Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 5.27 of Budget 2018, how much of the £160 million allocated in 2019-20 for counter-terrorism policing will be spent on counter-terrorism in Scotland.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Counter-terrorism policing in Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government will receive Barnett consequentials on the increase to counter terrorism policing in England and Wales in the usual way. We do not provide regional breakdowns of counter-terrorism funding for national security reasons.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Royal Bank of Scotland on branch closures throughout England and Wales.
Answered by John Glen
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, including RBS, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel.
RBS Group retains its own board which is responsible for commercial and operational decisions, including in relation to its branch network. The Government’s shareholding in RBS Group is managed at arm's length and on a commercial basis through UK Financial Investments Ltd, a company which is wholly owned by the Government.
The decision to open or close branches is a commercial matter, and Government does not intervene in those decisions. However, the impact of closures on communities must be understood, considered and mitigated, where possible.
Government supports the industry’s Access to Banking Standard, launched in May 2017, which commits banks to ensure personal and business customers are better informed about branch closures and the reasons for them closing, along with the options they have locally to continue to access banking services. The Access to Banking Standard is monitored and enforced by the independent Lending Standards Board.
Government also supports the Post Office’s banking framework agreement which enables 99% of personal and 95% of banks’ business customers to conduct their everyday banking services at a Post Office counter via its network of 11,600 branches. In March, in response to my request, the Post Office and UK Finance committed to joint work to raise public awareness of the banking services available at the Post Office for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Royal Bank of Scotland on reductions in mobile banking services in Scotland.
Answered by John Glen
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, including RBS, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
RBS Group retains its own board which is responsible for commercial and operational decisions, including in relation to its branch network. The Government’s shareholding in RBS Group is managed at arm's length and on a commercial basis through UK Financial Investments Ltd, a company which is wholly owned by the Government.
How banks choose to provide their services is a commercial matter, and the Government does not intervene in those decisions. However, the impact of closures on communities must be understood, considered and mitigated, where possible.
Government supports the industry’s Access to Banking Standard, launched in May 2017, which commits banks to ensure personal and business customers are better informed about branch closures and the reasons for them closing, along with the options they have locally to continue to access banking services. The Access to Banking Standard is monitored and enforced by the independent Lending Standards Board.
Government also supports the Post Office’s banking framework agreement which enables 99% of personal and 95% of banks’ business customers to conduct their everyday banking services at a Post Office counter via its network of 11,600 branches. In March, in response to my request, the Post Office and UK Finance committed to joint work to raise public awareness of the banking services available at the Post Office for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal Bank of Scotland on branch closures in Scotland.
Answered by John Glen
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, including RBS, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
RBS Group retains its own board which is responsible for commercial and operational decisions, including in relation to its branch network. The Government’s shareholding in RBS Group is managed at arm's length and on a commercial basis through UK Financial Investments Ltd, a company which is wholly owned by the Government.
How banks choose to provide their services is a commercial matter, and the Government does not intervene in those decisions. However, the impact of closures on communities must be understood, considered and mitigated, where possible.
Government supports the industry’s Access to Banking Standard, launched in May 2017, which commits banks to ensure personal and business customers are better informed about branch closures and the reasons for them closing, along with the options they have locally to continue to access banking services. The Access to Banking Standard is monitored and enforced by the independent Lending Standards Board.
Government also supports the Post Office’s banking framework agreement which enables 99% of personal and 95% of banks’ business customers to conduct their everyday banking services at a Post Office counter via its network of 11,600 branches. In March, in response to my request, the Post Office and UK Finance committed to joint work to raise public awareness of the banking services available at the Post Office for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people who were not contacted directly about the introduction of the high income child benefit charge in 2012.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) wrote to around 800,000 families affected by the introduction of the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) in the autumn of 2012, covering the majority of those affected. HMRC also wrote to two million PAYE-only higher rate taxpayers in the summer of 2013 and included a reminder about the need to register for Self Assessment to declare Child Benefit payments. This ensured that as many affected families as possible were aware of what they needed to do in relation to the charge.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average (a) annual and (b) total amount people have been required to repay after failing to register for a self-assessment for the high income child benefit charge.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) was introduced in January 2013. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) took considerable steps to raise awareness and ran extensive communications campaigns when the tax charge was introduced. This included writing to around 800,000 families affected by the charge when it was launched. HMRC also ran a high profile advertising and media campaign over summer 2013 to prompt those who did not stop their payments to register for Self-Assessment in order to declare and pay the charge.
HMRC continues to make information on the HICBC widely available, and include it in the packs for new parents telling them how to claim Child Benefit. HMRC also give guidance online on Gov.uk.
Individuals who are not in Self-Assessment and are liable for the charge should tell HMRC they are chargeable within 6 months of the end of the tax year. If they do not notify HMRC within 6 months, they should contact HMRC at the earliest opportunity. A penalty may be charged where someone fails to notify HMRC on time. For those who do not, HMRC uses existing compliance processes and penalties.
The rules on interest charged for late payment of the HICBC are the same as those applied to other taxes and duties. Interest is charged from the due and payable date of the tax.
HMRC charges interest on penalties for failure to notify liability to tax which are being appealed against. HMRC charges interest where the penalty is paid late and will pay interest to the individual if the penalty is reduced or withdrawn.
HMRC Call Centre staff have been provided with guidance on HICBC since HICBC was introduced. All call centre guidance is reviewed and updated regularly.
HMRC do not have data on the number of taxpayers who have failed to tell HMRC about their liability for HICBC, or the total number who have been required to register for SA each year since the charge was introduced.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to advise taxpayers with high incomes of the high income child benefit charge since 2012.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) was introduced in January 2013. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) took considerable steps to raise awareness and ran extensive communications campaigns when the tax charge was introduced. This included writing to around 800,000 families affected by the charge when it was launched. HMRC also ran a high profile advertising and media campaign over summer 2013 to prompt those who did not stop their payments to register for Self-Assessment in order to declare and pay the charge.
HMRC continues to make information on the HICBC widely available, and include it in the packs for new parents telling them how to claim Child Benefit. HMRC also give guidance online on Gov.uk.
Individuals who are not in Self-Assessment and are liable for the charge should tell HMRC they are chargeable within 6 months of the end of the tax year. If they do not notify HMRC within 6 months, they should contact HMRC at the earliest opportunity. A penalty may be charged where someone fails to notify HMRC on time. For those who do not, HMRC uses existing compliance processes and penalties.
The rules on interest charged for late payment of the HICBC are the same as those applied to other taxes and duties. Interest is charged from the due and payable date of the tax.
HMRC charges interest on penalties for failure to notify liability to tax which are being appealed against. HMRC charges interest where the penalty is paid late and will pay interest to the individual if the penalty is reduced or withdrawn.
HMRC Call Centre staff have been provided with guidance on HICBC since HICBC was introduced. All call centre guidance is reviewed and updated regularly.
HMRC do not have data on the number of taxpayers who have failed to tell HMRC about their liability for HICBC, or the total number who have been required to register for SA each year since the charge was introduced.