Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish his response to the Alcohol Duty Review; and what representations has he received from small cider makers as part of that review.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Treasury is analysing the responses provided following the Alcohol Duty Review Call for Evidence. This included responses from small cider makers, and their views are being considered as part of the evidence base. Further information about the Review will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential revenue accruing to the public purse from expanding the tax on sugary drinks to include sugary foods.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
All taxes are kept under review, however, we currently have no plans to further extend this levy.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to engage with the insurance industry to assess the availability of pandemic insurance for businesses.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector on its response to this unprecedented situation. We are working closely with the insurers, the trade bodies and regulators to understand what more the industry can do to help individuals and businesses in time of need, and how the insurance market delivers the support firms need as the economy reopens.
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, some insurance companies have chosen to pause the sale of some insurance policies, or will not include cover for COVID-19 related claims in any new or renewed policies. Insurers take commercial decisions regarding the products they offer and risks they cover based on their view of the likelihood of a risk occurring, and have cited the likelihood of COVID-19 risk crystallising as a challenge to insure.
The Government recognises that businesses who do not have appropriate insurance cover will require support from elsewhere and encourages businesses to seek assistance through the wider support package if they are in financial difficulty.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of the Prospective Regulation exemption limit of 8 million euros for secondary public offerings.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Prospectus Regulation is directly applicable EU legislation. The Regulation permits Member States to exempt offers of securities to the public, up to a maximum threshold of 8 million euros, from the obligation to produce a prospectus. In 2018, the government elected to set this threshold at its highest level.
The Prospectus Regulation also contains easements specific to secondary offerings, including a simplified prospectus document with lighter requirements.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on public finances of the soft drinks industry levy.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
In the 2018-19 fiscal year, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) raised £240 million.
Further data on the effect of the SDIL on the public finances can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/soft-drinks-industry-levy-statistics
Forecasts of future receipts are produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility on a regular basis as part of their Economic and Fiscal Outlook series. These are available on their website.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the public finances of the fair fuel stabiliser announced in 2011.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The government has frozen fuel duty in every year from 2011 to reduce the impact of high fuel prices on households and businesses. Without the nine years of action taken by the government, pump prices would be 23p per litre higher than they are today.
However, freezing fuel duty comes a significant costs to the Exchequer. The Government has spent £67bn on freezing fuel duty and will spend another £46bn by the end of 2025. Future fuel duty rates will be considered alongside measures that are needed to help meet the UK’s net zero commitment.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people on the PAYE system changed employers in each calendar month during 2018-19.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Unfortunately, due to data constraints, the requested analysis could not be completed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) within the required timeframe. HMRC are therefore not able to provide information on individuals who changed employers.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people on the PAYE system who voluntarily left their place of employment to start a new PAYE job between 28 February 2020 and 23 March 2020.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Unfortunately, due to data constraints, the requested analysis could not be completed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) within the required timeframe. HMRC are therefore not able to provide information on individuals who changed employers.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential contribution to the public purse if National Insurance was payable by individuals over the state pension age.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The ‘Estimated Costs of Tax Reliefs’ publication sets out an estimate of the cost of the exemption from National Insurance contributions for those over state pension age. It is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/minor-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs
This publication estimates the latest cost of this exemption in 2019-20 at around £1billion. The figures can be found in the ‘Estimated costs of structural tax reliefs’ table:
As noted in the publication, the estimated costs do not represent the yield if the exemption were to be abolished. In practice if a relief was withdrawn, taxpayers’ behaviour would often alter so that the actual yield would be very different from, and often smaller than, that shown in the tables.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much duty is paid by cider makers.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Annually, Cider Duty accounts for between 2-3% of overall Alcohol Duty revenue received by HM Revenue and Customs. Historic Cider Duty revenue is found within the ‘T4’ tab of the tables which accompany the ‘UK Alcohol Duty Statistics’ publication, found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/alcohol-bulletin