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1141731

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Help to Buy Scheme: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have benefited from the Help to Buy ISA in (a) north east Scotland and (b) West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine; and what the cost to the public purse was of that policy in those areas since the introduction of that scheme.
tabling member constituency	West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
tabling member printed	Andrew Bowie
uin	281795
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text We do not hold Help to Buy: ISA data specifically for the North East of Scotland or West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine. However, since the introduction of the scheme, the number of First Time Buyers that have benefitted from the Help to Buy: ISA in Scotland is 20,921, with 629 being in Aberdeenshire. The value of the bonuses paid to help people onto the housing ladder in Scotland is £23,230,645 and of this, £738,986 worth of bonuses were paid in Aberdeenshire.<p> </p>This information is available in the Help to Buy: ISA accompanying tables as of March 2019 available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-isa-scheme-quarterly-statistics-december-2015-to-march-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buy-isa-scheme-quarterly-statistics-december-2015-to-march-2019</a> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 05/09/2019 10:03:31 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4601 label Biography information for Andrew Bowie

1141934

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Banks: Loans
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they or the Prudential Regulation Authority monitor loans by smaller banks to related parties; and what assessment, if any, they have made of how Wyelands Bank complies in this respect with regulatory limits.
tabling member printed	Lord Myners
uin	HL17478
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/08/2019 answer text This is a matter for the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which is operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the PRA. The PRA will reply directly to Lord Myners by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House. answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 06/08/2019 13:37:27 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
tabling member	3869 label Biography information for Lord Myners

1141829

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Tobacco
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department (a) collects and (b) publishes on (i) tobacco sales, (ii) profits, (iii) marketing and (iv) research.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	281814
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text HM Treasury does not collect data on tobacco sales, profits, marketing or research. HM Revenue & Customs does collect those financial records necessary to establish tax liabilities of individual tobacco companies and retailers. Any financial data collected for this purpose is subject to taxpayer confidentiality and not published by HMRC. answering member constituency Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland answering member printed Mr Simon Clarke question first answered 03/09/2019 07:51:36 answering member 4655 label Biography information for Sir Simon Clarke
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1141712

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Energy: Tax Allowances
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 potential merits of reinstating tax relief for investors in community energy schemes.
tabling member constituency	Ealing Central and Acton
tabling member printed	Dr Rupa Huq
uin	281785
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The venture capital tax reliefs are intended to incentivise investment in higher risk companies who struggle to access finance. Energy generation was excluded from these schemes in 2016 in response to evidence of such investments being used for tax planning purposes. The Government has no current plans to reinstate eligibility for community energy schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The Government offers other forms of support to community energy projects, including through five new regional Local Energy Hubs, the new Smart Export Guarantee and the £10m Rural Community Energy Fund.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 09/09/2019 13:02:16 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4511 label Biography information for Dr Rupa Huq

1141822

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Infrastructure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2018 to Question 174781 on Infrastructure, when the Government plans to publish its full response to the National Infrastructure Commission’s report of July 2018 entitled National Infrastructure Assessment.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	281813
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The government welcomed the publication of the National Infrastructure Commission’s National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA) last year.</p><p>The Government will respond in full to the NIA through a National Infrastructure Strategy.</p><p>The Chancellor confirmed on August 9th that the Strategy will be published in autumn 2019.</p> answering member constituency Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland answering member printed Mr Simon Clarke question first answered 03/09/2019 07:04:30 answering member 4655 label Biography information for Sir Simon Clarke
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1141857

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
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 recent estimate he has made of the percentage of adults in the UK who do not have a UK bank account.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	281634
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 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 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 intend to repeat the Financial Lives Survey on a regular basis in future. The report can be found here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research/financial-lives-consumers-across-uk.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research/financial-lives-consumers-across-uk.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>This government is committed to building an economy where everyone, regardless of their background or income, can access the financial services and products they need, including a bank account. Under the Payment Account Regulations 2015 (PARs) the nine 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 or who are ineligible for a bank’s standard current account. Accounts have all the standard payment features such as direct debits and standing orders, though no overdraft or cheque book facilities. The Treasury’s December 2018 publication shows that in total there are nearly 7.5 million basic bank accounts open in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>More generally, in November 2017, the Government announced the creation of the Financial Inclusion Policy Forum. The Forum has now met three times and has successfully brought together key leaders from industry, charities and consumer groups, as well as Government ministers and the regulators, to provide leadership in tackling financial exclusion. The Forum has delivered important work already, and made tangible progress. A sub-group of the Forum set up last summer, examined the issue of access to affordable credit, and made a number of recommendations, many of which formed part of a package on affordable credit presented at Budget 2018. The Government also published its first annual financial inclusion report on 25 March which takes stock of the Government’s progress in this area.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/09/2019 07:03:54 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen attachment 1 file name Financial Lives Survey - page 47.pdf title Page 47 from report as mentioned in the response
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141856

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bank Services: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK banks fulfuil their obligations under the EU Payment Accounts Directive; and whether he plans to retain the consumer protections in that directive after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	281633
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Payment Accounts Directive 2014 has three main objectives: (1) to improve the transparency and comparability of fees related to payment accounts that are used for day-to-day payment transactions; (2) to facilitate the switching of those accounts; and (3) to ensure access to payment accounts with basic features (‘basic bank accounts’) for EU residents. The Payment Accounts Regulations 2015 (PARs) transposed this Directive into UK law.</p><p> </p><p>The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the Payment Accounts Regulations’ requirements on payment service providers. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is responsible for designating and monitoring alternative switching schemes.</p><p> </p><p>Designated UK banks must provide accessible information and assistance about the features and conditions of basic bank accounts under the Payment Accounts Regulations (PARs). The PARs also require the FCA to gather and submit to HM Treasury certain data on basic bank accounts and the switching of payment accounts. This information is reported to HM Treasury every two years. HM Treasury also collects data on basic bank accounts and this is published annually.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has amended the PARs to ensure that they continue to operate effectively in the UK once the UK has left the EU.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 03/09/2019 07:03:34 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1141667

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Occupational Health
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 findings of the John Lewis Partnership Working Well report, published on 11 June 2019 on the benefits to public services of greater workplace health prevention and early intervention; and what steps he plans to take ensure that taxation incentivises early intervention from employers.
tabling member constituency	Filton and Bradley Stoke
tabling member printed	Jack Lopresti
uin	281709
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the valuable work of employers such as the John Lewis Partnership in providing for the health of their staff.</p><p> </p><p>Employers have a critical role to play in helping disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to remain in work. Keeping more people in work is good for them. But it is good for the economy too, and it reduces spending on out-of-work benefits, and potentially also demand on the NHS. For employers, investing in employee health and wellbeing can lead to increased workforce productivity and help retain key talent in an organisation.</p><p> </p><p>Employers normally incur expenditure on employee healthcare for a business purpose and can already deduct this in full when calculating their taxable profits under the longstanding general rules for business expenses. This means employers already receive full tax relief for these costs. The Government therefore does not believe that the existing tax system for business expenses incurred by employers provides a barrier to those wishing to support employees at work.</p><p> </p><p>The tax system also ensures employees do not pay income tax or National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on several employer-provided, health-related benefits and there is no corresponding Class 1A NICs liability for employers when there is an exemption for income tax. This includes recommended medical treatment of up to £500 intended to help employees return to work.</p><p> </p><p>This particular exemption is targeted at supporting individuals who are expected to reach or who have already reached four weeks of sickness absence. This is because evidence suggests there is an increased likelihood of employees moving on to benefits after an absence lasting four weeks or longer. The £500 cap is in line with the estimated annual cost of the medical treatment that would typically be recommended to help employees return to work.</p><p> </p><p>In July, the Government launched a consultation on measures to reduce ill health-related job loss. The broad focus of this consultation chimes with recommendations in the John Lewis report, including potential financial incentives to encourage more employers to access occupational health services, driving early and supportive employer action and spreading best practice. However, it also notes that there is limited evidence that making the tax treatment more generous is the most effective lever to incentivise more employers to start offering occupational health provision, if the initial cost is the main barrier for them.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will use the evidence and views gathered during this consultation to develop its proposals further, considering an approach which offers the best value for money and is affordable in the context of the next Spending Review.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 281710 281711 281712 281713 281714 281715 question first answered 09/09/2019 13:08:28 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	3989 label Biography information for Jack Lopresti

1141668

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Occupational Health: Cost Effectiveness
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 benefit to the public purse of workers receiving workplace medical treatment at work instead of after 28 consecutive days of absence.
tabling member constituency	Filton and Bradley Stoke
tabling member printed	Jack Lopresti
uin	281710
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the valuable work of employers such as the John Lewis Partnership in providing for the health of their staff.</p><p> </p><p>Employers have a critical role to play in helping disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to remain in work. Keeping more people in work is good for them. But it is good for the economy too, and it reduces spending on out-of-work benefits, and potentially also demand on the NHS. For employers, investing in employee health and wellbeing can lead to increased workforce productivity and help retain key talent in an organisation.</p><p> </p><p>Employers normally incur expenditure on employee healthcare for a business purpose and can already deduct this in full when calculating their taxable profits under the longstanding general rules for business expenses. This means employers already receive full tax relief for these costs. The Government therefore does not believe that the existing tax system for business expenses incurred by employers provides a barrier to those wishing to support employees at work.</p><p> </p><p>The tax system also ensures employees do not pay income tax or National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on several employer-provided, health-related benefits and there is no corresponding Class 1A NICs liability for employers when there is an exemption for income tax. This includes recommended medical treatment of up to £500 intended to help employees return to work.</p><p> </p><p>This particular exemption is targeted at supporting individuals who are expected to reach or who have already reached four weeks of sickness absence. This is because evidence suggests there is an increased likelihood of employees moving on to benefits after an absence lasting four weeks or longer. The £500 cap is in line with the estimated annual cost of the medical treatment that would typically be recommended to help employees return to work.</p><p> </p><p>In July, the Government launched a consultation on measures to reduce ill health-related job loss. The broad focus of this consultation chimes with recommendations in the John Lewis report, including potential financial incentives to encourage more employers to access occupational health services, driving early and supportive employer action and spreading best practice. However, it also notes that there is limited evidence that making the tax treatment more generous is the most effective lever to incentivise more employers to start offering occupational health provision, if the initial cost is the main barrier for them.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will use the evidence and views gathered during this consultation to develop its proposals further, considering an approach which offers the best value for money and is affordable in the context of the next Spending Review.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 281709 281711 281712 281713 281714 281715 question first answered 09/09/2019 13:08:28 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	3989 label Biography information for Jack Lopresti

1141669

registered interest
date	24/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Occupational Health: Taxation
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 effect of the taxation of employees with occupational health support on the take-up of those services by low paid workers.
tabling member constituency	Filton and Bradley Stoke
tabling member printed	Jack Lopresti
uin	281711
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the valuable work of employers such as the John Lewis Partnership in providing for the health of their staff.</p><p> </p><p>Employers have a critical role to play in helping disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to remain in work. Keeping more people in work is good for them. But it is good for the economy too, and it reduces spending on out-of-work benefits, and potentially also demand on the NHS. For employers, investing in employee health and wellbeing can lead to increased workforce productivity and help retain key talent in an organisation.</p><p> </p><p>Employers normally incur expenditure on employee healthcare for a business purpose and can already deduct this in full when calculating their taxable profits under the longstanding general rules for business expenses. This means employers already receive full tax relief for these costs. The Government therefore does not believe that the existing tax system for business expenses incurred by employers provides a barrier to those wishing to support employees at work.</p><p> </p><p>The tax system also ensures employees do not pay income tax or National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on several employer-provided, health-related benefits and there is no corresponding Class 1A NICs liability for employers when there is an exemption for income tax. This includes recommended medical treatment of up to £500 intended to help employees return to work.</p><p> </p><p>This particular exemption is targeted at supporting individuals who are expected to reach or who have already reached four weeks of sickness absence. This is because evidence suggests there is an increased likelihood of employees moving on to benefits after an absence lasting four weeks or longer. The £500 cap is in line with the estimated annual cost of the medical treatment that would typically be recommended to help employees return to work.</p><p> </p><p>In July, the Government launched a consultation on measures to reduce ill health-related job loss. The broad focus of this consultation chimes with recommendations in the John Lewis report, including potential financial incentives to encourage more employers to access occupational health services, driving early and supportive employer action and spreading best practice. However, it also notes that there is limited evidence that making the tax treatment more generous is the most effective lever to incentivise more employers to start offering occupational health provision, if the initial cost is the main barrier for them.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will use the evidence and views gathered during this consultation to develop its proposals further, considering an approach which offers the best value for money and is affordable in the context of the next Spending Review.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 281709 281710 281712 281713 281714 281715 question first answered 09/09/2019 13:08:28 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	3989 label Biography information for Jack Lopresti