Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to (a) stop goods subject to tariffs flowing freely from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland and (b) stop those goods being smuggled into the rest of the UK in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The UK Government’s priority in relation to Northern Ireland is meeting its commitment to avoid a hard border and ensure no new physical infrastructure or related checks and controls. Therefore, under the temporary approach to the NI border announced by the Government in the event of no deal, consignments from Ireland will not be subject to a tariff when entering Northern Ireland. This approach reflects the unique circumstances of the land border and the Government’s commitment to preserving the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in full.
HMRC will support businesses who are moving goods across the border legitimately, including businesses that continue to use the routes they use today. For goods entering Northern Ireland from Ireland, including where the ultimate destination is Great Britain, provided traders choose routes for commercial reasons not connected with an avoidance purpose, tariffs will not be due and tariff rate quotas will not apply.
However, if traders divert goods through Ireland and Northern Ireland with the main purpose of avoiding customs duty HMRC will have the power to require them to pay the UK’s tariff, wherever the goods are from. HMRC will continue to enforce compliance on an intelligence-led basis to ensure trade is consistent with the requirements set out in legislation.
HMRC remains committed to promoting compliance and tackling avoidance and evasion and would take steps to ensure that this temporary arrangement is not abused.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions the Government has held with the EU on the steps the EU will need to take to (a) protect the integrity of the Single Market, (b) protect revenue collection in the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the EU and (c) avoid breaking EU law in a no deal scenario when the UK applies zero tariffs to certain goods being imported into the UK.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
It is for the EU to decide what steps it needs to take in a no deal scenario, including in relation to the operation of tariffs and revenue collection in the Republic of Ireland.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate HMRC has made of the level of non-compliance at the UK border in a No Deal scenario with customs declarations and observance of tariffs; and if he will place that estimate in the Library.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In the event of a no deal HMRC will prioritise flow at the UK border but not at the expense of security, and will support businesses to meet their obligations. The level of compliance on declarations and tariffs is dependent on a number of factors and an estimate of the level of non-compliance is not available at this stage.Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether officials in his Department have had annual leave scheduled for April 2019 cancelled.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
It is Treasury policy that line managers are responsible for ensuring that employees are given the opportunity to take, as a minimum, their statutory annual leave during the leave year. Line managers will take into account the Treasury’s operational needs while making decisions for granting annual leave.
All annual leave requests are managed within the line management chain, and hence, details of any approved or cancelled annual leave is not held centrally.
Asked by: Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the go-live operational date is scheduled for the new Customs Declaration Service to take over from CHIEF system.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Customs Declaration Service (CDS) is being delivered through three releases of functionality alongside the CHIEF system. HMRC has delivered the majority of imports functionality through two releases in August and December 2018. The third release, planned for March, will provide the functionality necessary for exports. Some businesses are already using CDS, and HMRC expects all businesses to migrate to the new service after the third release has been implemented. In the meantime, the existing CHIEF system will remain available for businesses to use.
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 January to Question 205796 on Treasury: Brexit, when his Department plans to publish the data transparency releases referred to in that answer.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
All spending over £25,000 is published in line with current guidance on a monthly basis.
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 11 December 2018 to Written Question 199762 on National Income, if he will publish regional estimates of the change in gross value added of the UK (a) remaining a member of the EU, (b) leaving under the proposed EU withdrawal agreement, (c) leaving the EU and with a basic free trade agreement and (d) leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by John Glen
The Government has published estimates of long-run changes to regional GVA in four scenarios – modelled White Paper, modelled EEA-type, modelled average FTA, and modelled no deal - compared to today’s arrangements.
The analysis shows that all regions and nations of the UK will be better off in the modelled white paper scenario than in the modelled no-deal.
The publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exiting-the-european-union-publications