Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy or Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Energy Bills Support Scheme, whether owners of multiple properties with a domestic electricity meter will receive £400 for each of those properties.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The £400 grant will be delivered to households via energy suppliers through electricity bills over six months from October.
The Government held a technical consultation on the Energy Bills Support Scheme from 11 April to 23 May. The responses to this consultation are being analysed and a response will be published later in the summer.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the funding to public sector employers to offset the costs of the introduction of the health and social care levy has been distributed.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Public sector compensation for employer costs of the Health and Social Levy was allocated to departments as part of the 2021 Autumn Budget and Spending Review. This specific compensation forms one part of their total DEL budgets.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact that further non-pharmaceutical interventions to limit the spread of covid-19 in China may have on the UK economy; and if he will place a copy of that assessment in the Library.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is mindful of both the domestic and international risks that might affect the UK economy. We monitor these risks closely, including the recent rise in Covid-19 cases in China. The Government remains committed to supporting businesses, people, and jobs.
In its December 2021 record, the Financial Policy Committee of the Bank of England noted that “the interim results of the 2021 Solvency Stress Test indicate that the UK banking system is resilient to the direct effects of a severe downturn in China and Hong Kong, as well as indirect effects through sharp adjustments in global asset prices”.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of an employee earning £25,000, how much (a) Income Tax and (b) National Insurance Contributions, they would be paying in each of 2021-22 and 2022-23, in both (i) nominal and (ii) 2021-22 prices; and if he will place a copy of the results of that calculation in the Library.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government does not routinely publish estimates of tax liability by income level, as it is dependent on an individual’s circumstances and can vary between people with the same annual incomes.
As announced at Spring Statement 2022, the increase in the starting thresholds of National Insurance contributions (NICs) will benefit almost 30 million working people. This is a tax cut worth over £330 a year, for a typical employee, from July 2022.
From July 2022, around 70 per cent of workers who pay NICs will pay less NICs than they otherwise would have, even after accounting for the introduction of the Health and Social Care Levy.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will commission the Office for Budget Responsibility to make an estimate of the amount of tax that will be raised from item 10 in the Spring Statement 2022, HMRC: investment in compliance; and if he will place a copy of that estimate in the Library.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
At Spring Statement 2022, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated the total amount of tax that will be raised from ‘HMRC: investment in compliance’ to be £3,155 million between 2021-22 and 2026-27.
Further information, including an annual breakdown of the Exchequer impact, can be found on page 13 of the Spring Statement 2022 policy costings document, available here:
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Health and Social Care Levy, how much is being allocated in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 as compensation for the additional cost to public sector employers.
Answered by Simon Clarke
As part of the 2021 Autumn Budget and Spending review, full supporting documents were published by HM Treasury. These documents can be found here: Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021: documents - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential change in the estimated number of (a) adults and (b) children living in absolute poverty after housing costs between 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Answered by Simon Clarke
HM Treasury distributional analysis published at Spring Statement 2022 shows that in 2024-25, government decisions since Spending Round 2019 will have benefitted the lowest-income households the most, as a proportion of income. Our modelling also shows that:
With around 1.3 million vacancies across the UK our focus is firmly on supporting people into and to progress in work as we know that work is the best and most sustainable route out of poverty. The government’s Plan for Jobs, Way to Work campaign and £3.8 billion investment over the parliament in skills by 2024-25 is helping do this.
The government is also providing support worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help families with the cost of living. This includes providing millions of households with up to £350 to help with rising energy bills, a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate and freezes to alcohol duty. The Spring Statement went further, with the government announcing an increase to the annual National insurance Primary Threshold and Lower Profits Limit to £12,570, a cut to fuel duty, and an additional £500 million to help with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund. In addition, the National Living Wage has increased to £9.50 an hour from April 2022. This means an increase of over £1,000 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential change in the estimated number of (a) adults and (b) children living in relative poverty after housing costs between 20210-22 and 2022-23.
Answered by Simon Clarke
HM Treasury distributional analysis published at Spring Statement 2022 shows that in 2024-25, government decisions since Spending Round 2019 will have benefitted the lowest-income households the most, as a proportion of income. Our modelling also shows that:
With around 1.3 million vacancies across the UK our focus is firmly on supporting people into and to progress in work as we know that work is the best and most sustainable route out of poverty. The government’s Plan for Jobs, Way to Work campaign and £3.8 billion investment over the parliament in skills by 2024-25 is helping do this.
The government is also providing support worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help families with the cost of living. This includes providing millions of households with up to £350 to help with rising energy bills, a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate and freezes to alcohol duty. The Spring Statement went further, with the government announcing an increase to the annual National insurance Primary Threshold and Lower Profits Limit to £12,570, a cut to fuel duty, and an additional £500 million to help with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund. In addition, the National Living Wage has increased to £9.50 an hour from April 2022. This means an increase of over £1,000 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much of the Covid Additional Relief Fund has been distributed to businesses as of 30 March 2022.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The information requested is not currently available. The government has awarded local authorities with £1.5 billion for distribution through the COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund. Reporting arrangements have been put in place to monitor progress on implementation and delivery and local authorities will return information on their schemes at regular intervals.
Asked by: Rachel Reeves (Labour - Leeds West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 10 of the Spring Statement 2022 policy costings document, published on 23 March 2022, if he will place in the Library the figures for the size of the tax base for VAT on energy saving materials in (a) 2021-22 and (b) each of the years of the forecast horizon consisting of annual expenditure on installations of household renewable energy equipment, insulation, draught stripping and heating controls.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The size of the tax base for the VAT on energy saving materials measure in 2021-22, and the following years in the forecast horizon, is as follows:
- 0 in 2021-22
- £910 million in 2022-23
- £1,090 million in 2023-24
- £1,310 million in 2024-25
- £1,330 million in 2025-26
- £1,420 million in 2026-27