Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of current practice by French customs authorities requiring (a) UK Export Declaration documentation to be terminated on arrival of UK goods at their point of entry into France and (b) fresh Transit documentation to be initiated at that point of entry in order for UK goods to proceed through France to other destinations within the EU; for what reason goods imported from the EU to the UK require only EU Export Declaration documentation to proceed through the UK; how many EU countries apply this asymmetric arrangement to their trade with the UK; what estimate he has made of the competitive disadvantage to UK exporters of having to pay additional charges both to (i) obtain and (ii) terminate the extra documentation required for transiting through France to another EU destination; and for what reason that additional paperwork is required for the high proportion of UK exports to EU countries which are zero-tariff rated.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Customs formalities apply on both sides of the UK-EU border. This involves an export declaration in the country of dispatch and an import declaration in the country of destination. UK import controls are similar to those of the EU. However, recognising the impact of COVID-19 on businesses’ ability to prepare and following the announcement in February 2020 that the Government will implement full border controls on imports coming into GB from the EU, the UK Government has taken the decision to introduce new border controls in stages up until 1 July 2021. Until 30 June 2021 traders (or their intermediaries) can import non-controlled goods from the EU by making a declaration in their own records at the point the goods enter GB followed by a delayed supplementary declaration.
The Government also successfully negotiated the UK’s accession to the Convention on Common Transit. This procedure can facilitate border crossings and defer payment of import duties while the goods travel under it throughout the Common Transit Area. Goods moving under a transit declaration do not need to undertake import and export procedures at every border. Instead the goods are exported once in the country of dispatch before being declared into transit. The goods may then cross over multiple customs territories before arriving at their final destination. The goods then will only need to be imported once they reach their final destination. The transit procedure is not mandatory but may be particularly helpful if the goods are for an EU country other than the one in control of the border where they arrive.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the extent of the dependence of (a) NHS hospitals and (b) care homes on supplies provided by food and drink wholesalers; and if he will make it his policy to give (i) business rates relief backdated to the start of the covid-19 outbreak to such wholesalers in recognition of the importance of their support for the NHS and (ii) other financial assistance to such wholesalers in recognition that they cannot make full use of the furlough scheme on account of their role in supporting the NHS.
Answered by Jesse Norman
This year the Government has provided an unprecedented business rates holiday for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties due to the direct adverse effects of COVID-19, worth about £10 billion, and has frozen the business rates multiplier for all businesses for 2021-22.
The Government does not expect the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme (CJRS) to be widely used by public sector organisations. Where employers receive public funding for staff costs, and that funding is continuing, the Government expects employers to use that money to continue to pay staff in the usual fashion, and correspondingly not to furlough them through the CJRS. This also applies to non-public sector employers who receive public funding for staff costs. In a small number of cases, for example, where organisations are not primarily funded by the Government and whose staff cannot be redeployed to assist with the coronavirus response, the scheme may be appropriate for some staff.
There are various schemes that can provide support to specific firms such as wholesalers, including Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans, Bounce Back Loans, grants and VAT deferrals.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to ensure that mortgage lenders follow official guidance and look favourably on loan applications during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Chancellor and I are in regular discussions with mortgage lenders regarding the availability of competitive mortgage products on the market and to encourage lenders to assess applications for these products fairly considering the unprecedented circumstances.
Beyond these discussions, the assessment of mortgage loan applications are commercial decisions and the Government does not seek to intervene. When assessing loan applications, lenders consider several factors such as market conditions, the funding they possess and the applicant’s affordability.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the eligibility criteria for business rates relief.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Eligibility for business rates relief is set out in the guidance on GOV.UK. In line with previous Governments, discussions in Cabinet are not revealed publicly.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to include the Roadchef Employee Benefits scheme in the schedule of tax-exempt share ownership schemes as outlined in EDM 268 on Fair tax and employee share ownership.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The administration of the tax system is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs, who have indicated that they are in dialogue with the taxpayer. It would not be appropriate for Treasury ministers to become involved in the administration of the tax system in specific cases.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will takes steps to assist the 77 poorest countries to meet the (a) challenges and (b) effect of the covid-19 pandemic by (i) cancelling the bilateral debt payments already suspended for 2020 between those countries and the UK for 2020 and 2021, (ii) encouraging the (A) World Bank and (B) IMF to cancel such payments, (iii) discouraging other UK creditors not to initiate legal action against any of the 77 poorest countries that default on their 2020 and 2021 debt payments and (iv) initiating an international arrangement for the restructuring of the debts owed by those countries to render their future payments economically sustainable.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Chancellor joined his G20 counterparts to commit to a temporary suspension on debt service repayments from the 77 poorest countries under the debt service suspension initiative (DSSI). The DSSI extends to the end of the 2020, but the G20 will review the possibility for extension later this year, based on advice from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG).
At Budget, the Chancellor announced a leading contribution of up to £150m to the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust, which will provide the world’s poorest countries relief on IMF repayments. The WBG has made available significant amounts of new finance to help countries counter the effects of the pandemic, ensuring net positive financing flows to all DSSI eligible countries. For the poorest countries at high risk of debt distress, support from the World Bank’s International Development Association is provided on grant terms and does not add to debt vulnerabilities.
The Chancellor and his G20 counterparts called upon commercial creditors to participate in the DSSI on comparable terms to the official sector on a voluntary basis. It will be important that developing countries do not see their access to international capital markets become too costly or restricted as mobilising private finance will be essential for crisis recovery and long-term sustainable development.
The DSSI provides time to assess what further assistance for may be needed for these countries on a case-by-case basis. If debts do require restructuring, the UK will work with the Paris Club of official creditors, IMF, and WBG to support equitable debt reductions to long-term sustainable growth.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Sir Amyas Morse's Review of the Loan Charge, what estimate he has made of the the number of people now due for a repayment of Voluntary Restitution relating to payroll loan schemes covered by the 2019 Loan Charge; and of those cases how many (a) companies and individuals have already entered into insolvency and (b) individuals are known to have sold a property in order to pay the Voluntary Restitution which will now be repaid.
Answered by Jesse Norman
An estimated 1,000 individuals and 1,000 employers who have already settled their disguised remuneration liability will be due a repayment of voluntary restitution.
HMRC do not have estimates of the number who have entered insolvency or sold properties.
HMRC currently estimate that about £380m of voluntary restitution could be refunded to employers and individuals as a result of the change, with the vast majority estimated to be due to employers. The final value could depend on whether all eligible taxpayers claim their refund and whether, in line with the recommendation of the independent review accepted by the Government, refunds need to be reduced to prevent an unintended windfall, for example where an employer has enjoyed corporation tax relief on the voluntary restitution that they paid.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Sir Amyas Morse's Review of the Loan Charge, what estimate he has made of the (a) amount that HMRC will repay in Voluntary Restitutions in relation to payroll loan schemes covered by the 2019 Loan Charge already received, (b) number of employers that will receive a payment and (c) the value of the repayments received by employers.
Answered by Jesse Norman
An estimated 1,000 individuals and 1,000 employers who have already settled their disguised remuneration liability will be due a repayment of voluntary restitution.
HMRC do not have estimates of the number who have entered insolvency or sold properties.
HMRC currently estimate that about £380m of voluntary restitution could be refunded to employers and individuals as a result of the change, with the vast majority estimated to be due to employers. The final value could depend on whether all eligible taxpayers claim their refund and whether, in line with the recommendation of the independent review accepted by the Government, refunds need to be reduced to prevent an unintended windfall, for example where an employer has enjoyed corporation tax relief on the voluntary restitution that they paid.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the value of business rates relief allocated to UK supermarkets; whether supermarkets have experienced an (a) expansion or (b) contraction in retail revenue since the start of the covid-19 outbreak; and by what criteria are (i) supermarkets eligible and (ii) food and drink wholesalers not eligible for business rates relief.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has provided enhanced support through business rates relief worth almost £10billion to businesses occupying properties used for retail, hospitality and leisure that are accessible to visiting members of the public, given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.
Recent ONS figures show that, in the three months to May 2020, the volume of retail sales decreased by a record 12.8%, with declines across all stores except food and non-store retailing. The proportion spent online rose to the highest proportion on record in May 2020 at 33.4%.
A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday, such as food and drink wholesalers, has also been made available.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons business rates relief (a) has been granted to businesses in the hospitality sector and (b) has not been granted to food and drink wholesalers; what assessment has been made of the effect of this decision on the food and drink supplies of (i) hospitals and (ii) schools; and if he will discuss with Ministerial colleagues the applications of business rates relief to the food and drink wholesale sector.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has provided enhanced support through business rates relief worth almost £10billion to businesses occupying properties used for retail, hospitality and leisure that are accessible to visiting members of the public, given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.
Recent ONS figures show that, in the three months to May 2020, the volume of retail sales decreased by a record 12.8%, with declines across all stores except food and non-store retailing. The proportion spent online rose to the highest proportion on record in May 2020 at 33.4%.
A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday, such as food and drink wholesalers, has also been made available.