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1244779

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	Fraud: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps the Government is taking to help prevent the fraudulent use of Government schemes to provide financial support for people and businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
uin	907787
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2020 answer text <p>HMRC, and the Government more generally, take the risk of fraud arising from the use of COVID-19 support schemes very seriously. Accordingly the Government has established a ministerial board, chaired jointly by ministers from the Cabinet Office and Home Office. This board has set direction on the fraud response, with work coordinated by the Government's Counter-Fraud Function. COVID-19 schemes have been assessed for fraud risk and appropriate controls have been designed and implemented. Departments are working together to share intelligence, and to identify and investigate cases of suspected fraud.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 20/10/2020 15:44:30 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

1244328

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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 offer a settlement opportunity for people affected by loan charges.
tabling member constituency	Putney
tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
uin	105567
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2020 answer text <p>In 2017 HMRC offered settlement terms to taxpayers who used disguised remuneration (DR) tax avoidance schemes and who may have been liable to pay the Loan Charge unless they chose to settle with HMRC.</p><p> </p><p>Taxpayers who provided the necessary information to HMRC by 5 April 2019 and worked with HMRC to conclude settlement by 30 September 2020 were able to settle under these 2017 terms, enabling them to keep clear of the Loan Charge.</p><p> </p><p>Later this year, HMRC will publish settlement terms for taxpayers who pay the Loan Charge and still have remaining liabilities, arising from HMRC enquiries into their DR scheme use, which have yet to be resolved.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 22/10/2020 10:31:38 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1244402

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Music: Teachers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what additional support the Government will provide to self-employed peripatetic music teachers who remain unable to work and whose support from the Self-employment income support scheme will reduce to 20 per cent from 1 November 2020.
tabling member constituency	Walsall South
tabling member printed	Valerie Vaz
uin	105366
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises the impact that the changing path of the virus has had on the self-employed, including those in peripatetic professions, and has taken action to increase the level of support available.</p><p> </p><p>The support given to the self-employed via the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Grant Extension (SEISS GE) will now be doubled, increasing the amount of profits covered from 20 per cent to 40 per cent. This means the maximum grant available has increased from £1,875 to £3,750. This will provide a further £3.1 billion of support to the self-employed through November to January alone, with a further grant to follow covering February to April. The Government is now providing broadly the same level of support for the self-employed as is being provided to employees through the Job Support Scheme (Open).</p><p> </p><p>For those requiring further assistance, the SEISS continues to be just one element of a comprehensive package of financial support for the self-employed. The Government has temporarily increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for 2020-21 and relaxed the Minimum Income Floor for the duration of the pandemic meaning that where self-employed claimants' earnings have significantly fallen, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this, the self-employed also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 105618 question first answered 26/10/2020 14:19:12 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4076 label Biography information for Valerie Vaz

1244467

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Clothing: Manufacturing Industries
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for non-payment of the national minimum wage to garment factory workers since 1 January 2016.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	105402
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2020 answer text <p>HMRC enforces the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) in line with the law and policy set out by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).</p><p> </p><p>Breaches of NMW legislation are normally a civil (non-criminal) matter which attract penalties of up to 200% of the identified wage arrears and public naming.</p><p> </p><p>Prosecutions can be lengthy and cause delays in recovering arrears for workers and do not necessarily guarantee payment. HMRC therefore balance recovering NMW arrears for workers as quickly as possible with the robust enforcement of the NMW when deciding whether to pursue prosecution. Consequently, prosecution is reserved for the most serious NMW offences involving obstruction, falsifying of documents or wilful failure to pay workers the minimum wage, and such cases are referred to the CPS who decide whether to prosecute.</p><p> </p><p>There have been no prosecutions or convictions for the non-payment of the NMW to textile factory workers since 1 January 2016.</p><p> </p><p>However, between 1 January 2016 and 19 October 2020 HMRC’s NMW team has investigated more than 100 textile trade employers recovering over £190,000 in wage arrears for over 400 textile workers, and issued penalties amounting to over £330,000.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC recognise that there are a range of cross-agency risks in the textile sector supply chain, and have participated in a number of joint operations with other Government departments including the Gangmasters Labour Abuse Authority, Police, the Health &amp; Safety Executive, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Department for Work and Pensions and the National Crime Agency, to investigate all forms of labour exploitation.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 27/10/2020 12:11:03 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

1244477

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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 estimate he has made of the effect on the number of jobs in the tourism sector of ending the VAT Retail Export Scheme; and what steps he is taking to ensure the retention of jobs in that sector after the end of that scheme.
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	105406
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises the challenges the tourism sector is facing and is spending billions of pounds supporting people, families and the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chancellor announced the Winter Economy Plan on 24 September. This includes an extension to the temporary 5 per cent reduced rate of VAT on goods and services supplied by the tourism and hospitality sectors from 12 January to 31 March 2021. This alone provides continued support for the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and protection for 2.4 million jobs in the tourism and hospitality sectors. This is in addition to the 100% business rates holiday for many businesses, which is worth over £10 billion, and a £1,000 job retention bonus for bringing furloughed employees back to work. The Winter Plan also provides further support to businesses and jobs over the coming months, including through the Job Support Scheme which will protect millions of jobs.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 27/10/2020 12:18:36 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

1244483

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Test and Trace Support Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to exempt the covid-19 self isolation grant from income tax.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	105379
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2020 answer text <p>The UK Government introduced the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme in England to support those on low incomes who cannot work from home and are therefore financially affected by self-isolating.</p><p> </p><p>As these payments – and payments from equivalent schemes in the devolved administrations – are linked to employment, the legislative default is that these payments are subject to income tax and National Insurance Contributions. This is in line with the tax treatment of other COVID-19 support payments, such as the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.</p><p> </p><p>However, the UK Government has granted the Test and Trace Support Payment in England an exemption from National Insurance Contributions in order to reduce the administrative burden on both local authorities and employers. The Government is working with the devolved administrations to extend this National Insurance Contributions exemption to their equivalent schemes.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 22/10/2020 10:23:24 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1244568

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Job Support Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether people employed by (a) business conference centres, (b) exhibition centres, (c) sports stadia, (d) live music venues, (e) theatres, (d) cinemas and (e) events companies are eligible for the Job Support Scheme; and when his Department plans to publish further detail on eligibility for that scheme.
tabling member constituency	Manchester Central
tabling member printed	Lucy Powell
uin	105376
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2020 answer text <p>To support individuals and businesses to deal with the challenges created by coronavirus during this winter, the Government is providing additional support to help employers retain their employees through the Job Support Scheme. The scheme will open on 1 November 2020 and run for 6 months, until April 2021. Employers will be able to make a claim online through GOV.UK from December 2020. They will be paid on a monthly basis.</p><p> </p><p>Businesses which can continue to operate safely but are facing reduced demand will have access to JSS-Open, where the government grant will cover a portion of wages for non-worked hours.</p><p> </p><p>Businesses are eligible to claim JSS-Closed if their business has been legally required to close as a direct result of COVID-19 restrictions set by one or more of the four governments of the UK. This includes premises restricted to delivery or collection only services from their premises.</p><p> </p><p>Further guidance will be issued shortly to set out the complete list of conditions for eligibility for the Job Support Scheme.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 22/10/2020 10:30:02 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4263 label Biography information for Lucy Powell

1244580

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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 he has made of the potential merits of making the proportion of previous earnings in the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme the same as that in the Job Support Scheme.
tabling member constituency	North Down
tabling member printed	Stephen Farry
uin	105618
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises the impact that the changing path of the virus has had on the self-employed, including those in peripatetic professions, and has taken action to increase the level of support available.</p><p> </p><p>The support given to the self-employed via the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Grant Extension (SEISS GE) will now be doubled, increasing the amount of profits covered from 20 per cent to 40 per cent. This means the maximum grant available has increased from £1,875 to £3,750. This will provide a further £3.1 billion of support to the self-employed through November to January alone, with a further grant to follow covering February to April. The Government is now providing broadly the same level of support for the self-employed as is being provided to employees through the Job Support Scheme (Open).</p><p> </p><p>For those requiring further assistance, the SEISS continues to be just one element of a comprehensive package of financial support for the self-employed. The Government has temporarily increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for 2020-21 and relaxed the Minimum Income Floor for the duration of the pandemic meaning that where self-employed claimants' earnings have significantly fallen, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this, the self-employed also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 105366 question first answered 26/10/2020 14:19:12 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4856 label Biography information for Stephen Farry

1244612

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
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, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2020 to Question 99086 on Business: Coronavirus, what assessment he has made of the effect of the VAT reduction policy on businesses that are prevented from trading as a result of covid-19 restrictions.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	105516
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2020 answer text <p>In order to support the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and to protect 2.4 million jobs, the Government has applied a temporary reduced rate of VAT (5 per cent) to goods and services supplied by the tourism and hospitality sectors. This relief is estimated to be worth over £3 billion to the tourism and hospitality sectors.</p><p> </p><p>In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chancellor has announced a range of measures to help individuals and businesses through the crisis, including grants, loans and relief from business rates. For those businesses which are legally forced to close, such as in Tier 3, the Chancellor recently expanded the Job Support Scheme to support businesses.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 27/10/2020 12:17:04 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1244713

registered interest
date	19/10/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	English Language: Education
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 business rates relief to include English language teaching schools.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	105556
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance for local authorities on the implementation of the business rates holiday for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. This includes definitions of properties that will benefit from the relief, which does not include English language teaching schools.</p><p> </p><p>A range of measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday, has also been made available.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 22/10/2020 10:26:40 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper