Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the EU on allowing motorcycles purchased in the UK to be moved and used in the EU, without the need to pay EU VAT, where those motorcycles are temporarily in the EU for a recreational period and will not be sold in the EU.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Discussions about VAT on goods have featured as part of discussions with the EU in the context of the Withdrawal Agreement.
The VAT treatment of goods entering the EU, including on a temporary basis, is a matter for the EU. EU Member States are responsible for the implementation of those rules.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has has made of the potential merits of establishing a Government-backed scheme to support consumers and wedding business in the absence of available insurance cover.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government recognises the essential role of the insurance industry in providing the cover businesses need to operate. We are working closely with the insurers, the trade bodies and regulators to understand what more the industry can do to help individuals and businesses in their time of need, and how the insurance market delivers the support firms need as the economy reopens.
Over the course of the pandemic the Government has worked closely with the weddings sector to understand the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses and has responded with a substantial package of business support, which we keep under regular review.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full-time equivalent civil servants in his Department are working on developing new policy initiatives to support people during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
HMT takes a flexible and dynamic approach to resourcing in order to meet Government priorities. Many staff working on the government’s COVID-19 response often do so alongside its other policy priorities. We do not routinely record the number of full time equivalent civil servants who work on individual policy initiatives.
As at September 2020 HMT had 1838.8 paid full time equivalent staff.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-12-17/131452
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he has made available to parents who are home schooling due to the January 2021 covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Steve Barclay
The government has invested over £300 million to support remote education, including providing devices and internet access to pupils who need it most.
Since its introduction, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been available to anyone who has been unable to work due to caring responsibilities arising from COVID-19, such as caring for children who are at home as a result of school and childcare facilities closing, or caring for a vulnerable individual in their household. The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme is also available to parents and carers who cannot work because of childcare commitments.
In order to support businesses to retain their employees and protect the UK economy, the Chancellor has extended both the CJRS and SEISS until the end of April 2021.
Individual families have also benefitted from increased welfare payments, enhances statutory sick pay, a stay of repossession proceedings and mortgage holidays.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date he last met with representatives from organisations representing PAYE freelancers who are ineligible for the (a) Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and (b) Coronavirus Job Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Treasury ministers and officials have had meetings with a variety of organisations in the public and private sectors (including MPs, businesses, professional representative bodies, and the unions) throughout the development of the COVID-19 support package, including both the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The Government has engaged widely, including with IPSE, the TUC and other organisations who represent the self-employed.
The Government’s proactive approach to stakeholder engagement has been recognised by the Institute for Government, who said: “The government’s approach to consultation compensated for some of the difficulties of accelerated policy development, because it gave it fast access to information, and an early sense of whether the measures would work and how they would be received by businesses and workers. This contributed to both positive reception on announcement and successful roll-out.”
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available on GOV.UK.
The Treasury continues to speak to stakeholders, and has met with representatives including from the ExcludedUK campaign group, the Chair of the Gaps in Support APPG, Refused Furlough Support Group, Forgotten Ltd, Maternity Petition and Forgotten PAYE, alongside MPs.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Theatre Tax Relief to cover (a) digital output and (b) community-based artistic activity.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
In 2019-20, the Government provided £71 million of support to 3,580 productions through the Theatre Tax Relief. While all tax reliefs are kept under review, the Government is not planning any changes to the Theatre Tax Relief.
The current rules do allow any theatrical production company to claim Theatre Tax Relief if its live performances will be to paying members of the general public or provided for educational purposes. This does not exclude qualifying community-based performances.
The Government has taken action to support the cultural sector during the pandemic through a £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund. To date, £409 million in grant funding has been awarded to over 2,000 cultural organisations in England including orchestras, music venues, galleries, theatres, museums and festivals.