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.
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.
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.
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