Asked by: Paul Masterton (Conservative - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Payment Systems Regulator on the future provision of ATMs and wider issues related to consumers' access to cash.
Answered by John Glen
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 regulators, consumer organisations, and industry – including LINK and the Payment Systems Regulator – to discuss relevant issues, such as access to cash.
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-gifts-and-overseas-travel
The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK, and will continue to engage with a range of stakeholders to ensure that it is maintained.
Asked by: Paul Masterton (Conservative - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in East Renfrewshire constituency paid the (a) top, (b) higher and (c) basic rate of income tax in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Estimates of the number of individuals in East Renfrewshire parliamentary constituency by their highest marginal rate of income tax for the tax years 2010-11 to 2014-15 are provided in the following table.
Tax Year | Basic Rate | Higher Rate | Additional Rate |
2010-11 | 41,700 | 6,700 | 400 |
2011-12 | 36,600 | 8,300 | 400 |
2012-13 | 36,900 | 8,500 | 500 |
2013-14 | 37,500 | 8,100 | 600 |
2014-15 | 36,400 | 9,300 | 600 |
Source: Survey of Personal Incomes
Notes on the table
1 Figures have been rounded to the nearest one hundred.
2 The 2014-15 tax year is the latest year for which these figures are available.
3 As is the case with the published Personal Incomes Statistics, these figures are statistical estimates and will be subject to sampling variation. The sample is not stratified by geography and all SPI estimates for sub-UK geographical areas (e.g. by country, region, county, parliamentary constituency, etc.) should therefore be treated with caution. For further information, please see the Personal Incomes Statistics release (Annex B), at the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-incomes-statistics
An estimated 26,000 individuals in the East Renfrewshire constituency had total income of at least £24,000 in the 2014‑15 tax year. This estimate is based on the Survey of Personal Incomes 2014-15, which is the latest available tax year.
Asked by: Paul Masterton (Conservative - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in East Renfrewshire constituency earn over £24,000 per annum before tax.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Estimates of the number of individuals in East Renfrewshire parliamentary constituency by their highest marginal rate of income tax for the tax years 2010-11 to 2014-15 are provided in the following table.
Tax Year | Basic Rate | Higher Rate | Additional Rate |
2010-11 | 41,700 | 6,700 | 400 |
2011-12 | 36,600 | 8,300 | 400 |
2012-13 | 36,900 | 8,500 | 500 |
2013-14 | 37,500 | 8,100 | 600 |
2014-15 | 36,400 | 9,300 | 600 |
Source: Survey of Personal Incomes
Notes on the table
1 Figures have been rounded to the nearest one hundred.
2 The 2014-15 tax year is the latest year for which these figures are available.
3 As is the case with the published Personal Incomes Statistics, these figures are statistical estimates and will be subject to sampling variation. The sample is not stratified by geography and all SPI estimates for sub-UK geographical areas (e.g. by country, region, county, parliamentary constituency, etc.) should therefore be treated with caution. For further information, please see the Personal Incomes Statistics release (Annex B), at the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-incomes-statistics
An estimated 26,000 individuals in the East Renfrewshire constituency had total income of at least £24,000 in the 2014‑15 tax year. This estimate is based on the Survey of Personal Incomes 2014-15, which is the latest available tax year.
Asked by: Paul Masterton (Conservative - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the promotion of credit unions as an alternative to pay day lenders.
Answered by Steve Barclay
Credit unions play a key role in offering affordable, responsible credit to underserved communities. The Government has supported the sector in the following ways:
Announcing at Autumn Statement 2016 that a greater proportion of funds recovered from illegal money lenders will be allocated to incentivise vulnerable people to join, save and borrow with a credit union instead of turning to loan sharks;
Increasing the maximum interest rate that credit unions can charge on loans from 2% to 3%. This has helped credit unions become more stable and allowed them to offer reliable, affordable credit to consumers who may otherwise have had to resort to more expensive means;
Contributing £600,000 to an initiative developed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Young Enterprise, to start savings clubs in primary schools and educate young children in the benefits of saving, while promoting awareness of credit unions to children and their parents. Lifesavers works with local credit unions to help run savings clubs in schools; and
Initiating the Credit Union Expansion Project, a £38 million project aimed at helping the sector modernise and offer new services.
Asked by: Paul Masterton (Conservative - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the Government is promoting the uptake of the tax-free childcare scheme to workers and parents in (a) the UK and (b) East Renfrewshire.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
In March, the government launched the Childcare Choices website which brings together information about all the different help with childcare offered by the government – including Tax-Free Childcare. Since then, the Childcare Choices website has had more than one million unique users, and more than 700,000 people have completed the site’s Childcare Calculator to find out which government support best suits their circumstances.
HMRC and DfE have worked together on a communications and engagement programme, including national, regional and social media, and communications through industry stakeholders. Parents who have signed up for ‘Keep Me Updated’ email updates on the new schemes are also being notified by direct email when they become eligible. HMRC officials have also attended promotional events across the UK with childcare providers, local authorities, parent groups and other childcare industry stakeholders.
DfE and HMT ministers have undertaken visits to nurseries to promote Tax-Free Childcare, including one in East Renfrewshire where they spoke to them about their experiences of the scheme.