Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of melting down the 50 pence coins produced to commemorate the UK leaving the EU on 31 October 2019.
Answered by John Glen
We do not comment on the cost of producing coins as this is commercially sensitive information. The cost of producing these coins will be partially offset by the value gained from recycling them.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) businesses and (b) the public purse of the customs checks to be implemented between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK under the Prime Minister's EU Withdrawal Agreement; and what the timeframe is for the implementation of those customs checks.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
As a responsible government, the Government will take into account both the internal cost and the cost to business to deliver on all aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement.
The Government’s impact assessment for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill sets out the direct impacts of the revised Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol (published on 17 October 2019) in relation to the movement of goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Initial delivery assessments were a key consideration during the negotiations. Some changes will be needed to government and trade systems and processes in order to implement this arrangement and the Government will engage closely with affected businesses to ensure that delivery of any new requirements can take place as quickly and smoothly as possible.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of producing 50 pence coins to commemorate the UK leaving the EU on 31 October 2019.
Answered by John Glen
We do not comment on the cost of producing coins as this is commercially sensitive information. The cost of producing these coins will be partially offset by the value gained from recycling them.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of interchange fee reductions on the number of free-to-use ATMs.
Answered by John Glen
The Government has not carried out a formal assessment of the effect of interchange fee reductions on the number of free-to-use ATMs.
Although the management and deployment of ATMs is a commercial matter for ATM market participants, the Government recognises that widespread access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK.
The number of free-to-use ATMs increased for over a decade up to 2017, with the majority of ATMs clustered in areas of high demand and footfall. LINK, the scheme that runs the UK’s ATM network, saw this situation as unsustainable. Therefore, in January 2018, LINK announced reductions to the interchange fee, while taking steps to preserve the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs. This included protections for remote free-to-use ATMs, one kilometre or further from the next nearest free-to-use ATM or Post Office.
In July 2018, LINK responded to lower transaction volumes at ATMs by cancelling the third reduction of interchange fees due in January 2020 and putting on hold the 4th reduction that was due in January 2021.
More recently, LINK committed to protecting free access to cash on high streets – where there are five or more qualifying retailers – and announced £1 million to fund requests for new ATMs from local areas with poor access to cash. Furthermore, UK Finance – the trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector – has launched a Community Access to Cash Initiative, offering grants to local communities to improve cash access.
As of June 2019, there were 48,500 free-to-use ATMs in the UK, which represented 78% of the total number of ATMs. This remains 21% higher than a decade ago.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of interchange fee reductions on the number of free-to-use ATMs.
Answered by John Glen
The Government has not carried out a formal assessment of the effect of interchange fee reductions on the number of free-to-use ATMs.
Although the management and deployment of ATMs is a commercial matter for ATM market participants, the Government recognises that widespread access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK.
The number of free-to-use ATMs increased for over a decade up to 2017, with the majority of ATMs clustered in areas of high demand and footfall. LINK, the scheme that runs the UK’s ATM network, saw this situation as unsustainable. Therefore, in January 2018, LINK announced reductions to the interchange fee, while taking steps to preserve the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs. This included protections for remote free-to-use ATMs, one kilometre or further from the next nearest free-to-use ATM or Post Office.
In July 2018, LINK responded to lower transaction volumes at ATMs by cancelling the third reduction of interchange fees due in January 2020 and putting on hold the 4th reduction that was due in January 2021.
More recently, LINK committed to protecting free access to cash on high streets – where there are five or more qualifying retailers – and announced £1 million to fund requests for new ATMs from local areas with poor access to cash. Furthermore, UK Finance – the trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector – has launched a Community Access to Cash Initiative, offering grants to local communities to improve cash access.
As of June 2019, there were 48,500 free-to-use ATMs in the UK, which represented 78% of the total number of ATMs. This remains 21% higher than a decade ago.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 7 October 2019 to Question 292791 and the article published in the Times on 10 August 2019 entitled Bailout fund to prop up businesses after Brexit, what assessment his Department has made of which businesses are at high risk of collapse in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal; and what funding has been allocated to supporting those businesses.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
HM Treasury continue to monitor and work closely with businesses across the country to help ensure they are fully prepared for when the UK leaves the EU.
The government has already made £6.3 billion available to prepare for EU Exit. From this we have created £108m of funding for Brexit Business Preparedness – which is being allocated across government to ensure businesses are suitably prepared for EU exit.
In the event of no deal, the government would act quickly to outline our approach and take early action to support the economy, businesses and households. This would be followed by a Budget in the weeks thereafter.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) quantity and (b) value of business equipment will require an ATA Carnet for the (i) financial, (ii) musical, (iii) entertainment, (iv) professional services, (v) manufacturing and (vi) sporting sectors after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In the event of the UK exiting the EU without a deal, the UK will become a single customs territory and use of an ATA Carnet will be an option for moving goods, such as exhibition stands and musical instruments, temporarily between the UK-EU.
However, ATA Carnets are just one option when moving goods temporarily between customs territories. Their use is a commercial decision and should be considered alongside temporary admission / Returned Goods Relief procedures.
For this reason it is not possible to give an accurate answer to this question.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what funding his Department has allocated to Operation Kingfisher.
Answered by Rishi Sunak
HM Treasury and the Bank of England have a number of economic tools at their disposal in preparation for EU exit and stand ready to deploy them as and when necessary.
Overall, the government has already made over £6.3bn available to prepare for EU exit. This includes £2 billion of core funding for departments for Brexit in 2020-21, which was confirmed in the recent Spending Round.
We continue to monitor and work closely with businesses across the country to help ensure they are fully prepared for when the UK leaves the EU.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2019 to Question 272107 on Department of Heath and Social Care: Brexit, when his Department plans to publish details of the new customs procedures.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In August 2018, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published Technical Notices on Customs and Excise, Business VAT and Tariff procedures that would apply under no deal arrangements and impact on businesses. Up to date guidance is available on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/customs-procedures-if-the-uk-leaves-the-eu-without-a-deal, and this has been supported by a range of proactive stakeholder engagement. The final elements of guidance are in development and will be published in the next few weeks. HMRC continue to improve all of their guidance to ensure businesses have access to the advice they need to prepare for when the UK leaves the EU on 31st October.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of 11 June 2019 to Questions 258889 and 258888, what steps his Department is taking to tackle delays on customs house clearance times for packages sent from EU member states.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In a no deal Brexit, the Government’s priority is to avoid delays at the border and keep goods flowing, whilst protecting security and revenue. HM Revenue and Customs is working closely with businesses involved in importing goods into the UK as parcels and packages to support their preparations for exiting the EU.