Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a minimum level of access to essential in-person banking services.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The way consumers and businesses interact with their banking and make payments continues to develop at pace, bringing significant benefits to those who choose to opt for the convenience, security, and speed of digital services.
In recognition that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, the government is currently taking legislation through Parliament as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill to protect access to cash. The Bill will establish the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provide it with appropriate powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities. These powers will allow the FCA to have regard to factors it considers appropriate, which could include cost for users.
Regarding in-person banking services, the government believes that everyone, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking services. However, decisions on opening and closing branches, and the provision of in-person services, are a commercial issue for banks and building societies.
Guidance from the FCA sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. The guidance has recently been strengthened and clearly expects firms to put in place alternatives, where this is reasonable, to ensure customer needs are met. Where firms fall short of expectations, the FCA may ask for closures to be paused or other options to be put in place.
Alternative options to access cash and in-person banking services can be via the Post Office and other industry initiatives including cash pods, mobile banking vans and shared banking hubs. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK. Meanwhile, industry has committed to shared banking hubs in over 40 locations across the UK to date.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what targeted support his Department is providing to families with a child with a vision impairment.
Answered by John Glen
Children under 16 with a disability such as a vision impairment may qualify for Disability Living Allowance for Children (DLA) if they meet certain conditions. Families can access DLA regardless of income.
At the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced that benefits including DLA will be uprated by 10.1% in April this year, protecting the value of awards for the thousands of DLA recipients with vision impairments. From April 2023, those on the highest rate of DLA will see their award increased from £156.9 a week to £172.75 a week.
Children who are 16 or older and who have a vision impairment can make an application for Personal Independent Payment (PIP); a non-means tested benefit to help with the extra costs associated with their health condition or disability.
Families who are in receipt of benefits such as DLA or PIP may be eligible for one-off Disability Cost of Living Payments. At Autumn Statement, the Government announced that it will provide a further payment of £150 in 2023/24 to people in receipt of extra-costs disability benefits. This is additional to the £150 payment for recipients of disability benefits in 2022 already announced as part of the Cost of Living package in May.
For children with a vision impairment who are educated in special schools, funding comes from the Local Authorities’ high needs budgets. High needs funding will be rising to £10.1 billion in 2023-24 - an increase of over 50% from the 2019-20 allocations.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of equalising the rate of VAT on (a) public and (b) home charging for electric vehicles.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government has not specifically introduced a reduced rate of VAT for charging EVs at home. However, the practical challenges of differentiating between the electricity used at home for general domestic purposes, and electricity used to charge EVs currently mean that the domestic fuel and power reduced rate is effectively being applied to EV charging at home.
Introducing an additional VAT relief for public EV charging to match the VAT treatment of domestic fuel and power would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. There are therefore no plans to change the VAT treatment of EV charging.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to help ensure that increases in the cost of living do not disproportionately impact (a) blind and (b) partially sighted people.
Answered by John Glen
The Government recognises that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and especially to the most vulnerable members of society, such as blind or partially sighted people. That is why the Government is taking decisive and targeted action to get households through this winter, ensuring the cost of living does not disproportionately impact vulnerable households, whilst also acting in a fiscally responsible way.
People who are blind or partially sighted and in receipt of extra-costs disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) will have received a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 last year to help with the rising cost of living and will receive a further £150 Cost of Living Payment this year. These payments can be received in addition to the £650 Cost of Living Payment delivered in 2022/23 and the £900 payment which will be delivered in 2024/25 for households on means-tested benefits, or the two £300 Cost of Living Payments for pensioners last and this year. Individuals who have limited or no ability to work because of their disability or health condition and are in receipt of means-tested benefits such as income-related Employment and Support Allowance or the Universal Credit Health top up, are eligible for the means-tested benefit Cost of Living Payments.
People who are blind or partially sighted will also benefit from other forms of non-means-tested support which the Government is providing to assist with household energy bills. We have taken decisive action to support millions of UK households with rising energy costs this winter and throughout next year through the Energy Price Guarantee, which limits the price suppliers can charge customers for units of gas and electricity. In addition to the Energy Price Guarantee, millions of the most vulnerable households will receive further support in 2022/23 through the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme. The £150 Council Tax rebate will also mean that all households in Council Tax bands A-D in England will receive a rebate, and 99% of eligible households have already received this. Lastly, to support households who need further help or who are not eligible for elements of the wider package of support, the Government has provided £2.5bn in funding for local support to help with the cost of essentials until the end of March 2024, via the Household Support Fund.
This cost of living support is in addition to the existing specific financial support to help blind or partially sighted people. The Government provides the Blind Person's Allowance (BPA), an extra amount of tax-free allowance that can be added to an individual’s Personal Allowance, to those who are blind or severely sight impaired. In 2022/23, the allowance is £2,600 and therefore worth £520 given the basic rate of 20%. If the recipient does not pay tax or earn enough to use their full BPA, the remainder of the allowance can be transferred to a spouse or civil partner.
We are continuing to keep the situation under review and are focusing support on the most vulnerable whilst ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a review of mileage rates in the context of increases in the cost of living.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers for administrative ease as a means of reimbursing an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle.
Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to review the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments rate for the self-employed.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Self-employed people can get tax relief for fuel and other business motoring expenses by choosing to use either the simplified mileage rate or by claiming capital allowances and actual expenses. The simplified mileage rate is intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, depreciation, servicing, insurance, and Vehicle Excise Duty. As it is an average, the rate is necessarily more appropriate for some drivers than others.
As with all taxes and allowances, simplified mileage rates are kept under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the impact of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the economy.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement is the world’s biggest zero-tariff, zero-quota trade deal. This provides a strong base for UK businesses to trade with the EU.
The Government is continuing to support businesses trading with the EU, as well as helping them seize new opportunities with fast-growing economies around the world through our Free Trade Agreement negotiations.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the VAT on domestic energy to 2.5 per cent.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Energy Price Guarantee is a scheme that caps the unit price households pay for electricity and gas, which means that a typical household will have to pay bills equivalent to no more than £2500 a year on their energy bills this winter. This is expected to save consumers who use both gas and electricity around £900 this winter. The scheme as currently designed will last until 31 March 2023. As announced during the 2022 Autumn Statement, the EPG will increase to £3000 from April 2023 until April 2024. This new approach is expected to save around £14 billion to April 2024, ensuring fiscal sustainability, whilst targeting support to those most in need.
The Government recognises that families should not have to bear all of the VAT costs they incur to meet their needs, with domestic fuels such as gas, electricity and heating oil already subject to the reduced VAT rate (at 5 per cent of VAT). The Government's package of support to help households with their energy bills is more generous than an additional VAT cut on domestic fuel and power, and there would be no guarantee that suppliers would pass on the discounts from this relief to all customers.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a windfall tax on bank’s excess profits in a similar manner to the Energy Profits Levy.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Banks already face two additional taxes. The Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge is an additional charge on banking profit above a set allowance, and the Bank Levy is charged on banks’ balance sheets with equity and liabilities over £20 billion. Since the introduction of the Bank Levy in 2011, these two taxes have raised over £37 billion in additional revenue from the banking sector.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with HM Revenue and Customs on the potential merits of providing additional support to people affected by the loan charge.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government recognises that tax burdens including those related to the Loan Charge can add significant pressures.
HMRC has a well-established approach to supporting taxpayers who are struggling to pay their liabilities in full. HMRC offers taxpayers affordable and sustainable instalment arrangements based on their specific circumstances. These Time to Pay arrangements are flexible, have no maximum length and can be amended if the taxpayer’s circumstances change.
HMRC is committed to identifying and supporting taxpayers who need extra help with their tax affairs. HMRC has a dedicated telephone line for those seeking to exit a tax avoidance scheme and a debt helpline, with guidance and training in place for staff on how to identify taxpayers who need extra support.
Where appropriate, HMRC refers taxpayers to outside organisations that can provide further advice and support. In October, HMRC began piloting a new service with Samaritans to provide specialist emotional support via a dedicated helpline number.