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Written Question
Self-employed: Owner Occupation
Friday 26th February 2016

Asked by: Susan Elan Jones (Labour - Clwyd South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to support self-employed people who want to buy their own home.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)

The Government is committed to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. At the Spending Review the Government announced a series of measures which will help people become homeowners. These include plans to deliver 200,000 Starter Homes and 135,000 Shared Ownership homes; increasing the value of Help to Buy equity loans in London to 40% from 25% and extending the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme for a further year to 2021.

These schemes are also supported by the Help to Buy: ISA, through which the Government tops up mortgage deposit savings for first time buyers by up to £3,000.

Decisions around the availability of individual mortgage loans are commercial decisions for lenders, including what evidence is required to validate income. The Government does not seek to intervene in these decisions.

Written Question
Self-employed: Mortgages
Friday 26th February 2016

Asked by: Susan Elan Jones (Labour - Clwyd South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to improve access to mortgages for self-employed people.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)

The Government is committed to ensuring that the mortgage market delivers for creditworthy borrowers.

On 1 December 2015 the Government launched the Help to Buy: ISA to help all first time buyers saving for their first home.

Beyond the requirements set out in the regulations, decisions around the availability of individual mortgage loans are commercial decisions for lenders, including what evidence is required to validate income. The Government does not seek to intervene in these decisions.

Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 24 Nov 2015
HMRC Office Closures

"Does my hon. Friend agree that the distribution of well-qualified civil servants around the country will alter fundamentally, and that it is simply not on to say to well-qualified civil servants in north Wales that they have to go to Liverpool, no tax offices being left in north Wales at …..."
Susan Elan Jones - View Speech

View all Susan Elan Jones (Lab - Clwyd South) contributions to the debate on: HMRC Office Closures
Written Question
Banks: North Wales
Thursday 18th June 2015

Asked by: Susan Elan Jones (Labour - Clwyd South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will meet senior management of NatWest Bank to urge them to re-consider their decision to closes branches in Llangollen, Corwen and other communities in North Wales; and what steps his Department is taking to support high street banks in communities in North Wales.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)

Decisions on the opening and closing of individual bank branches are taken by the management of each bank on a commercial basis without intervention from Government.

Banks and building societies need to balance customer interests, market competition, and other commercial factors when considering their strategy.

The Government is committed to increasing competition to deliver innovation and good financial products and services for all bank customers, and part of the Government’s long term economic plan is to ensure that banks serve all sections of society.
The government welcomed the industry-wide Access to Banking protocol announced in March 2015. From the first of May this year, a bank must carry out a number of steps if it is closing a branch. The steps include establishing the impact of a branch closure before it takes place; finding suitable alternative provision; and putting satisfactory alternative measures in place before a branch is closed.

Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 19 Mar 2015
Amendment of the Law

"It is a great privilege to speak in this Budget debate and to follow all the previous speakers, who have passionately expressed their views. I want to pay particular tribute to my right hon. Friends the shadow Chancellor and the Leader of the Opposition, who spoke thoughtfully and in great …..."
Susan Elan Jones - View Speech

View all Susan Elan Jones (Lab - Clwyd South) contributions to the debate on: Amendment of the Law
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 19 Mar 2015
Amendment of the Law

"I agree with my hon. Friend that that is a hugely important issue. In my area there are many businesses waiting to be born that will never even reach gestation, simply because we do not give enough practical help to would-be entrepreneurs. The more than 5 million working people in …..."
Susan Elan Jones - View Speech

View all Susan Elan Jones (Lab - Clwyd South) contributions to the debate on: Amendment of the Law
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 19 Mar 2015
Fiscal Responsibility and Fairness

"The Chief Secretary to the Treasury may be aware of a popular television programme in this country called “Pointless”—it would be unkind of me to use the same description about him, so I will not. Can he say in one short sentence what exactly was the point of what he …..."
Susan Elan Jones - View Speech

View all Susan Elan Jones (Lab - Clwyd South) contributions to the debate on: Fiscal Responsibility and Fairness
Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 25 Feb 2015
Bankers’ Bonuses and the Banking Industry

"My hon. Friend is being incredibly generous in giving way to Conservative Members, and I would like to quote another Conservative, albeit not a Member of this House. Kay Swinburne, an MEP for Wales, had this to say on the subject of the court case in Europe that the Government …..."
Susan Elan Jones - View Speech

View all Susan Elan Jones (Lab - Clwyd South) contributions to the debate on: Bankers’ Bonuses and the Banking Industry
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 03 Jul 2014
Oral Answers to Questions

"I know that I speak for a certain proportion of people in this country who were dreadful at sport at school and never improved thereafter. What will the Minister do to encourage people who have never had a positive experience of sport to take our necessary exercise by that means?..."
Susan Elan Jones - View Speech

View all Susan Elan Jones (Lab - Clwyd South) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 24 Jun 2014
Wales Bill

"I would not wish the hon. Gentleman to continue without mentioning one of his predecessors, Lord Elystan-Morgan, who made an interesting point in his autobiography, saying that when he started his political career—many of us know that he did not spend his life in just one political party—he would not …..."
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View all Susan Elan Jones (Lab - Clwyd South) contributions to the debate on: Wales Bill