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850931

registered interest
date	27/02/2018
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Cash Dispensing: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department has made to LINK on its decision to change the interchange fee mechanisms paid by banks to ATM operators.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough
tabling member printed	Gill Furniss
uin	130142
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2018 answer text <p>The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK. Government has been engaging and will continue to engage with the regulators and industry, including LINK, to ensure that it is maintained.</p><p> </p><p>The Government established the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in 2015 with a statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users.</p><p> </p><p>As part of this, the PSR is monitoring developments within ATM provision. The PSR recently commissioned work to understand the impact on the provision of free-to-use ATMs that a reduction in interchange fees may have. They have also set out three requirements of LINK: that LINK must maintain the current geographical spread of ATMs; that any changes made to interchange fees must be incremental to allow LINK to monitor the impact and take action if the impact is not as expected; and for a greater focus on LINK’s financial inclusion programme, to continue to fill gaps in the network. The PSR has committed to using its powers to act should LINK behave in a way that conflicts with its statutory objectives. The PSR has recently published a summary of their work to date, which can be found at https://www.psr.org.uk/psr-focus/the-UK-ATM-network.</p><p> </p><p>Following the publication of these three criteria, LINK, the scheme behind the UK’s ATM network, committed to maintaining an extensive network of free-to-use cash machines, and to ensuring that the present geographical spread of ATMs is maintained. To do this, LINK will bolster its Financial Inclusion Programme, which ensures the provision of ATMs in certain areas where demand would not otherwise make one viable. LINK will also protect all free-to-use ATMs which are a kilometre or more from the next nearest free-to-use ATM, and ensure that any community that loses ATM access because of a branch closure has a free ATM provided.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, LINK will do an annual review the impact of the interchange fee reduction as it is phased in over the next four years. In addition, LINK will set up publicly available monitoring on its website of every area of the country showing free ATM availability, and highlight any areas where free ATM availability is lost.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen grouped question UIN 130140 question first answered 05/03/2018 15:51:05 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4571 label Biography information for Gill Furniss

843730

registered interest
date	19/02/2018
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Minimum Wage: Arrears
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's press release of 7 February 2018 on the Government recovering £11 million in minimum wage arrears for 98,000 workers, how much of that sum was then paid to those workers; and how many of those workers received in full the minimum wage arrears owed to them.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	128127
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2018 answer text <p>The government are determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum and National Living Wage (NMW) receives it. Anyone who feels they have been underpaid NMW should contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HM Revenue &amp; Customs (HMRC) review all complaints that are referred to them.</p><p> </p><p>Where arrears are identified HMRC complete risk-based assurance checks to ensure employers have repaid the arrears owed to workers. If employers do not repay arrears to workers HMRC will pursue civil recovery of arrears through the courts.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC is unable to provide information on sums ultimately received by each individual worker as it does not centrally collect and maintain this data. HMRC always takes action to ensure workers receive what they are entitled to.</p> answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride question first answered 27/02/2018 14:41:23 answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

839302

registered interest
date	08/02/2018
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Money Laundering
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have been (a) convicted and (b) fined under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 by offence since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	127856
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2018 answer text <p>Since 2010, over 9700 people in England and Wales have been successfully convicted for money laundering offences – most of these are under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) which provides for various money laundering offences, including where an individual knows or suspects they may be facilitating money laundering or seeks to conceal criminal property. The Money Laundering Regulations 2007 and the subsequent update, the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLRs) focus on ensuring regulated businesses put in place controls to guard against money laundering or terrorist finance. Supervisors are appointed by the Treasury to monitor compliance with these regulations and primarily use a range of supervisory tools to promote compliance, including warning notices, action plans, financial penalties or withdrawal of the right to practice. The vast majority of breaches of the MLRs are remedied or penalised using these supervisory tools. Since 2010 there were over 3,539 fines issued on firms and individuals across the regime.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 20/02/2018 17:16:01 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

837880

registered interest
date	06/02/2018
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Cash Dispensing: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the ratio of fee-charging and free-to-use cash dispensers in the 100 most deprived wards in England.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	126910
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/02/2018 answer text <p>There are currently around 70,000 ATMs in the UK, 55,000 of which are free to use. Government has not made an estimate of the ratio of fee charging and free to use cash dispensers in in the 100 most deprived wards in England. However, LINK, the scheme behind the UK’s ATM network, publishes data showing the number of free-to-use ATMs and pay-to-use ATMs available in each Parliamentary Constituency on its website https://www.link.co.uk/initiatives/financial-inclusion/.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 14/02/2018 15:58:37 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

837917

registered interest
date	06/02/2018
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Tax Evasion: Prosecutions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions have been (a) brought to court and (b) completed for offences under the failure to prevent the facilitation of UK and foreign tax evasion clause of the Criminal Finances Act 2017; and how much has been collected in fines from those convicted of such offences to date.
tabling member constituency	Oxford East
tabling member printed	Anneliese Dodds
uin	126947
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2018 answer text <p>To date no prosecutions have been either brought to court or completed under the ‘failure to prevent the facilitation of UK and foreign tax evasion’ clause of the Criminal Finances Act 2017.</p><p> </p><p>The new offences will be committed where a relevant body fails to prevent an associated person criminally facilitating the evasion of a tax, and this will be the case whether the tax evaded is owed in the UK or in a foreign country.</p><p> </p><p>The failure to prevent the facilitation of a UK tax offence by a corporate body or partnership will be investigated by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The failure to prevent the facilitation of a foreign tax offence by a corporate body or partnership will be investigated by the Serious Fraud Office or the National Crime Agency (NCA).</p><p> </p><p>Neither HMRC nor the NCA are prosecuting authorities. All prosecutions leading from their investigations have to be authorised by the relevant independent prosecuting authority, which for England and Wales would be the Crown Prosecution Service; for Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service; and for Northern Ireland, the Public Prosecution Service for NI.</p><p> </p><p>The offences are not retrospective and therefore only apply to acts of criminal facilitation undertaken from 30 September 2017.</p> answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride question first answered 20/02/2018 16:20:18 answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride
tabling member	4657 label Biography information for Anneliese Dodds

837338

registered interest
date	05/02/2018
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Pensions: Personal Savings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have withdrawn their retirement savings from a private pension in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the long-term effect of the early withdrawal of those retirement savings on the retirement incomes of those people.
tabling member constituency	Bury North
tabling member printed	James Frith
uin	126457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2018 answer text <p>Between Q2 2016 and Q1 2017, individuals accessed over £6.4 billion from defined contribution pension pots through 1.4 million payments.</p><p> </p><p>Early evidence collected by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and HMRC suggests that individuals are making decisions to cash in small pots while drawing down a steadier income stream from larger pension pots. However, as of March 2017, 5.8 million defined contribution pots eligible for withdrawal, or 80% of all eligible pots, remained untouched. Overall it is too early to draw definitive behavioural lessons from the data that is currently available on withdrawals from defined contribution pots, given that pension freedoms have only been in place for little over two years.</p><p> </p><p>The FCA is also undertaking a review of the post-freedoms retirement market and published its Retirement Outcomes Review interim report in July 2017. The final report is due to be published in the first half of 2018. The Government welcomes the FCA’s work in this area, awaits the publication of the final report, and will carefully consider any recommendations contained within it.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 12/02/2018 15:30:06 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4637 label Biography information for James Frith

833887

registered interest
date	30/01/2018
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate how many families will benefit from the tax-free childcare scheme.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	125645
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2018 answer text <p>HMRC and Department for Education commissioned a feasibility study into evaluating the impact of new childcare policies on the childcare market. This is available at:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/499168/Feasibility_study_into_evaluating_the_labour_and_childcare_market_impacts_of_Tax-Free_Childcare_and_the_Free_Early_Education_Entitlement.pdf</p><p> </p><p>The study concluded that it would be difficult to attribute changes in the childcare market definitively to a single childcare policy given the concurrent introduction of other childcare changes, and other external factors that could impact upon the market. However, HMRC and the Department for Education will be monitoring trends in the childcare market, and conducting research to understand parents and childcare providers’ views on the impacts.</p><p>For the current financial year 2017/18 we forecast there to be 130 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in HMRC and 160 FTE within National Savings &amp; Investments. We estimate that in financial year 2018/19 there will be 250 FTE staff employed in HMRC and 220 FTE within National Savings &amp; Investments. These forecasts are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.</p><p> </p><p>Regarding how many families will benefit from Tax-Free Childcare, I refer the Hon. Member to the response I gave to the Hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North on 29 January (124793).</p><p> </p><p>The Government has not made an estimate on the number of divorced or separated parents who will have to decide which of them will have the Tax-Free Childcare account.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC have a process for dealing with different claims from such parents. The first parent that applies for a childcare account and is eligible, is given an account. If another person later applies for the same child both parents are contacted and asked whether they’re content to stand aside for the other applicant (so that the case can be resolved amicably). If they chose not to do this, both parents are asked to provide evidence in support of their claim. HMRC resolve cases based on the facts of each case. The losing parent can appeal, in which case both parents are party to the appeal.</p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss grouped question UIN 125646 125648 125649 question first answered 02/02/2018 10:55:55 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

828957

registered interest
date	23/01/2018
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	First Time Buyers: Stamp Duty Land Tax
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of first-time buyers who purchased properties between 22 November 2017 and 1 January 2018 who paid no Stamp Duty in (a) England and Wales, (b) the South West, (c) South Gloucestershire local authority area and (d) Filton and Bradley Stoke constituency.
tabling member constituency	Filton and Bradley Stoke
tabling member printed	Jack Lopresti
uin	124560
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2018 answer text <p>The number of purchases benefitting from the Stamp Duty Land Tax relief for first-time buyers between 22 November 2017 and 1 January 2018 was estimated to be 16,000. This relief means that over 80% of first-time buyer purchases do not pay SDLT. Estimates for regional, local authority and constituency level are not yet available.</p><p> </p><p>Statistics on the number of first-time buyers claiming the relief are due to be published in the Quarterly Stamp Duty Statistics on 26 April 2018<strong>.</strong></p> answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride question first answered 30/01/2018 13:58:18 answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride
tabling member	3989 label Biography information for Jack Lopresti

825828

registered interest
date	19/01/2018
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department are taking to fix technical problems with HMRC's tax-free childcare system.
tabling member constituency	Battersea
tabling member printed	Marsha De Cordova
uin	123895
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2018 answer text More than 325,000 parents have a live childcare account and are using the childcare service to access government support with childcare.<p> </p>HMRC have delivered a range of improvements and continue to improve the service based on customer feedback. Fewer customers see error screens and the vast majority of customers receive an eligibility response within five working days, if not instantly. They have also recruited more staff to work on the childcare service helpline, to improve the service for customers who need to contact them by telephone. answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 29/01/2018 15:00:14 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
tabling member	4676 label Biography information for Marsha De Cordova

821569

registered interest
date	12/01/2018
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	CaTreasury
hansard heading	Freeports
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether British ports will be designated as free ports after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	122487
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/01/2018 answer text <p>Section 100A of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA) provides the legal basis for the designation of free zones by HM Treasury and will continue to do so following UK withdrawal from the EU. Applying for designation as a free zone will be a commercial decision to be taken by private port operators.</p> answering member constituency Central Devon answering member printed Mel Stride question first answered 22/01/2018 14:46:48 answering member 3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard