Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to (a) bring forward and (b) consult on legislative proposals on the oversight and regulation of the actuarial profession during this parliamentary session.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s response to its White Paper consultation on its reform proposals was published on 31 May 2022. The Government has committed to legislating when Parliamentary time allows.
Prior to issuing its response to the White Paper consultation, the Government consulted extensively on its proposals to reform the oversight and regulation of the actuarial profession, including holding discussions with a range of actuarial stakeholders. The Government will continue to engage with actuarial stakeholders.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) reducing and (b) removing the vehicle tax on a vehicle used to assist a person with disabilities.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is absolutely committed to supporting disabled people and is determined that support should be focused on people who need it most. Individuals in receipt of the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance and its successor, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), qualify for a full exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). A fifty per cent reduction in VED is available to those in receipt of the PIP standard rate mobility component.
More information can be found on the Gov.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/financial-help-disabled/vehicles-and-transport.
As with all taxes, VED remains under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the British Business Bank's regional angels programme will be extended with funding from his Department.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The British Business Bank’s Regional Angels Programme provides early-stage equity capital to smaller businesses with high growth potential across the UK. The British Business Bank’s funding for the next three years will be set out at the Spending Review.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to extend the Term Funding Scheme to non-bank lenders to improve alternative financing options.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Term Funding Scheme (TFS) is a monetary policy tool of the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England. Therefore, it is not appropriate for the Government to comment on its conduct or effectiveness.
The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is a key feature of the UK’s economic framework, and essential for the effective delivery of monetary policy.
We will continue to work with non-bank lenders to support their participation in the new Recovery Loan scheme following the closure of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will issue guidance on the duties importers and exporters are liable for on goods of Turkish origin exported to the EU via the UK.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The UK has negotiated a Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU. This agreement maintains zero tariffs and zero quotas on trade in goods between the UK and EU, where goods meet the relevant rules of origin. Rules of origin specify the minimum amount of UK/EU content that is required for the good to be considered ‘originating’ in either market. A very small number of products that contain significant inputs from outside the UK and EU may face tariffs.
Guidance to check product-specific and country-specific information on tariffs and regulations that currently apply to UK trade in goods can be found at https://www.gov.uk/get-rules-tariffs-trade-with-uk and at https://www.gov.uk/check-duties-customs-exporting.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the removal of the Extra Statutory Concession on VAT on goods supplied at duty-free and tax-free shops on the economy.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Ahead of the end of the transition period, the Government has announced the VAT and excise duty treatment of goods purchased by individuals for personal use and carried in their luggage arriving from or going overseas (passengers). The following rules will apply from 1 January 2021:
- Passengers travelling from Great Britain to any destination outside the United Kingdom (UK) will be able to purchase duty-free excise goods once they have passed security controls at ports, airports, and international rail stations.
- Personal allowances will apply to passengers entering Great Britain from a destination outside of the UK, with alcohol allowances significantly increased.
- The VAT Retail Export Scheme (RES) in Great Britain will not be extended to EU residents and will be withdrawn for all passengers.
- The concessionary treatment on tax-free sales for non-excise goods will be removed across the UK.
The Government published a consultation which ran from 11 March to 20 May. During this time the Government held a number of virtual meetings with stakeholders to hear their views and received 73 responses to the consultation. The Government is also continuing to meet and discuss with stakeholders following the announcement of these policies.
The detailed rationale for these changes are included in the written ministerial statement and summary of responses to the recent consultation: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2020-09-11/hcws448 and https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-consultation-on-duty-free-and-tax-free-goods-carried-by-passengers. A technical note has also been issued to stakeholders to expand on this document and to respond to issues raised by stakeholders.
HMRC estimate that VAT RES refunds cost around £0.5 billion in VAT in 2019 for around 1.2 million non-EU visitors. In 2019 the ONS estimate there were substantially more EU visitors (24.8 million) than non-EU passengers (16.0 million) to the UK. This implies an extension to EU residents would significantly increase the cost by up to an estimated £0.9 billion. This would result in a large amount of deadweight loss by subsidising spending from EU visitors which already happens without a refund mechanism in place, potentially taking the total cost up to around £1.4 billion per annum.
The concessionary treatment on tax-free sales currently affects airports that fly to non-EU destinations. The extension of duty-free sales to EU bound passengers will be a significant boost to all airports in England, Scotland and Wales, including smaller regional airports which have not been able to offer duty-free to the EU before.
HMRC estimate that around £150 million of VAT is not charged as a result of tax-free airside sales. As with the VAT RES, extending the relief to the EU would significantly increase the cost of the scheme and result in a large amount of deadweight loss by subsidising spending from EU-bound passengers which already happens.
The final costings will be subject to scrutiny by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and will be set out at the next forecast.
The Government also recognises the challenges the aviation sector is facing as it recovers from the impacts of Covid-19 and has supported the sector throughout the pandemic, and continues to do so, including schemes to raise capital, flexibilities with tax bills, and financial support for employees.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will amend the eligibility criteria for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to include new starters who were not on the payroll with their new company on 19 March 2020 but had a contractual agreement in place with that employer.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is open to any individual who was on an employer’s PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 and for whom HMRC received an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before the 19 March 2020. Processing claims for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme where HMRC did not have RTI data by 19 March would significantly slow down the system while risking substantial levels of fraud. It would also require greater resource for HMRC when they are already under significant pressure to deliver the system designed.
Those not eligible for the scheme may have access to other support which the Government is providing, including a package of temporary welfare measures and up to three months’ mortgage payment holidays for those in difficulty with their mortgage payments.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the submission of contracts as evidence of employment are not permitted to allow new starters to access the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has prioritised helping the greatest number of people as quickly as possible, and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will enable millions of people to remain employed.
The Government set up the CJRS to operate at significant scale and with limited manual intervention. To be eligible for the CJRS, employees must have been on their employer’s PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 and HMRC must have received an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19 March 2020. The eligibility requirements aim to ensure that as many people as possible are included in the scheme, while allowing HMRC to verify claims using data they hold, mitigating the risk of fraudulent use of the scheme.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many statutory instruments required for the implementation of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 have been (a) produced in draft form and (b) approved by his Department.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Every statutory instrument is approved and signed by a Minister. All negative and affirmative (draft) statutory instruments are published on legislation.gov.uk, and the Government has committed that statutory instruments relating to EU Exit will be clearly titled.Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many statutory instruments required for the implementation of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 have been (a) produced in draft form and (b) approved by his Department.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Every statutory instrument is approved and signed by a Minister. All negative and affirmative (draft) statutory instruments are published on legislation.gov.uk, and the Government has committed that statutory instruments relating to EU Exit will be clearly titled.