Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the covid-19 outbreak and the increased reliance on online services during that outbreak, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on the adequacy of Government funding for digital skills.
Answered by Steve Barclay
HMT and DCMS ministers meet frequently to cover a range of issues as part of the normal process of policy development and delivery.
The government recognises that new measures taken to protect against Covid-19 mean there will be an increased reliance on digital services. This is why the government is working with FutureDotNow, a coalition of companies and civil society organisations to improve digital skills and support remote working.
The government has also announced that vulnerable and disadvantaged children across England are to receive laptops, tablets and 4G routers to make remote education accessible.
Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on funding programmes to provide electronic equipment and connectivity for education and social use to vulnerable people.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
HMT and DCMS ministers meet frequently to cover a range of issues as part of the normal process of policy development and delivery.
The government is working to address issues faced by vulnerable people who may also be digitally excluded. For example:
- The government is currently working with FutureDotNow to support an industry-led campaign to provide devices to digitally excluded people to support better health and social care outcomes.
- The government has also worked with the UK’s major telecommunications providers to agree measures to support connectivity for vulnerable consumers.
- The government has also recently announced that vulnerable and disadvantaged children across England are to receive laptops, tablets and 4G routers to make remote education accessible. The government is additionally working with the major telecommunications providers to make it easier for families to access selected educational resources by temporarily exempting these sites from data charges.
Asked by: Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the contribution to the public purse of the apprenticeship levy since its introduction.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Monthly receipts data for the Apprenticeship Levy is published by HM Revenue & Customs in their Tax & NIC Receipts publication which can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk
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 make an assessment of the effect of the two child tax credit limit on kinship carers who are already raising two children.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The government is committed to making the welfare system fair for those who pay for it as well as those who benefit from it. Families in receipt of welfare payments should face the same financial decisions as families supporting themselves solely through work. However, in recognition that some claimants are not able to make choices about the number of children in their family, the government has provided exceptions for certain groups, including in cases of kinship care.
Data on the exceptions will be published at a future date following quality assurance.
As with all our policies, the government will continue to keep this policy under review.
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 remove the two child tax credit limit for kinship carers who are unable to claim child tax credit for any child to whom they give birth.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The government is committed to making the welfare system fair for those who pay for it as well as those who benefit from it. Families in receipt of welfare payments should face the same financial decisions as families supporting themselves solely through work. However, in recognition that some claimants are not able to make choices about the number of children in their family, the government has provided exceptions for certain groups, including in cases of kinship care.
Data on the exceptions will be published at a future date following quality assurance.
As with all our policies, the government will continue to keep this policy under review.
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.