Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the (a) decision to clawback adult skills funding and (b) potential effect of that matter on further education providers.
Answered by Steve Barclay
Treasury Ministers regularly meet with the Secretary of State for Education to discuss education funding.
I refer the honourable member to answers on this matter by Minister Keegan on 15 April 2021 and 20 April 2021.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that the job support scheme announced on 24 September 2020 will support early years' providers.
Answered by Steve Barclay
The Job Support Scheme will support businesses facing lower demand over the winter due to Covid-19, keeping their employees attached to the workforce.
The Job Support Scheme can be claimed by all employers with a UK bank account who use a PAYE, regardless of whether they made a previous claim under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
The government will confirm specific details around eligibility for the Job Support Scheme in guidance, which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria are used to decide whether to allow an appeal for a Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant application; how many SEISS applications have been allowed an appeal; and how many of those applications subsequently had their decisions reversed since that scheme was introduced.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The review process for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is a non-statutory process put in place by HMRC to provide additional protection to customers. There is no legal right of appeal against decisions made in relation to the SEISS, and there is also no legal provision for ‘reasonable excuse’ within the legal framework for SEISS.
HMRC have limited discretion in operating the SEISS and any exercise of this discretion must be rational and justifiable on the grounds of good management and administration. This discretion can only be used in exceptional circumstances. Such circumstances could include situations where HMRC have made an error which has affected an individual’s eligibility for, or amount of, a SEISS grant.
HMRC publish statistical information through structured Management Information and statistical releases on GOV.UK. They are currently working through the analysis they are able to provide based on the data available. HMRC will give an update in due course on the types of data available and timing for publication.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on amending the terms of the Lifetime ISA.
Answered by John Glen
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.
The government keeps all aspects of savings and tax policy under review as part of the process of policy development and delivery. The government has recently amended the terms of the Lifetime ISA to support savers during the COVID-19 pandemic. On 1 May 2020 the government announced that the Lifetime ISA withdrawal charge will be reduced temporarily to 20% from 25% for any unauthorised withdrawal made between 6 March 2020 and 5 April 2021 recouping the government bonus and any interest or growth that may have accrued on that bonus, but with no further charge.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on estimating the potential resource requirement for retraining people who are no longer employed as a result of the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will include investment in the adult skills budget in the next spending review.
Answered by Steve Barclay
The Chancellor has had various discussions with Cabinet colleagues on education and skills, including retraining.
Decisions on departmental budgets beyond 2020-21 will be made at the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2020 to Question 64246 on Self-employment Income Support Scheme: Maternity Leave, whether self-employed women who took maternity leave during the last three years will be entitled to the same amount under the Self Employed Income Support Scheme as they would had they not taken maternity leave during that period.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government has amended the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) eligibility conditions to support newly self-employed parents. This is an amendment to bring these individuals into eligibility for the scheme.
The grant for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme is calculated using an average of the self-employed individual’s trading profits and has been designed to even out fluctuations in earnings which self-employed people may experience for any number of reasons.