Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1608022

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Mortgages: Travellers
	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 trends in the level of discrimination against the proximity of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller sites by mortgage providers.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	174394
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2023 answer text <p>The pricing and availability of mortgages – including those being taken out on properties situated close to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller sites – is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 31/03/2023 13:42:07 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1653935

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Credit
	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 adequacy of the availability of access to lower cost credit through (a) credit unions, (b) Community Development Finance Institution and (c) other community lenders.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	194794
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2023 answer text <p>The government believes that credit, when provided responsibly and affordably, can be a useful financial tool to smooth income and manage unexpected costs, and that there is a strong case for building the provision of such credit, particularly for underserved groups. The government is committed to taking steps to widen access to affordable credit, including by credit unions and community development finance institutions (CDFIs), and is overseeing a number of initiatives to support this goal.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2019, the government has made £100 million of dormant assets funding available to Fair4All Finance to support their work on financial inclusion, and an additional £45 million for initiatives to tackle the elevated cost of living. This includes a package of tailored support to sustainably supporting the resilience of the credit union and CDFI sectors and scale affordable credit to serve people in vulnerable circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The government has provided Fair4AllFinance with £3.8m of funding to pilot a No-interest Loans Scheme, designed for consumers in vulnerable circumstances who would benefit from affordable rather than high-cost credit. Fair4All Finance are partnering with a range of lenders to deliver this pilot, including community lenders.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, the government has also amended existing legislation so that credit unions in Great Britain can offer a wider range of products and services. This will help allow credit unions to grow sustainably and support their role as providers of affordable consumer credit.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 26/07/2023 12:54:59 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1659212

	registered interest
	date	07/09/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Sanctions: Myanmar
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the total sum of assets frozen under the Myanmar sanctions regime.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	198402
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2023 answer text <p>The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) undertakes an annual review of assets frozen as a result of UK financial sanctions, requiring all persons or institutions that hold or control frozen assets in the UK to report to OFSI.</p><p> </p><p>Details of assets reported to OFSI as part of the 2021 frozen asset review were published in OFSI’s 2021-2022 Annual Review. As of September 2021, £12.4 billion of frozen funds across all regimes were reported to be held by UK institutions. The value of assets held in relation to the Myanmar regime is aggregated under ‘Others’ so as not to disclose the value of funds held by particular individuals.</p><p> </p><p>Details of assets reported to OFSI in 2022 will be published in OFSI’s 2022-2023 Annual Review, in Autumn 2023.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Gareth Davies question first answered 12/09/2023 12:38:42 answering member 4850 label Biography information for Gareth Davies
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1657825

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Money and Pensions Service
	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 adequacy of the level of capacity of debt advice services funded through the Money and Pensions Service to meet demand.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	197511
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2023 answer text <p>The Government recognises the vital role that advice services play in helping people in problem debt and vulnerable circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>To help people in problem debt, the Government continues to maintain record levels of funding for free-to-client debt advice in England, bringing the 2023-24 debt advice funding for the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to over £92 million. MaPS expect to serve over 500,000 clients with debt advice this year. Further information can be found in MaPS’ 2023-24 corporate plan: <a href="https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/corporate-strategy-and-plan/" target="_blank">https://moneyandpensionsservice.org.uk/corporate-strategy-and-plan/</a></p><p> </p><p>MaPS carry out an annual Debt Need survey to assess the proportion of the population which would benefit from debt advice, based on their financial circumstances. The latest results from the 2022 survey can be found here: <a href="https://maps.org.uk/2023/01/25/need-for-debt-advice-and-how-households-are-reacting-to-changes-in-the-cost-of-living/" target="_blank">https://maps.org.uk/2023/01/25/need-for-debt-advice-and-how-households-are-reacting-to-changes-in-the-cost-of-living/</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 11/09/2023 15:49:45 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1678489

	registered interest
	date	18/12/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Individual Savings Accounts: First Time Buyers
	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 effectiveness of Lifetime ISAs for helping first-time buyers in London.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	7375
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/01/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to supporting people of all incomes and at all stages of life to save, and to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible.</p><p> </p><p>The Lifetime ISA is intended to support younger people saving for their first home or for later life by offering a generous government bonus of 25% on up to £4,000 of savings each year. These funds, including the government bonus, can be used to purchase a first home up to the value of £450,000.</p><p> </p><p>The Government remains of the view that the property price cap is set at an appropriate level to support most first-time buyers across the UK while targeting households that may find it most difficult to get onto the property ladder. The withdrawal charge is needed to protect the LISA’s status as a long-term savings product. Reducing this and would encourage the use of LISAs in ways for which they were not intended.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does not undertake an assessment of the effectiveness of the LISA by region, however the Government regularly publishes annual savings statistics, which includes information on the LISA. (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2022)</p><p> </p><p>The Government will continue to keep all aspects of savings tax policy under review and considers all representations made carefully, with any changes made as part of the Budget process.</p> answering member constituency Hitchin and Harpenden answering member printed Bim Afolami grouped question UIN 7376 7601 question first answered 09/01/2024 17:23:54 answering member 4639 label Biography information for Bim Afolami
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1678490

	registered interest
	date	18/12/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Individual Savings Accounts: First Time Buyers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the penalty charge to 20% for people (a) with Lifetime ISAs and (b) whose first property costs more than £450,000.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	7376
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/01/2024 answer text <p>The Government is committed to supporting people of all incomes and at all stages of life to save, and to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible.</p><p> </p><p>The Lifetime ISA is intended to support younger people saving for their first home or for later life by offering a generous government bonus of 25% on up to £4,000 of savings each year. These funds, including the government bonus, can be used to purchase a first home up to the value of £450,000.</p><p> </p><p>The Government remains of the view that the property price cap is set at an appropriate level to support most first-time buyers across the UK while targeting households that may find it most difficult to get onto the property ladder. The withdrawal charge is needed to protect the LISA’s status as a long-term savings product. Reducing this and would encourage the use of LISAs in ways for which they were not intended.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does not undertake an assessment of the effectiveness of the LISA by region, however the Government regularly publishes annual savings statistics, which includes information on the LISA. (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2022)</p><p> </p><p>The Government will continue to keep all aspects of savings tax policy under review and considers all representations made carefully, with any changes made as part of the Budget process.</p> answering member constituency Hitchin and Harpenden answering member printed Bim Afolami grouped question UIN 7375 7601 question first answered 09/01/2024 17:23:54 answering member 4639 label Biography information for Bim Afolami
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1628169

	registered interest
	date	16/05/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Mortgages: Hornsey and Wood Green
	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 trends in the numbers of households in Hornsey & Wood Green constituency that have fallen into arrears with their mortgage payments in the last (a) six and (b) 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	185390
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2023 answer text <p>Mortgage arrears nationally remain at historically low levels for the last six and twelve months.</p><p> </p><p>Where mortgage borrowers do fall in financial difficulty, Financial Conduct Authority guidance requires firms to offer tailored support. This could include a range of measures depending on individual circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also taken a number of measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit, and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith question first answered 22/05/2023 12:59:57 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1613115

	registered interest
	date	21/04/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to improve the call answer rates for HMRC helplines.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	182178
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2023 answer text <p>HMRC is working to improve call answer rates, primarily through supporting customers who can use digital services to do so in the first instance. This will reduce call numbers and allow HMRC to focus their telephone support on those with more complex circumstances, or who are unable to engage digitally.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC are also deploying additional temporary resource to answer customer correspondence from April to September 2023. Answering correspondence more quickly reduces the number of progress-chasing calls, and therefore can further improve call answer rates.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 27/04/2023 09:12:45 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1697420

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2024
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an equality impact assessment of the decision to close the HMRC helpline between April and September each year.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	19655
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2024 answer text <p>HMRC conducted a full Equalities Impact Assessment regarding the planned closure of the Self Assessment helpline between 8 April and 30 September 2024. However, HMRC has halted this plan while it engages with stakeholders about how to ensure all taxpayers’ needs are met as the Department shifts more people to online self-service.</p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 26/03/2024 15:07:51 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West