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Written Question
Low Pay: Young People
Monday 7th October 2019

Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle low pay amongst workers aged 21 and below.

Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union

Each year the Government asks the Low Pay Commission to recommend minimum wage rates for younger people that are as high as possible without damaging their employment prospects. All the National Minimum Wage rates for younger workers saw above inflation increases in April 2019. The Low Pay Commission will make recommendations for the April 2020 rates later in the autumn. Alongside changes to the minimum wage, the Government is taking action to support young people to gain the skills they need to succeed in the labour market, including the rollout of T Levels from September 2020, which will provide students with clear pathways to a well-paid skilled job.


Written Question
Consumers: Expenditure
Monday 1st July 2019

Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the change in the level of consumer spending in the UK.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces both quarterly and annual estimates of household final consumption expenditure (HHFCE).

Household consumption grew by 1.8% in 2018, supported by a strong labour market which has seen the unemployment rate at its lowest since 1975, and regular wages outstripping inflation for over a year. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast consumption to grow in every year of their forecast.


Written Question
Cash Dispensing: Scotland
Tuesday 18th June 2019

Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to improve free access to cash in Scotland.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains important to the day-to-day lives of many people and small businesses in Scotland and across the UK.

The UK has one of the most extensive free-to-use ATM networks in the world; around 80% of the ATM network in Scotland is free and there are now around 700 more free ATMs in Scotland compared to 2015. From January 2018 to March 2019, there were no publicly accessible Protected ATMs in Scotland that closed which did not have alternative free access to cash via another source, such as a Post Office.

In addition, the Government is engaging, and will continue to engage, with the regulators and industry on this important topic. In 2015, the Government established the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), with a statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users. As a result, the PSR is closely monitoring developments within ATM provision, and has used its powers to ensure LINK meets its commitment on maintaining the broad geographical spread of free-to-use ATMs.

To support this, LINK has introduced premiums through its Financial Inclusion programme to boost interchange fees, helping protect ATMs in remote, rural and deprived locations.


Written Question
Santander Group: Closures
Tuesday 5th February 2019

Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of Santander's proposal to close 140 branches in the UK on people's access to money.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Treasury has not made an assessment. The decision to close a branch is a commercial issue for the management team of the bank. However, Government believes it is important the impact on communities must be understood, considered and mitigated where possible.

The Government supports the industry’s Access to Banking Standard which commits banks to ensure personal and business customers are better informed about branch closures and the reasons for them closing. It also helps customers to understand the options they have locally to continue to access banking services, including specialist assistance for customers who need more help. The Access to Banking Standard is monitored and enforced by the independent Lending Standards Board.

Government also considers it important that all customers, wherever they live and especially those who are vulnerable, can still access over the counter services. That is why we support the Post Office’s Banking Framework Agreement, which enables 99% of banks’ personal and 95% of banks’ small business customers to withdraw cash, deposit cash and cheques, and make balance enquiries at a Post Office counter via its network of 11,500 branches.

The Government is committed to ensuring that communities across the UK are fully aware of the important services that remain available to them at their local Post Office, even if their bank branch is closed. In response to my predecessor’s request, the Post Office and UK Finance have committed to work together to raise public awareness of the banking services available at the Post Office for individuals and SMEs.


Written Question
Debts
Monday 14th January 2019

Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the level of average household debt.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces quarterly estimates of household debt in the UK, but not for estimates of average household debt in the UK. These estimates can be used to be measure household debt-to-income ratios, which provide a better measure for current levels of household debt in the economy by accounting for changes in both prices and the size of the population.

In the UK as a whole, the household debt-to-income ratio was 139% in Q3 2018. This remains significantly below the pre-crisis peak of 160% in Q1 2008. Debt interest payments as a share of income remain low by historical standards and below pre-crisis levels. Household net financial wealth as a proportion of income remains close to record highs and above pre-crisis levels.


Written Question
Offshore Industry: Taxation
Tuesday 11th September 2018

Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse has been of (a) subsidies and (b) reductions in tax for North Sea oil and gas companies in the last three years

Answered by Robert Jenrick

There are no subsidies available to North Sea oil and gas companies.

Estimates of the reduction in taxes paid by North Sea companies due to changes to the tax regime are available from the policy costings documents published alongside each fiscal event on the gov.uk website.


Written Question
Inflation and Pay
Monday 10th September 2018

Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of recent trends in the level of (a) wage growth and (b)inflation.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

In their March Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the Office for Budget Responsibility expected CPI inflation to fall to 2.0% by 2018 Q4. The latest data show CPI inflation was 2.5% in July.

The OBR expect nominal wage growth to increase in each year of their forecast, with growth over 3.5% by 2021. They expect these increases to occur alongside CPI falling back towards 2%, with real wages growing from 2018.

Nonetheless, the Government recognises the strain on household budgets from the recent period of elevated inflation. The Government has helped with the cost of living by increasing the National Living Wage, raising the personal allowance, freezing duty on fuel and alcohol and tackling housing costs.


Written Question
Local Government Finance
Wednesday 11th July 2018

Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on changes in the level of funding for local government since 2010.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

Local Government funding in Scotland is devolved to the Scottish Government. It is for the Scottish Government to determine the allocation of funds from within its own budgets.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of matters. The Government will consult on the local government finance settlement for 2019/20 in due course. The level of funding for local government in later years will be considered as part of the Spending Review next year.


Written Question
Social Services: Children
Wednesday 11th July 2018

Asked by: Hugh Gaffney (Labour - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on changes in the level of public funding for children’s services since 2010.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

Children’s Services is a devolved responsibility. The Scottish Government are funded through the block grant to provide children’s services in Scotland and it is their responsibility to allocate their resources as they see fit.

The Chancellor has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of matters. Over £200 billion is available to English councils for local services, including children’s services, up to 2019-20. There will be a real-terms increase in resources available to local government over the next two years. Spending on the most vulnerable children in England has increased by around £1 billion since 2010.