Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the Concentrix staff transferred to HM Revenue and Customs via a TUPE arrangement are paid the minimum wage.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Under TUPE arrangements a total of 241 Concentrix staff were transferred to HM Revenue and Customs. All of the staff transferred are paid above the National Minimum Wage (NMW).
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the effect on children of the suspension of child tax credit when investigations are carried out.
Answered by Jane Ellison
In most cases, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not suspend the payment of tax credits payments during checks on tax credit awards. It only does this where information held indicates that this is a reasonable step to prevent payments being made in error. In these circumstances, making further payments would therefore result in increased overpayments of tax credits overall which the customer would have to repay. Nevertheless, if a customer demonstrates that the claim is correct, HMRC reinstates payments immediately.
HMRC has not carried out research into the specific aspect of the tax credits system related to suspension of Child Tax Credits.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce any hardship associated with the target of 42 days to resolve appeals on child tax credit claims.
Answered by Jane Ellison
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has a 42-day target to resolve Mandatory Reconsiderations, where customers challenge their tax credits award calculation. The average time taken to work Mandatory Reconsiderations can vary depending upon the complexity of the request, individual circumstances and the level of supporting evidence provided.
When a customer requests a Mandatory Reconsideration HMRC suspends the recovery of any previous overpayment that is being collected from their current award, to minimise customer hardship during the reconsideration.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many recipients of child tax credit have had their payments restored following investigation in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing survival payments in cases when the regular payment of child tax credits has been suspended.
Answered by Jane Ellison
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) regularly carries out checks on tax credits awards, including Child Tax Credit, to reduce error and fraud. These checks identify potential risks with ongoing tax credits claims.
Depending on the level of risk found, HMRC may ask customers for more information about their claim and circumstances, or a compliance team might undertake a full examination.
In most cases, HMRC does not suspend the payment of tax credits payments during the check. It only does this where information held indicates that this is a reasonable step to prevent payments being made in error. In these cases, if a customer demonstrates that the claim is correct, HMRC reinstates payments immediately.
In these circumstances, making further payments would therefore result in increased overpayments of tax credits overall which the customer would have to repay.
HMRC has not carried out research into the specific aspect of the tax credits system related to suspension of Child Tax Credits.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has conducted research on the effect of a suspension of child tax credit payments when a change in circumstance has been assumed.
Answered by Jane Ellison
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) regularly carries out checks on tax credits awards, including Child Tax Credit, to reduce error and fraud. These checks identify potential risks with ongoing tax credits claims.
Depending on the level of risk found, HMRC may ask customers for more information about their claim and circumstances, or a compliance team might undertake a full examination.
In most cases, HMRC does not suspend the payment of tax credits payments during the check. It only does this where information held indicates that this is a reasonable step to prevent payments being made in error. In these cases, if a customer demonstrates that the claim is correct, HMRC reinstates payments immediately.
In these circumstances, making further payments would therefore result in increased overpayments of tax credits overall which the customer would have to repay.
HMRC has not carried out research into the specific aspect of the tax credits system related to suspension of Child Tax Credits.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HM Revenue and Customs plans to publish the one-year progress report on implementation of the Accutrace S10 Fuel Marker.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As stated in the 6 month report, published on 4 November 2015, HMRC will continue to monitor the impact of the new fuel marker and will publish a further report on the first 12 months as soon as the data is available
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with response to his contribution of 16 March 2016, Official Report, column 963-64, whether the proposed exemption from the sugar levy for fruit juices will apply to (a) fruit juices with added sugar and (b) fruit juices with natural sugars only.
Answered by David Gauke
The levy applies to drinks with added sugar, excluding milk-based drinks.
Therefore, the levy will apply to fruit juices with added sugar, but not to fruit juices containing only naturally occurring sugar.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ringfence spending on the Homelessness Prevention Grant until 2020 in the Spending Review.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
From 2013-14 support for preventing homelessness has been included in the annual Local Government Finance Settlement, split between Revenue Support Grant and estimated retained business rates.
Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates are not ring-fenced. It is up to individual authorities to decide how grant funding should be spent in order to deliver local services.
The Chancellor will set out full details of the Spending Review on Wednesday 25 November.