Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of council tax challenges submitted to the Valuation Office Agency have been (a) checked and (b) reviewed within the service level agreement in each of the past 12 months for which there is data.
Answered by Richard Fuller - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has an internal target to clear 98 per cent of Council Tax proposals and informal Council Tax band reviews within two months. The statutory deadline to clear proposals is four months, and currently 98 per cent of cases are cleared within this deadline.
Following the former Chancellor’s announcement around the Council Tax rebate in February, the volume of Council Tax work has substantially increased. In particular, the VOA has seen an increase in demand for band reviews of over 75 per cent compared to the same period in 2021.
The VOA is working hard to reduce volumes as quickly as possible and has assigned additional staff resource to this activity. The VOA is prioritising reducing the number of outstanding older cases first. The impact of this is that, on average, it is currently taking the VOA around two and a half months to clear proposals, and just under three months to clear band reviews.
The tables below show the number and percentage of proposals and band reviews resolved within two months of receipt, and proposals resolved within the statutory deadline.
Council Tax Proposals
| Received | Total resolved | Resolved within 2 months of receipt | % within 2 months (98% internal target) | % within 4 months (Statutory Deadline) |
|
| Cumulative | |||
Sep-21 | 2,460 | 2,240 | 2,220 | 97% | 99% |
Oct-21 | 2,700 | 2,210 | 2,190 | 97% | 99% |
Nov-21 | 2,340 | 2,790 | 2,750 | 97% | 99% |
Dec-21 | 1,730 | 2,270 | 2,200 | 96% | 99% |
Jan-22 | 2,200 | 2,350 | 2,030 | 94% | 99% |
Feb-22 | 2,680 | 1,920 | 1,790 | 94% | 99% |
Mar-22 | 3,410 | 2,330 | 2,010 | 92% | 99% |
Apr-22 | 2,450 | 1,670 | 1,000 | 86% | 100% |
May-22 | 2,630 | 2,250 | 690 | 75% | 100% |
Jun-22 | 2,450 | 2,420 | 390 | 69% | 100% |
Jul-22 | 2,420 | 2,140 | 460 | 64% | 98% |
Aug-22 | 2,280 | 2,190 | 390 | 60% | 98% |
Informal Council Tax Band Reviews
| Received | Total resolved | Resolved within 2 months of receipt | % within 2 months (98% internal target) |
| Cumulative | |||
Sep-21 | 640 | 660 | 610 | 80% |
Oct-21 | 750 | 730 | 650 | 80% |
Nov-21 | 900 | 640 | 570 | 81% |
Dec-21 | 550 | 560 | 510 | 79% |
Jan-22 | 930 | 670 | 550 | 76% |
Feb-22 | 3,460 | 820 | 650 | 76% |
Mar-22 | 4,870 | 2,170 | 1,570 | 75% |
Apr-22 | 2,790 | 1,660 | 890 | 65% |
May-22 | 2,770 | 2,310 | 520 | 45% |
Jun-22 | 1,880 | 1,690 | 220 | 39% |
Jul-22 | 1,400 | 1,480 | 210 | 36% |
Aug-22 | 1,190 | 1,550 | 160 | 34% |
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with international counterparts on the risk of countries facing litigation by bondholders in the English courts in the event that they seek to restructure their debts, including through the G20 Common Framework.
Answered by Richard Fuller - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The UK regularly discusses sovereign debt issues with its international counterparts, including G7 and G20 partners and International Financial Institutions.
Under the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, private creditors, including bondholders, are expected to provide a debt treatment on terms at least as favourable as bilateral creditors, in line with the Comparability of Treatment principle
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of anti-money laundering regulations on estate agents that use undesignated client accounts.
Answered by Richard Fuller - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury recently published a review of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) 2017 in June 2022 which assessed the effectiveness of the UK’s anti-money laundering regime. The review noted the challenges faced by businesses that use undesignated client accounts, commonly referred to as pooled client accounts (PCAs), such as estate agents and insurance brokers. The Government has concluded that broadening the circumstances in which simplified due diligence (SDD) can be considered would be beneficial in improving access to PCAs, while still maintaining that SDD can only be done in low-risk situations.
The Government plans to consult on options aiming to address the difficulties in accessing PCAs, including the option of broadening the range of low-risk circumstances in which PCAs may be provided without checks being required on the clients whose funds are held in the account.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of anti-money laundering regulations on insurance brokering firms that hold client monies in undesignated client accounts.
Answered by Richard Fuller - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury recently published a review of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) 2017 in June 2022 which assessed the effectiveness of the UK’s anti-money laundering regime. The review noted the challenges faced by businesses that use undesignated client accounts, commonly referred to as pooled client accounts (PCAs), such as estate agents and insurance brokers. The Government has concluded that broadening the circumstances in which simplified due diligence (SDD) can be considered would be beneficial in improving access to PCAs, while still maintaining that SDD can only be done in low-risk situations.
The Government plans to consult on options aiming to address the difficulties in accessing PCAs, including the option of broadening the range of low-risk circumstances in which PCAs may be provided without checks being required on the clients whose funds are held in the account.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide a breakdown of the departmental allocations, including funding from devolved nations, to the £1 billion commitment for military support to Ukraine announced by the Government on 30 June 2022.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The UK is at the forefront of efforts to provide diplomatic, economic, humanitarian and defensive support to Ukraine, and is something we should all be proud of. We have already provided billions of pounds to support Ukrainian efforts, and as long as the war goes on, we must continue to show global leadership in supporting President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people.
The UK is providing £1bn in additional support to enhance and sustain Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion. This new funding has come from contributions from UK government departments and the devolved administrations’ existing budgets. Most departments committed around 1.5% of their 2022-23 capital budget. The Welsh Government contributed £30m and the Scottish Government contributed £65m. Following discussions with the Northern Ireland Finance Minister, and in the absence of an Executive, the Barnett formula will be applied in the usual way for the Northern Ireland Executive.
These contributions will be formally processed at Supplementary Estimates, where revised departmental budgets will be published by HM Treasury in the usual way.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of Zambia's progress through the G20's Common Framework.
Answered by John Glen
Zambia is one of three countries – along with Chad and Ethiopia - to have so far requested the Common Framework, which was designed to help deliver a long-term, sustainable approach for supporting low-income countries to tackle their debt vulnerabilities. Zambia reached a Staff-Level Agreement with the IMF in December, marking a step forward. At Spring Meetings, the IMF managing director indicated that China had agreed to join the creditor committee for Zambia. As a creditor to Zambia, it is a priority to work with the rest of the G20 to ensure swift progress on the debt treatment.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has spent on the OECD debt transparency initiative to date; how many banks have disclosed information through that initiative; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that banks disclose the existence and details of loans to lower income country governments.
Answered by John Glen
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office provided a £460,594 grant for the pilot phase of the OECD’s debt transparency initiative (DTI), as reported on the UK’s Development Tracker website.
As an OECD-led initiative, it is not appropriate for the UK to disclose details of how many banks have submitted details of their lending. However, the UK remains fully supportive of the initiative and chairs the Advisory Board on the DTI to help progress its objectives. We also work through the G7 and G20 to build support for the DTI, as referenced in the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors communique in February 2022, which encouraged private sector lenders to submit data to this initiative.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact on Sudan of Sudanese national debt; and what steps he is taking to provide debt relief to that country.
Answered by John Glen
Sudan reached a historic milestone in June 2021 by meeting the necessary conditions to begin receiving debt relief under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Completion of this process would allow Sudan to regain debt sustainability.
As part of this process, the international community, led by the UK as G7 Presidency, provided funding to clear Sudan’s long-standing debt arrears to the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank, totalling USD$ 2.9 billion.
Under the HIPC initiative, the Paris Club, of which the UK is a member, reached an agreement with Sudan in July 2021 to restructure its public external debt. Paris Club members agreed to cancel USD$14 billion of historic debt, while indicating readiness to cancel the remaining USD$9 billion after successful completion of an IMF Programme for a further three years.
The military coup of 25 October 2021 has however put debt relief for Sudan at risk. We note with strong concern political developments since the coup, which have derailed the transition and threaten the ongoing implementation of Sudan’s IMF programme, which is one of the pre-conditions for debt relief from the Paris Club.
In this context, before moving forward with the implementation of the agreement signed with Sudan in July 2021, the Paris Club will carefully monitor the evolution of the situation, in close coordination with the IMF and the World Bank Group. The UK is supporting and encouraging all parties to engage with the UN-facilitated political process to put the transition back on track.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support low-income countries following the end of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative.
Answered by John Glen
The UK has supported significant action on debt through the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). Preliminary estimates suggest the DSSI has suspended over $12.7 billion in debt service repayments due by the poorest countries in the world.
The DSSI was designed as a short-term tool to address short-term financing needs. That is why the UK, along with the G20 and Paris Club, also agreed a new Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the DSSI, which aims to deliver a longer-term, more sustainable approach to dealing with debt vulnerabilities. This was a landmark achievement for the G20 and represents the first time that all G20 creditors and the Paris Club have committed to work together to coordinate debt treatments. Under the Common Framework, private sector creditors will also be expected to implement debt restructurings that are at least equivalent to those agreed by official creditors.
The UK is fully committed to implementing the Common Framework in coordination with our international partners. This will support those countries who request a debt treatment in returning to a more fiscally sustainable path and support their development goals.
The UK also continues to support low-income countries through the lending activities of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In October, the Chancellor committed to a new 1 billion loan of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) which provides zero-interest loans to low-income countries, taking the UK’s total commitment to the PRGT to SDR 5 billion.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will implement the Business Rates Relief Fund before Christmas 2021 to allow local authorities to help businesses impacted by omicron covid-19 as soon as possible.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The local authority guidance for the COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund (CARF), a £1.5 billion pot of funding for businesses that have not previously received support linked to COVID-19 and business rates, was published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) on 15 December 2021.
Businesses will be able to apply for schemes run by local authorities as soon as they have been set up. The Government will support local authorities to do this as quickly as possible, including through new burdens funding.
DLUHC ministers have written to local authorities to encourage them to provide CARF support to eligible businesses as soon as they can.