Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will adjust the assessment of average self-employed earnings in the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme to take into account periods of maternity leave.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme has been designed to deliver support as quickly and effectively as possible to millions of individuals. The Government recognises the challenges faced by those with periods of parental leave, and the existing averaging calculation does account for periods of reduced profits. The Government will continue to work with stakeholders to make sure the correct funding reaches those who need it most, keeping all policies under review while ensuring that any potential changes do not risk the wider delivery of Government schemes.Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will amend the Treasury Direction in relation to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to enable directors who have furloughed themselves to undertake action beyond filing accounts.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As noted in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme guidance, company directors are bound by the Companies Act 2006 to fulfil their statutory duties. The Government aims to ensure that salaried directors can be furloughed and supported through this scheme, while still being able to meet their statutory duties. The guidance is clear that furloughed directors should do no more work than would reasonably be judged necessary to meet their statutory requirements, and that they should not do work of a kind they would carry out in normal circumstances to generate commercial revenue or provide services to or on behalf of their company.
This scheme supplements the other significant support announced for UK businesses, including the Bounce Back Loans Scheme for small businesses, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the deferral of tax payments. More information about the full range of business support measures is available at www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the equity of means testing new applicants for universal credit against partner income and the absence of that requirement for applications for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit (UC) act as a safety net for people who need extra support. They assess families’ different sources of income, such as earnings and capital, including from a claimant’s partner, with the aim of ensuring that help which comes from taxpayers is targeted at those who need it most.
UC is not an alternative as such to the CJRS or the SEISS, as it supports low income people whether they are employed, self-employed, unemployed or furloughed. The eligibility rules for the different sources of support cannot be compared directly.
The CJRS is designed to help employers whose operations have been severely affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) to retain their employees and protect the UK economy.
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is based on Self Assessment tax returns. Since 1990, the UK's income tax system has been based on the principle of independent taxation. This provides that each individual is taxed on their personal income, has their own tax-free personal allowance, and set of tax thresholds. This fundamental principle provides everyone with absolute confidentiality for their personal tax affairs. It also means that it is not possible to take household income into account in the SEISS.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to enable HMRC to allow anyone with an existing time to pay agreement a three month suspension due to inability to work during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As announced by the Chancellor at Budget 2020, HMRC have scaled up their Time to Pay service, which is available to any taxpayer with outstanding tax liabilities and in temporary financial distress as a result of COVID-19. These arrangements are tailored to the taxpayer and can include deferment of tax payments and an agreed time period to repay.
Any taxpayer with an existing Time to Pay arrangement that finds their circumstances have changed as a result of COVID-19 should contact HMRC to discuss their situation. HMRC’s dedicated COVID-19 helpline can be reached on 0800 024 1222.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the £22 billion investment into R&D, announced in Budget 2020, he plans to allocate to dementia research.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government recognises the economic value of the life sciences sector, the great work of the public health service and the challenge that dementia poses for society.
At the 2020 Budget, the Government announced it would increase public investment in R&D to £22bn by 2024-25, the largest ever increase in support for R&D. This will support innovators and researchers in the UK in their work, including to address the great challenges facing our society such as healthy ageing and climate change.
Although most of this investment will be allocated at the Spending Review, the Budget provided additional funding to the National Institute for Health Research for research into preventable diseases. This will support work directed towards solving a range of major health challenges and support local authorities to grow their research capabilities.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Budget 2020, what proportion of the £22 billion investment in R&D he plans to allocate to (a) performing and (b) funding R&D.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is committed to supporting the UK’s leadership in science and innovation, and set out an ambition to increase economy-wide investment in R&D to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.
At the 2020 Budget, the Government announced that it would increase public investment in R&D to £22bn by 2024-25, the largest ever increase in support for R&D. This will support innovators and researchers across the UK to develop their brilliant ideas, cutting edge technologies and ground breaking research.
The majority of this uplift will be allocated at the Spending Review, including support for various R&D programmes. The Government will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of preferential tax treatment for companies that look after the mental health of employees in work; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government recognises the valuable work that many employers do in providing for the health of their staff. Keeping more people in work is good for the economy and reduces spending on out-of-work benefits, and potentially demand on the NHS. For employers, investing in employee health and wellbeing can lead to increased workforce productivity and help retain key talent in an organisation.
Improving people’s mental health and putting services on an equal footing with those for physical health remains a priority for this Government. Last year, the Government published a consultation on options to reduce ill health-related job loss. This consultation included potential incentives to encourage more employers to access occupational health services, driving earlier supportive employer action and encourage best practice. However, it also noted that there is limited evidence that making the tax treatment more generous is the most effective lever to incentivise more employers to start offering occupational health provision, if the initial cost is the main barrier for them.
The Government will use the evidence and views gathered during this consultation to develop its proposals further, considering an approach which offers the best value for money and is affordable in the context of the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the Treasury and the NHS working together to review the tax treatment of workplace occupational health services.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government recognises the valuable work that many employers do in providing for the health of their staff. Keeping more people in work is good for the economy and reduces spending on out-of-work benefits, and potentially demand on the NHS. For employers, investing in employee health and wellbeing can lead to increased workforce productivity and help retain key talent in an organisation.
Improving people’s mental health and putting services on an equal footing with those for physical health remains a priority for this Government. Last year, the Government published a consultation on options to reduce ill health-related job loss. This consultation included potential incentives to encourage more employers to access occupational health services, driving earlier supportive employer action and encourage best practice. However, it also noted that there is limited evidence that making the tax treatment more generous is the most effective lever to incentivise more employers to start offering occupational health provision, if the initial cost is the main barrier for them.
The Government will use the evidence and views gathered during this consultation to develop its proposals further, considering an approach which offers the best value for money and is affordable in the context of the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue accrued to the public purse from VAT on audiobooks in each of the last three years for which data is available.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The details that HM Revenue and Customs collects from taxpayers on their VAT returns are not specific enough to provide an estimate of VAT on audiobooks.
To minimise the administrative burden on businesses, they are only required to report the total VAT on all their taxable supplies of goods and services in the relevant period. It is therefore not possible to identify the types of supplies on which the VAT was charged.
Asked by: Lisa Cameron (Conservative - East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the IMF estimate that the closure of the East Kilbride HMRC centre will result in a loss of up to £30 million to the East Kilbride economy and more than 2,000 jobs.
Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
HMRC expects the vast majority of staff in East Kilbride to move with HMRC to the Glasgow Regional Centre when the transitional site, at Queensway House, closes in 2025-26 as referenced in UIN 181245.
HMRC has not undertaken an economic impact assessment of the closure of its office in East Kilbride, as it is an operational decision to move to regional centres in order to improve the efficiency and delivery of HMRC’s objectives. It expects the economic impact on East Kilbride to be limited as the majority of staff will still be employed by HMRC, in Glasgow, but will remain resident in or near East Kilbride.