Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a 12-month waiver on Air Passenger Duty to provide support to the aviation sector, trade and connectivity during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation industry as a result of COVID-19 and firms experiencing difficulties can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor, including schemes to raise capital and support jobs and flexibilities with tax bills. The aerospace sector and its aviation customers are being supported with over £8.5 billion support through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, grants for research and development, loan guarantees and support for aerospace exports. The government has also launched a new Global Travel Taskforce to support the travel industry and the safe recovery of international travel.
Airlines’ Air Passenger Duty liabilities will have considerably reduced following the decline in passenger demand caused by COVID-19.
The Government has committed to consult on aviation tax reform and will provide more detail on next steps in due course.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department conducted an impact assessment of the potential effect of changes to tax-free sales in airports of goods for passengers travelling to non-EU countries announced on 11 September 2020 on the aviation sector.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
Ahead of the end of the transition period, the Government has announced the VAT and excise duty treatment of goods purchased by individuals for personal use and carried in their luggage to or from Great Britain. The following rules will apply from 1 January 2021:
- Passengers travelling from Great Britain to any destination outside the United Kingdom will be able to purchase duty-free excise goods once they have passed security controls at ports, airports, and international rail stations.
- Personal allowances will apply to passengers entering Great Britain from a destination outside of the United Kingdom, with alcohol allowances significantly increased.
- The concessionary treatment on tax-free sales of non-excise goods and the VAT Retail Export Scheme will not be extended to passengers travelling to the EU, and will be withdrawn for all passengers.
The concessionary treatment on tax-free sales currently affects airports that fly to non-EU destinations. The extension of duty-free sales to EU bound passengers will be a significant boost to all airports in England, Scotland and Wales, including Gatwick and smaller regional airports which have not been able to offer duty-free before.
The Government also recognises the challenges the aviation sector is facing as it recovers from the impacts of Covid-19 and has supported the sector throughout the pandemic, and continues to do so, including schemes to raise capital, flexibilities with tax bills, and financial support for employees.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of Exchequer, how many people have accessed and transferred their pension early resulting in the recording of an unauthorised payment from their pension fund since the onset of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen
The Government does not currently hold information about pension unauthorised payments since the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The scheme administrator of a registered pension scheme must tell HMRC when certain reportable events occur; reportable events include pension unauthorised payments.
The scheme administrator does this by completing and submitting the Event Report for a tax year. HMRC must receive the Event Report by 31 January after the end of the tax year to which the Event Report relates, so there is no data currently available.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings (a) he and (b) his ministers have had with representatives from (a) UK airports, (b) airlines and (c) tourism bodies since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of stakeholders across sectors as part of ongoing policy development and implementation.
Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are in regular contact with airlines, airports and unions, and similarly the Department for Digital, Media, Sport and Culture are working with employers, delivery partners and industry groups to understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on sectors like tourism and its workers.
As we look forward, we welcome views from representatives and the Treasury will continue to monitor the impact of government support with regard to public services, businesses, individuals, and sectors, and to consider how best to support the economic recovery.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to protect jobs in the (a) aviation, (b) travel and (c) tourism sectors after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is closed in October 2020.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on businesses and sectors like aviation, travel and tourism.
The Treasury’s priority is to support the economy through the immediate crisis. That is why the Chancellor has already announced unprecedented support for individuals and businesses, to keep as many people as possible in their existing jobs, support viable businesses to stay afloat and protect the incomes of the most vulnerable in this current economic emergency. This includes changes to our welfare system with Universal Credit and Statutory Sick Pay; grant schemes such as the Discretionary Grant Fund; a range of government-backed and guaranteed loan schemes; the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
These measures aim to protect the productive capacity of our economy and to enable a strong and sustainable recovery from this crisis. The government has since set out a cautious roadmap for how it intends to gradually reopen our economy, whilst continuing to suppress the outbreak.
As we look forward, we will continue to monitor the impact of government support with regard to supporting public services, businesses, individuals, and sectors, and consider how best to support the economic recovery.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with representatives of the aviation industry on business rates relief.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of stakeholders across sectors as part of ongoing policy development and implementation.
Ministers and officials from the Department for Transport are in regular contact with airlines, airports and unions to understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on the sector and its workers.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of business rate reductions for airports in (a) Scotland and (b) Northern Ireland on airports in England.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Business rates are devolved in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance for local authorities on eligible properties.
A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday such as airports, has also been made available. For example, the Government has launched the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep people in employment, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank backed by an 80% Government guarantee, and is deferring VAT payments for this quarter.