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1248763

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Life Insurance: Suicide
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2020 to Question 71066 on Life Insurance: Mental Illness, what steps his Department is taking to encourage insurance companies to take into consideration the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on people who have taken their own lives when processing life insurance claims.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	111531
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector regarding its response to this unprecedented situation.</p><p> </p><p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them. The Government is working closely with the FCA to ensure that the rules are being upheld and supports the regulator in its role.</p><p> </p><p>In July 2020, the FCA launched further consultation on updated guidance for firms on the treatment of vulnerable consumers. This guidance also takes into consideration the impact of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the vulnerability of consumers. The FCA expects to finalise this guidance by early 2021.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 09/11/2020 11:00:50 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1248768

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Debt Rescheduling: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the level of use of debt management plans as a result of financial difficulties due to the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff North
tabling member printed	Anna McMorrin
uin	111596
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government continues to engage closely with the debt advice sector, the Money and Pensions Service, the Financial Conduct Authority and other stakeholders to monitor and understand the ongoing and future impact of COVID19 on people’s finances, including on the demand for debt advice and debt solutions, such as debt management plans.</p><p>The Government recognises that some people are struggling with their finances at this challenging time. To help people in problem debt get their finances back on track, an extra £37.8 million support package has been made available to debt advice providers this financial year, bringing this year’s budget for free debt advice in England to over £100 million.</p><p>From May 2021 the Breathing Space scheme will offer people in problem debt a pause of up to 60 days on most enforcement action, interest, fees and charges, and will encourage them to seek professional debt advice.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 11/11/2020 13:27:30 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4632 label Biography information for Anna McMorrin

1248785

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bank Services
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 number of people who do not have a bank account.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	111536
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2020 answer text <p>The Treasury does not make assessments of the number of people who do not have a bank account. However, in 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the results of the Financial Lives Survey which found that 1.3 million UK adults were unbanked, i.e. have no current account or alternative e-money account.</p><p> </p><p>The Financial Lives Survey report contains further information on the characteristics of the unbanked. The report analyses survey results across the four nations of the UK, the nine regions of England, and by rural and urban areas. The FCA concluded the second Financial Lives Survey earlier this year and are now preparing the results for analysis.</p><p> </p><p>The Government believes that individuals, regardless of their background or income, should have access to useful and affordable financial products and services, including a bank account.</p><p> </p><p>Basic bank accounts are a key financial inclusion policy. They provide people with a way of receiving income, whether that be salary, pension, benefits or tax credits and enable them to manage their money on a day-to-day basis effectively, securely and confidently.</p><p> </p><p>A basic bank account is fee-free for all everyday banking services and has no overdraft facility. The 9 largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer fee-free basic bank accounts to customers who do not have a bank account in the UK or who are ineligible for a bank’s standard current account.</p><p> </p><p>The Treasury publishes data on basic bank accounts annually. The December 2019 publication shows that in total there are nearly 7.5 million basic bank accounts open in the UK.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 11/11/2020 13:30:55 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1248793

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Debts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the level of household debt in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	111538
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produce estimates of household debt in the UK. According to latest available data, median household non-mortgage debt in the West Midlands between 2016 and 2018 was £4,300. This was the fourth lowest of any English region.</p><p> </p><p>In the UK as a whole, household debt-to-income has fallen from 152% at the start of 2010 to 135% in Q2 2020. This remains significantly below its pre-financial crisis peak of 160% in Q1 2008.</p><p> </p><p>The ONS does not produce estimates of the level of household debt in Coventry, including the Coventry North East constituency, and for England as a whole.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 09/11/2020 08:15:23 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1248833

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Cash Dispensing: Urban Areas
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 cash machines on high streets in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	111553
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises that cash remains important to millions of people across the UK, which is why it has committed to legislate to protect access to cash and to ensure that the UK’s cash infrastructure is sustainable in the long term. To inform the development of this legislation, the Government published a Call for Evidence on 15 October.</p><p> </p><p>LINK, the scheme that runs the UK’s largest ATM network, publishes the annual total of free-to-use ATMs across the UK since 1998 online. In their monthly report, LINK stated that there are 42,248 free-to-use ATMs in the UK as of September 2020; although this is less than the peak number in 2017, this remains higher than a decade ago. LINK also publish information monthly on ATM numbers by Parliamentary constituency.</p><p> </p><p>LINK has existing arrangements in place to protect free-to-use ATMs that do not have another free-to-use ATM or Post Office within 1 kilometre. LINK’s members have also made £5 million available to fund ATMs at the request of communities with poor access to cash.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 11/11/2020 13:29:02 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1248844

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Beer: Excise Duties
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 financial effect of the changes to Small Brewers Relief on the smallest brewers in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Streatham
tabling member printed	Bell Ribeiro-Addy
uin	111625
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2020 answer text <p>The smallest brewers in the UK produce less than 2,100 hectolitres and so will be unaffected by the Government’s proposed reforms to the Small Brewers Relief taper.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 11/11/2020 10:02:07 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
tabling member	4764 label Biography information for Bell Ribeiro-Addy

1248846

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Exports: VAT
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of the planned abolition of the VAT Retail Export Scheme on the number of tourists visiting (a) the UK and (b) EU countries from 1 January 2021.
tabling member constituency	North Somerset
tabling member printed	Dr Liam Fox
uin	111406
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2020 answer text <p>Ahead of the end of the transition period, the Government has announced the VAT and excise duty treatment of goods purchased by individuals for personal use and carried in their luggage arriving from or going overseas (passengers). The following rules will apply from 1 January 2021:</p><p>- Passengers travelling from Great Britain to any destination outside the United Kingdom (UK) will be able to purchase duty-free excise goods once they have passed security controls at ports, airports, and international rail stations.</p><p>- Personal allowances will apply to passengers entering Great Britain from a destination outside of the UK, with alcohol allowances significantly increased.</p><p>- The VAT Retail Export Scheme (RES) in Great Britain will not be extended to EU residents and will be withdrawn for all passengers.</p><p>- The concessionary treatment on tax-free sales for non-excise goods will be removed across the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published a consultation which ran from 11 March to 20 May. During this time the Government held a number of virtual meetings with stakeholders to hear their views and received 73 responses to the consultation. The Government is also continuing to meet and discuss with stakeholders following the announcement of these policies.</p><p> </p><p>The detailed rationale for these changes is included in the written ministerial statement and summary of responses to the recent consultation. A technical note has also been issued to stakeholders to expand on this document and to respond to issues raised by stakeholders.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC estimate that VAT RES refunds cost about £0.5 billion in VAT in 2019 for about 1.2 million non-EU visitors. In 2019 the ONS estimate there were substantially more EU visitors (24.8 million) than non-EU passengers (16.0 million) to the UK. This implies an extension to EU residents would significantly increase the cost by up to an estimated £0.9 billion. This would result in a large amount of deadweight loss by subsidising spending from EU visitors which already happens without a refund mechanism in place, potentially taking the total cost up to about £1.4 billion per annum.</p><p> </p><p>The final costings will be subject to scrutiny by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and will be set out at the next forecast.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 111407 111408 question first answered 13/11/2020 12:14:15 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	223 label Biography information for Sir Liam Fox

1248848

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Exports: VAT
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of the planned abolition of the VAT Retail Export Scheme on the level of spending by tourists in (a) the UK and (b) EU countries from 1 January 2021.
tabling member constituency	North Somerset
tabling member printed	Dr Liam Fox
uin	111407
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2020 answer text <p>Ahead of the end of the transition period, the Government has announced the VAT and excise duty treatment of goods purchased by individuals for personal use and carried in their luggage arriving from or going overseas (passengers). The following rules will apply from 1 January 2021:</p><p>- Passengers travelling from Great Britain to any destination outside the United Kingdom (UK) will be able to purchase duty-free excise goods once they have passed security controls at ports, airports, and international rail stations.</p><p>- Personal allowances will apply to passengers entering Great Britain from a destination outside of the UK, with alcohol allowances significantly increased.</p><p>- The VAT Retail Export Scheme (RES) in Great Britain will not be extended to EU residents and will be withdrawn for all passengers.</p><p>- The concessionary treatment on tax-free sales for non-excise goods will be removed across the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published a consultation which ran from 11 March to 20 May. During this time the Government held a number of virtual meetings with stakeholders to hear their views and received 73 responses to the consultation. The Government is also continuing to meet and discuss with stakeholders following the announcement of these policies.</p><p> </p><p>The detailed rationale for these changes is included in the written ministerial statement and summary of responses to the recent consultation. A technical note has also been issued to stakeholders to expand on this document and to respond to issues raised by stakeholders.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC estimate that VAT RES refunds cost about £0.5 billion in VAT in 2019 for about 1.2 million non-EU visitors. In 2019 the ONS estimate there were substantially more EU visitors (24.8 million) than non-EU passengers (16.0 million) to the UK. This implies an extension to EU residents would significantly increase the cost by up to an estimated £0.9 billion. This would result in a large amount of deadweight loss by subsidising spending from EU visitors which already happens without a refund mechanism in place, potentially taking the total cost up to about £1.4 billion per annum.</p><p> </p><p>The final costings will be subject to scrutiny by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and will be set out at the next forecast.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 111406 111408 question first answered 13/11/2020 12:14:15 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	223 label Biography information for Sir Liam Fox

1248849

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Exports: VAT
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of the planned abolition of the VAT Retail Export Scheme on employment levels in the (a) retail, (b) leisure and hospitality, (c) travel and tourism and (d) manufacturing sector in the UK.
tabling member constituency	North Somerset
tabling member printed	Dr Liam Fox
uin	111408
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2020 answer text <p>Ahead of the end of the transition period, the Government has announced the VAT and excise duty treatment of goods purchased by individuals for personal use and carried in their luggage arriving from or going overseas (passengers). The following rules will apply from 1 January 2021:</p><p>- Passengers travelling from Great Britain to any destination outside the United Kingdom (UK) will be able to purchase duty-free excise goods once they have passed security controls at ports, airports, and international rail stations.</p><p>- Personal allowances will apply to passengers entering Great Britain from a destination outside of the UK, with alcohol allowances significantly increased.</p><p>- The VAT Retail Export Scheme (RES) in Great Britain will not be extended to EU residents and will be withdrawn for all passengers.</p><p>- The concessionary treatment on tax-free sales for non-excise goods will be removed across the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The Government published a consultation which ran from 11 March to 20 May. During this time the Government held a number of virtual meetings with stakeholders to hear their views and received 73 responses to the consultation. The Government is also continuing to meet and discuss with stakeholders following the announcement of these policies.</p><p> </p><p>The detailed rationale for these changes is included in the written ministerial statement and summary of responses to the recent consultation. A technical note has also been issued to stakeholders to expand on this document and to respond to issues raised by stakeholders.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC estimate that VAT RES refunds cost about £0.5 billion in VAT in 2019 for about 1.2 million non-EU visitors. In 2019 the ONS estimate there were substantially more EU visitors (24.8 million) than non-EU passengers (16.0 million) to the UK. This implies an extension to EU residents would significantly increase the cost by up to an estimated £0.9 billion. This would result in a large amount of deadweight loss by subsidising spending from EU visitors which already happens without a refund mechanism in place, potentially taking the total cost up to about £1.4 billion per annum.</p><p> </p><p>The final costings will be subject to scrutiny by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and will be set out at the next forecast.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 111406 111407 question first answered 13/11/2020 12:14:15 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	223 label Biography information for Sir Liam Fox

1248960

registered interest
date	04/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central, dated 4 August 2002 on the furlough claim lodged by Sub Club.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow Central
tabling member printed	Alison Thewliss
uin	111571
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>HM Treasury has received unprecedented amounts of correspondence since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, and apologises for the delay in responding to the hon. Member. The hon. Member’s correspondence is receiving attention and will be replied to as soon as possible.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 09/11/2020 16:02:53 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4430 label Biography information for Alison Thewliss