Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for industries including aviation, which do not expect to return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels in the short term.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
As set out at Budget 2021, the Government will extend the CJRS for a further five months from May until the end of September 2021 in order to aid businesses and employees through the next stage of the pandemic. Furloughed workers in the UK will continue to receive more generous support than those in many other countries, as the CJRS ensures employees receive 80% of their current salary for hours not worked, up to £2,500 per month.
The scheme will be extended on current terms – with no additional employer contributions – until the end of June 2021.
As the economy reopens and demand returns, the Government will ask employers to make a small additional contribution, of 10% towards the cost of paying for unworked hours, from July. As the economy reopens further, this employer contribution will increase to 20% in August and September.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that their proposal to eliminate age discrimination in public sector pension schemes does not create any sex discrimination in such schemes.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
On 16 July 2020, the government published a consultation[1] on “Public service pension schemes: changes to the transitional arrangements to the 2015 schemes”, accompanied by an Equalities Impact Assessment[2] (EIA). The EIA considered the impacts of the proposals on those with protected characteristics as identified in the Equality Act 2010, including sex.
As part of this consultation, the government also asked for views on the implications of the proposals for people with protected characteristics. The consultation closed on October 11, and the government is now considering the issues raised in response to the consultation.
The Equalities Impact Assessment will be updated in response to issues raised and will be published alongside the government’s response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent of cross-border smuggling between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and how many prosecutions for such smuggling have been recorded in the past five years.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The government is committed to tackling the fraudulent evasion of duty. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) records statistics for excise offences in Northern Ireland by regime; hydrocarbon oil, tobacco and alcohol. It does not separate out those involving smuggling between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
By their very nature these offences can include cross border aspects and HMRC works closely with the Revenue Commissioners in the Republic of Ireland to disrupt criminal activity connected with these goods. This includes regular exchange of intelligence, joint operational activity and the gathering of evidence for use in criminal prosecutions.