Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department consulted relevant stakeholders on the closure of HMRC's self-assessment helpline between 12 June and 4 September 2023 prior to the announcement of that closure; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of that closure on customers that are not able to access HMRC's digital support services during that period.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The summer quarter is the quietest for Self-Assessment (SA) queries. HMRC piloted the temporary and time-limited closure of the SA helpline so that c.350 advisers could be moved to other work, including clearing post items, which experience heavier demand at this time of year.
The SA helpline reopened on 4 September, five months prior to the SA filing deadline of 31 January.
Around two-thirds of all Self-Assessment calls can be resolved online by customers; piloting a seasonal Self-Assessment helpline is about positively encouraging people to use these services when they can.
The intention of the pilot was to evaluate the impact of freeing up HMRC advisors to help those with urgent or complex queries or who cannot access digital services, and to work on correspondence.
HMRC will evaluate the impact of the pilot and gather feedback from customers and external bodies as a part of the evaluation.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 8 February 2023 and 24 March 2023 from the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran on money laundering regulations.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I would like to reassure the hon. Member that her letter is receiving urgent attention and will be responded to imminently.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the fuel duty rate of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil for heating to match that of kerosene heating oil.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is a form of renewable diesel and therefore benefits from the rebated duty rate of 10.18 pence per litre (ppl) when used for domestic heating. Kerosene is fully rebated. In contrast, the fuel duty rate for road diesel and petrol is 52.95 ppl.
Concerning the Government’s position on HVO’s potential as a heating fuel, the Government's biomass policy statement of November 2021 set out that deployment of biofuels, such as HVO for off-gas-grid heating, will be limited by constraints on the global availability of sustainable biomass feedstocks, and potential alternative uses to decarbonise other sectors of the economy. Low temperature heat pumps offer a scalable way of decarbonising heating. However, the Government recognises that biofuels such as bioLPG and HVO may play a role in future off-gas-grid decarbonisation, particularly for properties that are not suitable for a heat pump.
The forthcoming Biomass Strategy will review the amount of sustainable biomass available to the UK, including liquid biofuels such as HVO, and how this could be best used across the economy to achieve our net zero target.
As with all taxes, the Government keeps the tax treatment of HVO under review.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to raise the High Income Child Benefit Charge threshold.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to managing the public finances in a disciplined and responsible way.
The Adjusted Net Income threshold of £50,000 for the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) means that the Government continues to support the majority of Child Benefit claimants, whilst ensuring that the fiscal position remains sustainable. The Government therefore considers that the current threshold remains appropriate.
However, as with all elements of tax policy, the Government keeps this under review.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to further review the annual allowance tax charge for those in receipt of a pension in (a) the aviation sector and (b) other sectors experiencing skill shortages in order to ensure that highly skilled workers are retained in those sectors.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Pensions tax relief is one of the most expensive reliefs in the personal tax system. In 2020/21 Income Tax and employer National Insurance Contributions relief cost £67.3 billion. The annual and lifetime allowances help to ensure that the highest earning pension savers do not receive a disproportionate benefit. 99 per cent of pension savers make annual contributions below £40,000, the level of standard annual allowance.
All aspects of the tax system are kept under review as part of the annual Budget process, and in the context of the wider public finances.
We are fully committed to supporting the aviation industry as it is vital to our future as a global trading nation as well as playing an important role in local economies. In May 2022, the Government published Flightpath to the Future - our strategic framework for the sector to build back better, make UK aviation cleaner, greener and more competitive than ever before. It also explores key issues including workforce and skills, recovery, global impact, innovation and decarbonisation.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on addressing the accountability of financial regulators after the collapse of Blackmore Bond plc.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government considers it is vitally important that there are appropriate mechanisms in place to ensure the financial services regulators are accountable for all aspects of their performance.
The FCA is responsible for ensuring consumer protection for a broad range of financial services products. However, it does not regulate all financial services firms and products. Blackmore Bond Plc was not authorised by the FCA and the sale of the ‘mini-bond’ product it offered was not an activity regulated by the FCA.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on permitting private landlords to offset their mortgage interest payments against rental income before income tax is calculated.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Landlords are able to claim tax relief on finance costs (including mortgage interest payments) for their rental property at the basic rate of income tax.
From 2017, the Government phased in a set of reforms to restrict finance cost relief to the equivalent of the basic rate of income tax. This ensures fairness in the income tax system, as previously higher rate taxpayers received a more generous tax relief than those on lower incomes. The reforms mean that all landlords will now receive the same amount of relief. It also reduces the disparity in income tax treatment between homeowners and landlords.
The Government believes that only a small proportion of landlords will be affected by this measure. However, the Government will keep this under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.