Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to improve support for babies in their first 1001 days.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The government remains committed to improving health outcomes during the first 1001 days and early childhood.
At the Spending Review, we confirmed an additional £25.8m to increase the value of Healthy Start Vouchers to £4.25, in line with the recommendation of the National Food Strategy, to help combat child food poverty and give children the best start in life.
This year the public health grant to local authorities in England will increase to £3.324 billion in 2021/22, an increase of 1% in cash terms, enabling local authorities to invest in important public services such as child health visits.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including in the forthcoming spending review the financing of a Life Sciences Partnership Fund to secure funding for Breast Cancer Research for the next three years.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Medical research charities are an integral part of the United Kingdom’s world-leading life sciences sector and we welcome the interest of honourable members in this area. The government is monitoring the impact of Covid-19 on the work of medical research charities. To this effect, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the Department of Health and Social Care is closely liaising with the Association of Medical Research Charities, as well as individual charities, to understand the impact of the pandemic on this sector and identify how best the Government and charities can work together to ensure that patients continue benefiting from charity funded research. While it would not be appropriate to respond in detail at this stage of the Spending Review, I can assure you that the issues you’ve raised have been noted.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the merits of increasing funding for diabetes technology in the Spending Review.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
I recognise the major impact that diabetes has on society and would like to assure you that the Government is committed to continuing to improve diabetes care within the NHS.
While it would not be appropriate to respond in detail at this stage of the Spending Review, I can assure you that the issues you’ve raised have been noted.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a Real Time Information (RTI) cut-off date for 2018-19 for company directors who have a history of receiving part of their income through a salary paid annually, where the RTI is usually after 19 March in any given year.
Answered by Jesse Norman
For an employee to be eligible they must have been notified to HMRC on a real-time information (RTI) submission on or before 19 March 2020.
Those paid annually are eligible to claim, as long as they meet the relevant conditions including being notified to HMRC on an RTI submission on or before 19 March 2020, which relates to a payment of earnings in the 2019/20 tax year.
Anyone paid annually and notified on an RTI submission after that date will not be eligible for the scheme, which puts them in the same position as those who are paid more frequently and were not notified to HMRC on or before 19 March.
The 19 March date allows as many people as possible to be included by going right up to the day before the announcement and mitigates the risk of fraud that existed as soon as the scheme became public.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a grant scheme for solicitors firms which are ineligible for business rates relief and do not qualify for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme or Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. Solicitors firms may be eligible for the Discretionary Grant Scheme in England. This has made up to £617m of additional funding available to Local Authorities to enable them to make payments of up to £25,000 to businesses which have been excluded from the existing grants schemes. Local Authorities have received guidance regarding which kinds of businesses should be considered a priority. Local Authorities may also choose to pay grants to businesses according to local economic need, so long as businesses meet the following criteria:
Solicitors firms, along with other businesses, may also benefit from the other government support measures. The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, and how to apply -https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a part-time furlough scheme for veterinary practices during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Chancellor has announced that, from 1 July, employers can bring back to work employees who have been furloughed for any amount of time and any shift pattern, while still being able to claim the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) grant for the hours not worked.
There will not be a minimum furlough period, but employers will need to agree any flexible furlough arrangements with employees, and when claiming the CJRS grant will need to report and claim for a minimum period of a week.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a grant scheme for veterinary practices during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. Veterinary practices may be eligible for the Discretionary Grant Scheme in England. This has made up to £617m of additional funding available to Local Authorities to enable them to make payments of up to £25,000 to businesses which have been excluded from the existing grants schemes. Local Authorities have received guidance regarding which kinds of businesses should be considered a priority. Local Authorities may also choose to pay grants to businesses according to local economic need, so long as businesses meet the following criteria:
Veterinary practices, along with other businesses, may also benefit from a range of support measures introduced by the government. The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, when the schemes open and how to apply -https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of self-employed solicitors who exceed an average trading profit of £50,000 per year.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC’s Annual Personal Incomes Statistics series includes information on Self-employment income assessable to tax.
Table 3.9 shows there were 57,000 sources of self-employment in the “Legal & Accounting Activities” industry group where income was over £50,000 in the 2017-18 tax year. The Personal Incomes Statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-incomes-tables-31-to-311-316-and-317-for-the-tax-year-2017-to-2018
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending business rates relief to veterinary practices during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance for local authorities on eligible properties. A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday, has also been made available. For example, the Government has launched the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep people in employment, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank backed by an 80% Government guarantee, and is deferring VAT payments for this quarter. The Government will consider any further financial assistance necessary to help businesses get through this period.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a zero VAT rate for the provision of social care services.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Many care services provided by charities, public bodies and regulated private welfare institutions to elderly people are exempt from VAT, meaning no VAT is charged on the care service. Organisations offering such services are not required to charge VAT where they are regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
There are no plans to change the VAT treatment of such care services at present.