Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's announcement entitled Government sets out plan to make UK a global cryptoasset technology hub, published on 4 April 2022, what recent progress his Department has made on working with the Royal Mint to create a non-fungible token.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government can confirm that discussions with the Royal Mint on the creation of a non-fungible token are ongoing.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, (b) the Gambling Commission and (c) the Financial Conduct Authority on the regulation of crypto-based products and services.
Answered by Richard Fuller
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
The Cryptoasset Taskforce, comprising HM Treasury, the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), continues to monitor ongoing development in cryptoasset markets, and is taking forward a range of regulatory measures to mitigate market integrity risks, protect consumers and support innovation in the cryptoasset market.
Since January 2020, cryptoasset firms operating in the UK have been subject to the Money Laundering Regulations. To protect consumers, on 18 January 2022, the government set out its intention to legislate later this year to bring certain cryptoassets into financial promotion regulation. This would ensure that relevant cryptoasset promotions are held to the same high standards for fairness, clarity and accuracy that exist in the financial services industry. Additionally, on the 20 July, the government introduced the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which includes a measure allowing HM Treasury to bring stablecoins, where used as a means of payment, within the UK regulatory perimeter.
The government has committed to consult later this year on the broader regulation of cryptoassets.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department seeks references for candidates appointed to public positions which fall under the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All regulated public appointments are made in line with the process and principles set out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments and regulated by an independent Commissioner.
Due diligence inquiries are carried out, and references requested where appropriate during the recruitment process. Some of Treasury’s Public appointment roles are also subject to scrutiny by the Treasury Committee.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing business rates for live music venues.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
At Autumn Budget 2021, the Government announced a new temporary relief worth almost £1.7 billion for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses in England to support local high streets as they adapt and recover. Eligible properties, which will be confirmed in guidance shortly, will receive up to 50 per cent off their rates bill, subject to a £110,000 cash cap per business. This builds on over £16 billion of support already provided to these high street sectors during the pandemic.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the 5 per cent rate of VAT on ticket sales for a further three years.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July 2020 to support the cash flow and viability of around 150,000 businesses and protect over 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors. As announced at Spring Budget 2021, the Government has extended the temporary reduced 5 per cent rate of VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors. This relief ended on 30 September 2021. On 1 October 2021, a new reduced rate of 12.5 per cent was introduced to help ease affected businesses back to the standard rate. This new rate will end on 31 March 2022.
This relief has previously been costed at over £7 billion, but the latest forecast means it may now cost over £8 billion. Whilst all taxes are kept under review, there are no plans to extend this relief. The Government has been clear that this relief is a temporary measure designed to support the sectors that have been severely affected by COVID-19. It is appropriate that as restrictions are lifted and demand for goods and services in these sectors increases, the temporary tax reliefs are first reduced and then removed to rebuild and strengthen the public finances.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to businesses of the SME Brexit Support Fund.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The £20 million SME Brexit fund enables traders to access practical support, including training for new customs, rules of origin and VAT processes. It allows smaller businesses to apply for grants of up to £2,000 to help them adapt to new customs and tax rules when trading with the EU. Small and medium-sized enterprises can also use this money to seek professional advice in these areas.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2021 to Question 174736, on Members: Correspondence, how many of the 26,709 responses to written correspondence from Members of Parliament were responded to by (a) Ministers and (b) officials.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
It is not possible to provide the breakdown the Member has requested.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether small and medium sized enterprises trading in the music industry are eligible to apply for the SME Brexit Support Fund.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Small and medium-sized enterprises that were trading with the EU prior to 1 January are eligible for the SME Brexit Support Fund if they were only trading with the EU and therefore need to adjust to new customs, rules of origin, and VAT rules.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many items of written correspondence from Members of Parliament Treasury Ministers have (a) received and (b) replied to since April 1 2020.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Members of Parliament have written to HM Treasury 36,791 times between 1 April 2020 and 24 March 2021. This represents a sharp increase on 2019, whereby Members of Parliament wrote to HM Treasury 7,386 times.
Of the 36,791 pieces of written correspondence, 26,709 have been responded to and 6,584 have been transferred to other Government departments to answer. The remaining pieces of correspondence are ongoing or required no response.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on extending business rates relief into the 2021-22 financial year.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has invited representations from stakeholders on various aspects of the business rates system through the fundamental review of business rates.
This year, due to the direct adverse effects of COVID-19, the Government has provided an unprecedented business rates holiday for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties worth over £10 billion. The Government has also frozen the business rates multiplier for all businesses for 2021-22. Business rates are devolved in Wales, and so any reliefs are a matter for the Welsh Government.
The Budget will set out the next phase of the Government’s plans to tackle the virus, protect jobs and support business.