Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Bank of England introducing a dual interest rate policy with a lower rate for lending to green projects.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor most recently reaffirmed the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) remit at the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023.
The Government recognises the importance of not overly expanding the MPC’s remit to allow the MPC to focus on its primary objective of price stability, as it rightly has. It is for the MPC to judge how it can best support the Government’s economic objectives using its monetary policy tools, subject to achieving its primary objective of price stability.
The Government has taken world-leading action to green the financial system, and we remain fully committed to that work.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the potential impact of climate change on food price inflation.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK government has set ambitious carbon budgets and net zero targets to play our part in reducing emissions and the subsequent impact that climate change will have across the economy.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Bank of England’s progress on integrating (a) climate and (b) nature considerations into its operations.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The financial regulators’ primary focus must be to ensure the safety, soundness and integrity of the markets they regulate. While the government expects that the Bank will play a crucial role in supporting the achievement of the government’s net zero target, it is not their primary responsibility given many of the levers for change sit outside of financial services regulation.
However, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 introduced a new regulatory principle for the Financial Conduct Authority, Bank of England and Payment Systems Regulator to consider in their work. To further strengthen the UK’s regulatory regime relating to climate and the environment, the government has embedded the consideration of the UK’s climate and environmental targets across the full breadth of the regulators’ general functions on a statutory basis.
This regulatory principle seeks to cement the government’s long-term commitment to transform the economy in line with its target to reach net zero by 2050, and to make progress towards the government’s long-term environmental goals, by ensuring the regulators must have regard to the government’s commitment to achieve these targets when discharging their functions.
This principle does not create any specific requirements on firms. Rather, they are expected to inform the future work of the regulators.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of the changes to business rates announced in the Autumn Statement 2022 on Sheffield City Council revenues.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
At Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced a package of business rates support worth £13.6 billion over the next five years. This includes a freeze to the multiplier for 2023-24 and a Government funded Transitional Relief scheme to support businesses with increasing bills at the revaluation. The Government also announced further relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors and targeted support for small businesses.
All English Local Authorities will be fully compensated for the loss of income as a result of these business rates measures and will receive new burdens funding for administrative and IT costs.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield, Hallam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the approved mileage rates.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government sets the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) rates to minimise administrative burdens. The AMAP rates aim to reflect running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Depreciation is estimated to constitute the most significant proportion of the AMAP rates.
Employers are not required to use the AMAP rates. Instead, they can agree to reimburse the actual cost incurred, where individuals can provide evidence of the expenditure, without an Income Tax or National Insurance charge arising.
Alternatively, they can choose to pay a different mileage rate that is higher or lower than the AMAP rates. If an employee is paid less than the approved amount, they are allowed to claim Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) from HMRC. However, if the payment exceeds the relevant AMAP rate, and this results in a profit for the individual, they will be liable to pay Income Tax and National Insurance contributions on the difference.
As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rates under review and any changes are considered by the Chancellor.