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Written Question
Mortgages: Interest Rates
Tuesday 8th November 2022

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support homeowners with rising mortgage rates.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

Around 75% of residential mortgage borrowers are on fixed-rate deals and are therefore shielded from interest rate rises in the short term. It is also worth noting that lenders are required to stress test all new prospective borrowers’ ability to continue repaying their mortgage under higher interest rates.

However, the Government has already taken immediate action to help households through the Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bills Support Scheme. This is in addition to the £37 billion of targeted support for the cost of living this financial year.

When mortgage borrowers are in financial difficulty and struggling to pay their mortgage, Financial Conduct Authority guidance requires firms to provide support through tailored forbearance options. The Government has also taken a number of measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit, and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.


Written Question
Economic Growth
Tuesday 8th November 2022

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase economic growth.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

The Government remains committed to boosting economic growth as the route to raising the prosperity of people across the UK. It continues to develop and deliver growth enhancing policies that ensure the UK has the right skills, high quality infrastructure and support for firms to innovate and invest.

The Chancellor has announced the Autumn Statement will be delivered on 17 November. This will contain the UK’s medium-term fiscal plan, which will include an assessment of UK growth, and will be accompanied by an OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook. This will set out the Government’s approach to business support.


Written Question
Business: Investment
Monday 12th July 2021

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the levels of business investment for (1) the remainder of 2021, and (2) 2022.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton

As well as addressing the immediate challenges of COVID-19, the Government recognises the importance of acting now to create the conditions for an investment-led recovery driven by private sector growth.

Stimulating private sector investment will create jobs, drive innovation, and revitalise local areas and regions across the UK. This is central to the Government’s plan to secure a strong recovery and the Budget announced a package of measures to achieve this, including the new super-deduction to support business investment.

The Office for National Statistics, as part of the Quarterly National Accounts, published revised outturn figures for business investment in Q1 2021. In real and seasonally-adjusted terms, business investment fell by 10.7 per cent (£5.4 billion) in Q1 2021 compared to the previous quarter, or by 16.9 per cent (£9.2 billion) compared to Q1 2020.

At Spring Budget 2021, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which produces forecasts on the economy and public finances, revised upwardly the medium-term business investment outlook, expecting a return to its pre-crisis level in Q2 2022.

In the March 2021 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR highlighted the potential impact of the super deduction:

“As a temporary measure, it provides companies with a very strong incentive to bring forward investment from future periods to take advantage of the temporarily much more generous allowances. We assume that at its peak in 2022-23, this will raise the level of business investment by around 10 per cent (equivalent to around £20 billion a year) as spending is brought forward.”


Written Question
UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 23rd June 2021

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their most recent assessment of the total cost to UK businesses of EU tariffs being applied on goods entering Northern Ireland from elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton

The Northern Ireland Protocol is clear that Northern Ireland is fully part of the UK’s customs territory. As such, there should be no tariffs on internal UK trade and tariffs should only be charged if goods are destined for Ireland or the EU Single Market more broadly, or if there is a genuine and substantial risk of them ending up there. Traders are able to declare goods ‘not at risk’ and therefore face no duty if their goods are for sale to, or final use by, end consumers located in the UK that are brought into Northern Ireland by a trader authorised under the UK Trader Scheme.

The Government has also made full use of provisions in the Protocol to waive tariffs on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, even where they are classified as ‘at risk’ of entering the EU market. In addition, the Government will establish a reimbursement scheme for goods that attract a tariff, but which can subsequently be shown to have remained in the UK customs territory.

In order to help traders moving goods, the Government has also provided £270 million to support businesses trading between Great Britain and Northern Ireland through the Trader Support Service. More than 39,000 traders have registered for this free to use service which provides education for traders and can complete customs declarations on their behalf.


Written Question
Self-employed: Coronavirus
Wednesday 23rd June 2021

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in the last three months to support self-employed people who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton

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. This provides certainty to business as the economy reopens and means the SEISS will continue to be one of the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world.

The fourth SEISS grant was available to claim from late April to 1 June, and was worth 80% of average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months’ worth of annual profits, and capped at £7,500 in total.

The fifth and final SEISS grant, covering May to September, will include a turnover test  in order to ensure that the most generous support is targeted at those who need it most. This will determine whether individuals can continue to receive a grant worth 80% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £7,500 or a 30% grant, capped at £2,850.

Further, the SEISS is just one element of a substantial package of support for the self-employed. At Budget, the temporary £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance was extended for six months, and the Government also extended the suspension of the 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 can continue to take into account their lower earnings. In addition to this, they may also have access to other elements of the package, including Restart Grants, the Recovery Loan scheme, business rates relief, and other business support schemes.


Written Question
Owner Occupation: Coronavirus
Tuesday 27th October 2020

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional support they plan to provide to homeowners after the mortgage payment holiday scheme ends.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton

Following the Coronavirus outbreak, the Government worked quickly with lenders and financial regulators to give people access to payment holidays on their mortgages. This gives customers a much-needed respite period, where no repayments on these products are due. It was necessary to bring this temporary measure in, in order to give customers time to smooth out their finances that may have taken a hit by the pandemic. As borrowers still requiring assistance after 31 October could be in serious financial distress the FCA believe it is right that lenders are able to understand their financial position in order to lend responsibly

The FCA published guidance on mortgage payment holidays on 14 September setting out that firms should continue to provide support through tailored forbearance options for those borrowers that are facing ongoing financial difficulties. This could include granting new mortgage payment holidays. As part of this guidance any forbearance granted beyond 31 October will be reflected on the consumer’s credit file in the usual manner.

The Government also has support in place for qualifying borrowers that cannot afford their mortgage interest. Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) provides financial help to homeowners who qualify for an income related benefit. Claimants must be in receipt of Universal Credit for nine assessment periods (nine months), before receiving support through the SMI scheme. The loan is then repayable upon sale of the property. The primary purpose of SMI is to enable people to stay in their homes without fear of repossession.


Written Question
Customs
Wednesday 15th July 2020

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure consistency in customs regulations throughout the UK.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton

The Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol brings the whole of the UK out of the EU Customs Union at the end of the transition period. Northern Ireland remains part of the UK’s customs territory and as such businesses in Northern Ireland will benefit from future trade deals negotiated by the UK. Northern Ireland traders will also benefit from unfettered access to the rest of the UK’s internal market. This will be delivered through legislation by the end of the year. Any processes on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be kept to an absolute minimum to protect the integrity and smooth functioning of the UK internal market.
Written Question
VAT: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 23rd December 2015

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans, if any, they have for reducing the rate of VAT on the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley

Normal EU VAT rules do not permit the variation of rates within a Member State. The Government currently has no plans to introduce a reduced rate of VAT for the UK hospitality sector.



Written Question
Block Grant: Northern Ireland
Friday 3rd July 2015

Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what effect the failure to pass the Welfare Reform Bill in Northern Ireland has had, in financial terms, on the block grant to Northern Ireland.

Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley

As a result of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s inability to pass welfare reform legislation, the Northern Ireland Executive’s allocation has been reduced by £13m in 2013-14, £87m in 2014-15 and £114m in 2015-16 to offset foregone cost savings which would otherwise have accrued. The Executive have been aware of the level of the deduction since March 2014.

Following the exceptional access to the reserve granted to the Northern Ireland Executive in 2014-15, the Executive’s 2015-16 allocation has been reduced by £100m in 2015-16 in accordance with normal budgetary procedures.

These deductions will be reflected in the control totals published alongside departmental Main Supply Estimates for 2015-16.