Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the cost of taxi trips for care home staff that were paid for by the Infection Control Grant are treated by HMRC as a benefit in kind for employees and so are taxable; and if he will instruct HMRC to publish updated guidance on that matter.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The provision or reimbursement of the costs of taxis, or similar road transport, for travel between an employee’s home and workplace will not be taxed if all the following conditions are met:
Where the employer funds the provision or reimbursement of costs of transport using the Infection Control Grant, the same conditions apply.
Where the conditions are not met, the provision of transport or reimbursement of the costs of transport to employees for travel between the employee’s home and workplace will be taxable.
HMRC updated its guidance on paying or refunding transport costs during coronavirus (COVID-19) on 23 March 2021: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-treat-certain-expenses-and-benefits-provided-to-employees-during-coronavirus-covid-19#paying-or-refunding-transport-costs
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to provide support for people who have lost money in the Premier FX collapse.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Premier FX, an authorised payment institution, was placed into administration in August 2018 on the application of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and subsequently entered insolvency.
An FCA investigation, which reported in February 2021, found that Premier FX had misled its customers by informing them that it was able to hold their funds indefinitely, that their funds would be held in secure, segregated client accounts and that their funds would be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. As a result, the FCA has publicly censured Premier FX for breaches of the Payment Services Regulations. The FCA continues to investigate whether there were breaches of its rules by other parties and, if so, will take action, including steps to recover redress for any breaches that may have caused of contributed to losses from customers.
The Government has great sympathy for the creditors of Premier FX and encourages them to continue to engage with the insolvency process.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the level of VAT levied on the Cycle to Work scheme following the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are no current plans to change the VAT rate on the Cycle to Work Scheme. VAT registered businesses are normally able to reclaim any VAT incurred on the purchase of bicycles and safety equipment provided to their employees under the scheme.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a government-backed insurance scheme for festivals and events.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
On 22nd February, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s roadmap to cautiously ease lockdown restrictions in England, including an ambition to lift restrictions on large events in Step 4, subject to the outcome of the Events Research Programme.
Officials are considering the most appropriate way to support the events sector to safely reopen, informed by the findings of the research programme in the Spring.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of people who have benefitted from stamp duty relief for first time buyers have been women in each year since the introduction of that relief.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HM Revenue & Customs do not directly hold information on the sex or gender of first-time buyers, as this information is not a mandatory requirement for the independent calculation of the amount of Stamp Duty Land Tax liable on the purchase of a property.Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of making house purchases above £250,000 outside London eligible for Help to Buy ISA bonuses.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Help to Buy: ISA scheme aims to help those that are struggling to save enough to get onto the housing ladder. The property price cap allows the Government to target support at the first-time buyers who need it the most. Since the scheme launched in 2015, 359,250 property completions have been supported through the scheme with a mean property value of £174,281, below the average first-time buyer house price of £204,964 and well within the property price cap outside London of £250,000.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2021 to Question 153293, on Buildings: Insulation, what additional funding the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish governments will receive through the Barnett formula as a result of the £3.5 billion announced on 10 February 2021 for the removal of unsafe cladding on buildings over 18 metres.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government made an oral statement to the House of Commons on building safety on 10 February 2021.
The Barnett formula is applied to changes in departmental funding. Therefore, the level of Barnett will be confirmed at future fiscal events and spending reviews when there are changes to the level of funding for MHCLG.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of retaining the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief sunset clause beyond its current expiration date of April 2022.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Since the Museums and Galleries Exhibitions Tax Relief (MGETR) was introduced in 2017, the Government has provided a total of £20 million of support to 1,345 exhibitions.
The Government has committed to reviewing MGETR before its expiry in 2022. Further information will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the announcement of 10 February 2021, Government to bring an end to unsafe cladding with multi-billion pound intervention, what the Barnett consequentials are from that announcement of funding.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government made an oral statement to the House of Commons on building safety on 10 February 2021.
The devolved administrations will receive additional funding through the Barnett formula at future fiscal events and spending reviews, except where new departmental spending is funded by an England-only levy. The devolved administrations can implement their own levies should they choose to do so.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of the UK's withdrawal from the European Customs Union on businesses in the UK that import goods from third countries via the EU.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) ensures there will be zero tariffs or quotas on trade between the UK and the EU, where goods meet the relevant rules of origin, and also includes provisions to facilitate trade and address non-tariff barriers. At the same time, it takes the UK out of the EU’s Customs Union and Single Market and enables the UK to develop an independent trade policy and take full advantage of the new international trading opportunities available.
Rules of origin are a standard feature of trade agreements and serve to protect UK industry from unfair competition by ensuring that products from third countries cannot unduly benefit from the TCA. The rules of origin in the TCA were developed in close consultation with stakeholders to reflect the needs of UK-EU supply chains.
The Government has always been clear that leaving the Single Market and Customs Union will result in new customs processes for businesses trading with the EU. There will also necessarily be some circumstances where goods do not satisfy rules of origin requirements, including where products contain significant inputs from countries outside the UK or EU. The Government has published detailed guidance on rules of origin in the TCA and is working with businesses and trade associations to ensure that businesses understand any new requirements.