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Written Question
Scotland Office: Public Expenditure
Monday 21st December 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the planned budget is of the (a) Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, (b) Union Unit and (c) Union Taskforce for 2021-22.

Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The planned budget of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and Office of the Advocate General for 2021-22 is £11.43m.

There is no information available on any specific business unit as HM Treasury does not make decisions on individual business areas within Departments.


Written Question
Social Services: VAT
Wednesday 3rd June 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will assess the potential merits of zero-rated social care services for VAT purposes to allow regulated social care companies to reclaim VAT on expenses.

Answered by Jesse Norman

While all taxes are kept under review, there are currently no plans to change the VAT treatment of social care services.
Written Question
Protective Clothing: VAT
Wednesday 3rd June 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of backdating VAT status for social care services with increased personal and protective equipment costs as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government has taken extraordinary action in introducing the new temporary zero rate on Personal Protective Equipment. This helps all consumers of such equipment, but especially social care providers who cannot recover VAT on this cost.


Written Question
Self-employment Income Support Scheme: Maternity Leave
Thursday 21st May 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide financial support to self-employed mothers whose average earnings will be less as a result of taking maternity leave during the timeframe for eligibility for accessing the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

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 understands the challenges faced by those with periods of maternity leave and the existing averaging calculation takes account of periods of reduced profits. The Government will continue to work with stakeholders to make sure 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.
Written Question
Employment: Coronavirus
Friday 15th May 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide support for (a) PAYE zero hour contract workers, (b) casual workers and (c) seasonal workers who cannot access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is open to employees on any type of employment contract, including full-time, part-time, agency, fixed-term, flexible or zero hour contracts. As well as employees, other workers may also be eligible if they are paid via PAYE. To be eligible for the CJRS, employees must have been on their employer’s PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 and HMRC must have received an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19 March 2020. Full guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.

Those not eligible for the scheme may have access to other support which the Government is providing, including a package of temporary welfare measures and up to three months’ mortgage payment holidays for those who may be in difficulty with mortgage payments.


Written Question
Maternity Pay: Coronavirus
Wednesday 13th May 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending maternity pay for people affected by the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The Government has committed to a targeted, multi-billion-pound package of unprecedented support for individuals, families and businesses affected by the virus, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

We have taken steps to ensure that furloughed workers who are planning on taking family-related leave, including Maternity Leave, on or after 25 April, will be entitled to pay based on their usual earnings rather than their furloughed pay rate. In addition, where employers ‘top-up’ statutory pay on a contractual basis, they will be able to claim for these payments through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for furloughed workers.

The Government has prioritised measures which are targeted towards the most vulnerable and can be delivered safely and swiftly. The UK has one of the most generous periods of Maternity Leave in the world; mothers can already choose to take up to 12 months leave, 39 weeks of which are paid. Therefore the Government currently has no further plans to extend family-related leave and pay.


Written Question
Personal Income
Monday 11th May 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he had made of the potential merits of introducing a universal basic income before announcing the covid-19 financial support schemes that are now in place.

Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I refer the Honourable Member to my written answer to Parliamentary Question 38615 that was given on 28 April 2020 www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-04-21/38615/


Written Question
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Monday 11th May 2020

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether historical (a) PAYE and tax references, (b) contracts of employment, (c) (i) notice and (ii) acceptance letters are adequate proof of employment status for acceptance on to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Answered by Jesse Norman

In March, the Government announced the unprecedented Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep millions of people in employment. HMRC have developed and delivered the scheme at record speed, and it opened for claims on 20 April, just one month after it was announced.

Employers can claim for furloughed employees who were employed on 19 March and on their PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020. This means that an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee must have been made on or before 19 March 2020.

The scheme has been set up to operate at significant scale and with limited manual intervention. The Government has prioritised helping the greatest number of people as quickly as possible, and this approach achieves that, balancing it against the risk of fraud that exists as soon as the scheme became public.

Those not eligible for the scheme may have access to other support Government is providing, including a package of temporary welfare measures and up to three months’ mortgage payment holidays for those in difficulty with mortgage payments.


Written Question
Government Departments: Procurement
Thursday 5th May 2016

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which (a) PFI contracts and (b) other large contracts between the Government and private bodies have been renegotiated since May 2010.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

There are over 700 operational PFI contracts across the UK, the large majority of which are managed and operated by local authorities, NHS trusts and the devolved governments. There is no requirement for any contracting authority to notify HM Treasury of contract renegotiations and, as a result, we do not hold the information requested.


Written Question
Treasury: Institute for Fiscal Studies
Thursday 25th June 2015

Asked by: Mhairi Black (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department made any payments to the Institute of Fiscal Studies in each of the last five years.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

I can confirm that during the last five financial years from 2010-11 to 2014-15 that the department has not made any payments to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.