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1250008

	registered interest
	date	06/11/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Wholesale Trade: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on extending business rates relief to wholesale distributors.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	91868
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government has provided Local Authorities with £1.1billion across England via the Additional Restrictions Grant, for businesses which are not legally closed, but which are severely affected by local or national restrictions.</p><p>Local Authorities have discretion on how to use this funding to support businesses in their areas, but the Government encourages them to set up discretionary grant schemes to support businesses such as wholesalers which can remain open, but which are nonetheless severely affected by the enhanced COVID-19 restrictions.</p><p>All business rates reliefs in England will be considered through the business rates review.</p><p>In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of ministerial discussions are not normally disclosed.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 91871 question first answered 16/11/2020 16:54:24 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1250009

	registered interest
	date	06/11/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Wholesale Trade: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to financially support wholesale distributors in localities where local authorities do not include them in eligibility for five per cent discretionary grant funding announced as part of the Plan for Jobs.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	91869
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2020 answer text <p>During this difficult time for the country, I absolutely recognise the extreme disruption to people’s lives, jobs, and businesses due to the necessary actions to tackle COVID-19. This includes those in the wholesale sector who play a critical role in supporting our food supply chain.</p><p>The Government recognises that businesses which are legally required to close due to national or local restrictions will need additional support. This is why we have announced the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) scheme, which will provide businesses in England which are legally required to close with grants of up to £3,000 per four-week closure period, depending on their rateable value.</p><p>For businesses which are not legally closed, but which are nonetheless severely impacted by local or national restrictions, we have provided Local Authorities with a further £1.1billion across England via the Additional Restrictions Grant.</p><p>Local Authorities have discretion on how to use this funding to support businesses in their areas, but we encourage them to set up discretionary grant schemes to support businesses such as wholesalers which can remain open, but which are nonetheless severely affected by the enhanced COVID-19 restrictions.</p><p>Businesses across the country, including wholesale distributors, should also be able to benefit from others measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for businesses, including:</p><p>• The extension to 31 March of the CJRS, through which employees will receive up to 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked up to a maximum of £2,500 per month; <br>• Support for the self-employed via the SEISS, which will provide the self-employed with grants worth up to 80% of trading profits, covering November to January; <br>• The extension of the application deadline for loan guarantee schemes to the end of January 2021; <br>• An adjustment to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme rules to allow those businesses who have borrowed less than their maximum (i.e. less than 25% of their turnover) to top-up their existing loan; and <br>• Help for businesses in repaying loans from Government-backed schemes through the Pay as you Grow scheme and allowing lenders to extend the terms of CBILS loans to up to 10 years.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 16/11/2020 14:38:45 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1313027

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Wholesale Trade: Business Rates
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to include wholesalers in the guidance for local authorities on the administration of the new Business Rates Relief Fund.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	206
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/05/2021 answer text <p>The Government has announced a £1.5 billion pot of additional business rates relief for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that have not otherwise been eligible for existing reliefs. The statement by the Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government of 25 March 2021 explained the relief will be allocated to local authorities based on the stock of properties in the area and the sector-specific economic impacts of COVID-19.</p><p> </p><p>Formal guidance will follow in due course, setting out the specific considerations that Local Authorities (LAs) should have regard for when providing relief. Relief will be for LAs to award on a discretionary basis. Funding will be available once the legislation relating to material change in circumstance provisions has passed and LAs have established their own local relief schemes. The Government will support LAs to do this as quickly as possible, including through new burdens funding.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 19/05/2021 13:22:33 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1191819

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2020
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Veterinary Services: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to support veterinary practices affected by the covid-19 lockdown through business rate relief.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	41429
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/05/2020 answer text <p>Business rates are devolved in Scotland.</p><p> </p><p>In England, the Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.</p><p> </p><p>A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday, such as veterinary practices, has also been made available. For example, the Government has launched the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank backed by an 80% Government guarantee, and the deferral of VAT payments for this quarter.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will consider any further financial assistance necessary to help businesses get through this period.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 41010 question first answered 04/05/2020 15:26:21 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1583322

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Veterans: Disability Aids
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of providing a long-term funding stream for specialist (a) mobility and (b) orthotic equipment for veterans that was previously provided under the Veterans Mobility Fund.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	138305
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2023 answer text <p>The Government is committed to supporting all our veterans, and to ensuring that they continue to thrive after leaving the services.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2014, the Government has committed £773m of LIBOR fines to support Armed Forces and Emergency Service charities.</p><p> </p><p>As part of this package, the Chancellor awarded the Royal British Legion £3m to develop a Veterans Mobility Fund, designed to meet the wellbeing needs of veterans discharged with service-attributable serious physical injury. At the same time, the Chancellor also awarded £10m to develop a Veterans Hearing Fund, providing support to veterans who suffered hearing loss during service.</p><p> </p><p>In 2019, at the Royal British Legion’s request, the Treasury authorised the transfer of almost £1.5m from the Veterans Mobility Fund to the Veterans Hearing Fund, following dramatic increases in the rate of applications for the Hearing Fund and a comparatively static application rate for the Mobility Fund. Both the Veterans Hearing and Veterans Mobility Funds have now closed.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2020, we have announced a further £10m funding to support veterans’ mental health, £475k to support the development of a digital and data strategy for the sector, £5m to enable charities to address the impact of events in Afghanistan on veterans, a £5m Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund, and £8.55m in December last year to end veteran homelessness in 2023.</p><p> </p><p>More than 100 service charities, including those who support veterans, also benefitted from £6m of the £750m to support the charity sector announced by the Chancellor in April 21 in support of COVID-19.</p><p> </p><p>The Governments Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan sets out the steps we will take in the next two years towards our ambition of making the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran by 2028.</p><p> </p><p>The Chancellor engages with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care routinely on health matters.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 08/02/2023 17:38:42 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1650480

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Tourism: VAT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the fiscal impact on economy of the removal of tax-free shopping for overseas visitors in summer 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	192514
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2023 answer text <p>The Government engaged with varied stakeholders and produced analysis on the cost of the VAT Retail Export Scheme (RES) before withdrawing it. Our analysis, which took increased tourist spending into account, found that introducing worldwide VAT-free shopping would come at a fiscal cost of £2 billion each year.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, the OBR’s assessment of the previous VAT RES shopping scheme showed that its withdrawal would have a limited behavioural effect on decisions to visit, or spend, in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>Although there are no plans to re-introduce VAT RES, the Government keeps all taxes under review and welcomes representations to help inform future decisions on tax policy, as part of the tax policy making cycle and Budget process.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Gareth Davies question first answered 11/07/2023 09:52:18 answering member 4850 label Biography information for Gareth Davies
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1677476

	registered interest
	date	12/12/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Tourism: VAT
	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 introducing a new tax-free shopping incentive for international visitors.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	6494
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2023 answer text <p>Tax-free shopping continues to be available for all non-UK visitors who purchase items in store if they have them sent directly to their overseas address. This also applies to overseas shoppers who buy from British businesses online and have items delivered to their overseas address.</p><p> </p><p>The independent Office of Budget Responsibility published their assessment of the withdrawal of the previous VAT-free shopping schemes in November 2020. At the time, this showed that the withdrawal of VAT-free shopping would raise a significant amount of revenue and have a limited effect on decisions to visit, or spend, in Great Britain.</p><p> </p><p>The government is accepting representations from industry on VAT-free shopping and considering these, alongside broader data.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 19/12/2023 16:01:03 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1677477

	registered interest
	date	12/12/2023
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Tourism: VAT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the retail and travel industries on the effect of the withdrawal of tax-free shopping for international visitors on those sectors.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	6495
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2023 answer text <p>As the UK’s economic and finance ministry, HM Treasury has regular discussions with representatives from a wide range of industries including travel and retail as well as business representative organisations covering many sectors.</p><p> </p><p>As announced in the Autumn Statement, the government is continuing to accept representations from industry on the impact of this policy decision and considering this evidence alongside broader data.</p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 19/12/2023 16:02:52 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1336624

	registered interest
	date	15/06/2021
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Tax Avoidance: Bankruptcy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his most recent estimate is of the number of people subject to Loan Charge repayments who have been made bankrupt.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	16066
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/06/2021 answer text <p>No estimate can be provided for the number of people who have fallen into debt, or who have been declared bankrupt, and are subject to the loan charge.</p><p> </p><p>Where debts arise, HMRC are not always the only creditor. Some individuals may fall into debt or are declared bankrupt as a result of a non-HMRC debt and some individuals may choose to enter insolvency themselves based on their overall financial position.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC only ever consider insolvency as a last resort and they encourage taxpayers to get in contact to agree the best way to settle their tax debts. Anyone who is worried about being able to pay what they owe is encouraged to get in touch with HMRC as soon as possible on 0300 322 9494. Where a taxpayer is unable to pay their debt in full HMRC will work with them to agree an instalment arrangement based on their individual financial circumstances, and there is no maximum length.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 23/06/2021 07:24:38 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1134137

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Tax Avoidance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will suspend the 2019 Loan Charge and associated settlements and launch an independent review of the effects of that charge on people subject to it; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	268454
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2019 answer text <p>Disguised remuneration schemes are contrived arrangements that use loan payments in place of ordinary remuneration, usually through an offshore trust, with the purpose of avoiding tax. These loans are no different to normal income in their purpose and effect, and HMRC’s position is that they are, and have always been, taxable.</p><p> </p><p>In accordance with an amendment to the Finance Act 2019, the Government published a report into disguised remuneration schemes. This can be found online at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-time-limits-and-the-disguised-remuneration-loan-charge" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-time-limits-and-the-disguised-remuneration-loan-charge</a>. The Government has no plans to review the policy.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC offers a range of taxpayer support services, both directly and through independent organisations, and would strongly encourage anyone who is affected by the charge to contact them and discuss their situation.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 268338 question first answered 27/06/2019 14:59:55 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith