Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have accessed the Pension Wise service in each week since the inception of that service.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The pension freedoms introduced on 6 April mean that the 320,000 individuals retiring each year with defined contribution pension savings are able to access them as they wish, and around 2 million people aged over 55 now have more options when they retire.
Information on Pension Wise service usage will be published in due course.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he expects further quantitative easing to be undertaken in the next three years.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK’s monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998, gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Decisions on the use of monetary policy tools, including quantitative easing, are for the judgement of the MPC.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the criteria under which assets issued as a result of the quantitative easing programme would be bought back.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK’s monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998 gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Decisions on the use of monetary policy tools, including quantitative easing, are for the judgement of the MPC.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the sustainable rate of productive potential in the UK economy.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
In 2010 the government established the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to provide independent and authoritative analysis of the UK’s public finances.
The OBR forecast in July 2015 that potential productivity will grow by 1.4 per cent in 2015, 1.8 per cent in 2016, 2.0 per cent in 2017, 2.1 per cent in 2018 and 2.2 per cent thereafter.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the quantitative easing programme put in place by the Bank of England.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The UK’s monetary policy framework, set out in the Bank of England Act 1998, gives operational responsibility for monetary policy to the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
The MPC’s macroeconomic policy tools, including quantitative easing, are designed to affect the economy as a whole, in order to meet the 2 per cent inflation target over the medium term.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the statement by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that increases in the minimum wage will not fully compensate for changes made to the tax credits system.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As a result of the introduction of the National Living Wage, 2.75m workers are expected to benefit directly, and up to 6m could see their pay rise as a result of a ripple effect up the earnings distribution.
Overall, 8 out of 10 working households will be better off in 2017-18 as a result of the Summer Budget increase to the income tax personal allowance, welfare changes, and introduction of the National Living Wage. This translates to 12.5 million working households who will be better off.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of reductions in tax credits on families with very low incomes.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Government is making changes to Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit which will help put welfare spending on a more sustainable path. The Government wants to move from a low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society. That means more emphasis on support to hardworking families on low incomes by reducing income tax through increases in the personal allowance and increasing wages, than on topping up low wages through tax credits.
Families with someone working currently on the minimum wage will benefit from the introduction of the National Living Wage from April 2016 which will be set at £7.20 per hour. The Government’s ambition is for the National Living Wage to reach over £9 by 2020. This would equate to a cash rise of £5,200 a year by 2020 for those who are currently working full time on the National Minimum Wage.
These changes will ensure that work will always pay more than a life on benefits, support will be focused more on those on the very lowest incomes and the system will be fairer upon those who pay for it, as well as those who benefit from it. Taking the welfare changes in the Budget together with the record increases in the income tax personal allowance and the introduction of the new National Living Wage, 8 out of 10 working households will be better off by 2017/18.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to monitor the effects of changes to tax credits on families with very low incomes.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Government is making changes to Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit which will help put welfare spending on a more sustainable path. The Government wants to move from a low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society. That means more emphasis on support to hardworking families on low incomes by reducing income tax through increases in the personal allowance and increasing wages, than on topping up low wages through tax credits.
Families with someone working currently on the minimum wage will benefit from the introduction of the National Living Wage from April 2016 which will be set at £7.20 per hour. The Government’s ambition is for the National Living Wage to reach over £9 by 2020. This would equate to a cash rise of £5,200 a year by 2020 for those who are currently working full time on the National Minimum Wage.
These changes will ensure that work will always pay more than a life on benefits, support will be focused more on those on the very lowest incomes and the system will be fairer upon those who pay for it, as well as those who benefit from it. Taking the welfare changes in the Budget together with the record increases in the income tax personal allowance and the introduction of the new National Living Wage, 8 out of 10 working households will be better off by 2017/18.
Asked by: Ian Blackford (Scottish National Party - Ross, Skye and Lochaber)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will take steps to ensure that people who cannot afford or choose not to access financial advice on how to invest a lump sum taken from defined contribution pension plans are able to make appropriate decisions that ensure financial security throughout their retirement.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
Pension Wise provides free and impartial guidance on what consumers can do with their pension pots, helping them make a decision which best suits their personal circumstances. The guidance encourages customers to think about how they can best provide for themselves in the future, and prompt them to think about how long their money needs to last.
Pension Wise helps people understand when professional investment advice could be useful and how to access it by referring them to the Money Advice Service’s new Retirement Advisor Directory. The Directory helps people find a local advisor which serves their pot size, can provide a specialist type of retirement advice service, and displays information on whether they charge a minimum fee.
The government believes that it is vital that consumers should have access to professional financial advice if they need it, and supports the work of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to encourage the development of affordable models of advice to help service this need.