Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of permitting the use of identity documents other than a passport and driving license for verifying Government Gateway accounts.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Before sharing any personal data with a customer online the Government have a duty to establish their identity to a sufficient degree of confidence. The Government aims to strike a balance between making this journey as straightforward as we can for customers but, at the same time, setting the bar high enough to deter fraudsters.
When asked to prove their identity, customers are currently able to select two items from the following where they are available:
• Tax credit claim details
• P60 or most recent payslips
• UK passports
• Information held on credit file (such as loans, credit cards or mortgages)
• Self-assessment tax return details
• Northern Ireland and British driving licences
Most customers can use Government services securely online, but we do recognise that not every customer currently can. HMRC is constantly working on the Government Gateway service and the identity verification capability that supports it to help more people gain access while keeping customer information secure. Some of these developments include:
• Following discussions with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency the UK driving licence was been added as an additional evidence source within the HMRC identity verification service on 1 July 2022; and
• Government Digital Service (GDS) is developing a new mobile app that will allow people to use the camera on their smartphone/device to confirm a match with photographic identification, starting with the driving licence but extending to support other biometric documents over time. HMRC will be adopting this from the summer, giving some of our customers an alternative way to prove their identity. HMRC will be working with GDS to make it available to more customers in phases.
In the longer term, HMRC intends to move services to One Login for Government, the new cross-government sign-on and identity verification system being developed by GDS. HMRC is working closely with GDS on the design and development of the new service to ensure it best meets the needs of all our customers.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what analysis been conducted into the increased administrative cost of new customs checks for exporters and importers since 1 January 2022; what data the Government holds on the additional costs incurred for those businesses.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC recognises these are significant changes for businesses and has worked closely with industry and business in implementing the changes and providing extensive support to adjust to the changes in their customs obligations.
HMRC continues to support businesses now that these changes have come into force. This includes guidance products, daily calls with the border industry, direct mailshots, e-mails, UK and EU facing webinars, and ‘how to’ videos.
Through the SME Brexit Support Fund and the Intermediaries Grant, the Government has made over £100 million available to help businesses adapt to the new rules.
To assist businesses to get help with making declarations, HMRC has created a customs intermediary register on GOV.UK to help traders find an intermediary appropriate to their needs. The register lists around 1500 intermediaries, whether they are taking on new clients, and the services they provide.
HMRC has also increased its 24/7 support for businesses who need help with customs processes for goods moving across the border. A robust support and resolution process is also in place to ensure the smooth flow of goods in the event of any disruption, congestion, or other issues affecting customs controls.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 15 April 2021 to Question178712, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the grace period for Returned Goods Relief to 2023 to mitigate the effect of current covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has recently extended the grace period for the Returned Goods Relief (RGR) from one year to 18 months in light of the continuing travel restrictions in both the UK and the EU due to COVID-19. This extension to the grace period allows goods located in the EU at the end of the Transition Period to return to Great Britain by 30th June 2022, regardless of the date they left the UK.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What assessment he has made of the change in the level of personal debt in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to understand the impact of COVID-19 on personal debt levels and to help people access the support they need to get their finances back on track.
The Government works closely with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to monitor financial difficulty through an annual survey and notes the Financial Conduct Authority’s biennial Financial Lives Survey.
The latest findings from the Financial Lives Survey were published in February 2021. The findings include the impact of Covid-19 on people’s finances.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward the application date for the fourth round of Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government announced at Budget 2021 that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue until September, with a fourth and a final fifth grant.
The Government also announced a major improvement in access to the self-employed scheme. As the deadline for 2019-20 tax returns has now passed, HMRC will use these tax returns for the fourth and fifth grants, provided they were submitted by 2 March. This means that 600,000 people, many of whom became self-employed in 2019-20, may now be able to claim the fourth and fifth grants, bringing the total number of people who could be eligible to 3.7 million.
Using these returns requires time to deliver due to the increased population and new data. In order to allow HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) time to process 2019-20 tax returns it has not been possible to invite applications or open the claims service earlier.
HMRC will open the online claims service for the fourth SEISS grant from late April 2021 and expect to notify potentially eligible people of their personal claim date from mid-April.
Guidance on how to claim the fourth grant is now available online: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme.
The SEISS is just one part of a wider package of support for the self-employed, which includes automatic, self-serve time-to-pay arrangements, loans, welfare support, and other business support grants.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of HMRC rules which incur VAT charges on returning boats on UK citizens with boats in the EU as a result of covid-19 travel restrictions.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Relief from import VAT and any customs duty is available under Returned Goods Relief (RGR) for goods exported from the UK and re-imported within three years in an unaltered state. Goods which were transported from the UK to the EU and which remained located in the EU at the end of the transition period will be eligible for RGR, subject to meeting the conditions for the relief, if they are returned to Great Britain by 30 June 2022, regardless of the date they were transported to the EU. This extends the period during which such goods can return to Great Britain under RGR by a further six months in view of the continuing COVID-19 travel restrictions in the UK and in the EU. The extension of this grace period is included in the revised RGR legislation published on 22 March 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reference-documents-for-the-customs-reliefs-from-a-liability-to-import-duty-and-miscellaneous-amendments-eu-exit-regulations-2020.
For RGR to apply on import VAT relief, the exporter and the importer need to be the same person.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on extending the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to payday lending companies.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the compensation scheme of last resort for customers of failed UK-authorised financial services firms and is funded by a levy on the financial services industry. The FSCS is an independent non-governmental body and carries out its compensation function within rules set by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), they have the power to decide which activities are given FSCS protection. In 2016, the FCA decided not to extend FSCS protection to most consumer credit activities because it believed other regulatory requirements were sufficient.
The FCA’s reasoning for not extending FSCS protection was set out in a letter on 15 February 2019 from its Chief Executive to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee. This reasoning was that consumer credit firms did not generally hold client assets; losses to consumers had reduced since the FCA had taken over regulation of consumer credit; and, because the cost of providing FSCS cover for high-cost short-term credit would likely need to be subsidised by levies on other regulated firms. A copy of that letter can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/commons-committees/treasury/correspondence/2017-19/fca-chief-executive-to-chair-re-wonga-150219.pdf.
Treasury ministers and officials meet regularly with the FCA, and the Government will continue to work closely with the FCA to ensure consumers of financial services are treated fairly.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending small business rate relief to landlords that have lost rental income from commercial properties as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Businesses in receipt of their own business rates assessment and which meet the criteria may be eligible for business rate reliefs, including Small Business Rate Relief. The Government has no plan to change eligibility for SBRR.
The Government recognises the impact that the continued non-payment of rent has on landlords. The Government has made available over £330 billion of guarantees through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Coronavirus Corporate Financing Facility. These are available to businesses across different sizes and sectors, and directly support landlords with their cashflow issues. The Government is also continuing to work with lenders to ensure flexible support is being provided to commercial landlords.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to introduce a redress scheme for people who have been refused furlough by employers during the covid-19 outbreak because of claims that their employer is unable to afford national insurance and pension contributions.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Since November, employers are only asked to cover National Insurance and employer pension contributions for hours not worked under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). This is lower than the previous level in September and October, and for an average claim accounts for just 5 per cent of total employment costs, or £70 per employee per month. Furthermore, many small employers can benefit from the Employment Allowance for support with their NICs bill, and, since March, businesses have received billions in loans, tax deferrals, Business Rate reliefs, and general and sector-specific grants. This support can be used by businesses to cover the costs of NICs and pension contributions, ensuring that they can continue to furlough their employees.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making it mandatory for agencies to sign supply teachers up to the Flexible Furlough Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
I refer the hon Member to my answer of 28 January 2021 to PQ UIN : 142918.