Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of rising food prices on working families.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
On 28 January 2022, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) restarted publication of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation series broken down by income decile. Publication of these series was previously suspended due to the unavailability of many items for price quotes during the pandemic.
We understand the pressure that a higher cost of living places on people, including increasing food prices. The government is working with international partners to tackle the global supply chain disruptions that are causing higher inflation, and is providing support worth around £12 billion this financial year and next to help families with the cost of living. Alongside this, the government has announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to control inflation on food prices.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
As the global economy recovers, many countries are experiencing high inflation, in part due to pressures from rising energy prices and disruptions to global supply chains. These global pressures are the main driver of higher inflation in the UK.
The government’s commitment to price stability remains absolute. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is responsible for controlling inflation and since they became responsible for controlling inflation it has averaged close to the 2% target.
We understand the pressure that a higher cost of living places on people. The government is working with international partners to tackle global supply chain disruption and providing support worth around £12 billion this financial year and next to help families with the cost of living. Alongside this, the government has announced a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) adequacy of the way in which the ONS (i) collects and (ii) reports food prices.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Consumer Prices Index and Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing inflation series are produced by the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS) in line with international best practice and the Office for Statistics Regulation assess that it meets the highest standard of quality providing it with National Statistics status.
This Government welcomes long-standing ONS plans to further improve the way it constructs inflation statistics, for example by incorporating scanner data into its price collections.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What steps he plans to take in response to the publication of the Pandora Papers to tackle (a) tax avoidance, (b) money laundering and (c) other financial crimes.
Answered by John Glen
This government is committed to making the UK a hostile place for illicit finance and economic crime. We are determined to crack down on dirty money and financial exploitation, to protect our security and prosperity. We have taken action through our ‘No Safe Havens’ strategy to ensure the correct UK tax is paid; and our landmark 2019 Economic Crime Plan outlines a comprehensive response to ensure the UK cannot be abused for economic crime.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason his Department does not hold complaints in respect of the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme centrally.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HM Treasury operates a complaints procedure to review and respond to expressions of dissatisfaction with the services provided by the department. The complaints procedure is available on GOV.UK.
Separate procedures exist for questions or complaints about Government policy. If someone submitted an issue under the Treasury’s complaints procedure that concerned Government policy, the complaints team would pass this issue on to the relevant policy team.
While the Treasury records a total figure for the amount of correspondence received regarding the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), this represents a wide range of suggestions, thoughts and concerns. It would not be reasonable for the Treasury to determine whether each individual piece of correspondence could informally constitute a “complaint” about the SEISS. Given this, this information is not recorded centrally.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints (a) his Department and (b) HMRC received from self-employed people who were unable to access the self-employment income support scheme; and whether his Department has conducted an impact assessment for that scheme on people with protected characteristics.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The information requested in point (a) is not held centrally by HM Treasury, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
On point (b), the Customer Services Group at HMRC received 7,253 complaints about the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). Of this number, 89 per cent were not fully upheld. Approximately 82 per cent of the total complaints were in relation to eligibility for the SEISS.
The Government takes equality considerations seriously and has been careful to give due regard to its Public Sector Equality Duties throughout its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In designing and refining the SEISS scheme, the Treasury undertook an analysis of how this may affect individuals with protected characteristics, in line with its Public Sector Equality Duty, and to ensure that equalities considerations inform the decisions taken by ministers.