Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle (a) delays experienced by community groups for applications for community group bank accounts and (b) fee-less community bank accounts being closed and replaced with fee-paying business accounts.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq
The provision of banking services is a commercial decision taken by the banking sector.
In response to feedback from community account holders about difficulties in securing and maintaining suitable current accounts, UK Finance launched a website in July 2024, including guidance and a free Account Finder tool, to help voluntary sector organisations locate an appropriate account for their needs.
The site provides voluntary sector organisations tailored guidance to understand the structure of the organisation concerned, decide on their banking needs, and help ensure they have what they need to open and maintain their account. In developing these resources, UK Finance worked with charitable organisations, members, and regulators, with the aim of improving how community accounts are opened and run.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will have discussions with the banking sector on (a) delays in applications for community group bank accounts and (b) reports of community bank accounts being replaced with business accounts.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq
The provision of banking services is a commercial decision taken by the banking sector.
In response to feedback from community account holders about difficulties in securing and maintaining suitable current accounts, UK Finance launched a website in July 2024, including guidance and a free Account Finder tool, to help voluntary sector organisations locate an appropriate account for their needs.
The site provides voluntary sector organisations tailored guidance to understand the structure of the organisation concerned, decide on their banking needs, and help ensure they have what they need to open and maintain their account. In developing these resources, UK Finance worked with charitable organisations, members, and regulators, with the aim of improving how community accounts are opened and run.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to respond to correspondence of (a) 7 July 2023 and (b) 8 August 2023 from the hon. Member for Bolton South East, case reference YQ28262.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) received this correspondence on 20 July and 11 August 2023. They apologise for the delay in replying which has been due to a system error with their digital mail service.
HMRC telephoned the Honourable Member’s office on 08 September 2023 to discuss the correspondence and to provide an update on their investigations.
They aim to reply as quickly as possible and by 18 September 2023.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) potential merits and (b) impact of a 15p reduction in fuel duty.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
At Spring Statement 2022 in response to fuel prices reaching record levels, the government announced a temporary 12-month cut to duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre.
This is the largest cash-terms cut across all fuel duty rates at once, ever, and is only the second time in 20 years that main rates of petrol and diesel have been cut. This cut represents savings for households and businesses worth around £2.4 billion in 2022-23.
All taxes, including fuel duty, remain under review.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals to protect access to cash, announced in March 2020.
Answered by John Glen
The Government recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, and remains committed to legislating to protect access to cash.
From 1 July to 23 September last year, the Government held the Access to Cash Consultation on further proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities.
The Government received responses to the consultation from a broad range of respondents, including individuals, businesses, and charities. The Government has carefully considered responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the proportion of the £150 rebate to people in category A to D council tax bands that will be lost by the average household as a result of April 2022's council tax increases; and whether he has made an assessment of alternative approaches to delivering that support.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The council tax rebate will be administered by local authorities as a £150 payment to families to help ease cost of living pressures. All households that are eligible for the rebate will receive the payment in full, including households in bands A-D who do not pay council tax due to receipt of Local Council Tax Support. The use of the council tax system enables support to be provided quickly to a large number of households.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will put on hold the 11th session of the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue in the context of the conclusions of the Uyghur Tribunal that the Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims are subject to human rights abuses and Crimes Against Humanity.
Answered by John Glen
The UK has led international efforts to hold China to account for its human rights violations in Xinjiang at the UN. We have imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on senior Chinese officials and taken steps to help ensure that no UK organisations are complicit in these violations through their supply chains.
However, we can also pursue an economic relationship with China in a safe, mutually beneficial way without compromising our values. UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogues (EFDs) provide a key mechanism for doing this. We have always been clear that our economic relationship does not come at the expense of human rights, and where we have concerns, we will continue to speak out and act.