Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many SMEs applied for funding through the SME Brexit Support Fund before that fund’s closure on the 30 June 2021.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
As of 26 October 2021, 11,138 SMEs expressed an interest in applying for funding through the SME Brexit Support Fund, and 5088 grant offers were made.
There were 6050 applications that did not progress to the grant offer stage. This was for a variety of reasons, primarily that 4461 did not finalise their applications. The remaining 1589 applications were not offered grants as they did not meet the eligibility criteria.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a right to appeal for Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant decisions.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government announced at Budget 2021 that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue until September, with a fourth and a final fifth grant. This provides certainty to business as the economy reopens and means the SEISS will continue to be one of the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world.
There is no legal right to appeal either eligibility for a SEISS grant or the amount of the grant. These decisions are based on information from tax returns provided to HMRC by the self-employed. Anyone who believes that information is wrong can ask HMRC to review the position. If someone was eligible for earlier SEISS grants (SEISS 1-3) but has not been invited to claim the fourth grant, they can access the SEISS service to find out why they are considered ineligible for the fourth SEISS grant, and again can ask HMRC to review this decision
Individuals asking for a review need to tell HMRC the reason for the request and be prepared to provide evidence where necessary.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has undertaken an assessment of the (a) number of jobs that would be created by a freeport in Wales, (b) type of jobs that freeport would create and (c) other economic impacts of that freeport.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Freeports will be national hubs for international trade, innovation and commerce, regenerating communities across the UK by attracting new businesses, spreading jobs, investment and opportunity to towns and cities up and down the country.
We want to ensure that the whole of the UK can benefit, not just England. We are having ongoing discussions with the Welsh government to establish at least one Freeport in Wales as soon as possible.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has undertaken an economic impact assessment of establishing a freeport in Wales.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
There is significant interest from the port sector in Wales, the UK Government stands ready to continue discussions with the Welsh Government to ensure the economic and regeneration opportunities Freeports can bring to Wales can be fully realised.Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government in respect of Offshore Wind Leasing Round 4 in Wales.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
As manager of the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Crown Estate is responsible for the award of leases for new and existing offshore wind projects, including the current Round 4 exercise. The Crown Estate works independently of government under the mandate set out in the Crown Estate Act 1961.
The Crown Estate has committed to optimise the green energy potential of the nation’s world-class offshore resources in supporting the nation’s 2050 net zero ambition. On 8 February 2021, The Crown Estate announced six proposed new offshore wind projects, including one in the north Wales region. These will all now progress to environmental assessment known as a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA). These projects together represent just under 8 GW of potential new offshore wind capacity with the opportunity to deliver clean electricity for more than seven million homes and create employment opportunities across the country.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the equity of the correlation between the allocation of child benefits to individuals who share joint custody of a child and the costs that those individuals incur.
Answered by Jesse Norman
At present, the law provides for Child Benefit to be paid to one parent only. The parent who claims Child Benefit can voluntarily choose to pay an agreed proportion to the other parent. Where parents separate and both have care of their child, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) encourage them to agree who should claim Child Benefit. Where they cannot reach an agreement, the law allows HMRC to decide, at their discretion, who should receive the payment based on information from both parents, including the number of days the child lives with them, and the actual costs incurred by each of them on things such as clothing, food and accommodation.
Currently there are no plans to change the law to split payments of Child Benefit where parents have separated and share care of their children. The Government believes that directing payment to the person mainly responsible for the child best ensures that the money goes to the person most likely to bear the weight of everyday care and expenditure.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of backdating the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme to include March and April 2020.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has been, and continues to be, one of the most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world.
The SEISS is not intended to provide a month-by-month replacement of income. Due to the volatility of self-employed income and the lack of granular data that HMRC hold on self-employed trading profits, precise mapping of income replacement month by month is not possible. Instead, the SEISS provides a lump sum payment to support eligible self-employed individuals whose businesses have been affected by coronavirus.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allocating additional funding to the devolved Administrations to support wholesalers who are ineligible for Business Rates Relief.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The UK government has supported businesses across the UK through a range of schemes this year, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
As business rates is a devolved tax it is for the devolved administrations to determine reliefs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, the UK government has already guaranteed the devolved administrations an additional £16 billion of resource funding to provide support to people, businesses and public services this year. This comprises £8.2 billion for the Scottish Government, £5.0 billion for the Welsh Government and £2.8 billion for the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of current levels of funding to the devolved Administrations on their ability to administer Business Rates Relief to wholesalers.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The UK government has supported businesses across the UK through a range of schemes this year, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
As business rates is a devolved tax it is for the devolved administrations to determine reliefs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, the UK government has already guaranteed the devolved administrations an additional £16 billion of resource funding to provide support to people, businesses and public services this year. This comprises £8.2 billion for the Scottish Government, £5.0 billion for the Welsh Government and £2.8 billion for the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on the financial security of wholesalers in Wales of their ineligibility for Business Rates Relief.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The UK government has supported businesses across the UK through a range of schemes this year, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
As business rates is a devolved tax it is for the devolved administrations to determine reliefs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, the UK government has already guaranteed the devolved administrations an additional £16 billion of resource funding to provide support to people, businesses and public services this year. This comprises £8.2 billion for the Scottish Government, £5.0 billion for the Welsh Government and £2.8 billion for the Northern Ireland Executive.