Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to tackle tax evasion.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Since 2010, the Government has introduced over 150 new measures to tackle tax avoidance, evasion and other forms of non-compliance, and has secured and protected over £250 billion in tax revenues that would have otherwise gone unpaid. These efforts have helped to reduce the tax gap to a record low of 4.7% for the year 2018-19.
At Spring Budget 2021, the Government announced a further 14 measures to tackle tax non-compliance, forecast to raise £2.2 billion over the next five years. The Government remains committed to reducing the tax gap and will bring forward further measures in the autumn.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent fiscal steps he has taken to support businesses in the social enterprise sector.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government recognises the important social and economic contribution that social enterprises are making across every industry in this country.
Last year, the Government made available an unprecedented £750 million package of support, specifically for charities, social enterprises and the voluntary sector, along with an additional £150 million from dormant bank and building society accounts. This funding has helped over 13,000 organisations continue to deliver vital services for those most affected by the pandemic.
In addition, at Budget 2021 the Chancellor extended the Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) for two years until April 2023. This ensures the scheme will continue to incentivise individuals to invest in social enterprises, while also allowing more time for the Government to assess the most effective way to support the social investment sector sustainably. Since SITR was launched in 2014-2015, social enterprises have raised funds of £15.8m through the scheme, with £3.3m raised in 2019-2020.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the level of business rates on retail unit vacancy.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Eligible businesses in the retail sector have paid no business rates in the 15 months to 1 July 2021, and over 90% of businesses will have their rates bills cut by 75% across the year in 2021-22. The Government has also decided to freeze the business rates multiplier in 2021-22, saving businesses in England an estimated £575m over the next five years.
The Fundamental Review of Business Rates will consider ideas for reform on all elements of the business rates system and the Review will conclude in the autumn.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce additional specific measures to compensate for directors' of limited companies loss of earnings during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government has provided substantial levels of support throughout this crisis to support people’s jobs and livelihoods, and to support businesses and public services across the UK, spending over £280 billion over the last year.
Directors who pay themselves a salary through a PAYE scheme are eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). However, some directors pay themselves in large part through dividends, while taking a small salary. Dividends are not covered by this scheme nor by the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). This is because income from dividends is a return on investment in the company, rather than wages. Under HMRC’s current reporting mechanisms it is not possible to distinguish between dividends derived from an individual’s own company and dividends from other sources.
The Government continues to work closely with stakeholders to explore how it can support different groups. The Government has engaged with various proposals put forward by stakeholder groups to assess if any are viable, and it continues to review these proposals to ensure they overcome the fundamental issues of protecting taxpayer money and safeguarding against fraud and abuse from organised criminals and others who would seek to exploit these schemes.
Individuals who are not eligible for the CJRS or SEISS may be eligible for other Government support. The Government has boosted the generosity of the welfare system through a temporary £20 a week increase in the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element. The Government has also increased the Local Housing Allowance rates for Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. Other support measures include rental support, mortgage holidays, enhanced Statutory Sick Pay and council tax support through local authorities.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on confidence among high street businesses and shoppers of extending business rates relief for the hospitality, retail, and leisure sector for an additional year.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government has taken the unprecedented step of providing over £10 billion in business rates relief this year for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties.
As announced at the Spending Review, to support businesses the Government will freeze the business rates multipliers for one year and will announce any decisions on future rate reliefs in the New Year.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to tackle the effect of covid-19 outbreak on levels of household debt in (a) Wolverhampton South West constituency and (b) the UK.
Answered by John Glen
The Government has delivered unprecedented support for living standards during this challenging time, protecting livelihoods with the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and temporary welfare measures.
The Government has extended the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme until 31 March 2021. Eligible employees will continue to receive 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. The Government has increased the overall level of the third grant under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme to 80 per cent of average trading profits, meaning that the maximum grant available has now increased to £7,500.
The Government has provided Local Authorities with £500 million to support people who may struggle to meet their council tax payments this year. The Government expects that this will provide all recipients of working age local council tax support with a further reduction in their annual council tax bill of £150 this financial year.
These measures are in addition to the changes this Government has made to make the welfare system more generous, worth over £7 billion according to recent OBR estimates. This includes a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element, and a nearly £1 billion increase in support for renters through increases to Local Housing Allowance rates.
We have also worked with mortgage lenders, credit providers and the Financial Conduct Authority to ensure the financial sector provides support for people across the UK to manage their finances by providing payment holidays on mortgages and consumer credit products.
The Government has also provided unprecedented support for businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This support includes the Coronavirus Business Interruption Scheme, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme, Bounce Back Loan Scheme and the Future Fund which, as of 15 November, have collectively supported over 1.4 million businesses with facilities worth in excess of £65bn. The Chancellor has announced that the Government has extended the application deadline for these schemes to a single date, 31 January 2020, meaning that even more businesses will have access to financial support.
To help people in problem debt get their finances back on track, an extra £37.8 million support package is being made available to debt advice providers this financial year, bringing this year's budget for free debt advice in England to over £100 million.
In May, the Government also announced the immediate release of £65 million dormant assets funding to Fair4All Finance, an independent organisation that has been founded to support the financial wellbeing of people in vulnerable circumstances. The funding is used to increase access to fair, affordable and appropriate financial products and services for those in financial difficulties.
From May 2021 the Breathing Space scheme will offer people in problem debt a pause of up to 60 days on most enforcement action, interest, fees and charges, and will encourage them to seek professional debt advice.
Data on levels of over-indebtedness in Wolverhampton South West was last published in 2018 by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), who continue to fund local delivery of debt advice through Wolverhampton Citizens Advice. MaPS will be publishing updated figures in 2021.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support is available for self-employed people who have taken out business loans and are continuing to experience financial hardship as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Government recognises the impact that the changing path of the virus has had on the self-employed and has taken action to increase the level of assistance available.
The Government has confirmed that it will provide further taxable grants through the SEISS Grant Extension. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced today that the third grant will cover 80% of average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months’ worth of profits for 1 November 2020 to 31 January 2020, and capped at £7,500 in total. This provides equivalent support to the self-employed as is being provided to employees through the Government's contribution in the CJRS. The fourth grant will cover a three-month period from 1 February 2021 until 30 April 2021. The Government will review the level of the fourth grant and set this in due course.
Furthermore, the Chancellor previously announced approved additional funding to support cash grants of up to £2,100 per month for businesses who may be adversely affected by the restrictions in high-alert level areas. These grants will be available retrospectively for areas who have already been subject to restrictions, and come on top of higher levels of additional business support for Local Authorities moving into Tier 3 which, if scaled up across the country, would be worth more than £1 billion. These grants could benefit about 150,000 businesses in England, including hotels, restaurants, B&Bs and many more businesses which are not legally required to close but have been adversely affected by local restrictions nonetheless.
For those requiring further assistance, a comprehensive package of financial support is available. The Government has temporarily increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for 2020-21 and relaxed the Minimum Income Floor for the duration of the pandemic meaning that where self-employed claimants' earnings have significantly fallen, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this, the self-employed also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, and mortgage holidays.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support is available for small brewers experiencing financial hardship as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government recognises that breweries have been acutely disrupted by recent necessary restrictions to the hospitality businesses they supply. That is why the Government has extended the unprecedented package of support measures, to protect businesses and jobs. This includes:
Small breweries have and will continue to benefit directly from Government support schemes, and indirectly from the support offered to the pubs and restaurants they supply, protecting jobs in the industry. The Government is continuing to collect evidence on the impact of the pandemic on the sector and to work with businesses and representative groups to inform our efforts to support this sector.