Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with (a) families with children who receive life-saving treatment at home for chronic diseases and disabilities an (b) representatives of families with children who receive life-saving treatment at home for chronic diseases and disabilities on the impact of the rising cost of energy.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and I meet regularly to discuss a range of topics including the rises in energy bills and the cost of living. The Government also meets with disability focus groups and charities to understand the impacts the changes in the cost of living are having on disadvantaged people, which includes those who use life-saving treatment at home. The Government recognises that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and especially to the most vulnerable members of society, such as disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. That is why the Government has taken decisive action to support households while ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way. This includes the announcement at Autumn Statement of a further Disability Cost of Living payment of £150 in 2023/24 to people in receipt of extra-costs disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA), in addition to the £150 payment from the Cost of Living package in May last year. These payments can be received in addition to the other Cost of Living Payments for households on means-tested benefits, namely the £650 payment announced in May and the additional £900 payment announced at Autumn Statement.
For those not eligible for this support, or who may need additional help, the government is making another £1bn available (including Barnett funding for the devolved administrations) from 01 April 2023 to enable a further twelve-month extension to the Household Support Fund in England. The fund will continue to enable Local Authorities to support the most vulnerable households with the cost of food, energy and other essentials.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of the impact of rises in domestic energy prices on people who receive treatment at home for chronic diseases and disabilities.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and I meet regularly to discuss a range of topics including the rises in energy bills and the cost of living. The Government also meets with disability focus groups and charities to understand the impacts the changes in the cost of living are having on disadvantaged people, which includes those who use life-saving treatment at home. The Government recognises that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and especially to the most vulnerable members of society, such as disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. That is why the Government has taken decisive action to support households while ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way. This includes the announcement at Autumn Statement of a further Disability Cost of Living payment of £150 in 2023/24 to people in receipt of extra-costs disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA), in addition to the £150 payment from the Cost of Living package in May last year. These payments can be received in addition to the other Cost of Living Payments for households on means-tested benefits, namely the £650 payment announced in May and the additional £900 payment announced at Autumn Statement.
For those not eligible for this support, or who may need additional help, the government is making another £1bn available (including Barnett funding for the devolved administrations) from 01 April 2023 to enable a further twelve-month extension to the Household Support Fund in England. The fund will continue to enable Local Authorities to support the most vulnerable households with the cost of food, energy and other essentials.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the rate of reimbursement for public sector workers who have to drive personal vehicles to work, in the context of rising costs of running a car.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle.
AMAPs are intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Fuel is therefore only one component.
The AMAP rate is advisory and employers can choose to pay more or less than the advisory rate. It is therefore ultimately up to employers, including public sector organisations, to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees. Employees who receive less than the AMAP rate can claim tax relief on the difference. Employees who receive more will be taxed on the difference.
Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to update mileage rates for public sector workers in line with real costs.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle.
AMAPs are intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Fuel is therefore only one component.
The AMAP rate is advisory and employers can choose to pay more or less than the advisory rate. It is therefore ultimately up to employers, including public sector organisations, to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees. Employees who receive less than the AMAP rate can claim tax relief on the difference. Employees who receive more will be taxed on the difference.
Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of permanently reducing the rate of VAT for (a) food and (b) beverages on (i) pubs and (ii) the wider hospitality industry in (A) Liverpool, (B) West Derby constituency and (C) the UK.
Answered by Richard Fuller - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The VAT reduced rate for the hospitality sector was a temporary measure designed to support the cash flow and viability of sectors that have been severely affected by COVID-19. It was appropriate that as restrictions were lifted and demand for goods and services in these sectors increased, the temporary tax reliefs were first reduced and then removed in order to rebuild and strengthen the public finances.
According to OBR forecasts, VAT will have raised approximately £135 billion in 2021-22, helping to fund key spending priorities such as important public services, including the NHS and policing. In addition, this request should be viewed in the context of over £50 billion of requests for relief from VAT received since the EU referendum.
While there are no plans to reduce the rate of VAT on food, beverages, pubs or the wider hospitality industry, the Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing business rates for pubs to the level paid by other small businesses on (a) pubs and (b) the wider hospitality industry in (i) Liverpool, (ii) West Derby constituency and (iii) the UK.
Answered by Richard Fuller - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
With the conclusion of the Business Rates Review, the Government has delivered meaningful reform and tax cuts worth almost £7 billion to business over the next five years.
Businesses in the retail, hospitality, and leisure sector, including pubs, currently receive a tax cut worth almost £1.7 billion in 2022-23. Eligible properties receive 50 per cent off their business rates bill, up to a maximum of £110,000 per business. In addition, around 700,000 properties are currently in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR), including pubs. Combined with Small Business Rates Relief, this means over 90 per cent of retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses will receive at least 50 per cent off their rates bills in 2022-23. We do not hold data on the number of these businesses that are pubs. The Government also froze the multiplier for 2022-23, which is a tax cut worth £4.6 billion to businesses over the next 5 years.
The announcements at Autumn Budget 2021 builds on over £16 billion of business rates support already provided to the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors throughout the pandemic, including a business rates holiday for 2020-21 and a scheme worth £6 billion in 2021-22.
Announcements on Business Rates for the upcoming financial year will be made in due course.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the basic cost of living for a family comprised of two adults and three or more children.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the price and volatility of energy and some other commodities, and has added to disruption in global supply chains. This has started to affect the prices that UK consumers pay for goods including for fuel and domestic energy. Based on market prices taken after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast inflation to peak at 8.7% in Q4 2022 before falling back towards the 2% target in late 2023.
The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, however the government is providing support worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help families with these pressures.
This includes providing millions of households with up to £350 to help with rising energy bills and helping people keep more of what they earn. The government has cut the Universal Credit taper rate, frozen alcohol duty and has further increased the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour from April 2022. The Spring Statement went further, with the government announcing an increase to the annual National Insurance Primary Threshold and Lower Profits Limit to £12,570, a cut to fuel duty, and an additional £500m to help with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund.
This builds on action the government has already taken that will help families with the cost of living. Since 2017 the government has offered eligible working parents of 3- to 4-year olds 30 hours of free childcare per week. We have also introduced Tax-Free Childcare, where for every £8 parents pay into their childcare account, the Government adds £2 up to a maximum of £2,000 in top up per year for each child up to age 11 and up to £4,000 per disabled child until they’re 17. Alongside this, £500m to transform ‘Start for Life’ and family help services for parents and babies, and carers and children in half of the council areas across England and over £200 million a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food programme and deliver the government’s Flexible Childcare Fund commitment.
At each fiscal event HM Treasury has regularly published distributional analysis of the impact of tax, welfare and spending decisions on households. Distributional analysis published at Spring Statement 2022 shows that in 2024-25, the tax, welfare and spending decisions made since Spending Round 2019 will have benefitted the poorest households most (as a percentage of income). The government will continue to keep the situation under review.