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1490742

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Carers
	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 adequacy of the cost of living support offered to carers within the armed forces community.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	39995
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2022 answer text <p>The government values the vital contribution made by carers to society and continues to provide financial support to unpaid carers – including members of the Armed Forces community – through Carer’s Allowance, the Carer Element in Universal Credit and through other benefits. Carers within the Armed Forces community have access to various channels of government support. Carers may be eligible for Carer’s Allowance if the person for whom they care receives disability benefits or related qualifying payments such as Armed Forces Independence Payment and the War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance.</p><p>The government understands that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and particularly to the most vulnerable members of society such as disabled people and their carers. That is why the Cost of Living package announced on 26 May includes UK-wide support to help disabled people with the particular extra costs they are facing, with 6 million people who receive non-means-tested disability benefits due to receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150. Veterans in receipt of a disability benefit through the Department for Work and Pensions, such as Personal Independence Payment, or in receipt of similar support specifically for veterans – such as Armed Forces Independence Payment, the War Pension Mobility Supplement or War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance – are eligible for the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. Carers of these veterans will also benefit from this payment if they live in the same household.</p><p>Carers may also be able to benefit from other elements of the £37 billion of support for the cost of living the government has announced this year, which include: a one-off Cost of Living Payment of £650, paid in two instalments, for over 8 million households across the UK in receipt of means-tested benefits; an extra one-off £300 this year for over 8 million pensioner households, to cover the rising cost of energy this winter; and £400 off the bills of all domestic electricity customers in Great Britain from October, through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS).</p><p>Previously announced measures to help people tackle the cost of living will also benefit carers, including frozen alcohol duty and fuel duty, raising the NICs threshold, council tax rebates and the rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour. For people that are not eligible for Cost of Living Payments or for those that still need additional support, the government is providing an extra £500 million of local support, via the Household Support Fund. The Fund will be extended from this October to March 2023, bringing total funding for the scheme to £1.5 billion.</p> answering member constituency Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland answering member printed Mr Simon Clarke grouped question UIN 39996 question first answered 26/07/2022 09:21:42 answering member 4655 label Biography information for Sir Simon Clarke
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1490743

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Carers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that carers within the armed forces community are supported when faced with an increased cost of living.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	39996
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2022 answer text <p>The government values the vital contribution made by carers to society and continues to provide financial support to unpaid carers – including members of the Armed Forces community – through Carer’s Allowance, the Carer Element in Universal Credit and through other benefits. Carers within the Armed Forces community have access to various channels of government support. Carers may be eligible for Carer’s Allowance if the person for whom they care receives disability benefits or related qualifying payments such as Armed Forces Independence Payment and the War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance.</p><p>The government understands that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and particularly to the most vulnerable members of society such as disabled people and their carers. That is why the Cost of Living package announced on 26 May includes UK-wide support to help disabled people with the particular extra costs they are facing, with 6 million people who receive non-means-tested disability benefits due to receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150. Veterans in receipt of a disability benefit through the Department for Work and Pensions, such as Personal Independence Payment, or in receipt of similar support specifically for veterans – such as Armed Forces Independence Payment, the War Pension Mobility Supplement or War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance – are eligible for the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. Carers of these veterans will also benefit from this payment if they live in the same household.</p><p>Carers may also be able to benefit from other elements of the £37 billion of support for the cost of living the government has announced this year, which include: a one-off Cost of Living Payment of £650, paid in two instalments, for over 8 million households across the UK in receipt of means-tested benefits; an extra one-off £300 this year for over 8 million pensioner households, to cover the rising cost of energy this winter; and £400 off the bills of all domestic electricity customers in Great Britain from October, through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS).</p><p>Previously announced measures to help people tackle the cost of living will also benefit carers, including frozen alcohol duty and fuel duty, raising the NICs threshold, council tax rebates and the rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour. For people that are not eligible for Cost of Living Payments or for those that still need additional support, the government is providing an extra £500 million of local support, via the Household Support Fund. The Fund will be extended from this October to March 2023, bringing total funding for the scheme to £1.5 billion.</p> answering member constituency Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland answering member printed Mr Simon Clarke grouped question UIN 39995 question first answered 26/07/2022 09:21:42 answering member 4655 label Biography information for Sir Simon Clarke
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1245145

	registered interest
	date	20/10/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Beekeeping: Equipment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to adjust the rate of VAT applied to bee keeping equipment after the end of the transition period.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	106490
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2020 answer text <p>VAT is a broad based tax on consumption and the twenty per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services, including on equipment used for bee keeping. Businesses that are registered for VAT will usually be able to reclaim the VAT they incur when they purchase these items for business purposes.</p><p> </p><p>Changing the rate of VAT on bee keeping equipment would come at a cost to the Exchequer. Although the Government keeps all taxes under review, the Government has no current plans to change the VAT treatment of such goods.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 28/10/2020 15:05:23 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1245146

	registered interest
	date	20/10/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Beekeeping: Equipment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the contribution to the public purse of VAT duties paid by bee keepers for bee keeping equipment in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	106491
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2020 answer text <p>HMRC do not hold data on VAT collected specifically from the activities of bee keepers.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC record and publish annually details of VAT receipts and liabilities across trade sectors and subsectors, but not of activities at this level of detail.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC do not hold information on VAT revenue from specific products or services because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level on their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 27/10/2020 12:26:02 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1238724

	registered interest
	date	29/09/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Bowling: VAT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the reasons are for the exclusion of ten pin bowling businesses from the reduction in VAT for tourism and hospitality businesses.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	97026
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July to support the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and protect 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors, which have been severely affected by Covid-19.</p><p> </p><p>Hospitality for the purposes of this relief includes the supply of food and non-alcoholic beverages from restaurants, cafes, pubs and similar establishments for consumption on the premises. It also includes the supply of hot food and non-alcoholic hot beverages to take away.</p><p> </p><p>Where a bowling alley provides such hospitality, that hospitality will benefit from the reduced rate, although admission to a bowling alley itself is not eligible. Further information can be found in VAT Guidance: reduced rate for hospitality, holiday accommodation and attractions on GOV.UK: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/catering-takeaway-food-and-vat-notice-7091" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/catering-takeaway-food-and-vat-notice-7091</a>.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 06/10/2020 15:06:57 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1205288

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Business Rates: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost of including business improvement district levies in the business rates relief support during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	61592
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2020 answer text <p>Business rates are distinct from the Business Improvement District (BID) levy and are managed separately. The BID legislation requires businesses to pay the BID levy and any decision to waive or reduce the levy is to be made by the BID Board of Directors. Therefore, business rates relief will not be applied to any percentage payment towards a BID.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Government is making available up to £6.1 million of support to BIDs to cover the equivalent of three months of core operational costs. This funding will protect BID bodies from insolvency and ensure that they weather the current crisis. Local authorities and BIDs will now be able to be flexible with the enforcement of the levy for businesses that are unable to pay, but business remain liable for the levy and those that can still pay should still pay.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 24/06/2020 07:38:24 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1403433

	registered interest
	date	17/01/2022
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Business: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the £4.3 billion fraudulently claimed through covid-19 support payments which is yet to be recovered which comes from debt in (a) Plymouth, (b) Devon and (c) Cornwall.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	105724
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2022 answer text <p>HMRC’s estimate for the amount lost to fraud and error in the schemes during 2020- 21 is 8.7 per cent in Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), 2.5 per cent in Self-Employment Income Support Scheme phases 1-3, and 8.5 per cent in the Eat Out to Help Out (EOHO) scheme. This equates to £5.8 billion, against a spend of £81.2 billion.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC prioritised getting money to those who needed it with the schemes designed to minimise fraud while not unnecessarily delaying payments. The schemes were designed to prevent fraud, both in the eligibility criteria and the claim process itself. However, they could still be attractive to fraudsters.</p><p> </p><p>To ensure quick payment, HMRC undertook pre-payment risk assessments of 22 million claims (£93 billion) within 72 hours of receipt, blocking those indicating criminal activity.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC have taken a supportive and reasonable approach where mistakes have been made, giving customers the opportunity to correct them without fear of sanctions. By law, claimants can notify and amend incorrect claims within 90 days without penalty. An online system to help people correct mistakes was set up and all claims are risk assessed and considered for post payment checks. HMRC look at a variety of factors, including comparing the claims to historic data (e.g. pre-pandemic payroll data), third party information, and other intelligence, like Fraud Hotline calls. HMRC have also compared claims made to different support schemes to identify where they might want to ask more questions, such as in the case of a restaurant who had furloughed all their staff under CJRS but were also claiming under the EOHO scheme.</p><p> </p><p>Claims HMRC think are higher risk, or appear more complex, are selected for “One-to-One” intervention (OTO). Lower or less complex risk claims are considered for “One-to-Many” (OTM) Campaigns.</p><p> </p><p>OTM are written campaigns to address simpler risks. The same communication is sent to up to tens of thousands of customers. HMRC are clear with what they are asking, where to get support, and how to put it right. They also ensure there is follow up if customers do not respond to the OTM approach.</p><p> </p><p>OTO interventions are direct enquiries by experienced compliance officers for more complex risks.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC are taking tough action to tackle fraudulent behaviour. Anyone who keeps money despite knowing they were not entitled to it, faces repaying up to double the amount, plus interest and potentially criminal prosecution in serious cases.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC established the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce, which is estimated to recover approximately £800 million to £1 billion in the two years to 2022-23, on top of around £500 million which was recovered in 2020-21. HMRC will continue to address fraud and error in the schemes beyond the duration of the taskforce.</p><p> </p><p>For COVID-19 schemes, compliance checks are carried out when HMRC suspects there has been an overpayment of the claim, which may be due to either error or fraud. This work is still ongoing and therefore HMRC cannot say what proportion of any amount that is fraudulently claimed will be from businesses based in Plymouth, Devon, and Cornwall.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 25/01/2022 15:54:40 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1348625

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Carbon Emissions: Taxation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to introduce a carbon tax for carbon intensive food imports.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	36764
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2021 answer text <p>As a global leader on decarbonisation, the UK recognises the importance of ensuring that policy interventions to cut domestic emissions do not lead to increased emissions elsewhere.</p><p> </p><p>A range of approaches could potentially help to address this risk, of which carbon border adjustment mechanisms are one. However, it is important any policy complies with our international obligations, including under the World Trade Organization and our Free Trade Agreements.</p><p> </p><p>Treasury ministers and officials are in regular contact with colleagues across the government on all matters related to the Net Zero transition.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 26/07/2021 14:30:25 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1656741

	registered interest
	date	01/09/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Child Trust Fund: South West
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Child Trust Funds have been created for children in (a) Plymouth, (b) Devon and (c) the South West.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	196481
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2023 answer text <p>Information on Child Trust Funds as of 5th April 2022, are available in HMRC’s Annual Savings Statistics. This includes figures on averages and total market value, but not by geographic location.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2023" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2023</a></p><p> </p><p>A geographical breakdown the accounts created or unclaimed, or their average or total value, could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith grouped question UIN 196482 196483 question first answered 07/09/2023 09:24:56 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1656742

	registered interest
	date	01/09/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Child Trust Fund: South West
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Child Trust Funds created for children in (a) Plymouth, (b) Devon and (c) the South West are unclaimed.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
	tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
	uin	196482
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2023 answer text <p>Information on Child Trust Funds as of 5th April 2022, are available in HMRC’s Annual Savings Statistics. This includes figures on averages and total market value, but not by geographic location.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2023" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2023</a></p><p> </p><p>A geographical breakdown the accounts created or unclaimed, or their average or total value, could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Arundel and South Downs answering member printed Andrew Griffith grouped question UIN 196481 196483 question first answered 07/09/2023 09:24:56 answering member 4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith
	tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard