Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme to include self-employed company directors and homeworkers, in particular those working in the travel industry who are not eligible for current salary support schemes.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has supported 2.9 million people, paying over £25bn across all four SEISS grants. Together, the five SEISS grants combined will have provided individual claimants with support up to £36,570, making it one of the most generous self-employment income COVID support schemes in the world.
Company directors are not self-employed and so cannot qualify for the SEISS. They have access to the CJRS if they are paid a salary through PAYE and if they meet the eligibility criteria. Those paid annually have been and are still eligible to claim, as long as they meet the relevant conditions including being notified to HMRC on an RTI submission within the relevant cut-off dates.
In designing the SEISS, the Government’s priority was to get support to the greatest number of people but in a way that guards against fraud and abuse. That meant designing a system where HMRC can automatically match the data people provide in their applications with information already in the system to verify and pay out the claim.
The Government has explored a range of options and proposals to support company directors who pay themselves through dividends. However, HMRC do not have data – as it is not needed to administer the tax system – to identify them or verify how much grant they should be awarded. This would rely solely on self-certification and would thus open any scheme up to unacceptable levels of fraud and error by organised criminals and others who would seek to exploit these schemes.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of including wholesalers in the guidance for local authorities on the administration of the new Business Rates Relief Fund.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The government has announced a £1.5 billion pot of additional business rates relief for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that have not otherwise been eligible for existing reliefs. The statement by the Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government of 25 March 2021 explained the relief will be allocated to English local authorities based on the stock of properties in the area and the sector-specific economic impacts of COVID-19.
The devolved administrations will receive an additional £285 million through the Barnett formula as a result of this relief announcement. Wales will receive £90 million, Scotland £145 million and Northern Ireland £50 million. Business rates are devolved in Scotland and are therefore a matter for the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he we will meet with the Federation of Wholesale Distributors to discuss developing a business rates support system for businesses affected by the covid-19 outbreak outside the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The government has announced a £1.5 billion pot of additional business rates relief for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that have not otherwise been eligible for existing reliefs. The statement by the Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government of 25 March 2021 explained the relief will be allocated to English local authorities based on the stock of properties in the area and the sector-specific economic impacts of COVID-19.
The devolved administrations will receive an additional £285 million through the Barnett formula as a result of this relief announcement. Wales will receive £90 million, Scotland £145 million and Northern Ireland £50 million. Business rates are devolved in Scotland and are therefore a matter for the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to provide support for business rates to businesses outside the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors that have been affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The government has announced a £1.5 billion pot of additional business rates relief for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that have not otherwise been eligible for existing reliefs. The statement by the Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government of 25 March 2021 explained the relief will be allocated to English local authorities based on the stock of properties in the area and the sector-specific economic impacts of COVID-19.
The devolved administrations will receive an additional £285 million through the Barnett formula as a result of this relief announcement. Wales will receive £90 million, Scotland £145 million and Northern Ireland £50 million. Business rates are devolved in Scotland and are therefore a matter for the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential economic effect on the wholesale sector of the length of time taken to allocate funding under the new business rates relief fund.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The government has announced a £1.5 billion pot of additional business rates relief for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that have not otherwise been eligible for existing reliefs. The statement by the Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government of 25 March 2021 explained the relief will be allocated to English local authorities based on the stock of properties in the area and the sector-specific economic impacts of COVID-19.
The devolved administrations will receive an additional £285 million through the Barnett formula as a result of this relief announcement. Wales will receive £90 million, Scotland £145 million and Northern Ireland £50 million. Business rates are devolved in Scotland and are therefore a matter for the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reducing Vehicle Excise Duty for cars initially priced in excess of £40,000 that are being resold second-hand.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Petrol, diesel and hybrid cars with a list price when new exceeding £40,000 pay an additional Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) supplement for five years as well as paying the standard rate of VED, which means those who can afford the most expensive cars pay more than the standard rate imposed on other drivers. As around 88% of all new cars have a list price below £40,000, this was considered a suitable threshold for distinguishing the luxury end of the market.
With regard to used vehicles, whilst the sale price of these cars may be below £40,000, the additional supplement is based solely on the original list price, which provides a clear and easy to understand measure of a car’s value as published by manufacturers. As the additional supplement is only payable for five years, slightly older cars pay the supplement for a shorter period of time.
As with all taxes, VED remains under review and any changes are considered by the Chancellor.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish information on the revenue that has not accrued to the public purse as a result of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the travel sector.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government recognises the challenging circumstances facing the travel sector as a result of Covid-19, and firms experiencing difficulties can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor, including schemes to raise capital, flexibilities with tax bills and the extended furlough scheme.
As set out in the Covid-19 Impact Assessment last November, the Government cannot forecast with confidence the precise impact of specific changes to restrictions, including those on the travel sector, as this will depend on a broad range of factors which are, in many cases, difficult to estimate. The Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy and public finances, these are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the unprecedented fiscal support has caused significant but necessary increase in borrowing and debt. However, borrowing costs continue to be low, making the current costs of servicing this increase in debt affordable.
The Budget will set out the next phase of the plan to tackle the virus and protect jobs.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing an aviation recovery package.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Chancellor regularly discusses a wide range of matters related to economic recovery with Cabinet colleagues.
The Government recognises the challenging circumstances facing the aviation industry as a result of Covid-19 and firms experiencing difficulties can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor, including schemes to raise capital and flexibilities with tax bills. In addition to economy-wide measures such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the aerospace sector and its aviation customers are being supported with almost £11 billion made available through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility and grants for research and development. This includes £8bn of guarantees provided by UK Export Finance.
In addition, the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme launched on 29 January 2021 will provide support for eligible businesses, up to the equivalent of their business rates liabilities in the 2020/21 financial year, subject to certain conditions and a cap per claimant of £8m. This will help companies with their fixed costs and could unlock shareholder and lender support.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many letters were sent by HMRC to people affected by the Loan Charge, in December 2020.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC sent approximately 17,000 letters in December 2020 to people affected by the Loan Charge. The number of taxpayers receiving these letters will be lower, as some will have received more than one piece of correspondence.
In addition to these letters and since 30 September 2020, HMRC have continued settlement discussions with taxpayers eligible for the 2017 disguised remuneration settlement terms who were prevented from settling by 30 September 2020 for reasons beyond their control, such as recent hospitalisation.
HMRC continue to offer support to taxpayers where needed when dealing with their tax affairs.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2020 to Question 45620 on the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, if he will make it his policy to enable accountants to submit applications to the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme on behalf of their self-employed clients.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) was designed in order to make it deliverable quickly and to minimise the risk of fraud. Expanding the scope to include provision for accountants and other agents to make applications on behalf of their clients would have taken significantly longer to deliver, at a time when speed is a priority.
Self-employed people who are eligible for the SEISS were able to make claims from 13 May 2020, and by midnight 24 May 2020 about 2.3 million people had successfully claimed the SEISS. The claims process for the SEISS is easy and straightforward, with HMRC doing all of the calculations.