Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential fiscal impacts of increasing funding for sustainable aviation fuels.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The government is committed to supporting the uptake of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). A SAF mandate will be introduced to drive demand. A consultation setting out further detail on the mandate and potential uptake trajectories for SAF was published on 30 March. It reaffirms our commitment that at least 10% of fuel must be made from sustainable sources by 2030.
The government is investing in SAF plants to boost supply. 8 SAF plants received support through the green fuels, green skies competition. A further £165m is being invested through the Advanced Fuels Fund between 2022 – 25 to support UK SAF plants reach commercial scale.
DfT commissioned an independent review in October 2022 to understand how to accelerate investment in a UK SAF industry. The government will publish the review and respond to it shortly. The government has been clear that it wants to see the UK continue to capture its share of the global SAF market and play a leading role in the development, production and use of SAF. As the response to the independent report will set out, government will continue to work in partnership with industry and investors to explore the best approach to addressing barriers to investment.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of providing a long-term funding stream for specialist (a) mobility and (b) orthotic equipment for veterans that was previously provided under the Veterans Mobility Fund.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to supporting all our veterans, and to ensuring that they continue to thrive after leaving the services.
Since 2014, the Government has committed £773m of LIBOR fines to support Armed Forces and Emergency Service charities.
As part of this package, the Chancellor awarded the Royal British Legion £3m to develop a Veterans Mobility Fund, designed to meet the wellbeing needs of veterans discharged with service-attributable serious physical injury. At the same time, the Chancellor also awarded £10m to develop a Veterans Hearing Fund, providing support to veterans who suffered hearing loss during service.
In 2019, at the Royal British Legion’s request, the Treasury authorised the transfer of almost £1.5m from the Veterans Mobility Fund to the Veterans Hearing Fund, following dramatic increases in the rate of applications for the Hearing Fund and a comparatively static application rate for the Mobility Fund. Both the Veterans Hearing and Veterans Mobility Funds have now closed.
Since 2020, we have announced a further £10m funding to support veterans’ mental health, £475k to support the development of a digital and data strategy for the sector, £5m to enable charities to address the impact of events in Afghanistan on veterans, a £5m Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund, and £8.55m in December last year to end veteran homelessness in 2023.
More than 100 service charities, including those who support veterans, also benefitted from £6m of the £750m to support the charity sector announced by the Chancellor in April 21 in support of COVID-19.
The Governments Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan sets out the steps we will take in the next two years towards our ambition of making the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran by 2028.
The Chancellor engages with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care routinely on health matters.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies on VAT shopping at airports of the report by Oxford Economics entitled Assessing the impact of tax-free shopping in the UK, published in November 2022; and if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to re-establish the policy.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Chancellor announced on 17 October 2022 that the Government will not be proceeding with plans to introduce a new VAT-free shopping scheme. This decision was included as part of the reversal of almost all of the tax measures set out in the Growth Plan on 23 September which were not legislated for in Parliament. The Chancellor has taken these decisions to ensure the UK’s economic stability and to provide confidence in the Government’s commitment to fiscal discipline. The Chancellor made clear in his statement that the UK’s public finances must be on a sustainable path into the medium term.
Introducing VAT-free shopping would come at a significant fiscal cost as it would subsidise a large amount of tourist spending which already occurs without a tax relief in place.
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility published their assessment of the withdrawal of the previous VAT-free shopping schemes in November 2020. This showed that the withdrawal of VAT-free shopping would raise a significant amount of revenue and have a limited behavioural effect on decisions to visit, or spend, in the UK.
Nonetheless, the Government keeps all taxes under review and considers all available evidence as part of the policy-making process.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing duty free shopping on arrival at ports in Great Britain.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Duty-free on arrival would place additional pressure on the public finances to which excise duty makes a significant contribution.
Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing or increased taxation elsewhere.
Although there are no plans to introduce such a scheme, the Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.67 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, whether food and drink wholesalers will be eligible for the 50 per cent business rates relief discount.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Guidance setting out eligibility for the 2022-23 retail, hospitality and leisure reliefs will be published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in due course.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the exclusion of nuclear energy from the Green Financing Framework with respect to the (a) inclusion in the International Capital Markets Association Green Bonds Principles of nuclear energy and (b) exclusion of nuclear energy from the Government’s Green Financing Framework which has been developed in accordance with the former principles.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government recognises that reaching net zero emissions by 2050 will require power to be generated from low carbon sources. As set out in the Government’s Energy White Paper last autumn, nuclear power will play an important role in achieving net zero.
Nuclear energy is excluded from the UK Government Green Financing Framework, which is in line with current international market standards for sovereign green bonds. The Green Bond Principles published by the International Capital Market Association do not address the question of nuclear energy. All other major sovereigns have explicitly excluded nuclear energy in their green bond frameworks.
The Government is developing a UK green taxonomy, which will create a shared understanding of which economic activities count as environmentally sustainable and will establish an Energy Working Group to provide expert advice on the treatment of energy in the taxonomy, including nuclear power.
We will review the framework on a regular basis with the aim of adhering to best practices in the market.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for those employees with blood cancer whose work makes it difficult for reasonable covid-19 adjustments to be implemented.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is available to all employers and employees providing they meet the eligibility criteria. This includes Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) individuals; such as those with cancers of the blood.
Shielding advice was paused on 1 April, and the Government is now advising clinically extremely vulnerable people generally to follow the same guidance as everyone else, taking appropriate precautions to keep themselves safe. The Health and Safety Executive has also published resources to support employers and CEV employees, which can be found on its website.
CEV individuals should also talk to their employer to discuss and agree options in relation to work, for example the ability to work from home, or returning to the workplace in a different role if their previous position cannot be fulfilled in a Covid-secure manner.
Closing the CJRS at the end of September is designed to strike a balance between supporting the economy as it opens up, continuing to provide support and protect incomes, and ensuring incentives are in place to get people back to work as demand returns.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his most recent estimate is of the number of people subject to Loan Charge repayments who have been made bankrupt.
Answered by Jesse Norman
No estimate can be provided for the number of people who have fallen into debt, or who have been declared bankrupt, and are subject to the loan charge.
Where debts arise, HMRC are not always the only creditor. Some individuals may fall into debt or are declared bankrupt as a result of a non-HMRC debt and some individuals may choose to enter insolvency themselves based on their overall financial position.
HMRC only ever consider insolvency as a last resort and they encourage taxpayers to get in contact to agree the best way to settle their tax debts. Anyone who is worried about being able to pay what they owe is encouraged to get in touch with HMRC as soon as possible on 0300 322 9494. Where a taxpayer is unable to pay their debt in full HMRC will work with them to agree an instalment arrangement based on their individual financial circumstances, and there is no maximum length.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on compensation and support for those affected by the Equitable Life scandal.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Equitable Life Payment Scheme closed to claims in 2015 and 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: www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to include wholesalers in the guidance for local authorities on the administration of the new Business Rates Relief Fund.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has announced a £1.5 billion pot of additional business rates relief for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that have not otherwise been eligible for existing reliefs. The statement by the Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government of 25 March 2021 explained the relief will be allocated to local authorities based on the stock of properties in the area and the sector-specific economic impacts of COVID-19.
Formal guidance will follow in due course, setting out the specific considerations that Local Authorities (LAs) should have regard for when providing relief. Relief will be for LAs to award on a discretionary basis. Funding will be available once the legislation relating to material change in circumstance provisions has passed and LAs have established their own local relief schemes. The Government will support LAs to do this as quickly as possible, including through new burdens funding.