Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce an instalment scheme to allow businesses in Cumbria affected by flooding to spread tax payments.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) operates a dedicated Severe Weather helpline to offer help and advice on any tax matters to those people and businesses affected by the recent flooding. The helpline is 0800 904 7900
Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 8.00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 8.00 am to 4.00 pm, excluding bank holidays.
HMRC will also:
The helpline is in addition to other HMRC telephone contact numbers.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support his Department is offering to businesses affected by flooding in Cumbria in advance of tax payment deadlines.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) operates a dedicated Severe Weather helpline to offer help and advice on any tax matters to those people and businesses affected by the recent flooding. The helpline is 0800 904 7900
Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 8.00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 8.00 am to 4.00 pm, excluding bank holidays.
HMRC will also:
The helpline is in addition to other HMRC telephone contact numbers.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14749, if his Department will estimate the number of families whose income will be reduced as a result of proposed changes to tax credits.
Answered by Damian Hinds
This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor has made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2015 to Question 13279, for what reason his Department has not estimated or calculated the number of families whose income will be reduced as a result of proposed changes to tax credits.
Answered by Damian Hinds
This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor has made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 12348, what estimate he has made of the number of families whose income will reduce as a result of the proposed changes to tax credits.
Answered by Damian Hinds
No such estimate has been made.
This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor has made clear, the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 10 in the UK.
Answered by David Gauke
The government is committed to tackling inequality. According to the latest ONS statistics, original income inequality in the UK is at its lowest level since 1989.
The government believes that the best way to reduce inequality and poverty is through tackling unemployment, and getting workless households into work. Employment has increased by 2 million since the 2010 election, and the percentage of workless households is lower than at any point under the last Labour government.
The Government is tackling low pay by introducing a new National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 25 and above from April 2016. On current OBR forecasts, by 2020 the NLW will be over £9 an hour, meaning a full-time worker aged 25 or above will earn over £4,800 a year more in cash terms than under the current National Minimum Wage.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review to provide ring fenced funding for a feasibility study into the trunk road section of the A595.
Answered by Greg Hands
Highways England will soon start a new programme of Route Strategies, aiming to develop an investment programme for the years 2020-25. These will be the forum where MPs and members of the public can make the case for improvements in their area. If improvements to the A595 are proposed through this process, they will be considered carefully for investment in the next Road Investment Strategy.
Further details of Spending Review decisions will be announced on 25 November.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many official visits he has made to (a) Copeland constituency and (b) Cumbria as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.
Answered by Greg Hands
Last week the Chancellor of the Exchequer was in Manchester, Newcastle and Teesside and would hope to visit Cumbria in due course.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of people in receipt of tax credits who will have their income reduced as a result of the proposed government changes to tax credits.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The government set out its assessment of the impacts of the Summer Budget policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July 2015. Taken together, the introduction of the National Living Wage, increases in the personal allowance and welfare changes mean that 8 out of 10 working households will be better off as a result of the Summer Budget.
The Summer Budget offered a new deal for working people. It means Britain moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society.
A new National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and above, initially set at £7.20 per hour from April 2016, will directly benefit 2.7 million low wage workers, and up to 6 million could see a pay rise as a result of a ripple effect up the earnings distribution. The new National Living Wage will boost pay for those currently earning the National Minimum Wage by £4,800 a year by 2020 when the National Living Wage is expected to rise to over £9 per hour.
To help working families keep more of what they earn, the personal allowance will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17 and £11,200 in 2017-18. The government has committed to increase the personal allowance to £12,500 by 2020 which will mean that a typical basic rate taxpayer will see their income tax cut by £1,205 a year compared to 2010.
Asked by: Jamie Reed (Labour - Copeland)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to set out in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review that police budgets in Cumbria should not be reduced.
Answered by Greg Hands
Police reform is working and crime is down by more than a quarter since 2010, according to the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales.
As with other spending decisions, no decisions have been taken on police funding beyond 2015/16. Future funding levels will be subject to the outcome of the Spending Review later this year.