To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Business Rates: Tax Allowances
Tuesday 25th July 2023

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) feasibility and (b) potential merits of extending the retail, hospitality and leisure business rates relief scheme beyond 31 March 2024 for businesses in business improvement districts.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The 2023-2024 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) Business Rates Relief scheme provides eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a 75 per cent relief, up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business. This was an expansion from the 50 per cent rate in 2022-2023. Currently, around 230,000 properties are eligible for this relief, representing a tax cut worth over £2 billion.

Businesses may also benefit from other business rates measures, including the multiplier freeze, and the Supporting Small Business scheme, which caps bill increases at £600 per year for businesses losing some or all of their eligibility for Small Business or Rural Rate Relief due to the recent revaluation.

Any future announcements regarding business rates relief will be made at a fiscal event.


Written Question
Private Life: Fraud
Wednesday 17th May 2023

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help banks and payment service providers to easily (a) identify and (b) prevent romance scams.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government takes the issue of authorised push payment (APP) fraud, of which romance fraud is one form, very seriously, and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime. Working alongside the regulators, law enforcement, and industry, the Government continues to support numerous fraud-prevention initiatives, including the Payments Systems Regulator’s work to enhance information sharing between payment providers.

Information sharing between firms plays a key role in identifying scammers and preventing scams. As noted in the Home Office’s recent Fraud Strategy, the Government, regulators and industry are working together to identify opportunities for greater information sharing to better tackle fraud ‘up stream’. The PSR has set up an industry working group, including Pay.UK and UK Finance, to agree what data could be shared.

In order to prevent APP fraud, HM Treasury is investigating amending legislation to enable payment service providers such as banks to delay payments beyond the existing legislative timescales in limited, high-risk fraud scenarios. This will allow enhanced customer engagement to take place. This could enable firms to take more of a ‘risk-based’ approach to payments processing.


Written Question
Tax Avoidance
Wednesday 30th March 2022

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there is a time limit on HMRC's pursuit of outstanding monies owed under the loan charge.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Where a taxpayer cannot pay their liability in full, HMRC’s priority is to agree a manageable and sustainable Time to Pay instalment arrangement with any taxpayer who engages with them to seek a resolution. There is no maximum repayment period, and these arrangements are flexible and can be updated if the taxpayer’s circumstances change.

In the small number of cases where the taxpayer has insufficient disposable income to agree a Time to Pay arrangement, HMRC will pause debt collection activity. HMRC will inform the taxpayer and aim to review each case every six to twelve months to see if the taxpayer’s circumstances have materially changed.

Where a taxpayer’s circumstances materially change, HMRC will restart debt collection activity even if a number of years have passed, because there is no statute of limitations on tax debts. This ensures the tax system is fair to all taxpayers who pay what they owe when they have the ability to do so.


Written Question
Social Enterprises: Tax Allowances
Monday 6th December 2021

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much Social Investment Tax Relief was claimed by investors of Social Impact Bonds in each successive tax year since that relief was introduced.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The information is not available as investors claiming Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) are not required to inform HMRC whether they have invested in Social Impact Bonds. HMRC publishes National Statistics annually which break down total investment into SITR companies by tax year, as shown below.

Tax Year

Amount raised by SITR enterprises (£ million)

2014-15

0.5

2015-16

2.3

2016-17

2.5

2017-18

2.5

2018-19 [p]

4.7

2019-20 [p]

3.3

Total

15.8

‘p’ denotes a provisional estimate

HMRC’s National Statistics on SITR can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/enterprise-investment-scheme-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-and-social-investment-tax-relief-may-2021
Written Question
Medical Equipment: Exports
Thursday 25th November 2021

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimates she has made of the total value of UK inhaler exports to the rest of the world.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

HMRC is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website: www.uktradeinfo.com. From this website, it is possible to build data tables based upon bespoke search criteria: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/ots-custom-table/

The Tariff Classification of inhalers differs dependent upon whether medication is dispensed from them and, if so, what type of medicine. Consequently, published statistics applicable to empty inhalers, and medicinal inhalers at an aggregated level, within Harmonised System code 3004, have been provided.

The total value of UK inhaler exports to the rest of the world can be found in the table below:

Table 1: Total Non-EU export Trade Value (£), for calendar years 2019 - 21

Commodities

2019

2020

Jan-Sep 2021

All commodities under HS4 3004 -

Medicaments consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic use, put up in measured doses “incl. those for transdermal administration” or forms or packings for retail sale (excl. goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006)

7,401,780,279

7,517,387,269

5,261,039,814

HS4 9019, CN8s: 90192000 & 90192090 - Mechano-therapy appliances; massage apparatus; psychological aptitude-testing apparatus; ozone therapy, oxygen therapy, aerosol therapy, artificial respiration or other therapeutic respiration apparatus

46,136,530

73,847,317

62,942,879

Total

7,447,916,809

7,591,234,586

5,323,982,693

Data source: Overseas Trade Statistics


Written Question
Probate
Monday 25th October 2021

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 September 2021 to Question 52624 on the probate limit, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the probate limit of premium bonds.

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

As required by legislation governing NS&I, NS&I will request a Grant of Probate for any holding over £5,000. Making payment without probate comes with some risk, as there could be a subsequent successful claim on the deceased’s estate. The cost of having to pay out against a second claim would be borne by the taxpayer.

The Government will keep under review the effect of increasing the probate limit that applies to customer holdings in National Savings and Investments (NS&I).


Written Question
Probate
Wednesday 29th September 2021

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of further increasing the probate limit.

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

The Government has made no recent assessment in relation to the effect of increasing the probate limit. In most circumstances the provision of a bank’s services, including the administration around bereavement, are a commercial decision for the bank. The Government does not intervene in these decisions.

The treatment of customers by UK banks and building societies which are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is governed by its Principles of Business. This includes a general requirement for firms to provide a prompt, efficient and fair service to all their customers, including those who have recently suffered a bereavement. The FCA does not have specific rules or guidance regarding probate in its rules. However, all firms regulated by the FCA are bound by its Principles which apply to the way banks and building societies conduct themselves. This includes how they handle probate.

The main current account providers also publish information about the additional services they offer consumers, including information on the bereavement services they offer. More information can be found on the FCA website: https://www.fca.org.uk/data/mandated-voluntary-information-current-account-services/providers-links#voluntary

The Government remains supportive of previous industry efforts to improve handling of these sensitive cases, including the implementation of the British Bankers’ Association’s (now known as UK Finance) Bereavement Principles. These Principles include a commitment from firms to provide support to meet individuals’ needs throughout the bereavement process and to work to resolve everything as quickly and simply as possible.


Written Question
Non-domestic Rates: Empty Property
Wednesday 3rd March 2021

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the criteria for business rates relief for empty properties beyond three months when there has been a change of ownership.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government maintains an Empty Property Relief (EPR) to support property owners between the reoccupation of vacated premises. The current structure of EPR strikes a balance between not penalising landlords who lose a tenant at short notice, while incentivising property owners and landlords to secure new tenants.

The fundamental review of business rates is considering all parts of the business rates system, including reliefs and any eligibility criteria.


Written Question
Boats: Import Duties
Friday 11th December 2020

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if, after the transition period, he will extend import duty relief to pleasure craft with UK VAT-paid status which have been purchased in the EU but which have not yet been located in the UK.

Answered by Jesse Norman

Pleasure craft returning to the UK at the end of the transition period will be able to claim the Returned Goods Relief (RGR) for customs duty and import VAT, subject to all conditions for the relief being met. From 1 January 2021 in order to qualify for RGR goods must have previously been located in the UK. The Government has extended the eligibility conditions for RGR to take account of the situation faced by owners of pleasure craft. The normal three year time limit for returning goods to the UK has been extended so that goods can benefit from RGR if they return to the UK by 31 December 2021 and meet the conditions for relief.


Written Question
Directors: Coronavirus
Friday 11th December 2020

Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of introducing a covid-19 financial support scheme for directors of limited companies who pay themselves through dividends which is based on the trading profits of the company contained in the corporation tax return.

Answered by Jesse Norman

In the development of the COVID-19 support schemes, HMRC have taken into consideration what is operationally feasible, while managing technical complexities and fraud risks, and ensuring that other schemes the Government has committed to are delivered in a timely way.

Income from dividends is a return on investment in the company, rather than wages. It is not possible for HMRC to distinguish between dividends derived from an individual’s own company and dividends from other sources, and between dividends in lieu of employment income and as returns from other corporate activity.

Payment through dividends would require owner-managers to make a claim and submit information that HMRC could not manageably verify to ensure payments are made to eligible companies for eligible activity.

Company directors who are paid via dividends may be eligible for various elements of the support available, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (in respect of their salary but not their dividends), Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, increased levels of Universal Credit, mortgage holidays and other business support grants.