Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent meetings Ministers of his Department has had with the (a) Financial Conduct Authority and (b) Bank of England on recent trends in the level of personal debt.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government engages regularly with the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to monitor personal finances, including levels of consumer debt.MaPS monitor financial difficulty through an annual survey of 22,000 people. The FCA conduct a biennial Financial Lives Survey, which provides a comprehensive insight into the finances of 16,000 adults. Both surveys will be published in early 2021.
The Bank of England publish monthly statistics on money and credit and the FCA is undertaking further research to understand how the impacts of COVID-19 are evolving.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allow directors of small companies who file their PAYE RTI returns annually between 20 March and 19 April 2020 who were ineligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to claim backdated payment.
Answered by Jesse Norman
For claims from 1 November, employers must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020 notifying a payment of earnings for that employee to be able to claim under the CJRS. This does mean that some annually paid employees such as directors, who were not paid between these dates will not be eligible for CJRS.
The Government has balanced a number of risks by aligning the start of the eligibility period for the CJRS extension with the cut-off date for the original scheme, meaning anyone who has been furloughed previously and paid in line with the rules of the scheme can be furloughed again.
This ensures that individuals paid annually towards and following the end of the previous tax year who were not eligible for the original scheme can now benefit from the extension. Those paid annually are eligible to claim, as long as they meet the relevant conditions.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of extending eligibility to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to include directors of small companies, who file their PAYE RTI annually; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has seen 1.2 million employers apply to help to pay the wages of 9.6 million furloughed jobs. In light of the path of the virus, the CJRS has been extended until the end of March 2021 for all parts of the UK.
Those paid annually are eligible to claim, as long as they meet the relevant conditions including being notified to HMRC on an RTI real-time information submission between 20 March and 30 October. These cut-off dates allow as many people as possible to be included by going right up to the day before the announcement, balancing the risk of fraud that existed as soon as the scheme became public.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of directors of small companies, who file their PAYE RTI returns annually.
Answered by Jesse Norman
PAYE schemes that pay their employees annually all in the same tax month may register as an ‘annual scheme’. Further information can be found on gov.uk at the following link (see section: Annual payroll scheme for PAYE): https://www.gov.uk/running-payroll/changing-paydays.
Information on which PAYE schemes are operated by small companies and which are operated by other types of employer such as sole traders and partnerships is not readily available for all PAYE schemes.
Among all PAYE schemes, not just those that are operated by small companies, the number of registered PAYE schemes that were live on 8 October 2020 (the date this information was extracted) and were registered as an ‘annual scheme’ was 33,300.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consultation he undertook with directors of small companies, who file their PAYE RTI returns annually, on the design and introduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has seen 1.2 million employers apply to help to pay the wages of 9.6 million furloughed jobs. In light of the path of the virus, the CJRS has been extended until the end of March 2021 for all parts of the UK.
Those paid annually are eligible to claim, as long as they meet the relevant conditions including being notified to HMRC on an RTI real-time information submission between 20 March and 30 October. These cut-off dates allow as many people as possible to be included by going right up to the day before the announcement, balancing the risk of fraud that existed as soon as the scheme became public.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason it was decided that directors of small companies who file their PAYE RTI returns annually should be ineligible for support from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has seen 1.2 million employers apply to help to pay the wages of 9.6 million furloughed jobs. In light of the path of the virus, the CJRS has been extended until the end of March 2021 for all parts of the UK.
Those paid annually are eligible to claim, as long as they meet the relevant conditions including being notified to HMRC on an RTI real-time information submission between 20 March and 30 October. These cut-off dates allow as many people as possible to be included by going right up to the day before the announcement, balancing the risk of fraud that existed as soon as the scheme became public.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide additional bespoke financial support for taxi drivers in response to the covid-19 outbreak similar to the Government support that has been provided to the hospitality sector to ensure that viable taxi drivers are able to continue to trade in the longer term.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government appreciates this is a challenging time for many sectors and individuals, including taxi and private hire drivers. With the resurgence of the virus and tightening of restrictions to protect people's health, we have taken further steps to protect jobs and businesses.
The Chancellor announced on 5 November the next income support grant which covers the period November to January, will now increase to 80% of average profits, up to £7,500. This will provide vital financial support to the roughly 80% of taxi and private hire drivers who are self-employed.
Drivers who are employed will benefit from an extension of the furlough scheme to the end of March. The government will continue to help pay people’s wages, up to 80% of the normal amount.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will increase the level of financial support provided through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Grant Extension to taxi drivers; and if he will extend eligibility for that financial support to (a) taxi drivers who have recently purchased a new taxi and (b) those taxi drivers who have been ineligible for financial support under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has acted to support those that are self-employed and have been affected by the COVID-19 outbreak across all sectors of the economy. The overwhelming majority of taxi and private hire vehicle drivers are self-employed and can therefore apply for a grant through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
The overall level of the third SEISS grant has been increased to 80 per cent of average trading profits, meaning that the maximum grant available has now increased to £7,500. This will provide an estimated £7.3bn of support to the self-employed through November to January alone, with a further grant to follow covering February to April. This places the SEISS among the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world.
Those ineligible for financial support under the SEISS may still be eligible for other elements of the unprecedented financial support available. The Government has temporarily increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for 2020-21 and relaxed the Minimum Income Floor for the duration of the crisis meaning that where self-employed claimants' earnings have significantly reduced, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this they may also be able to access other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Procurement Policy Note 04/20: Recovery and Transition from COVID-19, published on 9 June 2020, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of maintaining the provision of contractual relief as a result of covid-19 in line with Procurement Policy Notice 02/20; which (a) companies and (b) work areas will be affected by changes to that contractual relief; and what the timeframe is for proposals to change that contractual relief.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
HM Treasury is working collaboratively with its suppliers using the procurement policy guidance so that contracts continue to remain relevant and sustainable and deliver value for money.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Procurement Policy Note 04/20–Recovery and Transition from COVID-19, whether his Department plans to maintain the contractual relief in relation to the covid-19 oubreak set out in Procurement Policy Notice 02/20.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
HM Treasury will continue working with its suppliers using the procurement policy guidance referred to.