Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the New Economics Foundation of 14 March 2022 that by April 2022, more than one in three households will have incomes below the minimum income standard.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government is committed to supporting all groups in society, including those on the lowest incomes. This is why we have put in place a strong welfare safety net that helps people who are facing hardship and are unable to support themselves financially – we are providing £240 billion of support through the welfare system, including £41 billion on Universal Credit and £105 billion through the State Pension.
In the long term, we know that the best strategy to sustainably reduce poverty and increase people’s incomes is to help them into work. That is why the government is investing more than £6 billion in DWP labour market support over the next three years to help people move into, and progress in work. This builds on the success of the Plan for Jobs, with over 2 million fewer people expected to be unemployed than previously thought. In addition to this, we have taken action to make work pay by cutting the Universal Credit taper rate from 63p to 55p, and increasing Universal Credit work allowances by £500 per year, as well as increasing the National Living Wage (NLW) by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour for workers aged 23 and over in April 2022 which will benefit more than 2 million workers.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the New Economics Foundation of 14 March 2022, that by April 2022, 5.2 million people will be living below the minimum income standard compared to prior to the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government is committed to supporting all groups in society, including those on the lowest incomes. This is why we have put in place a strong welfare safety net that helps people who are facing hardship and are unable to support themselves financially – we are providing £240 billion of support through the welfare system, including £41 billion on Universal Credit and £105 billion through the State Pension.
In the long term, we know that the best strategy to sustainably reduce poverty and increase people’s incomes is to help them into work. That is why the government is investing more than £6 billion in DWP labour market support over the next three years to help people move into, and progress in work. This builds on the success of the Plan for Jobs, with over 2 million fewer people expected to be unemployed than previously thought. In addition to this, we have taken action to make work pay by cutting the Universal Credit taper rate from 63p to 55p, and increasing Universal Credit work allowances by £500 per year, as well as increasing the National Living Wage (NLW) by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour for workers aged 23 and over in April 2022 which will benefit more than 2 million workers.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Resolution Foundation of 14 March 2022 that rising food and energy prices mean inflation could reach over ten per cent for the poorest decile of households in 2022.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government recognises the challenge that many are facing with the cost of living and is committed to supporting all groups in society, including those on the lowest incomes.
This is why the Government has announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. This includes a £200 discount on their energy bill this Autumn for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain, a £150 non-repayable rebate in Council Tax bills for all households in Bands A-D in England and a £144 million of discretionary funding for Local Authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the Council Tax rebate.
This is on top of existing support for households with the cost of energy bills, such as the Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment and the Cold Weather Payment. It also builds on the £500m Household Support Fund, which is helping vulnerable households with the cost of essentials such as food, clothing and utilities.
This is in addition to helping people get into work and progress through the Plan for Jobs, and increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential revenues available to the Exchequer through increasing corporation tax for North Sea oil and gas companies and energy transmission and distribution companies.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government does not typically provide assessments of changes to ring fence corporation tax, or corporation tax by sector, and does not propose doing so in this case.
The Government places additional taxes on the extraction of oil and gas, with companies engaged in the production of oil and gas on the UK Continental Shelf subject to headline tax rates on their profits that are currently more than double those paid by other businesses. To date, the sector has paid more than £375 billion in production taxes.
All taxes are kept under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of potential revenues available to the Exchequer through an increase in dividend taxation for North Sea oil and gas companies and energy transmission and distribution companies.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government does not typically provide assessments of changes to dividend tax by sector and does not propose doing so in this case.
The Government already places additional taxes on the extraction of oil and gas, with companies engaged in the production of oil and gas on the UK Continental Shelf subject to headline tax rates on their profits that are currently more than double those paid by other businesses. To date, the sector has paid more than £375 billion in production taxes.
The Government keeps all taxes under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to increase pay in real terms for public sector workers.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government recognises that public sector workers play a vital role in the running of our economy, and in delivering our world class public services.
Spending Review 2021 confirmed that public sector workers will see pay rises across the whole Spending Review period (22/23-24/25).
Pay for most frontline workforces - including nurses, teachers and armed forces - is set through an independent Pay Review Body process. Pay Review Bodies will consider a range of evidence when forming their recommendations, including the need to recruit and retain suitably able and qualified people; the financial circumstances of the country; the Government’s policies for improving public services; and the Government’s inflation target. They will consider the whole remuneration package of those working in the public sector when forming their recommendations, including substantially more generous pensions than are found in the private sector.
The Government will carefully consider all recommendations from the Pay Review Bodies once their final reports are submitted.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the average length of time it takes for lorries to pass through customs at the Port of Dover.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Recent estimates of the average length of time it takes for lorries to pass through customs at Dover have not been made. Short delays to freight movements have not been caused by new customs processes. The main causes were ship-fitting, which reduces capacity across the short straits, and higher than expected freight volumes. The Goods Vehicle Movement System and other customs systems are online and working as planned.
The Borders are flowing, we are continuing to monitor the situation closely, and are engaging with industry groups and local stakeholders in Kent.
We always act to preserve the flow, but we will not compromise on the security of the UK at the border. This includes fiscal security. HMRC continues to use a risk based, intelligence-led response to compliance issues working alongside Border Force.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much tax revenue was raised from the (a) Yorkshire and (b) London from (i) income earnings tax, (ii) tax on dividends, (iii) corporation tax and (iv) capital gains tax in each year since 2010.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC publishes statistics on income and tax by region for tax years from the year 2010-2011 onwards here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-and-tax-by-county-and-region-2010-to-2011
The Office for National Statistics publishes statistics on Corporation Tax by region for tax years from the year 2010 to 2011 onwards here:
HMRC publishes statistics on Capital Gains Tax by region for tax years from the year 2012- 2013 onwards in Table 5 here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/capital-gains-tax-statistics
Previous years are in the National Archives.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the number of people subject to Loan Charge repayments who have been made bankrupt.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
No estimate can be provided for the number of people who have fallen into debt or who have been declared bankrupt that are subject to the Loan Charge.
Where debts arise, HMRC are not always the only creditor. Some individuals are declared bankrupt as a result of a non-HMRC debt and some individuals may choose to enter insolvency themselves based on their overall financial position.
HMRC only ever considers insolvency as a last resort, and they encourage taxpayers to get in contact to agree the best way to settle their tax debts. To date, HMRC has not initiated insolvency proceedings against any taxpayer for a Loan Charge debt.
Anyone who is worried about being able to pay what they owe should contact HMRC, who may be able to agree an instalment arrangement based on the individuals’ financial circumstances, and there is no maximum length.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his latest estimate is of the number of people who will become bankrupt as a result of the Loan Charge.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
No estimate can be provided for the number of people who have fallen into debt or who have been declared bankrupt that are subject to the Loan Charge.
Where debts arise, HMRC are not always the only creditor. Some individuals are declared bankrupt as a result of a non-HMRC debt and some individuals may choose to enter insolvency themselves based on their overall financial position.
HMRC only ever considers insolvency as a last resort, and they encourage taxpayers to get in contact to agree the best way to settle their tax debts. To date, HMRC has not initiated insolvency proceedings against any taxpayer for a Loan Charge debt.
Anyone who is worried about being able to pay what they owe should contact HMRC, who may be able to agree an instalment arrangement based on the individuals’ financial circumstances, and there is no maximum length.