Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the increase in the number of people using buy now, pay later services.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HM Treasury regularly monitors changes in the consumer credit market as part of the normal process of policy development.
The Woolard Review into the unsecured credit market found several potential risks of consumer detriment from interest-free Buy-Now Pay-Later products, including the absence of information given to consumers about features of Buy-Now Pay-Later agreements. The Government recognises those risks, but also notes that as an interest-free product, Buy-Now Pay-Later can often be lower-risk than other forms of borrowing and a useful tool to help consumers manage their finances. That is why, on 2 February 2021, the Government announced its intention to regulate Buy-Now Pay-Later products in a proportionate manner.
The Government published a consultation on policy proposals for the regulation of Buy-Now Pay-Later on 21 October 2021, which closed on 6 January. The consultation included proposals to apply Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules on pre-contract disclosure and adequate explanations to Buy-Now Pay-Later agreements. These rules require firms to make adequate pre-contractual explanation to ensure the customer is in a position to assess whether the agreement is suitable for their needs and financial situation.
The Government is now reviewing responses to this consultation and considering next steps and intends to publish a consultation response in the spring.
HMT does not hold information regarding the number of 18- to 24-year-olds who have been referred to debt collection agencies by Buy-Now Pay-Later in the last 12 months, or the amount collected in late payment fees by the Buy-Now Pay-Later sector in each of the last three years. Instead, HMT draws on the research of various stakeholders including consumer groups and the wider financial services industry.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support the Government has put in place for beauty salons affected by Plan B covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In December, Government announced a generous £1 billion package of support for business and their employees to help them manage the effects of the rapid surge of Omicron and bounce back quickly.
The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme, announced on 21 December, is intended to provide targeted support for the food and beverage, accommodation and leisure sectors which offer in-person services. This action was taken to support businesses impacted by the Omicron variant, which led to the public voluntarily restricting their social mixing and reports that many businesses in these sectors had lost 40-60% of their December trade. Personal Care services are not eligible for this scheme.
However, in recognition that other businesses outside the scope of this grant may have been impacted, local authorities in England also received a top-up worth a total of £102 million to their Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) fund. Distribution of ARG funds is at the local authority's discretion.
Due to the balanced and proportionate approach taken by the Government in response to the Omicron variant, Cabinet has decided to return to Plan A in England.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the financial effect of the freeze on fuel duty since 2010 for the average motorist.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As a result of twelve consecutive years of frozen fuel duty rates, the average UK car driver will pay around £15 less per tank of fuel, and will have cumulatively saved around £1,900 since 2011, compared to what would have been paid under the pre-2010 escalator. The 2022-23 freeze represents a saving for consumers of nearly £8 billion over the next five years.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of how much better off claimants of universal credit will be as a result of the reduction in the taper rate and increase in the work allowance announced in the Autumn Budget 2021.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The government announced at Budget that it is now taking further action to make work pay for low income working households on Universal Credit by allowing them to keep more of what they earn. The changes to Universal Credit will mean that nearly 2 million households will keep, on average, around an extra £1,000 on an annual basis by 1 December. This is effectively a tax cut of around £2.2 billion next year for some of the lowest paid in society.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support families through winter 2021-22.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government is committed to supporting families this winter, helping them to meet the cost of living, and ensuring that work continues to pay.
Over the winter, the £500 million Household Support Fund will help vulnerable households with the cost of essentials such as food, clothing and utilities. £421 million of the fund will be distributed through local authorities in England, who are best placed to ensure it reaches those who need it most. This fund builds on the Warm Home Discount, which provides a £140 rebate to help 2.2 million low income households with their energy bills, and the government energy price cap, which has protected around 15 million households on default tariffs, saving them up to £100 a year since 2019.
To further support low income families, we have provided £670m for local authorities to support households struggling with their council tax bills, £140m for Discretionary Housing Payments, and over £200m a year to continue the Holiday Activities and Food Programme. We have also maintained the increase in cash terms to the Local Housing Allowance rates for UC and Housing Benefit claimants in 2021-22.
Alongside these measures we are maintaining our focus on helping people back into work. Work is the best route out of poverty. As a child growing up in a home where all the adults work is around five times less likely to be in poverty than a child growing up in a home where nobody works (before housing costs). As part of the comprehensive Plan for Jobs, the Government announced the Kickstart scheme which has so far created nearly 95,000 jobs for young people at risk of becoming long-term unemployed, and the three year Restart scheme, which provides intensive and tailored support to long-term unemployed Universal Credit claimants across England and Wales.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the financial effect of Income Tax reductions on the average person in work since 2010.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Personal Allowance has increased by nearly 50 per cent in real terms in the last decade, ensuring some of the lowest earners do not pay income tax. Compared to 2010-11, a typical basic rate taxpayer will pay over £800 less income tax in 2021-22 in real terms. The Personal Allowance is the highest basic personal tax allowance of all countries in the G20, and it remains one of the most generous internationally.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce VAT on energy bills for families in the UK.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In recognition of the fact that families should not have to bear all the VAT costs they incur to meet their energy needs, the Government already maintains a reduced rate of 5 per cent VAT on the supply of domestic energy, at a cost of £5 billion per year to the public finances.
Going further would impose additional pressure on the public finances and that cost would have to be balanced by increased taxes elsewhere, or by reductions in Government spending.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is is taking to support people who have been unable to access the Government's covid-19 financial support schemes to date.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Throughout this crisis, the Government has sought to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods while also supporting businesses and public services across the UK, putting in place an economic package of support worth over £280 billion this year. These support measures are carefully designed to complement each other to ensure jobs and livelihoods are protected. Support is targeted to make sure public funds are used responsibly, helping those who need it most as quickly as possible, while minimising fraud risk. The Government has engaged closely with proposals put forward by stakeholder groups, and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increased national insurance threshold on the cost of living for residents of (a) Harlow constituency and (b) the UK.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In April 2020 the Government increased the Primary Threshold (PT) and the Lower Profits Limit (LPL), the point at which employees and the self-employed start paying the main rate of National Insurance contributions, by over £850 to £9,500. While HM Treasury does not publish tax information at constituency level, at the national level this was a tax cut for 31 million working people, saving the typical employee about £104 and a typical self-employed person about £78 in 2020/21. From April 2021, the PT/LPL will increase to £9,568.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the cost of living for people experiencing economic hardship.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government has announced wide-ranging support for people at risk of experiencing economic hardship, including: income support schemes, mortgage holidays, extra support for renters, additional support through the welfare system worth £7.4 billion in 2020-21, a £500 million local authority hardship fund to help people with their council tax bills, a £170 million Covid Winter Grant Scheme to support families with the cost of food and bills, help with utility bills, and £500 payments to support low income individuals to self-isolate under NHS Test and Trace.
As the Government has done throughout this crisis, we will continue to consider how best to support people as the public health and economic contexts develop.