Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place in the Library any impact assessment undertaken on the recommissioning of the Money and Pension Service debt advice service.
Answered by John Glen
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) assesses debt advice demand and makes decisions about advice provision. MaPS’s statutory responsibilities include the need to consider the most vulnerable in its decision-making.
The Government cannot comment in detail on an ongoing commercial tendering process. However, the MaPS-led recommissioning exercise is expected to materially increase the amount of debt advice available to people in England, and ensure services – including face-to-face provision – are built around customers’ needs. The exercise is an important step towards a more resilient debt advice sector and will drive better quality of advice and customer outcomes over the longer term.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the number of face to face debt advisers who will be available for appointments with clients after the proposed recommissioning of the Money and Pension Service debt advice service in 2022, compared to the current number of advisers.
Answered by John Glen
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) assesses debt advice demand and makes decisions about advice provision. MaPS’s statutory responsibilities include the need to consider the most vulnerable in its decision-making.
The Government cannot comment in detail on an ongoing commercial tendering process. However, the MaPS-led recommissioning exercise is expected to materially increase the amount of debt advice available to people in England, and ensure services – including face-to-face provision – are built around customers’ needs. The exercise is an important step towards a more resilient debt advice sector and will drive better quality of advice and customer outcomes over the longer term.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the number of face to face debt advice appointments that will be available to people in England after the proposed recommissioning of the Money and Pension Service debt advice service compared to the number of those appointments currently available.
Answered by John Glen
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) assesses debt advice demand and makes decisions about advice provision. MaPS’s statutory responsibilities include the need to consider the most vulnerable in its decision-making.
The Government cannot comment in detail on an ongoing commercial tendering process. However, the MaPS-led recommissioning exercise is expected to materially increase the amount of debt advice available to people in England, and ensure services – including face-to-face provision – are built around customers’ needs. The exercise is an important step towards a more resilient debt advice sector and will drive better quality of advice and customer outcomes over the longer term.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he made of demand for face to face debt advice when recommissioning the debt advice service of the Money and Pensions Service.
Answered by John Glen
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) assesses debt advice demand and makes decisions about advice provision. MaPS’s statutory responsibilities include the need to consider the most vulnerable in its decision-making.
The Government cannot comment in detail on an ongoing commercial tendering process. However, the MaPS-led recommissioning exercise is expected to materially increase the amount of debt advice available to people in England, and ensure services – including face-to-face provision – are built around customers’ needs. The exercise is an important step towards a more resilient debt advice sector and will drive better quality of advice and customer outcomes over the longer term.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend the stamp duty land tax holiday to people who have been unable to sell their flats as a result of unsafe cladding.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax relief concluded on 30 September 2021. The Government does not currently have any plans to reintroduce the relief for properties with fire safety concerns.
The temporary relief was designed to create immediate momentum in the property market, in turn supporting jobs which rely on custom from the property industry, such as retailers and tradespeople.
The Government is investing over £5 billion in building safety, including an additional £3.5 billion announced in February by the Housing Secretary for the remediation of unsafe cladding for all leaseholders in high rise residential buildings.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the Answer of 20 September 2021 to Question 49030 on UK Trade with EU, what proportion of importers of non-controlled goods from the EU have chosen to delay the submission of their customs declarations since 1 January 2021 up to the latest available date.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Ordinarily only traders or their agents who are authorised to use the simplified customs declaration process (SCDP), which allows them to make the declaration in their own records, can delay making a customs declaration to HMRC (and then only until the fourth working day of the following month). However, until 31 December 2021 most importers of non-controlled goods from the EU can choose to delay the submission of their customs declarations to HMRC for up to 175 days after import as part of the staged approach to customs controls (SCC).
HMRC’s understanding to date is that overall use of delayed declarations (whether under SCDP or as part of SCC) in 2021 so far has been high.
HMRC is receiving broadly the volume of declarations expected, and where declarations are being delayed, they are typically being submitted well within the 175-day window permitted by staged customs controls.
HMRC continues to monitor declarations closely, as well as supporting traders to prepare for the ending of staged customs controls delayed declarations on 1 January.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the forms and documents that companies based in the EU exporting to the UK have to complete when sending their goods into the UK.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
When importing goods into the UK, traders (or their representatives) will generally need to complete a customs declaration. Most customs declarations are made electronically.
Depending upon the type of goods and whether the goods are entering free-circulation or another customs procedure, other information, documents and licences may be needed. Full details of these requirements are available in HMRC guidance.
Until 31 December 2021 most importers of non-controlled goods from the EU can delay the submission of their customs declarations for up to 175 days after import if they wish. The importer needs to record details of the import in their commercial records and provide their Economic Operators Registration and Identification number to their haulier in case they need to demonstrate to UK port and border officials that they are importing goods using delayed declarations.
The management of EU export procedures and documentation is the responsibility of the customs authorities of EU Member States. It is important that companies based in the EU (or their representatives) confirm the processes at their port of departure and any conditions or procedures that may apply.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what checks goods coming into the UK from companies based in the EU are currently subject to.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The Government’s priority is to keep goods moving and avoid delays at the border. HMRC uses a risk based, intelligence-led response to compliance issues working alongside Border Force.
As the Government has made consistently clear, it will not compromise on the security of the UK at the border, and keeping goods flowing over the border is of vital importance.
HMRC, Border Force and other Government departments make targeted interventions. These are based on intelligence and threat assessment and will typically involve documentary checks and physical interventions, designed, wherever possible, to avoid delaying traffic flows across the border.
HMRC will continue to work closely with industry to ensure interventions are carried out in a way that minimises delays and additional burdens for legitimate trade, while robustly ensuring compliance.
The management of EU export procedures is the responsibility of the customs authorities of the Member States.