Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the longest waiting time was for people trying to contact HMRC by telephone on 5 December 2023.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC publishes its performance data on a monthly and quarterly basis as below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-monthly-performance-reports
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits supporting the new UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The UK strongly supports developing countries' efforts to scale-up domestic resource mobilisation to finance sustainable development.
The UK engaged constructively in the negotiations on the UN tax resolution. However, the UK, alongside many other countries, is concerned that proceeding with a UN convention on international tax at this time would not be the most effective way to achieve these goals. An Explanation of Vote was published on GOV.UK on 22nd November. [LINK]
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to use revenue generated by new North Sea oil and gas licensing to fund green energy initiatives.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government is of the view that spending and taxation decisions should be made separately to avoid limiting the ability to manage the public finances flexibly.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of ending the freeze on local housing allowance.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
At the Autumn Statement, the government announced that Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates will be increased from April 2024 to cover the lower 30% of local rents. This will make 1.6 million low-income households in Great Britain better off, with an average gain of £800 in 2024/25.
This measure will support household incomes and help tackle child poverty, reaffirming government’s commitment to those in the most challenging financial position.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people are receiving support from the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme in Birmingham Hall Green constituency.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
HMRC publish statistics on the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/self-employment-income-support-scheme-statistics-february-2021.
As at 31 January 2021 4,600 individuals claimed the first SEISS grant, 4,300 individuals claimed the second SEISS grant and 4,000 individuals claimed the third SEISS grant in Birmingham Hall Green constituency.