Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to safeguard Parliamentary sovereignty and Ministerial accountability following the passage of the Budget Responsibility Bill, given that it will provide expanded powers to the Office of Budget Responsibility.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Budget Responsibility Bill will support transparency and accountability, by ensuring that significant fiscal announcements are always subject to independent scrutiny.
Parliament will remain sovereign: the legislation which sets out the legal framework will be taken through the House of Commons for approval, as will the Charter for Budget Responsibility which will set out the technical details. The Bill makes no changes to existing parliamentary scrutiny of Government tax and spending decisions.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evaluation they have made of the accuracy of recent economic predictions made by the Office of Budget Responsibility.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is required by primary legislation to publish an annual assessment of the accuracy of its forecasts. All previous Forecast Evaluation Reports are available on the OBR’s website.
In addition, last year, the OBR published a working paper assessing its forecasting record since it was established in 2010. It found that the OBR’s forecasting accuracy is comparable to that of external forecasters, and its GDP and borrowing forecasts have typically been more accurate than the previous forecasts made by the Treasury.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have with the Competition and Markets Authority on the recent increases in car insurance premiums and access to car insurance for motorists on lower incomes.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Treasury Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, including the financial services regulators, on an ongoing basis.
The Government does not prescribe the terms, conditions or price that insurance companies set when offering insurance. Insurers make commercial decisions about the pricing of insurance following their assessment of the relevant risks. The Government does not intervene in these decisions as this could damage competition in the market.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent regulator responsible for supervising the insurance industry. Alongside the Competition and Markets Authority, the FCA can enforce against breaches of competition law for the provision of financial services.
The FCA also requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value (i.e. if the price a consumer pays for a product or service is reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive). The FCA has been clear that it will be monitoring firms to ensure they are providing products that are fair value, and, where necessary, it will take action.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration, if any, they have given to introducing a temporary suspension of Air Passenger Duty to support the competitive position of UK airports.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
As with all taxes, the Government keeps Air Passenger Duty (APD) under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
APD applies to airlines and is the principal tax on the aviation sector since tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty. It is expected to raise £3.8 billion in 2023-24 and the primary objective of the tax is to ensure that airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances.
From April 2023, the Government has reduced the rate of APD on domestic flights in order to support UK-wide connectivity. The new domestic rate applies to all flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (excluding private jets) and is set at £6.50 for economy passengers, benefitting more than 10 million passengers in 2023-24.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the ban on private finance initiative schemes in 2019 extends to transport infrastructure projects.
Answered by Baroness Penn
In 2018, the government retired the private finance initiative (PFI) and PF2 models for all new infrastructure projects, including in the transport sector, due to their fiscal risk, inflexibility and complexity. However, the government continues to remain committed to supporting private investment in infrastructure as set out in the 2020 National Infrastructure Strategy.
The UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) was launched in 2021 and is partnering with the private sector and local governments to support over £40 billion investment, including in transport, to help tackle climate change and promote regional and local economic growth across the UK. With £22bn financial capacity, the Bank has already announced 20 deals, including a £10m loan to support green bus routes in the West Midlands. In addition to the UKIB, a range of revenue support mechanisms are also available for all infrastructure projects.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received on the reform of Stamp Duty Land Tax as it applies to lease extensions and thresholds.
Answered by Baroness Penn
Stamp Duty Land Tax is paid by tenants on leases, depending on their value. It is charged to reflect that the tenant is taking an economic interest in land or property, and to prevent avoidance. There are no current plans to change this position. All aspects of Stamp Duty Land Tax policy are kept under review.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to supporting tax system reforms to facilitate the development of additional care facilities for older people.
Answered by Baroness Penn
This Government believes we need to have a social care system that gives every person the dignity and security that they deserve. At the Autumn statement, the Government made available a further £2.8 billion in 2023-2024 and £4.7 billion in 2024-2025 to support adult social care and get people out of hospital on time and into appropriate care settings.
The Government is committed to a fair tax system in which those with the most contribute the most. The Government will keep all aspects of the tax system under review, and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of the wider public finances
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to encourage mortgage providers to develop financial products which support shared equity affordable housing; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Gauke
The Government is committed to addressing the affordability of housing and making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible.
Alongside this the Government is committed to increasing competition in banking and creating an environment in which firms compete to offer a range of products that suit the varying needs of their customers.
Government also runs the Help to Buy: Equity loan through which Government lends up to 20% (40% in London) of the cost of a newly built home with buyers only needing a 5% cash deposit and a 75% mortgage to make up the rest. The loan is repaid when the property is sold, or after 25 years (whichever is sooner), with the amount repayable calculated as 20% of the value of the property at the point the loan is repaid (or 40% in London). There is also an annual fee payable on the loan after 5 years.
Since Help to Buy: equity loan launched it has helped over 90,000 households buy a home, supporting first-time buyers in all parts of the country with 81% of purchases made through the scheme made by first time buyers.
In October 2016 the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) released a report which highlighted that 15-20 firms are currently lending on shared ownership.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have received funding from government schemes to assist first-time home buyers in (a) Peterborough and (b) England in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government does not hold annual figures for the number of first time buyers who have received funding since 2010. However since the launch of The Help to Buy: Equity loan in April 2013, funding has been made available to support 46,133 first time buyers in England, of whom 601 were in Peterborough. Funding has also has been made available to support 19,971 first time buyers in England, of which 154 were in Peterborough, through the Firstbuy and Homebuy Direct schemes.
To support more first time buyers, the Government announced at the Spending Review plans to extend the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme until 2021, launch London Help to Buy and build 200,000 starter homes, to be sold at a 20% discount to young first time buyers. The Government is also launching Help to Buy: ISA, giving savers a bonus to help them purchase their first property.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 12792, for what reason the nationality of EU citizens in receipt of working tax credits is not recorded; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Damian Hinds
Nationality is not a condition of entitlement to tax credits. The information requested is, therefore, not available.