Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing business rate relief for airports in response to the reduction in passenger traffic.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation industry as a result of COVID-19, and firms experiencing difficulties as a result of COVID-19 can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor, including schemes to raise capital and flexibilities with tax bills. Firms in the aviation sector will now also be able to take advantage of the targeted package of measures to support jobs and businesses through the winter months.
The Government has also launched a new Global Travel Taskforce to work with industry to support the safe recovery of international travel.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allocating additional funding to local authorities for the provision of park sporting facilities as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government has provided a comprehensive package of support for councils to help with their response to Covid-19. Over £3.7bn in additional grant funding has been announced for councils in England, which can be used flexibly across all their services, and Sport England have announced a support package of £210 million to help community clubs through this crisis. The Government will continue to work closely with local authorities to monitor the pressures that they are facing.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to return the use of cash to normal safety levels.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government recognises that widespread access to cash is extremely important to the daily lives of millions of people across the UK. The Government is engaging with the financial regulators, including through the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy Group, to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the UK’s cash infrastructure and remains committed to protecting access to cash for those who need it, while supporting digital payments.
At the March 2020 Budget, the Chancellor announced that Government will bring forward legislation to protect access to cash and ensure that the UK’s cash infrastructure is sustainable in the long-term. The Government is engaging with regulators and industry while designing legislation, ensuring that the approach reflects the needs of cash users across the economy.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of businesses that will be excluded from the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund due to the exclusion of the event catering industry from the Government's definition of the hospitality industry.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government does not hold this information.
The Government recognises that this is a very challenging time for businesses in a wide variety of sectors. Small businesses occupying properties for retail, hospitality or leisure purposes are likely to be particularly affected by COVID-19 due to their reliance on customer footfall, and the fact that they are less likely than larger businesses to have sufficient cash reserves to meet their high fixed property-related costs. The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund is intended to help small businesses in this situation.
Local Authorities can choose to make discretionary grants to businesses in other sectors if they feel there is a particular local economic need. However, the priority of all the grants schemes continues to be to help the smallest businesses, and small businesses which are facing significant property-related costs and operate in sectors which have been particularly hard hit by the steep decline in customer footfall.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what amount of heated tobacco product covered by the Tobacco for Heating excise category introduced on 1 July 2019 may be brought into the UK by passengers (a) from the EU and (b) from outside the EU as at (i) 11 July 2019 and (ii) after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Passengers travelling from the EU may bring an unlimited amount of tobacco for heating into the UK without paying duty, provided it is for their own personal use.
Most passengers travelling from outside the EU may bring tobacco for heating products into the UK up to the value of £390. Passengers travelling by private plane or boat are only entitled to an allowance of £270.
The Government’s future approach is subject to the outcome of negotiations with the EU. However, the Government’s aim is to keep processes as close as possible to their current operation.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants in his Department are currently working on planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and how many have been moved from other projects to work on those plans.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The department regularly reprioritises work in line with its changing priorities as part of its dynamic and flexible resourcing model. Many staff will work both on EU Exit and other priorities. Because of this it is not possible to give an accurate estimate of the number of civil servants involved solely in contingency planning for ‘No Deal’, at any one time.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many projects his Department has put on hold due to the requirements of planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Treasury’s priority is for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union with a negotiated deal. The department is, however, working with Cabinet Office to co-ordinate its contingency planning in the case of a ‘No Deal’, as well as running its own internal resourcing and workplan reviews in case of this outcome.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to increase the penalties for recidivist offenders caught selling illegal products.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The joint HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)/Border Force strategy ('Tackling Illicit Tobacco: From leaf to light') published on GOV.UK on 24 March 2015 sets out a comprehensive framework to tackle this problem at all points in the supply chain, to deter and punish involvement in the fraud and reduce demand. HMRC and Border Force work closely with other enforcement agencies, including Trading Standards and the police to target those involved in the fraud. Since 2000, the illicit market for cigarettes has reduced from 22% to 13% and for hand rolling tobacco from 61% to 32%.
There is a wide range of sanctions available to tackle the sale of illicit tobacco (and alcohol) including seizure of products and cash, financial penalties and a maximum penalty of seven year’s imprisonment. In the last two years alone, over 3.5 billion illicit cigarettes and around 600 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco have been seized resulting in 848 prosecutions.
On prosecution, HMRC can also apply for withdrawal of retailers' alcohol licenses and orders prohibiting the use of premises for the sale of tobacco for a period of up to 6 months. Additionally, as a result of coordinated activity with other enforcement agencies, action can be taken on wider tobacco offences, such as under-age sales, and on vehicle licensing and immigration offences.
HMRC works to raise awareness of the consequences of participation in the illicit market, its links with organised criminality and the related harm that illicit tobacco causes to individuals, communities and legitimate high street businesses. HMRC has been using behavioural insight to better promote awareness of the issue and deter participation in the fraud, for example through campaigns it has undertaken involving hauliers, coach drivers and retailers.
As announced at Budget 2016, following the informal consultation HMRC is currently developing options, with particular focus on the approach taken to repeat offenders, and plans to consult formally later this year.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce demand for illicit tobacco.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The joint HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)/Border Force strategy ('Tackling Illicit Tobacco: From leaf to light') published on GOV.UK on 24 March 2015 sets out a comprehensive framework to tackle this problem at all points in the supply chain, to deter and punish involvement in the fraud and reduce demand. HMRC and Border Force work closely with other enforcement agencies, including Trading Standards and the police to target those involved in the fraud. Since 2000, the illicit market for cigarettes has reduced from 22% to 13% and for hand rolling tobacco from 61% to 32%.
There is a wide range of sanctions available to tackle the sale of illicit tobacco (and alcohol) including seizure of products and cash, financial penalties and a maximum penalty of seven year’s imprisonment. In the last two years alone, over 3.5 billion illicit cigarettes and around 600 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco have been seized resulting in 848 prosecutions.
On prosecution, HMRC can also apply for withdrawal of retailers' alcohol licenses and orders prohibiting the use of premises for the sale of tobacco for a period of up to 6 months. Additionally, as a result of coordinated activity with other enforcement agencies, action can be taken on wider tobacco offences, such as under-age sales, and on vehicle licensing and immigration offences.
HMRC works to raise awareness of the consequences of participation in the illicit market, its links with organised criminality and the related harm that illicit tobacco causes to individuals, communities and legitimate high street businesses. HMRC has been using behavioural insight to better promote awareness of the issue and deter participation in the fraud, for example through campaigns it has undertaken involving hauliers, coach drivers and retailers.
As announced at Budget 2016, following the informal consultation HMRC is currently developing options, with particular focus on the approach taken to repeat offenders, and plans to consult formally later this year.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce the sale of illicit tobacco.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The joint HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)/Border Force strategy ('Tackling Illicit Tobacco: From leaf to light') published on GOV.UK on 24 March 2015 sets out a comprehensive framework to tackle this problem at all points in the supply chain, to deter and punish involvement in the fraud and reduce demand. HMRC and Border Force work closely with other enforcement agencies, including Trading Standards and the police to target those involved in the fraud. Since 2000, the illicit market for cigarettes has reduced from 22% to 13% and for hand rolling tobacco from 61% to 32%.
There is a wide range of sanctions available to tackle the sale of illicit tobacco (and alcohol) including seizure of products and cash, financial penalties and a maximum penalty of seven year’s imprisonment. In the last two years alone, over 3.5 billion illicit cigarettes and around 600 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco have been seized resulting in 848 prosecutions.
On prosecution, HMRC can also apply for withdrawal of retailers' alcohol licenses and orders prohibiting the use of premises for the sale of tobacco for a period of up to 6 months. Additionally, as a result of coordinated activity with other enforcement agencies, action can be taken on wider tobacco offences, such as under-age sales, and on vehicle licensing and immigration offences.
HMRC works to raise awareness of the consequences of participation in the illicit market, its links with organised criminality and the related harm that illicit tobacco causes to individuals, communities and legitimate high street businesses. HMRC has been using behavioural insight to better promote awareness of the issue and deter participation in the fraud, for example through campaigns it has undertaken involving hauliers, coach drivers and retailers.
As announced at Budget 2016, following the informal consultation HMRC is currently developing options, with particular focus on the approach taken to repeat offenders, and plans to consult formally later this year.