Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the advice submitted to his Department by Public Health England on the provision and use of personal protective equipment was last updated.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government updated its guidance ‘COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE)’ and its guidance ‘Considerations for acute personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages’ on 3 May 2020.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to announce details of the discretionary local business grant scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has announced that up to £617 million is being made available to Local Authorities in England to allow them to provide discretionary grants as part of the suite of Business Support grants supporting businesses and local economies across England.
Guidance, intended to support Local Authorities in administering the Discretionary Grants Fund, was published 13th May.
Guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding
This will not replace existing guidance for the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) or the Retail Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF).
Guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-business-support-grant-funding-guidance-for-businesses
The additional Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs but not liable for business rates or rates reliefs. We are asking local authorities to prioritise businesses in shared spaces, regular market traders, small charity properties that would meet the criteria for Small Business Rates Relief, and bed and breakfasts that pay council tax rather than business rates.
Local Authorities are responsible for defining precise eligibility for this fund and may choose to make payments to other businesses based on local economic need, subject to those businesses meeting the specific eligibility criteria. Businesses seeking information should refer to their Local Authority for further information on their discretionary scheme. Businesses already in receipt of the SBGF, RHLGF or Self-employed Income Support Scheme are not eligible.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to reach a reciprocal agreement with the United States to ensure that UK citizens in that country whose visas have expired or are about to expire are granted the same concessions as those enjoyed, for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic, by US citizens visiting the UK.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is in regular contact at the highest levels with our US partners on our joint response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, including discussions on how to enable travelling nationals to return home where necessary.
For UK citizens in the US on non-immigration visas, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are accepting timely extension of stay (EOS) or change in status (COS) applications. The granting of either status will allow UK citizens whose visas have expired to lawfully remain in the US for an agreed period of time. More information can be found on the USCIS website.
UK citizens currently in the US on an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) visa are able to apply for Satisfactory Departure from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This discretionary authority permits USCIS and CBP to extend an ESTA admission for a period not to exceed 30 days.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will (a) place funding for the national wildlife crime unit on a permanent basis and (b) allocate to that unit sufficient funding to support the effective investigation of wildlife crimes.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office is providing funding of £136,000 to support the work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit in 2020/21. This will be in addition to the funding central Government is providing to police forces in England and Wales to tackle all types of crime, including wildlife crime.
Decisions about Home Office funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2021 will be taken as part of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of IR35 tax reforms on rates of employment amongst contractors.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The off-payroll working rules are designed to ensure that someone working like an employee, but through a company, pays similar levels of tax to other employees. It is fair that individuals who work in a similar way should pay broadly the same amount of tax. The rules do not apply to the self-employed or stop anyone working through their own company.
In January 2020, the Government launched a review into the implementation of the reform of the rules. The Government is aware that some organisations are considering whether PSCs are the best way to engage contractors who are working like employees. Businesses reported that where individuals had been moved onto payroll, this was a result of a review of the structure of their workforce.
However, the Government has not seen any evidence that this indicates an overall change in demand for the services and skills that contractors offer, but will continue to monitor impacts on the labour market. For contractors who would prefer to continue to use a PSC, many organisations will still choose to engage contractors in this way, where this suits their business model.
Independent research on the impacts of the reform in the public sector has suggested that it did not reduce market flexibility or affect the use of contingent labour.
At Budget 2018, the independent OBR did not judge the forthcoming reform to have any specific macroeconomic impacts. This was reiterated in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published in July 2019, which sets out HMRC’s assessment of the impact of the reform to the off-payroll working rules. The TIIN can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of IR35 tax reforms on (a) the economy and (b) flexibility in the workforce.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The off-payroll working rules are designed to ensure that someone working like an employee, but through a company, pays similar levels of tax to other employees. It is fair that individuals who work in a similar way should pay broadly the same amount of tax. The rules do not apply to the self-employed or stop anyone working through their own company.
In January 2020, the Government launched a review into the implementation of the reform of the rules. The Government is aware that some organisations are considering whether PSCs are the best way to engage contractors who are working like employees. Businesses reported that where individuals had been moved onto payroll, this was a result of a review of the structure of their workforce.
However, the Government has not seen any evidence that this indicates an overall change in demand for the services and skills that contractors offer, but will continue to monitor impacts on the labour market. For contractors who would prefer to continue to use a PSC, many organisations will still choose to engage contractors in this way, where this suits their business model.
Independent research on the impacts of the reform in the public sector has suggested that it did not reduce market flexibility or affect the use of contingent labour.
At Budget 2018, the independent OBR did not judge the forthcoming reform to have any specific macroeconomic impacts. This was reiterated in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published in July 2019, which sets out HMRC’s assessment of the impact of the reform to the off-payroll working rules. The TIIN can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to fully re-open the Valuation Office Agency in order to clear the backlog of that Agency`s outstanding queries during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is continuing to serve ratepayers at this challenging time, in line with Government guidance on managing this pandemic. The VOA is handling queries via email and other online channels and is prioritising work related to COVID-19. The VOA has moved staff from other areas to support customer service teams and help reduce response times.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reciprocal arrangements the Government has made with the US Administration to extend the length of visas for UK and US citizens currently in either country whose visas are due to expire and who are unable to return home because of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The UK is in regular contact at the highest levels with our US partners on our joint response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, including discussions on how to enable travelling nationals to return home where necessary. It is up to individual countries how they manage their response to the virus, including immigration policy.
British travellers currently in the USA will be allowed to leave to return home. British travellers who entered the USA on an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) visa and are concerned that their period of admission is about to expire are able to apply for Satisfactory Departure from the US Customs and Border Protection. This discretionary authority permits US Citizenship and Immigration Services and US Customs and Border Protection to extend an ESTA admission for a period not to exceed 30 days.
Most US citizens in the UK can stay for up to 6 months without a visa. If US citizen's visa is expiring and they cannot leave the UK at present because of travel restrictions or self-isolation related to COVID-19, they are able to request an extension from the Home Office's Coronavirus Immigration Team (CIT) and their visa will be extended to 31 May 2020.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of changes to business rates on high street activity; and if he will further review eligibility for non-residential business rate relief.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The Government recognises the challenges being faced by our high streets, and in response announced the retail discount at Budget 2018, and provided eligible retailers with a third off their bills from April 2019. In addition, the Government has also announced a £1 billion Future High Streets Fund, part of the £3.6 billion Towns Fund, to re-energise local economies.
In an exceptional response to the coronavirus, the Government has increased the retail discount to 100 per cent and expanded it to include hospitality and leisure properties, such as museums, theatres, gyms and hotels.
Asked by: Roger Gale (Conservative - North Thanet)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of UK nationals working as contractors who have been replaced by specialists from overseas in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.