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

1306848

registered interest
date	13/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Sanitary Products: VAT
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effect on women's income of excluding reusable sanitary underwear from the new zero rate of VAT.
tabling member constituency	Wrexham
tabling member printed	Sarah Atherton
uin	178541
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>A zero rate of VAT has applied to women’s sanitary products since 1 January 2021. This applies to those products which were previously subject to the reduced rate of 5 per cent, for example, tampons and pads, and to reusable menstrual products, such as keepers.</p><p> </p><p>The relief specifically excludes articles of clothing, such as “period pants”. Such exclusions are designed to ensure that the relief is properly targeted, since difficulties in policing the scope of the relief create the potential for litigation, erosion of the tax base and a reduction in revenue. Under existing rules “period pants” may already qualify for the zero rate, if they have been specifically designed to be worn by a child, meet the sizing criteria, and are held out for sale specifically for use by girls under the age of 14 years old.</p><p> </p><p>Details are provided in VAT Notice 714: zero-rating young children's clothing and footwear: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-714-zero-rating-young-childrens-clothing-and-footwear/vat-notice-714-zero-rating-young-childrens-clothing-and-footwear#items-suitable-only-for-young-children" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-714-zero-rating-young-childrens-clothing-and-footwear/vat-notice-714-zero-rating-young-childrens-clothing-and-footwear#items-suitable-only-for-young-children</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The Treasury, along with other relevant departments, carefully considers the impact of its decisions on those sharing protected characteristics, including at Budgets and other fiscal events, in line with both its legal obligations and with its commitment to promoting fairness.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 20/04/2021 15:03:53 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4855 label Biography information for Sarah Atherton

1306936

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Empty Property: Business Rates
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 potential merits of extending empty property business rates relief on properties that remain empty due to the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Battersea
tabling member printed	Marsha De Cordova
uin	178591
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government maintains an Empty Property Relief (EPR) to support property owners ahead of the reoccupation of vacated premises.</p><p> </p><p>Under EPR, owners of retail properties do not normally have to pay business rates on newly vacated buildings for three months.</p><p> </p><p>The Budget announced a three-month extension to the business rates holiday for eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors that was provided at Budget 2020. From 1 July 2021, 66% relief will be available subject to a cash cap that depends on whether businesses have been required to close or were able to open.</p><p> </p><p>Properties which have closed temporarily due to the Government’s advice on COVID-19 should be treated as occupied for the purposes of the business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure properties.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 20/04/2021 13:57:44 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4676 label Biography information for Marsha De Cordova

1306937

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	UK Trade with EU: VAT
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 potential effect on small businesses of VAT charges on goods imported from the EU.
tabling member constituency	Battersea
tabling member printed	Marsha De Cordova
uin	178593
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>Any businesses, including small businesses, that are registered for UK VAT have the ability to reclaim VAT charged on goods imported from the EU on their VAT return.</p><p> </p><p>As with all tax measures, where new changes have been introduced, the Government includes its assessment of the impacts of the changes in Tax Information and Impact Notes. Notes for measures recently legislated for in the Taxation (Post-transition Period) Act were published alongside that legislation.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 20/04/2021 13:58:46 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4676 label Biography information for Marsha De Cordova

1306945

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Capital Gains Tax
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the evidential basis was for not raising the Capital Gains Tax in line with Income Tax as part of Budget 2021.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	178615
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government keeps all taxes under review, and any changes are made at fiscal events within the context of wider public finances. As demonstrated in last month’s Budget, the Government’s priority is supporting jobs and the economic recovery from the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>Any changes to the tax system will balance the need to raise revenue with the principles of fairness and market efficiency.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 15/04/2021 14:35:28 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1306991

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Boats: VAT
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 potential effect of HMRC rules which incur VAT charges on returning boats on UK citizens with boats in the EU as a result of covid-19 travel restrictions.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	178712
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2021 answer text <p>Relief from import VAT and any customs duty is available under Returned Goods Relief (RGR) for goods exported from the UK and re-imported within three years in an unaltered state. Goods which were transported from the UK to the EU and which remained located in the EU at the end of the transition period will be eligible for RGR, subject to meeting the conditions for the relief, if they are returned to Great Britain by 30 June 2022, regardless of the date they were transported to the EU. This extends the period during which such goods can return to Great Britain under RGR by a further six months in view of the continuing COVID-19 travel restrictions in the UK and in the EU. The extension of this grace period is included in the revised RGR legislation published on 22 March 2021: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reference-documents-for-the-customs-reliefs-from-a-liability-to-import-duty-and-miscellaneous-amendments-eu-exit-regulations-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reference-documents-for-the-customs-reliefs-from-a-liability-to-import-duty-and-miscellaneous-amendments-eu-exit-regulations-2020</a>.</p><p>For RGR to apply on import VAT relief, the exporter and the importer need to be the same person.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 15/04/2021 14:45:22 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1307013

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Customs Intermediaries: Recruitment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many additional customs agents have been employed by HMRC since February 2020.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Erdington
tabling member printed	Jack Dromey
uin	178990
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government does not employ customs agents/customs intermediaries directly, and it does not have a target for numbers of customs agents. Readiness of the customs intermediary sector relates to the capacity to make declarations, rather than numbers of staff employed. This is because the sector is varied and made up of a number of different business models including specific customs brokers, freight forwarders and fast parcel operators; all of which will require different numbers of staff to complete declarations and to provide their services. Many in the sector have innovated and brought in significant IT solutions to automate many processes which has reduced the numbers of staff they require. The Government has helped them to do this by making over £80 million of support available, including flexible grants that can be used for IT and training, as well as recruitment, depending on the needs of the business.</p><p> </p><p>The Government knows the intermediary sector has used this support and increased capacity significantly. The findings of recent Ipsos Mori surveying of the sector (published on GOV.UK: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-into-the-customs-intermediaries-sector-wave-2-report" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-into-the-customs-intermediaries-sector-wave-2-report</a>) show that customs intermediaries expected to increase their capacity four fold to meet additional demand. In addition, the Government has created an intermediary register on GOV.UK to help traders find an agent. This holds a list of intermediaries that traders could use and shows which are taking on new clients, and the services offered. Over 300 intermediaries have highlighted they are taking on new clients, including those that specialise in smaller traders or movements of goods subject to SPS controls.</p><p> </p><p>The Government continues to monitor the situation closely and engage with the sector to understand the support it needs, keeping measures under review.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 178991 question first answered 20/04/2021 14:06:50 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	3913 label Biography information for Jack Dromey

1307014

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Customs Intermediaries: Recruitment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of the number of (a) additional HMRC customs agents that are required to manage the new trading rules with the EU under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and (b) those agents required in February 2020.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Erdington
tabling member printed	Jack Dromey
uin	178991
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government does not employ customs agents/customs intermediaries directly, and it does not have a target for numbers of customs agents. Readiness of the customs intermediary sector relates to the capacity to make declarations, rather than numbers of staff employed. This is because the sector is varied and made up of a number of different business models including specific customs brokers, freight forwarders and fast parcel operators; all of which will require different numbers of staff to complete declarations and to provide their services. Many in the sector have innovated and brought in significant IT solutions to automate many processes which has reduced the numbers of staff they require. The Government has helped them to do this by making over £80 million of support available, including flexible grants that can be used for IT and training, as well as recruitment, depending on the needs of the business.</p><p> </p><p>The Government knows the intermediary sector has used this support and increased capacity significantly. The findings of recent Ipsos Mori surveying of the sector (published on GOV.UK: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-into-the-customs-intermediaries-sector-wave-2-report" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-into-the-customs-intermediaries-sector-wave-2-report</a>) show that customs intermediaries expected to increase their capacity four fold to meet additional demand. In addition, the Government has created an intermediary register on GOV.UK to help traders find an agent. This holds a list of intermediaries that traders could use and shows which are taking on new clients, and the services offered. Over 300 intermediaries have highlighted they are taking on new clients, including those that specialise in smaller traders or movements of goods subject to SPS controls.</p><p> </p><p>The Government continues to monitor the situation closely and engage with the sector to understand the support it needs, keeping measures under review.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 178990 question first answered 20/04/2021 14:06:50 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	3913 label Biography information for Jack Dromey

1307046

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Self-employed: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to support self-employed people who have had no financial income for the duration of the covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns who are ineligible for support through universal credit or the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	179603
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2021 answer text <p>The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has provided and will continue to provide generous support to self-employed people who meet the eligibility criteria. The Government will have spent over £33 billion supporting those in self-employment through the SEISS, making it one of the most generous self-employment income COVID support schemes in the world.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is bringing more people into the scheme: changes to the fourth grant mean that over 600,000 people previously ineligible for SEISS may now be eligible, including those newly self-employed in 2019-20. This brings the total number of people who could be eligible to 3.7m.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises that some of the rules, criteria and conditions vital to ensuring that the SEISS works for the vast majority mean that some people may not qualify.</p><p> </p><p>Those ineligible for the SEISS may still be eligible for other elements of the support available. The Government has decided to extend the suspension of the Universal Credit Minimum Income Floor for three months, to the end of July 2021, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have fallen significantly, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings.</p><p> </p><p>New style Jobseeker’s Allowance is also available to individuals with sufficient National Insurance Contributions who now work under 16 hours a week on average, and does not assess household capital.</p><p>Self-employed people may also have access to other elements of support available, including Restart Grants, the Recovery Loan scheme, business rates relief, and other business support schemes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 15/04/2021 14:17:17 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1306864

registered interest
date	31/03/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Self-employment Income Support Scheme
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 potential merits of bringing forward the fourth grant payment for Self-Employment Income Support Scheme from the current scheduled date.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Ladywood
tabling member printed	Shabana Mahmood
uin	178567
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government announced at Budget 2021 that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue until September, with a fourth and a final fifth grant.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also announced a major improvement in access to the self-employed scheme. As the deadline for 2019-20 tax returns has now passed, HMRC will use these tax returns for the fourth and fifth grants, provided they were submitted by 2 March. This means that 600,000 people, many of whom became self-employed in 2019-20, may now be able to claim the fourth and fifth grants, bringing the total number of people who could be eligible to 3.7 million.</p><p> </p><p>Using these returns requires time to deliver due to the increased population and new data. In order to allow HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) time to process 2019-20 tax returns it has not been possible to invite applications or open the claims service earlier.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC will open the online claims service for the fourth SEISS grant from late April 2021 and expect to notify potentially eligible people of their personal claim date from mid-April.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to claim the fourth grant is now available online: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme</a>.</p><p>The SEISS is just one part of a wider package of support for the self-employed, which includes automatic, self-serve time-to-pay arrangements, loans, welfare support, and other business support grants.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 178690 179074 question first answered 20/04/2021 14:13:39 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	3914 label Biography information for Shabana Mahmood

1306400

registered interest
date	25/03/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Revenue and Customs: Disclosure of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what provisions are in place for HMRC to (a) receive and (b) share tax return data with the Home Office for immigration enforcement purposes.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	175691
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/04/2021 answer text <p>HMRC and the Home Office (HO) have a long-established relationship underpinned by a single Partnership Agreement. The Partnership Agreement sets out the framework under which HMRC and HO work together. Sitting under this Partnership Agreement are a number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and Data Usage Agreements (DUAs) regarding the sharing of data for immigration enforcement purposes.</p><p> </p><p>These documents are signed off by both departments and outline the approved legal gateway for the data share, the purpose of the data share, how the data will be used, what data is to be shared and how, data security obligations, and data retention policy.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC have extensive senior governance in place to assure that Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs) adhere to legal requirements and are proportionate in their requests. All DSAs are assessed under relevant legislation and are reviewed under a regular schedule. Secure data transfer infrastructure is in place for data exchange, and data is only permitted to be used for the agreed purpose.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 13/04/2021 14:36:52 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms