Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria were applied in the Spending Review for assessing proposed rail infrastructure projects.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Rail infrastructure projects are carefully considered to assess their value for money. This includes consideration of strategic, economic, social and environmental factors, the local context and regional distribution of projects, as well as affordability and the government’s wider fiscal position.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an estimate of the number of pubs that will close in (a) Leicester East and (b) the United Kingdom as a result of employer National Insurance contribution rises.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change. It means employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage without paying employer NICs.
Businesses will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under-21s and under-25 apprentices.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a phased approach to stamp duty increases for those in pre-agreed property transactions.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The increase of the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings (HRAD) by two percentage points at the Autumn Budget 2024, will impact transactions on or after 31 October 2024.
The rate increase will not apply to transactions where contracts have been exchanged prior to 31 October but have not yet completed. This means that those who have already committed to a purchase, by exchanging contracts, won’t pay more tax than they were expecting to pay when they agreed to buy the property.
The timing of implementation of tax increases is a balanced judgement which requires a comprehensive evaluation of a variety of factors including, but not limited to, complexity, fairness, and simplicity for the taxpayer. The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the usual tax policy making process and welcomes representations to help inform future decisions on tax policy.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the levels of funding for grassroots sports.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
Government funding is being considered in the usual way as part of the Spending Review. The outcome of this review will be communicated in due course.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there are fiscal incentives for businesses looking to invest in creative industries in the UK; and whether she plans to take steps to encourage such investments.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The creative industries play a key role in driving economic growth. The Government is committed to supporting them and will implement a creative industries sector plan as part of the Industrial Strategy, creating good jobs and accelerating growth in film, music, gaming, and other creative sectors.
One of the ways that the Government incentivises investment in the sector is through the creative industry tax reliefs, which provide generous support for production costs of theatres, orchestras, museums and galleries and film, TV and video games companies. The reliefs delivered £2.2 billion of support to these industries in financial year 2022-23.
The government also provides a range of grant support.