Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what additional support his Department is providing to carers in response to rising costs of living.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The government understands the pressures that households are facing with the cost of living and is monitoring the situation closely. These are global challenges, but the government is providing support worth over £22 billion in 2022-2023 to help families with these pressures, much of which will help carers on low incomes. This includes providing millions of households with up to £350 to help with rising energy bills and helping people keep more of what they earn. The government has cut the Universal Credit taper rate and increased work allowances meaning that 1.7 million households will, on average, keep an extra £1000 per annum. The government has also announced a further rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour from April 2022 which is an increase of over £1,000 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on NLW, in addition to freezing alcohol duty.
The Spring Statement went further, with the government announcing an increase to the annual National Insurance Primary Threshold and Lower Profits Limit to £12,570, a cut to fuel duty by 5 pence per litre, and an additional £500m to help with the cost of essentials such as food, clothing and utilities through the Household Support Fund.
Carers and their vital contribution to society are also recognised within the welfare system. Carers can receive additional support through Carer’s Allowance, the Carer Element in Uni versal Credit and through Pension Credit. The weekly rate of Carer’s Allowance will increase to £69.70 in April 2022. Around 360,000 carer households on Universal Credit can receive an additional £1,965 a year through the Carer Element, ensuring that extra support is focused on those carers who need it most. This amount will increase from April 2022 and will benefit carers across the country.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2020 to Question 83904 on Civil Servants: Edinburgh, how many HMRC staff are working in Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh; and how many have been based there in each month since its opening.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The UK Government Hub in Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth House, opened to staff on 1 September 2020. In line with current social distancing measures, HMRC have adapted their plans to welcome staff to their new location.
Since the opening, the number of HMRC staff in attendance has increased gradually as business-critical staff and others who need to be there completed their mandatory building inductions.
There will be other Government departments, in smaller numbers than HMRC, based at Queen Elizabeth House, although they are not currently working from the building: the Valuation Office Agency, the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Office of the Advocate General, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Office for Statistics Regulation, the Government Actuary’s Department, HM Treasury, the Health and Safety Executive, Cabinet Office and the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which Departments in addition to HMRC have staff based in Queen Elizabeth House in Edinburgh.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The UK Government Hub in Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth House, opened to staff on 1 September 2020. In line with current social distancing measures, HMRC have adapted their plans to welcome staff to their new location.
Since the opening, the number of HMRC staff in attendance has increased gradually as business-critical staff and others who need to be there completed their mandatory building inductions.
There will be other Government departments, in smaller numbers than HMRC, based at Queen Elizabeth House, although they are not currently working from the building: the Valuation Office Agency, the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Office of the Advocate General, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Office for Statistics Regulation, the Government Actuary’s Department, HM Treasury, the Health and Safety Executive, Cabinet Office and the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HMRC staff were employed in Scotland on (a) 1 September 2020, (b) 1 April 2020, (c) 1 April 2019, (d) 1 April 2018, (e) 1 April 2017, (f) 1 April 2016 and (g) 1 April 2015.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The number of HMRC staff employed in Scotland is as follows:
1 April 2015: 8,450
1 April 2016: 9,256
1 April 2017: 9,038
1 April 2018: 8,592
1 April 2019: 8,201
1 April 2020: 7,881
1 September 2020: 7,726
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse has been of wages for HMRC staff based in Scotland in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The estimated cost of wages for HMRC staff based in Scotland for the last five financial years is as follows:
Financial Year | Cost |
20/21 | 190,197,894 |
19/20 | 192,907,940 |
18/19 | 195,917,991 |
17/18 | 200,454,678 |
16/17 | 197,811,410 |
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the absence rate has been for HMRC staff based in Scotland in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The average working days lost for each HMRC employee based in Scotland are as follows:
1 April 2018 – 31 March 2019: 7.25 days
1 April 2019 – 31 March 2020: 7.50 days
In the time available, it has not been possible to provide the information requested for earlier years. I will write to the Honourable Member with the further information requested in due course, and I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.
The average working days lost for all HMRC employees over the three earlier years are as follows:
1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016: 7.58 days
1 April 2016 – 31 March 2017: 6.86 days
1 April 2017 – 31 March 2018: 6.89 days
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the recommendations in Hospitality Union’s #NationalTimeOut campaign; and what recent steps he has taken to support the hospitality industry during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
During this difficult time the Treasury is working intensively with employers, delivery partners, industry groups and other government departments to understand the long-term effects of social distancing across all key areas of the economy.
We appreciate the concerns of Hospitality Union’s NationalTimeOut campaign and the Government recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on businesses and sectors like hospitality.
That is why the Chancellor has already announced unprecedented support for individuals and businesses, to protect against the current economic emergency. This includes changes to our welfare system including Universal Credit and Statutory Sick Pay; grant schemes such as the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund and the Discretionary Grant Fund, which are primarily and predominantly aimed at small businesses facing high fixed property-related costs; a range of government-backed and guaranteed loan schemes; the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
We will continue to monitor the impact of government support with regard to supporting public services, businesses, individuals, and sectors such as hospitality. We are also keeping the exit strategy of all schemes under review as we respond to this pandemic and consider the longer-term economic recovery.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme in line with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extension to the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme on 29 May.
Eligible individuals whose business is adversely affected by COVID-19 will be able to claim a second and final grant when the scheme reopens for further applications in August. Individuals will be able to claim a taxable grant worth 70 per cent of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months’ worth of profits and capped at £6,570 in total.
There will be no further changes and no further extensions to the scheme, which continues to be one of the most generous in the world.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the letters dated (a) 30 March 2020, (b) 31 March 2020, (c) 1 April 2020, (d) 6 April 2020 and (e) 16 April 2020 from the hon. Member for Edinburgh East on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HM Treasury has received unprecedented amounts of correspondence since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, and apologises for the delay in responding to the Honourable Member. The Honourable Member’s correspondence is receiving attention and will be replied to as soon as possible.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of people who have been furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme being able to continue to work on critical elements of their employers' operations not related to income generation or trading; and when he plans to respond to the letter dated 31 March 2020 from the hon. Member for Edinburgh East on that subject.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is designed to help those who otherwise would have been made unemployed and to provide support to businesses as quickly as possible. Allowing employers to move staff to part-time and claim the difference would be contrary to the policy goal and substantially increase the risk of fraud. It is also inconsistent with public health guidance for people to stay at home. However, there is flexibility in the scheme as employers can decide how many staff to furlough, and staff can be furloughed multiple times while the scheme is in operation, provided they are furloughed for a minimum of 3 weeks.The Honourable Member will appreciate that at this unprecedented time the Government is receiving very significant volumes of correspondence. HM Treasury officials are working to ensure that all Honourable Members receive a reply to correspondence as soon as possible.