Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many spouses of deceased armed forces personnel have been taxed on their Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments in each of the last five years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
There are several types of support available to spouses of deceased armed forces personnel through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. The tax treatment depends on the type of support.
The Government has published statistics on claims and awards made under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme which can be found in the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) annual bulletin published 6 July 2023. However, the Government does not collect the data on how many spouses have been taxed on payments made through the ACFS because the tax position depends on the individual’s circumstances.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will use the Spring Budget to announce an increase in Approved Mileage Allowance Payments.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle.
AMAPs are intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Fuel is therefore only one component.
The AMAP rate is advisory and employers can choose to pay more or less than the advisory rate. It is therefore ultimately up to employers, including public sector organisations, to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees. Employees who receive less than the AMAP rate can claim tax relief on the difference. Employees who receive more will be taxed on the difference.
Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of increased borrowing costs on capital expenditure projects in (a) local government and (b) other public services.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The government will need to take difficult decisions on both spending and on tax in order to place the public finances on a sustainable footing. We have already reversed a number of tax reforms in order to ensure the country’s economic stability and show our commitment to sound public finances.
While no government can eliminate market volatility and its implications for the cost of borrowing, we can give certainty of our plans for the public finances. The government will publish our full Medium-Term Fiscal Plan on 31 October, accompanied by an independent Office for Budget Responsibility economic and fiscal forecast. The Fiscal Plan will set out the government’s responsible fiscal approach fully, including how we will reduce debt as a percentage of GDP over the medium term.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to provide cost of living support to people who rely on oil for heating.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government recognises the challenges facing households who rely on heating oil. We are committed to ensuring these households will be no worse off than an equivalent domestic gas household under the Energy Price Guarantee.
Where households are not able to receive support for their heating costs through the Energy Price Guarantee, the Government will provide an additional payment of £100 to compensate for the rising costs of heating oil. This is in addition to the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme, which will be paid, in Great Britain, in 6 monthly instalments from October. Households in Northern Ireland will also receive a £400 discount on bills through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
This support reflects the different underlying wholesale prices, with natural gas particularly affected by Russia’s actions. The Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy will keep the relative costs under close review, and we will continue to work with the sector closely.
Households who are connected to the electricity network but who use fuels other than gas, such as heating oil, will still receive support through the Energy Price Guarantee and Energy Bills Support Scheme for their electricity costs.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government will match the support provided by the Scottish Child Payment on a UK-wide basis.
Answered by Richard Fuller
Over 7 million families across the UK already receive Child Benefit payments, at flat rates of £21.80 weekly for first children, and £14.45 for each additional child. Child Benefit ensures families receive predictable, consistent support for the additional costs they face in raising a child. Support for children from low-income households is also provided through the child element of Universal Credit.
The Government does not intend to replicate the support provided by the Scottish Child Payment on a UK-wide basis. This is because we have already taken decisive action to support families through this Winter.
The Energy Price Guarantee will cap the unit price households pay for electricity and gas, which means that a typical household in Great Britain will have to pay bills equivalent to no more than £2500 a year on their energy bills this winter.
This is in addition to the £400 discount through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. Further support is provided to families to help with current pressures including a one-off £650 Cost of Living Payment for those on means-tested benefits and additional help with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund in England.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of basing High Income Child Benefit Tax Charge on household than individual income.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The High Income Child Benefit Charge is calculated on an individual rather than a household basis, in line with other tax policy. Basing HICBC on household income would mean finding out the incomes of everyone in all of the 7.8m households currently registered for Child Benefit.
This would be costly to the Government and burdensome for the majority of claimants who currently do not need to provide information to HM Revenue and Customs. The current approach only requires a small number of claimants to complete a self-assessment, while leaving the majority of claimants unaffected.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will carry out regular assessments of (a) the adequacy of how the ATM network is funded and (b) the impact of the levels of funding of the ATM network on free access to cash.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises that cash will remain an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK for many more years.
Decisions regarding the operation and funding arrangements of the ATM network are taken by LINK (the scheme that runs the UK's largest ATM network). LINK has commitments to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs and is held to account against these commitments by the Payment Systems Regulator. LINK has committed to protect free-to-use ATMs more than one kilometre away from the next nearest free ATM or Post Office, and free access to cash on high streets (where there is a cluster of five or more retailers) that do not have a free-to-use ATM or a Post Office counter within one kilometre.
The Government has introduced legislation to protect access to cash as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill. The Bill will establish the Financial Conduct Authority as the lead regulator for cash access and provide it with appropriate powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities. The powers provided to the FCA will allow it to determine standards to ensure reasonable access, reflecting factors such as cost for end users.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide backdated support for businesses struggling with high energy bills.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We recognise that many businesses are exposed to increased energy costs, driven by global factors.
On 8 September the Government announced a new six-month scheme for businesses and other non-domestic energy users (including charities and public sector organisations like schools). This is a temporary, time-limited measure that will protect them from soaring energy costs and provide them with the certainty they need to plan through the acute crisis this winter. It will provide them with the time they need to transition and adjust their business models accordingly.
More specific details will be announced shortly and we expect the scheme to be up and running this Autumn.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle.
AMAPs are intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Fuel is therefore only one component.
The AMAP rate is advisory and employers can choose to pay more or less than the advisory rate – it is therefore ultimately up to employers to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees. Employees who receive less than the AMAP rate can claim tax relief on the difference. Employees who receive more will be taxed on the difference.
Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government will adopt the NHS Agenda for Change mileage reimbursement rates.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle.
AMAPs are intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Fuel is therefore only one component.
The AMAP rate is advisory and employers can choose to pay more or less than the advisory rate – it is therefore ultimately up to employers to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees. Employees who receive less than the AMAP rate can claim tax relief on the difference. Employees who receive more will be taxed on the difference.
Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review.