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Written Question
Food: Wholesale Trade
Friday 19th June 2020

Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of implications for his policies of the conclusions of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors survey that (a) 50 per cent of businesses surveyed that have a turnover of £45 million or lower, are in danger of going into liquidation in the next three months to a year, (b) 70 per cent of respondents supply to schools, care homes, hospitals and (c) £270 million worth of public sector contracts are at risk; and if he will make a statement.

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. Local Authorities (LAs) can choose to make discretionary grants to businesses in supply chains, like wholesale distributors, if they feel there is a particular local economic need. The Government has allocated up to £617 million to LAs to enable them to give discretionary grants to businesses in this situation. LAs may choose to focus payments on those priority groups which are most relevant to their local areas or to businesses outside of these priority groups, so long as the business was trading on 11th March, and has not received any other cash grant funded by central Government.

Wholesale distributors can also benefit from other elements of the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the four government-backed loan schemes for firms of all sizes. 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.

On 11 May the Government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which sets out our plan for moving to the next phase of our response. The strategy sets out a cautious roadmap for easing existing measures in a safe and measured way. Our aim is that all non-essential retail will be able to reopen by 15 June if the Government’s five tests are met and they follow the COVID-19 secure guidelines. The roadmap will be kept constantly under review, and we will continue to work hard to support business and workers as the situation evolves. The Department for Transport is engaging with the haulage industry to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the sector.


Written Question
Food: Wholesale Trade
Friday 12th June 2020

Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the application of business rates relief to food and drink wholesalers.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government has provided enhanced support through business rates relief to businesses occupying properties used for retail, hospitality and leisure 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. As set out in the guidance, support is targeted at premises that are wholly or mainly being used as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues; for assembly and leisure; or as hotels, guest and boarding premises, and self-catering accommodation. It is for local authorities to determine eligibility for reliefs, having regard to guidance issued by the Government.

A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday, such as wholesalers, has also been made available.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles
Tuesday 30th October 2018

Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the merits of a potential role for the vehicle rental and leasing sector in increasing uptake of electric vehicles; and if he will bring forward the 2 per cent company car tax rate to April 2019 to help achieve that.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

The vehicle rental and leasing sector has an important role to play in helping to achieve the government’s ambition for the majority of new cars to be zero emission by 2040.

The vehicle tax system incentivises the uptake of cars with low CO2 emissions with favourable rates of Vehicle Excise Duty and company car tax.


Written Question
Company Cars: Taxation
Friday 25th May 2018

Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish the benefit-in-kind bands for after 2021.

Answered by Mel Stride - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

The government normally announces changes to the details of the banding for calculating the value of the benefit-in-kind for company cars three years in advance of implementation.


Written Question
Company Cars: Taxation
Thursday 24th May 2018

Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the benefit-in-kind surcharge for diesel has been increased from three per cent to four per cent; and what assessment he has made of the effect of this increase on leases which were agreed on the basis of a three per cent supplement.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

Road transport is responsible for 80% of nitrogen dioxide emissions in roadside tests. Even the latest diesel models produce, on average, six times more nitrogen oxide (NOx) in real-world tests compared to lab tests.

The diesel supplement for company car tax aims to encourage manufacturers to bring forward next-generation clean diesels sooner. Cars which meet the Real Driving Emissions Step 2 standard are not liable to pay the supplement.

Each year, 350,000 company car drivers replace their vehicle. This means that, within a few years, most affected drivers will have the opportunity to choose cleaner models.


Written Question
Instalment Credit
Monday 14th May 2018

Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on the effectiveness of affordability checks in place by rent-to-own lenders.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Treasury ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. This includes regular meetings with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to discuss relevant regulatory issues.

The FCA requires all consumer credit firms to conduct appropriate affordability checks, and in July 2017 it consulted on new rules and guidance on creditworthiness assessments, to clarify that firms must consider whether a customer can afford to repay without causing financial distress. A final policy statement is due later this year.

The FCA is also conducting a review of the high-cost credit market, including rent-to-own. The FCA will publish an update later this month


Written Question
Excise Duties: Fuels
Wednesday 12th July 2017

Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of how much will be raised for the public purse in fuel duty in each year to 2029-30.

Answered by Andrew Jones

According to the latest provisional statistics released by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), fuel duties raised £27.9bn in the 2016-17 tax year. Forecasts for fuel duty revenues in future years are provided by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in their ‘Economic and Fiscal Outlook’. For the latest fuel duty revenue forecast, please see Table 4.6 on page 104:

http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/efo/economic-fiscal-outlook-march-2017/

The OBR do not publish forecasts of tax receipts past the five-year ‘scorecard’ period (currently ending in 2021-22). However, in their 2014 ‘Fiscal Sustainability Report’ they did assess the sustainability of fuel duty revenues over a longer period. Please see Chapter 4 (page 123) of the report for more information:

http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/41298-OBR-accessible.pdf


Written Question
Fruit Juices: Sugar
Monday 9th May 2016

Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of fruit juice a drink must contain to be considered a pure fruit juice for the purposes of the sugar levy.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The levy will apply to soft drinks with added sugar. This will include any fruit or vegetable juice drinks that contain added sugar. Pure fruit and vegetable juices, and other juice drinks that do not have added sugar will not be liable.


Written Question
Farms: Tenants
Thursday 10th September 2015

Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will meet the Tenant Farmers' Association to discuss its proposals for taxation of agricultural land to encourage longer term farm business tenancies.

Answered by David Gauke

Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel


Written Question
Taxation: Land
Monday 13th July 2015

Asked by: Neil Parish (Conservative - Tiverton and Honiton)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the taxation of rural land and how that taxation effects decisions to let land on farm business tenancies.

Answered by David Gauke

The government understands the importance of the agricultural sector to the UK economy. The Government keeps all taxes under review.