Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the last Valuation Office Agency business rates revaluation on critical national infrastructure, including airports and power stations.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The last business rates revaluation, which came into effect in England and Wales on 1 April 2023, resulted in a fall in the total rateable values for each of the sectors shown below. Using the examples provided, the figures below demonstrate the overall change in total rateable value (RV) for civil airports and fossil fuel power stations, between the 2017 and 2023 rating lists.
Civil airports.
2017 RV: £392,425,000
2023 RV: £390,997,000
Fossil fuel power stations.
2017 RV: £164,653,000
2023 RV: £138,420,000
For transparency the VOA publishes official statistics for each property class, which show the change in RV. These can be found on the Non-domestic Rating Stock of Properties statistics pages for 2023 and 2024.
The VOA carried out a revaluation of around 2.1 million non-domestic properties in England and Wales to produce the 2023 rating list. The new RVs came into force on 1 April 2023, with the 2023 RV reflecting changes in rental values between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2021.
The government is committed to a fairer business rates system. In our manifesto, we pledged to level the playing field between the high street and online giants, as well as to take steps to incentivise investment, tackle empty properties and support entrepreneurship.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any work is underway to prepare for a fiscal event outside of the usual Treasury timetable.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Treasury develops policy throughout the year, in line with the Chancellor’s priorities and regardless of whether a date for a fiscal event has been announced.
The government is required by law to commission the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to produce two forecasts per year and to hold a Budget each fiscal year.
The Chancellor has not announced the date of the next fiscal event.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Penn on 14 November (HL Deb col 384), what assessment they have made of the availability of out-of-hours fraud and complaints teams within high street banks; and what consideration they have given to mandating a minimum level of out-of-hours provision.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime. Tackling fraud requires a unified and coordinated response from government, regulators, law enforcement and the private sector to better protect the public and businesses from fraud.
While specific decisions on the opening hours of high street banks and the out-of-hours services provided are commercial decisions for the firm, many of the major UK retail banks provide 24-hour helplines for customers who have been victims of fraud.
More broadly, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires banks and building societies to maintain effective systems and controls to prevent financial crime. The FCA’s rules also require firms to properly investigate all complaints, and, through ongoing supervision, it continues to monitor firms’ complaint handling processes.
If certain banks or building societies have more extensive out-of-hours fraud and complaints facilities, customers may choose to switch to an alternative provider using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS). The switch service is free to use and comes with a guarantee to protect customers from financial loss if something goes wrong. This means that customers are more able than ever to hold their banks or building society to account by voting with their feet, and that firms are incentivised to work hard to protect their existing customers from fraud and deal with complaints efficiently.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the average expenditure on VAT by private, voluntary and independent childcare providers, and (2) the cost to the Treasury of zero-rating those childcare providers.
Answered by Baroness Penn
VAT has been designed as a broad-based tax on consumption, and the twenty per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been strictly limited by both legal and fiscal considerations.
Ofsted-registered nurseries and childcare providers are exempt from VAT. This means they do not have to charge VAT to their customers, but it also means they cannot recover the VAT they incur on the things they buy.
We do not hold data on irrecoverable VAT expenditure as businesses are not required to report this information to HMRC in their VAT returns.
While we keep all taxes under review there are no plans to make changes to the VAT exemption which nurseries currently enjoy. Representations on changes to the VAT system will be considered through the normal fiscal event process.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the average business rates charged to nurseries in England, and (2) the cost of exempting early years providers from business rates.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for valuing non-domestic property for business rates purposes. Based on VOA data from April 2023, the mean rateable value (RV) for a day nursery or play school in England is £26,400. This indicates that, before applying any relevant reliefs, an average nursery in England would pay around £13,175 in business rates for 2023-24.
The sector has a total RV of around £320 million and represents nearly half a percent of England’s RV. The Government keeps the tax system under review.
At Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced a freeze to the business rates multiplier. This third consecutive freeze supports all ratepayers, including Early Years businesses, and means bills are 6% lower than without the freeze.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether an assessment of funding for (1) a low carbon reskilling strategy, and (2) a public engagement strategy, will be included in the Net Zero Review
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The objectives and scope of HMT’s Net Zero Review are set out in the terms of reference, published in November 2019, and are available on the GOV.UK website. The Review will explore how the transition to a net zero economy will be funded, and where the costs will fall. The Review will look at options for a balance of contributions between households, businesses and the taxpayer, and how to maximise economic growth opportunities from the transition.
The government has announced that the Review will be published in Spring 2021. In the meantime, HMT will publish an interim report this autumn 2020. This will set out our approach to the Review and analysis which will inform the final report.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to use Pool Re’s model of terrorism (re)insurance to provide cover for other systemic events that could impact the economy.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Ideally all firms would be able to purchase the insurance products they need on a market basis, but the Government recognises that in some exceptional circumstances that may not be possible.
The Government welcomes ideas for how insurance can build resilience and access insurance in future, noting the new risks and challenges from the outbreak of COVID-19. We will be assessing all proposals in due course.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 4 June (HL4757), what plans they have to ensure that there is sufficient provision of business interruption cover for businesses in event of any future pandemic, given that such cover can no longer be purchased in the commercial market.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Ideally all firms would be able to purchase the insurance products they need on a market basis, but the Government recognises that in some exceptional circumstances that may not be possible.
The Government welcomes ideas for how insurance can build resilience and access insurance in future, noting the new risks and challenges from the outbreak of COVID-19. We will be assessing all proposals in due course.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they are having with businesses, including banks and risk insurance companies, about business disruption insurance.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector to understand and influence its response to this unprecedented situation and is encouraging insurers to do all they can to support customers during this difficult period.
The Government is working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that the rules are being upheld during this crisis and fully supports the regulator in its role. The FCA rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed. In addition, the FCA has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.
On 1 May the FCA outlined its intention to seek a court declaration, on an agreed and urgent basis, and for a selected number of key issues, to resolve uncertainty for many customers making business interruption claims. Additionally, the FCA stated its expectation for insurers to assess the value of their insurance products to customers during this period and to consider appropriate action. This might include changing how benefits are delivered, refunding some premiums or suspending monthly payments for a certain period of time.
Subsequently on 1 June, the FCA announced the policy wordings that would be tested in the court action and insurers it had invited to participate directly, along with an initial list of policy wordings and insurers that will potentially be impacted by the Court’s decision on the representative sample. The FCA expects to publish a final list of all the relevant insurers and policies that may have impacted wordings in early July, and expects a court hearing to take place in late July.
However, it is important to note that most businesses have not purchased insurance that covers losses from non-property damage. Additionally, while some policies cover losses arising from any disease classed as notifiable by the government, or a denial of access to a building, most of these policies only cover a specific list of notifiable diseases or an incident specifically on the premises of the business. Insurance policies differ significantly, so businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers. The terms of a policy cannot be changed retrospectively.
The Government encourages businesses to seek assistance through the wider support package if they are in financial difficulty. Businesses should explore the full package of support set out by the Chancellor in the Budget, on 17 March, and on 20 March, which includes measures such as business rates holidays, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and wage support.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of tax and duty owed by Thomas Cook at the time of their entry into administration; and what assessment they have made of whether there is any prospect of recovering the amount owed or any proportion thereof.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Opposition Deputy Chief Whip (Lords)
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) do not disclose details of their work on the tax affairs of particular taxpayers.