Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was received in VAT receipts from the hospitality sector in each quarter since the temporary reduced VAT rate which applied to tourism and hospitality ended on 31 March 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The ‘hospitality’ sector broadly equates to the Sector Industrial Classification of ‘Accommodation and Food Service Activities’ which is divided between two subsectors:
A sector and sub-sector breakdown of VAT declarations data is published in HMRC’s on the GOV.UK website here Value Added Tax (VAT) annual statistics, which reflects the net liabilities from VAT returns.
Currently, the available data covers the period up to and including the financial year 2021-2022. The VAT annual statistics are usually published in the Winter and covers the period up to the last complete financial year. A sector breakdown of VAT data for the 2022-2023 financial year will be included in the next publication. In line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, releases of these statistics are pre-announced on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) financial regulators and (b) the Financial Conduct Authority are equipped to protect people against financial scams.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime. Tackling fraud requires a unified and co-ordinated response from government, regulators, law enforcement and the private sector to better protect the public and businesses from fraud.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires regulated financial services firms to maintain effective systems and controls to prevent the risk that they might be used to further financial crime. This includes controls to prevent fraud.
HM Treasury is taking action through legislation in the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which enables the Payment Systems Regulator to mandate banks to reimburse victims of authorised push payment scams. The Government expects that this legislation will result in more consistent and comprehensive reimbursement outcomes, ensuring victims are not left out of pocket through no fault of their own.
Fraud prevention is supported by wider work of the Payment Systems Regulator, including introducing Confirmation of Payee requirements on the banking sector. This allows customers to check whether the name of a payee’s account matches the name and account details provided by a payer.
The Government is also taking action to address fraudulent activity being hosted online through the Online Safety Bill. The Bill includes a new standalone duty requiring large internet firms to tackle fraudulent advertising, including of financial services.
In addition, the Home Office shortly intends to publish a new strategy to address the threat of fraud, working with government, regulators, law enforcement and the private sector.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is for the publication of responses to the consultation entitled Raising standards in tax advice: protecting customers claiming tax repayments, published on 22 June 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The consultation referred to ran for 12 weeks and closed on 14 September 2022. The Government will publish a response in due course.
Asked by: Naz Shah (Labour - Bradford West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2022, CP 751, published on 17 November 2022, whether the commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail will retain the same route as previously announced.
Answered by John Glen
The Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), published in November 2021, set out a £96 billion package to improve rail connections across the North and Midlands over the next 30 years.
Autumn Statement 2022 confirmed the Government’s commitment to delivering the Northern Powerhouse Rail core network, as set out in the IRP. This includes building 40 miles of new high-speed line between Warrington, Manchester and Yorkshire, and upgrading and electrifying the rest of the route between Liverpool and York, as well the existing line between Leeds and Bradford.
The IRP is the largest ever single Government investment in the rail network and is expected to start delivering benefits from as early as this decade.