Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the financial contribution of the co-operative sector to the economy; and what estimate her Department has made of the level of growth in that sector in each of the next five years.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the contribution of co-operatives to the economy, serving local communities and ensuring the UK has a diverse business sector.
According to Co-operatives UK, there are 7,391 co-operatives operating in the UK with a combined annual income of £42.7bn. Co-operatives serve 16.6 million members - an increase of 1.4 million (9.5%) from 2024 levels - and employ almost 240,000 people.
The government is taking steps to support further growth the co-operative sector in line with its manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector. This includes funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, which will consider ways to update and modernise the Act. The review is expected to be published by the end of the 2025 and the government will carefully consider its findings before responding.
Additionally, at Mansion House 2024 the Chancellor set out a package of measures aimed at supporting the growth of the broader co-operative and mutuals sector. This included welcoming the establishment of the industry-led Mutuals and Co-operative Business Council and asking the PRA and FCA to produce a report on the mutuals landscape by the end of 2025.
The Department for Business and Trade has also announced a call for evidence which will explore business support for co-operatives and non-financial mutuals.
Together, these will support the growth of the co-operative sector in line with the manifesto commitment.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what component costs were used to calculate the HMRC mileage rate in 2010; and if he will make the equivalent calculation based on today's costs.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Business and Trade)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle; and by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage. The rates for cars are 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25 pence per mile thereafter.
The rates are arrived at after considering a range of factors including:
• the costs of motoring per business mile for a range of cars and
mileages;
• the transport needs of business;
• the cost to the Exchequer of changing the rate; and
• the overall fiscal position.
The AMAP rates are not mandatory, and employers can choose to pay more or less than the AMAP rate. It is therefore ultimately up to employers to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees. Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review as part of the annual Budget process.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the contribution of the cooperative sector to the UK economy.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Government is committed to having a thriving co-operative sector and creating a modern and supportive business environment in the UK. The Government acknowledges the vital contribution co-operatives make to the economy, serving local communities up and down the UK. The latest Co-operative and Mutual Economy Report 2023, conducted by the trade body Co-operatives UK, found that co-operatives generated a combined, annual turnover of £40.9 billion, a 3.7% increase from 2022 levels.
The Government has taken significant steps to support the co-operative sector in recent years. For example, the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 helped cut through the legal complexity involved in running a co-operative, improving their competitiveness. Additionally, at Budget 2021, the Government announced the £150m Community Ownership Fund. This allows community groups to bid for up to £2 million matched-funding to help them buy or take over local community assets at risk of being lost and run them as community-owned businesses, supporting co-operative entrepreneurship. To date, 195 projects across the UK have benefitted from the fund.
Earlier this year, the Government-supported Co-operatives, Mutuals, and Friendly Societies Act 2023 came into force, which grants HM Treasury the power to bring forward regulations to give those mutuals further flexibility in determining for themselves the best strategies for their business regarding their surplus capital.
Furthermore, the Government also aims to continue to develop a modern and supportive business environment to set co-operatives and mutuals up for success. The Government has commissioned the Law Commission to conduct reviews of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and the Friendly Societies Act 1992. These reviews will investigate necessary changes to legislation that will help support co-operatives and friendly societies in their future growth and success.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the cooperative sector's contribution to the economy.
Answered by John Glen
The Government recognises the value of co-operatives. It is clear they offer a different way of running a business, supporting the needs of their members and their local communities.
Co-operatives UK, the UK’s largest industry body for co-operatives, publishes a report each year about the scale of the sector. Their 2021 report, published in December, noted that there were over 7,200 co-ops employing over 250,000 people, with a combined turnover of £39.7 billion.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has (a) allocated and (b) spent in each year since 2015 on ending food poverty.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The government is providing support to families worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help them with the cost of living. This includes:
The Spring Statement goes 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.
We have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers and we are investing over £200 million a year from 2022 to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English local authorities.
In total, the government will provide £250 billion of support in 22-23 through the welfare system across the UK, including £40 billion through Universal Credit and £111 billion through the State Pension.
The latest published statistics as part of DWP's Households Below Average Income publication show the percentage of households that were food insecure has fallen from 8% in 2019-20 to 6% in 2020-21.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken through the Spring Statement to tackle food inflation.
Answered by John Glen
As the global economy recovers from COVID-19, many economies are experiencing high inflation, in part due to pressures from rising energy and commodity prices, along with disruptions to global supply chains caused by a mismatch between elevated global demand and bottlenecks in supply as a result of the pandemic.
The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living as a result of high inflation, and that a range of factors mean individuals may experience cost rises differently. Including the measures announced in the Spring Statement, the Government is providing support to families worth over £22 billion in 2022-23.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reducing Government wage subsidies from 80 per cent to 67 per cent during the covid-19 outbreak; and what assessment he has made of the effect of implementing that reduction on people on the minimum wage.
Answered by Steve Barclay
Overall levels of support have been generous by international standards, including compared to countries like Germany and France, or Ireland where eligibility criteria means many companies don’t even qualify for support.
The government has always been clear that paying 80% of normal pay through CJRS, supporting 9.6 million jobs at a level far higher than almost anywhere in the world, is simply not sustainable.
The new Job Support Scheme (JSS) will support businesses that need it most; protecting jobs in businesses facing lower demand over the winter due to Covid-19 and helping them prepare for recovery. Where the Government has had to go further on health restrictions and close business premises in some areas, the Job Support Scheme is being expanded to protect jobs and help businesses reopen more quickly once those restrictions are lifted. The scheme will cover businesses that are legally required to close their premises as a direct result of Coronavirus restrictions set by one or more of the four governments in the UK.
For low income households, Universal Credit provides further income protection. A working household on the Universal Credit taper will see their UC award increase by 63p for every £1 they lose in earnings (and for those households that also pay income tax and NICs, the impact on their overall income will be even smaller).
Companies can of course top up employees’ wages, and the JSS forms just one part of a wider package of government support for individuals, including rental support, mortgage holidays, and extra funding for the welfare safety net.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the correlation between local lockdown restrictions and (a) business survival rates and (b) unemployment in Oldham since 1 March 2020.
Answered by John Glen
No assessment can be made on the correlation between local lockdown restrictions and business survival or unemployment rates since 1 March 2020, as business count and unemployment data at a local authority level will not be published until 2021.
The government recognises that every region and community will be feeling the impact of this crisis and remains committed to helping the unemployed return to work and supporting those most vulnerable to job losses. We will continue to work closely with local areas to make sure that individuals and businesses are directed to the right support during this difficult period.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what impact assessment his Department has undertaken on the ending of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme at the end of October.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The CJRS has helped 1.2 million employers across the UK furlough 9.6 million jobs, protecting people’s livelihoods. Many of these employments will have already been resumed. Across the whole of the UK and all ages, the number of employments furloughed has decreased from a peak of 8.9 million on 8 May to about 4.8 million on 31 July. The CJRS must be temporary and the Government must ensure people can get back to work safely and get the UK economy up and running again.
Building on the action taken in the face of the immediate threat posed by the virus, the second phase of the Government’s response began with the targeted Plan for Jobs. The Plan places emphasis on job creation through the Kickstart scheme, a £2 billion fund to create hundreds of thousands of new, high-quality 6-month subsidised jobs for young people; as well as job protection through the Job Retention Bonus, which specifically encourages firms to keep on workers they previously furloughed. It also supports jobseekers with direct help to find work and to gain the skills they need to gain employment.
The Government is adapting its response to the changing context, evolving as restrictions have changed. On 24 September the Government introduced a Winter Economy Plan including the new Job Support Scheme, which targets support on those businesses that need it most; focusing on those that are being affected by coronavirus and can support their employees doing some work, but that need more time for demand to recover.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what economic assessment he has made of the effect of ending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
After eight months of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the scheme will close at the end of October. The scheme must be temporary and the Government must ensure people can get back to work safely and get the UK economy up and running again.
The longer people are on furlough, the more likely it is their skills could fade, making it harder for them to get new opportunities. It is in no-one’s long term interests for the scheme to trap people in jobs that only exist because of the subsidy.
Building on the action taken in the face of the immediate threat posed by the virus, the Government is now proceeding with the second phase of its response with the targeted Plan for Jobs which will support the UK’s economic recovery while continuing to prioritise people’s health.