Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the trivial commutation and small pots rules to enable more people to access their annuities as a lump sum.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The small pots and trivial commutation rules are permissive sets of tax rules which pre-date the pension freedoms reforms introduced in 2015. The rules may allow an individual to access their pension as a lump sum if they are at least 55 years old, or retiring at an earlier age because of ill-health, and the value of the payment does not exceed £10,000 for small pots, or £30,000 for trivial commutation. The rules limit what arrangements can be accessed in this way.
As the regulations are permissive, there is no obligation on providers to offer small pot lump sums to consumers. The Government has no plans at present to amend existing legislation to require insurers to commute annuities in payment.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy to replicate the Structural Fund payments to Wales after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Under the draft Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will continue to participate in all 2014-2020 EU programmes until they close. In the unlikely event this agreement is not ratified, the government’s guarantee for EU-funded programmes will instead apply.
In the longer term the government has committed to create a UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which we intend to consult on later this year. Following this consultation, decisions on future funding will be taken in the round at the 2019 Spending Review.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the sum accrued to the public purse from tax on the sale of energy drinks in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Energy drinks, that is drinks that are high in caffeine and/or other stimulants, will typically be standard rated for VAT. However, no data is available on how much VAT is raised on their sale as this level of detail is not requested on VAT returns.
Energy drinks are often also high in sugar. From April this year, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will take effect, which is forecast to raise nearly £1.5billion over the next five years. This levy directly targets the producers and importers of sugary soft drinks to encourage them to remove added sugar, promote diet drinks, and reduce portion sizes for high sugar drinks.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings his Department has held with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss the retirement income market since April 2015.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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 to discuss relevant regulatory issues, including the retirement income market.
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-giftsand-overseas-travel
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much tax revenue has been generated for the public purse from pension withdrawals in each financial year since April 2015.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
From April 2015, individuals aged 55 or over have had the option to flexibly access their pension.
The latest estimate of the tax revenue from the introduction of pensions flexibility was set out in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook in March 2017[1]. This stated, in paragraph A.23, that £1.5 billion of tax revenue was received from pension flexibility in 2015-16, and £1.1 billion is forecast to be received in 2016-17.
[1] http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/March2017EFO-231.pdf
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department has received on rent-to-own goods; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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 Government transferred the regulation of consumer credit to the FCA in 2014. The Government welcomes the ongoing work of the FCA to review the high-cost credit market, including the rent-to-own sector. The Chancellor will not be making a statement at this time.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on rent-to-own goods.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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 Government transferred the regulation of consumer credit to the FCA in 2014. The Government welcomes the ongoing work of the FCA to review the high-cost credit market, including the rent-to-own sector. The Chancellor will not be making a statement at this time.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Financial Conduct Authority's High-cost credit and review of the high-cost short-term credit price cap Feedback Statement, published on 31 July 2017, whether his Department has a definition for essential household goods.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The regulation of consumer credit including rent-to-own and high-cost short-term credit is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Financial services must work in the best interests of the consumers and businesses they serve, and the Government has given the FCA strong powers to protect consumers. The Government welcomes the ongoing work of the FCA to review the high-cost credit market, including the rent-to-own sector.
We have passed the Member of Parliament’s questions on to the FCA, who will reply directly to him by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the level of interest rates charged on rent-to-own goods.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The regulation of consumer credit including rent-to-own and high-cost short-term credit is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Financial services must work in the best interests of the consumers and businesses they serve, and the Government has given the FCA strong powers to protect consumers. The Government welcomes the ongoing work of the FCA to review the high-cost credit market, including the rent-to-own sector.
We have passed the Member of Parliament’s questions on to the FCA, who will reply directly to him by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of applying a price cap on rent-to-own goods.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The regulation of consumer credit including rent-to-own and high-cost short-term credit is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Financial services must work in the best interests of the consumers and businesses they serve, and the Government has given the FCA strong powers to protect consumers. The Government welcomes the ongoing work of the FCA to review the high-cost credit market, including the rent-to-own sector.
We have passed the Member of Parliament’s questions on to the FCA, who will reply directly to him by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.