Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ensure that local authorities are provided with sufficient funding to provide grants to all charities in receipt of charitable rate relief.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government is aware that some small businesses and organisations have found themselves excluded from the existing business grants schemes because of the way they interact with the business rates system. That is why the Government has allocated up to an additional £617 million to Local Authorities to enable them to give discretionary grants to organisations in this situation. The Government’s intention is for Local Authorities to prioritise the following types of organisation when making discretionary grants:
Local Authorities may choose to focus payments on those priority groups which are most relevant to their local areas. Local Authorities may also choose to pay grants to organisations outside of these priority groups, according to local economic need, so long as the organisation was trading on 11th March, and has not received any other cash grant funded by central Government (with the exception of grants from the SEISS).
In addition, the Government has announced a £750m support package for charities. £360m of this will be allocated directly to charities providing essential services and supporting vulnerable people, including up to £200m for hospices across the next quarter. A further £310m will support smaller, local charities, including through grants distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund. £60m will be allocated to the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula. The Government pledged to match whatever the public donated to the BBC Big Night In fundraiser on 23 April, with a minimum of £20m going to the National Emergencies Trust.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that people furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme who are (a) shielding and (b) living in a household where someone else is shielding do not have to return to work in breach of public health advice as the covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
On 12 May, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was extended for four months until the end of October. The scheme has been extended in full until the end of July, and then the Government will introduce changes to the scheme concerning part-time working and employer contributions from August. The Treasury and HMRC are working urgently to finalise the detail of these changes, which will be announced by the end of May.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will (a) suspend and (b) undertake a review of the 2019 Loan Charge.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Our sympathies are with the family and friends of anyone who has taken their own life.The Government has recognised the need to support those affected by the disguised remuneration loan charge and has put extra resources in place. In particular, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have opened a disguised remuneration helpline so people affected by the loan charge can discuss their affairs with a specialist team. The team can also offer additional support where needed and direct people to organisations including Samaritans and Mind.
The Government published a tax information and impact note (TIIN) for this policy, in common with all new tax legislation. This provided a clear explanation of the policy objective together with details of the effect on the Exchequer, the economy, individuals, businesses, civil society organisations, as well as any equality or other specific area of impact.
The Prime Minister on 4 September 2019 announced that the Government will undertake a thorough review of the loan charge, and the Government will set out further details shortly.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support HMRC is offering to the families of people who have died by suicide while facing the 2019 Loan Charge.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Our sympathies are with the family and friends of anyone who has taken their own life.The Government has recognised the need to support those affected by the disguised remuneration loan charge and has put extra resources in place. In particular, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have opened a disguised remuneration helpline so people affected by the loan charge can discuss their affairs with a specialist team. The team can also offer additional support where needed and direct people to organisations including Samaritans and Mind.
The Government published a tax information and impact note (TIIN) for this policy, in common with all new tax legislation. This provided a clear explanation of the policy objective together with details of the effect on the Exchequer, the economy, individuals, businesses, civil society organisations, as well as any equality or other specific area of impact.
The Prime Minister on 4 September 2019 announced that the Government will undertake a thorough review of the loan charge, and the Government will set out further details shortly.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact on the mental health of the people affected by the 2019 Loan Charge.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Our sympathies are with the family and friends of anyone who has taken their own life.The Government has recognised the need to support those affected by the disguised remuneration loan charge and has put extra resources in place. In particular, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have opened a disguised remuneration helpline so people affected by the loan charge can discuss their affairs with a specialist team. The team can also offer additional support where needed and direct people to organisations including Samaritans and Mind.
The Government published a tax information and impact note (TIIN) for this policy, in common with all new tax legislation. This provided a clear explanation of the policy objective together with details of the effect on the Exchequer, the economy, individuals, businesses, civil society organisations, as well as any equality or other specific area of impact.
The Prime Minister on 4 September 2019 announced that the Government will undertake a thorough review of the loan charge, and the Government will set out further details shortly.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking in response to the amendment to EU VAT directive (2006/112/EC), which gave the UK the flexibility to bring the rate of VAT for e-publications in line with the rate of VAT for their printed equivalents.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government keeps all taxes under review, including Value Added Tax (VAT).
Any amendments to the VAT regime as it applies to physical publications and e-publications must be carefully assessed against policy, economic and fiscal considerations. Any representations on this issue will be considered as part of the fiscal events process.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that dementia care is adequately funded in the next Spending Review.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Dementia care is supported by both NHS and adult social care funding. As part of the NHS’s cash increase of £33.9bn a year by 2023-24 and outlined in their long-term plan, the NHS will provide better support for people with dementia through a more active focus on supporting people in the community. And over three years (2017-18 to 2019-20) we have given councils access to up to around £10bn more dedicated funding for adult social care.
The Spending Review represents an opportunity to consider public spending priorities in the round, and the Treasury will be working closely with departments on funding issues, and with a renewed focus on delivering outcomes.