Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on compensation for infected blood scandal victims in the last 12 months.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
This was an appalling tragedy, and my thoughts remain with all those affected. The Government has accepted the moral case for compensation and justice must be delivered for the victims.
As such, the Government intends to respond in full to Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations for wider compensation following the publication of the Inquiry’s final report in May 2024.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of increasing landfill tax on the prevalence of waste crime.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Spring Budget 2024, the government announced that Landfill Tax rates in England and Northern Ireland will be adjusted from 1 April 2025. This will restore their value following a period of high inflation which was not foreseen by the OBR when rates were pre-announced.
The government remains committed to tackling waste crime which is a blight on local communities, harms the environment and undermines legitimate businesses operating in the sector.
The government agreed with the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation that the current ongoing review of Landfill Tax takes account of incentives to commit waste crime. Alongside this, DEFRA has announced the introduction of digital waste tracking from 2025 and reform of the licensing system, whilst multi-agency enforcement action through the Joint Unit for Waste Crime continues to disrupt criminal activity in the sector.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing support to people who held policies with the Philips Trust Corporation Limited.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Philips Trust Corporation was not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and was not carrying out any regulated activities. As such, any losses are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Consumers who have concerns about the role played by their bank or building society in relation to Philips Trust Corporation may be eligible to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Whether a particular complaint is eligible or not is a matter for the FOS.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take legislative steps to exempt members of the Local Government Pension Scheme from the proposed increase to the national minimum pension age in April 2028.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The normal minimum pension age is the lowest age at which the majority of members can take benefits from a registered pension scheme without incurring tax charges, except in cases of ill-health. It will increase from age 55 to age 57 in April 2028.
This change will not apply to members of the police, firefighters or armed forces public service schemes, nor to those whose scheme rules provide an unqualified right to take benefits before age 57. Members with these rights will have a protected pension age. Whether an individual has a protected pension age will depend on their pension scheme rules.
Although the Government keeps all tax rules under review, there are no plans to make any changes to this increase in the normal minimum pension age.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recommendations on shareholder rights in the interim report of the Digitisation Taskforce, published on 11 July 2023.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Digitisation Taskforce, chaired by Sir Douglas Flint, was launched by the Chancellor on 19 July 2022 to drive forward the modernisation of the UK’s shareholding framework. The Taskforce published its interim report in July 2023, setting out a number of potential recommendations and questions for industry to consider. Sir Douglas is engaging industry ahead of delivering the final report to Government. Once the final report is produced, the Government will make an assessment of the recommendations and set out its plans for actions it intends to take in response.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the effectiveness of existing regulations relating to debt collection agencies for (a) vulnerable people and (b) financially insecure people.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The independent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for the regulation of debt collection activity. Where debt collection firms take steps to recover debts that have arisen under consumer credit agreements, they are required to do so according to the FCA’s principles, rules and guidance.
In particular, firms are required to treat customers fairly and to have policies in place for the fair and appropriate treatment of vulnerable customers. Additional requirements apply in relation to the recovery of debt from customers with mental capacity limitations.
The FCA has published guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. In 2023-24, the FCA plans to evaluate the action firms have taken and whether we see improvements in the outcomes experienced by vulnerable consumers. The guidance can be found in the link below:
In addition, earlier this year the FCA wrote to all firms operating in this sector to set out their expectations of how firms should provide a higher standard of care to customers in the context of the Consumer Duty. The letter can be found in the link below:
https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/correspondence/consumer-duty-portfolio-letter-dpca.pdf
The Consumer Duty builds on the FCA’s guidance on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers – that sets out what firms should do to ensure that customers in vulnerable circumstances experience outcomes as good as those for other customers. Falling below the standard set out in that guidance is likely to be a breach of the Consumer Duty.
There are no plans either by the Government or the FCA to review legislation or existing FCA requirements in this area. But the FCA will continue to monitor the activities of debt collection firms, including the steps they have taken to ensure they are compliant with the Consumer Duty, in accordance with their usual supervisory processes.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the letter to his Department from the Rt hon. Member for North Durham of 17 November.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Your letter of 17 November 2022 was transferred to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on 28 November 2022 as it did not fall within the remit of HM Treasury.
HMRC issued a request for further business information on 29 November 2022, under reference XST/3134/2022, to enable the original correspondence to be investigated and replied to.
This request for further information was re-issued on 23 December 2022.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will issue guidance to pension providers on whether changes to the Protected Pension Age will allow an unqualified right to access tax-privileged pension savings at a younger age than the increase to NMPA from 2028.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Members of pension schemes which gave an unqualified right to access their pension benefits before age 57 will receive a protected pension age when the normal minimum pension age increases from 55 to 57 in April 2028. HMRC has published guidance on this protection regime in The Pensions Tax Manual.Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will raise the basic VAT taxable turnover threshold.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
To give businesses certainty, it was announced at Autumn Statement that the VAT registration threshold will remain at £85,000 for a further period of two years from 1 April 2024.
The UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD at £85,000. This keeps the majority of businesses out of VAT altogether.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is taking to steps to provide further cost of living support to those suffering from complex regional pain syndrome.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government understands that people across the UK and especially the most vulnerable members of society, such as those suffering from complex regional pain syndrome, are worried about the rising cost of living. That is why the Government is taking decisive action to get households through this winter and the next, while ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way.
Depending on their specific circumstances, it is possible that people with complex regional pain syndrome will qualify for disability benefits. People in receipt of extra-costs disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 from 20th September, to help with the extra costs disabled people are facing. The DWP has already processed around 6 million such payments.
The Government is also providing a £650 Cost of Living Payment to recipients of means-tested benefits, to support people with low incomes with the rising cost of living. Individuals in receipt of means-tested disability benefits, such as income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or the Universal Credit Health top up are eligible for this support.
Those suffering from complex regional pain syndrome can also benefit from other forms of non-means tested support which the Government is providing to assist with UK households’ energy bills.
The Energy Price Guarantee is a scheme that will cap the unit price households pay for electricity and gas, which means that a typical household in Great Britain will have to pay bills equivalent to no more than £2500 a year on their energy bills this winter.
- This will support people with a disability who may need to use more energy due to their condition or treatment.
Secondly, the Energy Bills Support Scheme, which will provide £400 to help with domestic energy bills. All households in Council Tax bands A-D will also receive the Government-funded £150 Council Tax Rebate, which will be delivered by Local Authorities.
Lastly, to support households who need further help or who are not eligible for elements of the wider package of support, the Government is also providing an extra £500 million of local support to help with the cost of essentials, via the Household Support Fund.