 50 with a defined contribution pension, to help them understand their options. The government is creating a new single financial guidance body.
This will make it easier for people to access information and guidance about their pensions. In making such decisions, individuals need to consider the impact of different options and subsequent income tax implications on their retirement income.
Asked by: Emma Little Pengelly (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the report of the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA Mission: Our Future Approach to Consumers, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a duty of care on financial services firms towards consumers.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government believes that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the UK’s independent conduct regulator for the financial services industry, is best placed to lead the discussion on the merits of a duty of a care for financial services providers.
The FCA have committed to issuing a Discussion Paper on a duty of care later this year. The Paper will invite contributions from all interested parties on the case for and against a duty of care, what form such a provision might take, and consequential issues arising from adopting it. This will be an open process designed to gather views.
Asked by: Emma Little Pengelly (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the progress made by the banking sector on meeting the needs of vulnerable consumers.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government believes it is vitally important that the banking sector meets the needs of vulnerable consumers. The nine largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to customers who do not have a bank account or who are ineligible for a bank’s standard current account. The Treasury’s December 2017 publication shows that in total there are nearly 8 million basic bank accounts open in the UK, and that just over 900,000 new accounts were opened between July 2016 and June 2017.
The Government has also given the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent conduct regulator for the financial services sector, a statutory objective to protect consumers. The FCA continually assesses whether the banks they regulate are meeting the rules regarding the needs of vulnerable consumers.
UK banks’ treatment of their customers is governed by the FCA in its Principles for Businesses, as well as specific requirements in its Handbook. The FCA's Principles require firms to conduct their business with due skill, care and diligence, and to pay due regard to the interests of its customers and treat them fairly.
Understanding vulnerability is central to how the FCA makes decisions. At the end of last year, the FCA published its ‘Approach to Consumers’ Paper, which details how the FCA measures the effects of its actions on consumers, particularly with respect to access and vulnerability. This was a consultation and the FCA plans to publish its Final Approach to Consumers Paper later this year.