Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of his target for economic growth on (a) inequality, (b) GDP and (c) public debt.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
An assessment of the impact of the government’s Growth Plan on the economy and public finances will be made by the OBR on the 31st October alongside the Medium Term Fiscal Plan.Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent representations he has received from (a) academics, (b) consultants and (c) think tanks on an analysis of the Growth Plan 2022.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
HM Treasury Ministers and officials regularly engage with a range of stakeholders, including in advance of and following policy announcements. This ensures that Ministers and officials are aware of the issues facing the public, businesses and the economy when developing policy and assessing the impact.Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential productivity of the UK.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Potential productivity is an estimated economic concept that measures the maximum sustainable level of output that can be produced per hour worked across an economy. Where this estimated level sits relative to actual productivity data, as measure by the ONS, depends on how intensely factors of production are being used at a given time.
The ONS publish quarterly updates on official UK productivity statistics and analysis of UK productivity.
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook also includes their outlook for potential output and productivity. The Chancellor has brought forward the OBR forecast date to 31 October. This will provide an in-depth assessment of the economy and public finances including a forecast for productivity.
The Government continually monitors and assesses economic developments, including around productivity, to consider their impact on businesses and households. Boosting productivity growth is central to raising the UK’s economic growth, as part of the Growth Plan 2022.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what analysis he has commissioned on potential productivity of the UK.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Potential productivity is an estimated economic concept that measures the maximum sustainable level of output that can be produced per hour worked across an economy. Where this estimated level sits relative to actual productivity data, as measure by the ONS, depends on how intensely factors of production are being used at a given time.
The ONS publish quarterly updates on official UK productivity statistics and analysis of UK productivity.
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook also includes their outlook for potential output and productivity. The Chancellor has brought forward the OBR forecast date to 31 October. This will provide an in-depth assessment of the economy and public finances including a forecast for productivity.
The Government continually monitors and assesses economic developments, including around productivity, to consider their impact on businesses and households. Boosting productivity growth is central to raising the UK’s economic growth, as part of the Growth Plan 2022.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the (a) companies and (b) non-governmental bodies with contracts for the delivery of training and services associated with the (i) Trader Support Service and (ii) Northern Ireland Customs and Trade Academy; and the cost to date of the services delivered by said companies and non-governmental bodies.
Answered by Richard Fuller
The consortium responsible for delivery of the Trader Support Service contract is led and managed by Fujitsu. The consortium members include Hinduja Global Solutions, The Institute of Export and International Trade (IOE), EORI (UK) Limited, Capita Pay 360, Amazon Web Services, and Descartes.
The Northern Ireland Customs and Trade Academy is managed by the IOE.
The costs associated with this element form part of the overall cost of the Trader Support Service, which is estimated to be £309 millon up to September 2022.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential cost of extending the Trader Support Service to December 2023.
Answered by Richard Fuller
The forecasted cost for extending the Trader Support Service to December 2023 is £113 million.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total cost of the Trader Support Service has been since its launch in 2020.
Answered by Richard Fuller
The total cost of the Trader Support Service from its launch until September 2022 was £309 million.Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Gordon of 3 March 2022 on the VAT rate for the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
A response was sent to the hon. Member for Gordon on 23 June 2022.Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will instruct HMRC to amend Excise Notice 75 to include charity tractor runs within the scope of activities eligible to use red diesel.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Agricultural vehicles will be entitled to run on rebated fuel after April 2022 for purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture, forestry and fish farming.
The activities accepted as purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture and forestry are defined in HMRC Excise Notice 75. The Government considers that running or participating in events which provide information and education that benefit agriculture are purposes relating to agriculture, and this includes taking part in charitable activities that promote these industries. Examples of such events are agricultural shows, ploughing matches and charity tractor runs. HMRC will be updating Excise Notice 75 accordingly. Rebated fuel can also be used to travel to and from where the vehicles or machines are to be used for these activities.
Agricultural vehicles will also be able to use rebated fuel when cutting verges and hedges that border public roads, clearing snow, gritting, and clearing or otherwise dealing with flooding.
Asked by: Richard Thomson (Scottish National Party - Gordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Scotland on the level of VAT applied to hospitality businesses.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This Government has provided around £400 billion of direct support to the economy during the pandemic, and as part of that it has provided £16 billion of business rates relief to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England.
At Autumn Budget 21, the Government announced a new temporary relief worth almost £1.7 billion for these sectors to support local high streets as they adapt and recover.
At Spring Budget 21, the Government extended the 5% temporary reduced rate of VAT for the tourism and hospitality sectors until the end of September. On 1 October 2021, a new reduced rate of VAT at 12.5% was introduced to help ease businesses back to the standard rate. This rate will end on 31 March 2022. There are no plans to extend the length of this relief again.