Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the performance and effectiveness of (a) National Savings and Investments and (b) Atos in respect of tax-free childcare since that policy was launched in April 2017.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 16 October to the Hon Member for Arfon to PQ 105683.
Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the (a) system and (b) running costs of tax-free childcare; and whether that estimate exceeds the original budget for such childcare.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The forecast cost of developing the childcare service for Tax-Free Childcare is within the agreed budget for the Tax-Free Childcare programme, which is £357m through to 2021/22.
Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will postpone the deadline for closing childcare vouchers in April 2018 in the event that the Childcare Service IT system is not yet fully operational.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The forecast cost of developing the childcare service for Tax-Free Childcare is within the agreed budget for the Tax-Free Childcare programme, which is £357m through to 2021/22.
Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward proposals to protect families recovering from debt from internet enforcement action and other charges related to such debt.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The government has committed to exploring whether some form of “breathing space” would be a useful and viable addition to the current range of debt solutions available to consumers and creditors. Work is continuing on this review, and the government plans to provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of fraudulent self-employment on the UK economy.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The Government takes false self-employment seriously, and is committed to taking action where companies, to reduce their costs, force their staff down routes which deny them the employment rights and benefits that they are entitled to.
The Prime Minister has asked Matthew Taylor to lead an independent review to consider how employment practices need to change in order to keep pace with modern business models.