Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will provide financial support to the (a) hospitality and (b) culture sectors as levels of covid-19 infection rise.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
On 21st December, the government announced £1 billion of new grant support to protect jobs and businesses in England from the adverse economic impacts of the Omicron variant. This includes targeted support for the hospitality, leisure and cultural sectors in the form of:
The government has also announced that the devolved administrations will receive £860 million of up-front funding, to help them continue their response to Omicron. As the new cash grants are England-only, Barnett consequentials will lead to a total of around £150 million for the devolved administrations: £80 million for Scotland, £50 million for Wales, and £25 million for Northern Ireland.
The government also announced that it is reintroducing the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme to help small and medium-sized employers cover the cost of Covid-related sick absences, covering up to two weeks per employee. This applies UK-wide.
HMRC also stand ready to support any business affected by the coronavirus pandemic through its Time to Pay arrangement. As part of this, businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors in particular will be offered the option of a short delay, and payment in instalments, on a case by case basis.
The government is also waiving late filing and late payment penalties for Income Tax Self-Assessment taxpayers, including those in the hospitality and cultural sectors, to support cashflow and ease administrative burdens. Taxpayers will not receive a late filing penalty if they file online by 28 February, and will not receive a late payment penalty if they pay their tax in full or set up a payment plan by 1 April.
The additional funding announced in December is on top of the generous and wide-ranging support package already in place. Businesses in the hospitality, retail and leisure sectors continue to benefit from capped business rates relief at 66% until the next financial year, when a new capped relief of 50% takes effect. Hospitality and tourism businesses also benefit from reduced VAT at 12.5% until the end of March. Businesses in these sectors may also benefit from access to wider economic support, including the Recovery Loans Scheme and protection from eviction if they are behind on rent on their premises.
As we have done throughout the pandemic, we are closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. We will continue to respond appropriately and proportionately to the changing path of the virus.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total collective monetary cost to people in Barnsley East of administering the planned increase to National Insurance Contributions for the Health and Social Care levy.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
HMRC has not made an estimate of the administrative cost to people in the Barnsley East constituency. However, at the UK level, some estimates were presented in the tax information and impact note (TIIN): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-social-care-levy/health-and-social-care-levy.
HMRC estimates (from the Survey of Personal Incomes) that around 40,900 people were liable to pay employee class 1 and/or class 4 NICs in the 2018 to 2019 tax year (latest available outturn) in the constituency of Barnsley East. HMRC does not publish this information at constituency level for projection years.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people are making National Insurance Contributions in Barnsley East constituency as at 23 September 2021.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
HMRC has not made an estimate of the administrative cost to people in the Barnsley East constituency. However, at the UK level, some estimates were presented in the tax information and impact note (TIIN): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-social-care-levy/health-and-social-care-levy.
HMRC estimates (from the Survey of Personal Incomes) that around 40,900 people were liable to pay employee class 1 and/or class 4 NICs in the 2018 to 2019 tax year (latest available outturn) in the constituency of Barnsley East. HMRC does not publish this information at constituency level for projection years.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government has taken to ensure that base rate cuts are passed on by lenders to mortgage prisoners.
Answered by John Glen
The Financial Conduct Authority have written to all closed-book firms following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging them to pass on base rate reductions in accordance with their fair treatment guidelines.
Data released in July 2020 stated that customers with inactive lenders pay on average just 0.4% more than borrowers with the same lending characteristics with active lenders. The Government is committed to helping mortgage prisoners where they will see genuine benefit and will continue to work with the Financial Conduct Authority and industry to provide switching options for borrowers with an inactive lender.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether an agency worker that was not a live assignment but was on the payroll of an agency on 19 March 2020 qualifies for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
An agency worker that was not on a live assignment but was on the payroll may qualify for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, provided other eligibility criteria are met; in particular, that the employee was included on an RTI submission on or before 19 March 2020 which relates to a payment of earnings in the 2019/20 tax year. It is for the agency to decide whether to offer to furlough a worker.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications have been made to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in each region of the UK.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Applications for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) opened on Monday 20th April.
This is a new scheme and HMRC are currently working through the analysis they will be able to provide based on the data available. HMRC will make the timescales for publication and the types of data available in due course.