Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of deferring eligibility for Agricultural Property Relief for all environmental land management schemes on the estates of (a) landowners and (b) farmers who will die prior to 6 April 2025.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Spring Budget 2024 announced that the government will introduce legislation to extend the existing scope of agricultural property relief from 6 April 2025 to land managed under an environmental agreement with, or on behalf of, the UK government, Devolved Administrations, public bodies, local authorities, or approved responsible bodies.
The date of implementation is consistent with the normal tax-policy making process and with previous changes to the inheritance tax system.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Basis Period Reform on the availability of accounting resources for (a) sole traders and (b) partnerships.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Basis period reform is an important simplification to the tax system. The government introduced this reform in Finance Act 2022 to create a simpler, fairer, and more transparent set of rules for the allocation of self-employment and partnership income to tax years.
The reform simplifies tax computations for businesses, making it easier to complete self assessment tax returns and reducing administrative burdens. Basis period reform has no effect on the availability of accounting resources for the self-employed or partnerships.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the value attributed to a prevented fatality in his Department's Green Book.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The Government uses a common value for the Value of a Prevented Fatality (VPF). The monetary valuation of VPF can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tag-data-book.
It is uprated annually in line with inflation and real income growth. It is reviewed by HM Treasury on an ongoing basis and updated when new evidence becomes available.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the planned cessation of the Household Support Fund on the financial status of councils.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
No decisions have been taken on the Household Support Fund (HSF)
The Government has provided £842m to Local Authorities in England to deliver the HSF in England over 2023-24, and provided over £2 billion for the HSF since October 2021. This is additional funding given to Local Authorities which has been ringfenced to support households in need with the cost of essentials, such as food or energy and water bills.
The Government continues to keep all of its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend social investment tax relief beyond 31 March 2023.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As the Chancellor announced in his Spring Budget, the Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) will be allowed to expire in April 2023. New investments made on or after 6 April 2023 will no longer qualify for income and capital gains tax relief.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people claim the Blind Person’s Allowance as of 7 November 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Latest published projections estimate that there were 36,900 claimants of Blind Person’s Allowance in 2021-22.
For more information, please refer to the annual ‘Estimated cost of non-structural tax reliefs’ publication, last published in December 2021. The most relevant information has been extracted into the table below.
These estimates are based on the 2018-19 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2021 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Name | Tax Type | Description | 2021-22 cost | 2021-22 no. of claimants |
Blind Person’s Allowance | Income tax | For income tax purposes, people certified blind and on a local authority register of blind persons (where different rules apply for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) can claim an additional personal allowance. | £20 million | 36,900 |