Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of making childcare costs tax deductible.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government already offers a range of support for parents to help with childcare costs. Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) provides financial support for working parents with their childcare costs. For every £8 parents pay into their childcare account, the Government adds £2 up to a maximum of £2,000 in top up per year for each child up to age 11 and up to £4,000 per disabled child until they are 17. All three-and-four-year-olds can access 15 hours of free childcare per week, and working parents of three-and four-year-olds can access an additional 15 hours of free childcare per week. .Some parents can also access the disadvantaged two-year-old offer, which provides 15 hours of free childcare per week to two-year-olds who meet certain social and economic criteria. Universal Credit claimants can claim up to 85% of their childcare costs.
The Government keeps childcare policy under regular review.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of section 24 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015 on (a) rental costs and (b) the supply of rental housing.
Answered by David Gauke
The government estimates that only 1 in 5 landlords will pay more tax as a result of this measure.
Given this, the government does not expect it to have a large impact on either rental costs or the supply of rental housing. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) also expect the impact on the housing market will be small and did not adjust their forecast for house prices.
Basic rate income tax relief will still be available on a landlord's finance costs, and when the restriction is introduced in April 2017, it will be phased in over 4 years, giving gives landlords time to adjust.
Asked by: Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of making changes to police pension regulations to equalise survivor benefits for people in same sex and heterosexual marriages.
Answered by David Gauke
In 2014, a review of Survivor Benefits in occupational pension schemes was conducted jointly by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Treasury (HMT) which considered the differences in benefits provided to widows, widowers and same-sex survivors. Details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/occupational-pension-schemes-review-of-survivor-benefits. A decision will be made in due course, and the outcome will apply to the police pension scheme.