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1663839

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Self-assessment: Fines
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the level of fines issued by HMRC for the late submission of self-assessment tax returns for self-employed people who have not earned above the threshold for paying tax.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	201692
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2023 answer text <p>HMRC issues Self Assessment (SA) tax returns to customers when the information they hold suggests that the customer meets the published criteria for completing one. HMRC often cannot determine someone’s tax liability until they have sent in a tax return, therefore they need the return to establish whether there is tax due or not.​​ Late filing and payment penalties are charged to encourage customers to file on time, but HMRC can cancel a customer’s late filing penalty if the customer has a reasonable excuse. Customers can also ask HMRC to remove them from the SA process for future years if they no longer meet the criteria.​</p><p> </p><p>From October 2011 the penalty legislation changed, from this point the capping of penalties was no longer factored into the calculation and any fixed penalty applied remained at the full amount regardless of liability. Although no change to the current penalty regime has been announced, Penalty Reform within Making Tax Digital will change the way HMRC calculates penalties for late Submission and late payment of tax. The new legislation will factor in the Liability amount, Filing frequency and length of time outstanding within its penalty calculations.</p><p> </p><p>In reforming late payment and late filing penalties HMRC’s aim is to encourage those who persistently default to comply with their tax obligations rather than penalise those who make occasional errors.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 200538 question first answered 18/10/2023 14:20:24 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1544884

	registered interest
	date	23/11/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Bank Services and Banking Hubs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Financial Services and Markets Bill on (a) preventing the loss of local access to cash and banking services, (b) support for local communities to create banking hubs and (c) protecting free access to cash and in-person banking services.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	94876
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2022 answer text <p>The way consumers and businesses make payments and interact with their banking continues to develop at pace, bringing significant benefits to those who choose to opt for the convenience, security, and speed of digital payments and banking.</p><p> </p><p>The government is currently taking legislation through Parliament as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill to protect access to cash. The Bill will establish the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provide it with appropriate powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities. These powers will allow the FCA to take account of factors it considers appropriate, which could include cost for end users and accessibility.</p><p> </p><p>Following the government’s commitment to legislate, industry is working together to develop new initiatives to provide shared access to cash services. As a result, communities can request an assessment of access to cash in their area by LINK: <a href="https://www.link.co.uk/consumers/request-access-to-cash/" target="_blank">https://www.link.co.uk/consumers/request-access-to-cash/</a></p><p> </p><p>The government has welcomed industry’s commitments and, in recognition of these developments, the Bill grants HM Treasury powers to bring the operators of cash coordination arrangements under the FCA’s oversight.</p><p> </p><p>In terms of access to banking services, the government believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking services. However, decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial issue for banks and building societies. The government does not intervene in these decisions or make direct assessments of these branch networks.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance from the FCA sets out its expectation of firms when they are taking decisions relating to the closure of their branches or free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on the everyday banking and cash access needs of their customers and possible alternative access arrangements. This ensures that the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly. The FCA expects firms to exercise particular care with vulnerable customers, such as those who are elderly or disabled, and the guidance has recently been strengthened to enhance protections for consumers that rely on branch services.</p><p> </p><p>Alternative options for access can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. Furthermore, industry has committed to new shared bank hubs in 27 locations across the UK to date, in addition to two existing pilot sites. These hubs provide basic banking services, including cash withdrawals and deposits, and a dedicated space where community bankers from participating banks can meet customers of that bank.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 28/11/2022 13:37:22 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1462942

	registered interest
	date	16/05/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Charging Points: VAT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) potential impact of the higher rate of VAT charged on public electric vehicle charging compared with home charging on the uptake of electric vehicles and (b) potential distributional impact of that differential on households by income bracket.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	2301
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/05/2022 answer text <p>In order to keep costs down for families, the supply of electricity for domestic use, including charging an electric vehicle (EV) at home, attracts the 5 per cent reduced rate of VAT. However, electricity supplied at EV charging points in public places is subject to the 20 per cent standard rate of VAT.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has not specifically introduced a reduced rate for charging EVs at home. However, the practical challenges of differentiating between the electricity used at home for general domestic purposes and electricity used to charge EVs currently mean that the reduced rate is effectively being applied to EV charging at home.</p><p> </p><p>Harmonising the rate of VAT on electricity for public and domestic charging points for electric vehicles would require the Government to expand the existing VAT relief on electricity for domestic use (that is also used to charge EVs at home) to electricity for use at public EV charge points, and this would come at a cost.</p><p> </p><p>VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances, raising around £130 billion in 2019-20, and helps fund the Government's priorities including the NHS, schools, and defence. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing, or increased taxation elsewhere.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to supporting the transition to zero emission vehicles to help the UK meet its net-zero obligations. The Government has committed £2.5 billion since 2020 to support the transition to zero emission vehicles, which funds targeted vehicle grants and the rollout of charging infrastructure.</p><p> </p><p>There are currently no plans to change the VAT treatment of electricity supplied at public EV charge points. However, the Government keeps all taxes under review, and carefully considers behavioural effects and distributional impacts when making decisions on tax policy.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 19/05/2022 14:31:51 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1458925

	registered interest
	date	20/04/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Self-employment Income Support Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to support self-employed workers facing (a) financial hardship or (b) bankruptcy due to tax repayments on SEISS grants.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	156604
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The Government has supported UK households throughout the pandemic with nearly £400 billion of COVID support, including through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) which provided over £28 billion in grants to 2.9 million individuals.</p><p> </p><p>The SEISS was designed to support those whose income had dropped temporarily due to COVID-19. Like self-employed income, SEISS grants are subject to Income Tax and self-employed National Insurance contributions at the recipient’s rate of Income Tax in the year the grant was received. This was set out by the Chancellor when announcing the scheme in March 2020, and in subsequent SEISS guidance throughout the scheme’s lifetime.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does not think it is right to allow SEISS recipients to alter the rate of tax paid on that income over time. This is to ensure fairness for recipients of support across various schemes and for the taxpayers who are funding the schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has implemented an unprecedented package of support for taxpayers struggling with paying tax liabilities. HMRC has scaled up its longstanding Time to Pay policy, which allows any business or individual in temporary financial difficulty to schedule their tax debts into affordable, sustainable, and tailored instalment arrangements.</p><p> </p><p>Anyone experiencing difficulties paying their tax bill can discuss payment options with HMRC, who are committed to supporting taxpayers through difficult times and will agree a Time to Pay arrangement wherever possible. There are further details available on GOV.UK.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 25/04/2022 16:38:34 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1452407

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Public Sector: Workplace Pensions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it remains his policy to allow the cost-sharing principle for the public service pension scheme to continue for at least the 25 years initially agreed with unions in 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	142106
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2022 answer text <p>The cost control mechanism is designed to ensure a fair balance of risk between public service pension scheme members and taxpayers with respect to the costs of those schemes.</p><p> </p><p>Following a review of the mechanism by the Government Actuary, and a full and open public consultation process, the Government confirmed that it will implement three reforms to the mechanism. These reforms will be implemented from the 2020 valuations onwards.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does not believe these reforms breach the 25-year guarantee. The elements protected by the 25-year guarantee are set out in legislation, (namely, section 22 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013), and the cost control mechanism is not included. The reforms will make the mechanism more stable and allow it to operate more in line with its objectives. The reforms will make changes to member benefits less likely, in line with the spirit of the 25-year guarantee.</p> answering member constituency Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland answering member printed Mr Simon Clarke question first answered 22/03/2022 14:52:28 answering member 4655 label Biography information for Sir Simon Clarke
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1363120

	registered interest
	date	25/10/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Financial Ombudsman Service
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Financial Ombudsman Service on streamlining their complaints procedure to reduce the time taken for customer cases to be resolved.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	62879
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2021 answer text <p>The Treasury regularly meets with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to discuss a variety of matters. For example, I meet regularly with the Chief Executive and the Chair of the FOS.</p><p> </p><p>Improving timeliness and customer service is central to the FOS’ plans for the future. The FOS’ Board has recently commissioned an independent review of the FOS, to ensure that the FOS can continue to effectively meet the needs of its customers. The results of the review will be published in due course.</p><p> </p><p>The FOS is an independent, non-governmental body. In view of this independence, it would not be appropriate for the Government to comment further on the detail of operational matters at the FOS.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 28/10/2021 08:44:58 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1359238

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Financial Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to extend to the purchase of all financial products the 14-day cooling-off period applicable to some of those products.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	56249
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2021 answer text <p>Various laws give consumers rights to cooling off periods, including the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which provides a 14 day cooling off period in which to cancel a credit agreement, such as a personal loan. In addition, the Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004 set out that for most financial services sold at a distance, consumers generally have 14 days to cancel the contract. For some products, such as certain pension products, the period is 30 days.</p><p> </p><p>There are some financial products where the right to cancel doesn't apply, for example where the price of that service depends on fluctuations in the financial markets beyond the control of the product provider, or where the service purchased has been used in full.</p><p> </p><p>The Government keeps all legislation under review, working closely with the financial services regulators as appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 25/10/2021 13:52:50 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1359706

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Aviation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for the aviation industry beyond September 2021.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	57395
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2021 answer text <p>The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was designed as a temporary economy-wide measure to support businesses while widespread restrictions were in place. After running for nineteen months, the scheme closed on 30 September 2021. To date, it has succeeded in supporting 11.7 million jobs across the UK, with employer claims totalling £69.3 billion.</p><p> </p><p>As the economy has reopened, the jobs market has recovered, vacancies are at record highs and the success of the Government’s vaccine programme has allowed us to lift almost all restrictions. That is why it is right that the Government continues to wind down its temporary pandemic support, while continuing to support businesses to invest in the recovery and supporting people into new jobs.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the challenging circumstances the aviation industry has faced as a result of Covid-19. The aviation and aerospace sectors are being supported with over £12 billion that has been made available through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF), and grants for research and development.</p><p> </p><p>Thanks to the rollout of the UK's vaccination programme, the Government has been able to relax the rules on our international travel programme. A new system for a safe and sustainable return to travel has been set out, which separates countries into a red list and the rest of the world. On Monday 11 October 2021, England's red list was reduced to just seven countries, with 47 countries coming off the red list.</p><p> </p><p>From 24 October 2021, fully vaccinated passengers with an authorised vaccine and most under 18s arriving in England from countries not on the red list can take a cheaper lateral flow test, instead of a PCR test, on or before Day 2 of their arrival into the UK. They will not need to self-isolate or take a pre-departure or day eight test.</p><p> </p><p>Eligible travellers vaccinated in over 100 countries and territories including Brazil, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Turkey, will not need to self-isolate, nor complete pre-departure testing and day eight testing requirements on arrival to the UK from non-red list countries and territories, like UK vaccinated adults. Anyone who tests positive will need to take a confirmatory PCR test which can be genomically sequenced to help identify new variants.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is focused on fully reopening international travel as soon as it is safe to do so and will further review England's international travel policy in the new year.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 20/10/2021 13:37:31 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1351067

	registered interest
	date	18/08/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Food: VAT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a permanent lower level of VAT for all food and beverages sold in pubs to support the pubs and brewery sector.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	41325
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2021 answer text <p>In order to support the cash flow and viability of around 150,000 businesses and to protect over 2.4 million jobs, the Government has applied a temporary reduced rate of VAT (5 per cent) to goods and services supplied by the tourism and hospitality sectors, which will now end on 30 September 2021. On 1 October 2021, a new reduced rate of 12.5 per cent will be introduced for these goods and services to help affected businesses manage the transition back to the standard rate. The new rate will end on 31 March 2022.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has been clear that the reduced rate of VAT is a temporary measure. It is right that, as restrictions are lifted and demand for goods and services in the tourism and hospitality sectors increases, this relief is reduced and eventually removed in order to rebuild and strengthen the public finances. This policy will cost the Exchequer over £7 billion and, while the Government keeps all taxes under review, there are no plans to make the reduced rate of VAT permanent.</p><p> </p><p>VAT raised around £130 billion in 2019/20 and helps to fund key spending priorities. Any reduction in tax paid is a reduction in the money available to support important public services, including the NHS and policing. While all taxes are kept under review, any decision to grant new permanent VAT reliefs would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing or increased taxation elsewhere.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 37517 37518 question first answered 10/09/2021 13:26:30 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1351068

	registered interest
	date	18/08/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Public Houses: Business Rates
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing lower business rates for pubs and breweries in response to the economic conditions as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	41326
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2021 answer text <p>In response to the pandemic, the Government provided an unprecedented business rates holiday for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England, including pubs. This meant eligible properties paid no business rates for 15 months from 1 April 2020, and thanks to the new 66% capped relief which took effect on 1 July 2021, over 90% of eligible businesses are estimated to see a 75% reduction in their business rates bill across this entire financial year to next April.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Government is providing £1.5 billion of additional support to businesses that have not already received business rates relief. This new relief will be awarded through funding for Local Authorities, taking into account the economic impact COVID-19 has had on specific sectors.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 09/09/2021 14:32:14 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana