Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 22 Nov 2022
UK Infrastructure Bank Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)
"That is the whole reason we are here as legislators. I gently remind the Minister that it is important to put things in the Bill; otherwise, there is confusion and there are too many grey areas. The Minister does not want lawyers to get involved, but it is important to …..."Valerie Vaz - View Speech
View all Valerie Vaz (Lab - Walsall and Bloxwich) contributions to the debate on: UK Infrastructure Bank Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 22 Nov 2022
UK Infrastructure Bank Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)
"Cronies!..."Valerie Vaz - View Speech
View all Valerie Vaz (Lab - Walsall and Bloxwich) contributions to the debate on: UK Infrastructure Bank Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)
Speech in Public Bill Committees - Tue 22 Nov 2022
UK Infrastructure Bank Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)
"One of the difficulties is that the Bank of England does not have a spread across the regions. Does my hon. Friend not agree that we should have regional expertise as well, which is the whole point of levelling up all parts of the country?..."Valerie Vaz - View Speech
View all Valerie Vaz (Lab - Walsall and Bloxwich) contributions to the debate on: UK Infrastructure Bank Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 15 Nov 2022
Oral Answers to Questions
"When the Government cut the red tape and open the box, they will find 2,400 pieces of retained EU law, so what are they going to do to help small businesses navigate all the legislation that is going to drop on them at the end of next year?..."Valerie Vaz - View Speech
View all Valerie Vaz (Lab - Walsall and Bloxwich) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 11 Oct 2022
Oral Answers to Questions
"The Minister needs to be much more specific about the Horizon Europe programme. Is he aware that the Nobel laureate Sir Andre Geim has said that top academics are leaving the country in despair because the Government are not negotiating on Horizon Europe? When will the Government do something—now?..."Valerie Vaz - View Speech
View all Valerie Vaz (Lab - Walsall and Bloxwich) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Written Question
Friday 15th July 2022
Asked by:
Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question
to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) lowering the rate of VAT on motor fuel for low paid workers and (b) abolishing fuel duty.
Answered by Alan Mak
The temporary 5p cut to duty on petrol and diesel represents a £2.4 billion tax cut in 2022-23, to help consumers with high fuel prices.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. It would cost over £6 billion to cut VAT on road fuel from 20% to 5%.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 28 Jun 2022
Oral Answers to Questions
"Some £11.8 billion was lost to fraud during the pandemic, according to a plethora of organisations such as the National Investigation Service and the Insolvency Service. I know the Chancellor is keeping tabs on public money, but will he publish a real-time dashboard on the recovery of public money?..."Valerie Vaz - View Speech
View all Valerie Vaz (Lab - Walsall and Bloxwich) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 17 May 2022
Tackling Short-term and Long-term Cost of Living Increases
"It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Newton Abbot (Anneusb Marie Morris). It is sad that our Gracious Sovereign missed announcing the Government’s programme, but we look forward to seeing her again in the future.
The cost of living is one of the biggest crises engulfing our …..."Valerie Vaz - View Speech
View all Valerie Vaz (Lab - Walsall and Bloxwich) contributions to the debate on: Tackling Short-term and Long-term Cost of Living Increases
Written Question
Monday 25th April 2022
Asked by:
Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question
to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made on the potential merits of increasing the reimbursement of business travel in fully electric company cars.
Answered by Helen Whately
- Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The government introduced the Advisory Electric Rate (AER) in 2018. It applies to employees who use a fully electric vehicle as a company car.
The Advisory Electric Rate (AER) was changed in December 2021 from 4 pence per mile (ppm) to 5ppm. This was calculated using published consumption rates, adjusted to reflect real driving conditions, and the average cost of electricity.
However, employers are not required to use the AER. Instead, they can use different rates to reflect their employee’s circumstances. Provided they show that the bespoke rates do not result in a profit for the employee, there will be no tax to pay. Otherwise, when employers reimburse employees at a higher rate than the published AER (5ppm), the excess is subject to Income Tax and NICs.
The government keeps this policy under review.
Written Question
Tuesday 19th April 2022
Asked by:
Valerie Vaz (Labour - Walsall and Bloxwich)
Question
to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support is available to small hospitality businesses affected by rising (a) fuel costs and (b) VAT from 1 April 2022.
Answered by Helen Whately
- Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The government has prioritised support for SMEs by cutting business rates by 50% for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, providing a 95% subsidy for apprenticeships, and supporting them to invest and grow by increasing the Annual Investment Allowance to £1 million. The Help to Grow scheme provides eligible SMEs with a 90% subsidy for world class management training and subsidises the cost of new software up to £5,000.
The Spring Statement 2022 went further and cuts the cost of employment for half a million small businesses, by increasing the Employment Allowance from £4,000 to £5,000. This means that from April, 670,000 businesses will not pay NICs and the Health and Social Care Levy. In addition, the main rates of petrol and diesel duty will be cut by 5 pence per litre, the largest cash terms cut that has ever been applied to fuel duty rates at once.