Asked by: John Nicolson (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is for passing on the remaining £31 million allocated to the Scottish Government as a consequential of the £300 million Culture Recovery Fund uplift in the Budget of March 2021.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Barnett formula applies to changes in departmental DEL budgets, not when departments make spending or policy announcements.
The UK government has provided the Scottish Government with an additional £6.5 billion of Barnett-based funding this year. It is for the Scottish Government to decide how to allocate this funding across its devolved responsibilities, including how to provide support to the culture sector.
If the Treasury provides additional funding to departments in areas that are devolved in Scotland then the Scottish Government will receive additional funding through the Barnett formula. Final funding allocations will be confirmed at Supplementary Estimates.
Asked by: John Nicolson (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much tax is reclaimed annually through gift aid.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
In 2019-20, the latest year for which estimates are available, £1.4 billion in Gift Aid was paid to charities, and £0.5 billion was paid to individuals who were higher and additional rate Income Tax payers. Information about the cost of Gift Aid and other tax reliefs on charitable donations is published in “UK charity tax relief statistics” on GOV.UK at the link below:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/charitable-donations-and-tax-reliefs-statistics
Asked by: John Nicolson (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what further steps he plans to take to help people affected by the Equitable Life scandal.
Answered by John Glen
I would refer the honourable Member for Ochil and South Perthshire to the answer I gave on 4 May 2020 (UIN 40483).
Asked by: John Nicolson (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to provide bespoke (a) grants or (b) loans to self-employed seasonal workers in the (i) creative, (ii) hospitality and (iii) tourism sectors that are ineligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme as a result of the 50 per cent income threshold.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat COVID-19 are having on businesses and sectors like tourism, hospitality and creative industries. The Treasury is working closely with employers, delivery partners, industry groups and other government departments to understand the long-term effects of social distancing across all key areas of the economy.
The Chancellor has already announced unprecedented support for individuals and businesses, to protect against the current economic emergency. These include a package of welfare measures; grant schemes such as the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund and the Discretionary Grant Fund; a range of Government-backed and guaranteed loan schemes; the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). The SEISS is intended to support individuals who rely primarily on their trading profits from self-employment and have been adversely affected by COVID-19.
The Government is keeping the exit strategy of all schemes under review as it responds to the pandemic and considers the longer-term economic recovery.
Asked by: John Nicolson (Scottish National Party - Ochil and South Perthshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure free access to cash for people in rural communities.
Answered by John Glen
The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK.
The Government has launched the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy Group – bringing together the Payment Systems Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority, and Bank of England – to ensure comprehensive oversight of the overall cash infrastructure.
Industry has a key role to play. LINK, the scheme that runs the UK’s largest ATM network, has committed to protect remote free-to-use ATMs one kilometre or further from the next nearest free-to-use ATM or Post Office counter. LINK has also provided funding to allow local communities to request new free-to-use ATMs. The Payment Systems Regulator has used its powers to hold LINK to account over its commitments to preserve the broad geographic spread of ATMs.