Asked by: Lord Leigh of Hurley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that those citizens who offer to share their homes with Ukrainian refugees as guests will continue to receive full cover from their home insurance policies, including any public liability claims which may arise; and what discussions they have held with insurance companies to implement any such plans.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
Further to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, details of the sponsorship scheme for Ukraine will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Lord Leigh of Hurley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many payments the Insolvency Service has made under its official receiver compensation scheme in each year for which this information is available; and what is the total value of these payments in each year.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Payments made to estates for losses caused by an Official Receiver since 2018 are as follows:
Year | Total number of payments | Total amount paid out (£) |
2021-22 (to end Feb) | 14 | 12,738 |
2020-21 | 6 | 13,127 |
2019-20 | 5 | 2,376 |
2018-19 | 5 | 2,856 |
Asked by: Lord Leigh of Hurley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential increase in revenue should members of limited liability partnerships become subject to an increase in national insurance contributions from April 2022 at the same rate of increase as employees.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
No such assessment has been carried out. Employees, the self-employed and members of a Limited Liability Partnership who are subject to National Insurance contributions (NICs) will also be subject to the 1.25% NICs increase for the tax year 2022/23 and the Health and Social Care Levy from April 2023.
Asked by: Lord Leigh of Hurley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take in situations where a building owner refuses to apply for government remediation for building safety issues for a qualifying high-rise building.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government has been clear that leaseholders should not bear the costs for the remediation of unsafe cladding. We are aware of one unacceptable case where the building owner is refusing to accept government funding and reimburse their leaseholders. The Department is urgently working to resolve this to make sure that the building owner does right by their leaseholders and reimburses them.
Where a building owner does not wish to apply for government funding, they should fund remediation themselves or through warranty claims and litigation against those responsible for the installation of unsafe cladding.
Asked by: Lord Leigh of Hurley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any instances where leaseholders are being denied reimbursement of completed cladding works due to the failure of the freeholder to apply for remediation; and if so, how many such situations are believed to exist.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Government has been clear that leaseholders should not bear the costs for the remediation of unsafe cladding. We are aware of one unacceptable case where the building owner is refusing to accept government funding and reimburse their leaseholders. The Department is urgently working to resolve this to make sure that the building owner does right by their leaseholders and reimburses them.
Where a building owner does not wish to apply for government funding, they should fund remediation themselves or through warranty claims and litigation against those responsible for the installation of unsafe cladding.
Asked by: Lord Leigh of Hurley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the loss of national insurance contributions in regards to exemptions enjoyed by Limited Liability Partnerships.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
No such assessment has been carried out as there are no specific National Insurance contributions (NICs) exemptions for members of a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).
Individual members of LLPs are taxed in the same way as partners in a general partnership, paying Class 4 and Class 2 NICs like other partners and self-employed individuals. If members fall within the salaried member rules introduced by the Finance Act 2014 they are taxed as employees, paying Class 1 NICs.
Asked by: Lord Leigh of Hurley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) cashflow difficulties, and (2) compliance costs, faced by (a) small, and (b) medium, sized UK businesses from recent changes to the VAT regime when trading with EU countries.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Following the end of the transition period, sales from UK businesses to the EU are exports and are zero-rated for VAT purposes. This means that the UK business seller should not charge UK VAT on the sale and should retain evidence of export.
How goods sent to the EU are treated upon import into the EU is a matter for the EU. On 1 July 2021, the EU removed low value consignment relief for VAT on imported goods not exceeding €22 and introduced a new optional simplification scheme for the collection and payment of VAT on goods not exceeding €150, known as the Import One Stop Shop.
The UK does not provide an impact assessment of policy measures that are introduced outside of the UK by jurisdictions.
Nonetheless, the Government appreciates that small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are more likely to find the changes to trading with the EU challenging. In response, following the end of the transition period, the Government introduced the SME Brexit Support Fund, which closed to new applications on 30 June 2021. The Recovery Loan Scheme has continued to provide support since then. This helps businesses of any size access loans and other kinds of finance so they can recover after the pandemic and the transition period. Loans are available through a network of accredited lenders which are listed on the British Business Bank's website.
Asked by: Lord Leigh of Hurley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many businesses have been investigated for VAT evasion that took place before January as a direct result of changes to VAT remittance and collection arrangements that came into effect that month.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
On 1st January 2021, new legislation introduced by the Government took effect which changes the rules for the VAT treatment of goods sold by businesses based overseas. These changes were introduced to further address non-compliance and evasion of VAT.
HMRC has a long-standing programme of compliance activity with such businesses, which continues. Since 1st January 2021, HMRC has investigated 4,488 businesses for non-compliance with VAT obligations that took place before then.
Asked by: Lord Leigh of Hurley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many overseas businesses selling directly into the UK by mail order have registered for UK VAT since 1 January; and what assessment they have made of the impact of the obligation to do so.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
From 1 January to 31 October 2021, the number of overseas businesses with the declared classification of ‘retail sale via mail order houses or via internet’ that have registered for VAT in the UK is 12,111.
On 27 October 2021, the Office for Budget Responsibility set out their assessment of the fiscal impact of the new rules for overseas goods introduced from 1 January 2020, which includes the requirement for overseas businesses to register for VAT in the UK for the sale of low value imported goods. Based on outturn data for the current year it is now expected that the measure will generate £1.4 billion in 2021-22, rising steadily to £1.8 billion by 2026-27, a fivefold increase on the previous estimate.
Asked by: Lord Leigh of Hurley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much additional VAT revenue they have collected as a result of the changes to online platforms’ VAT liability that came into effect in January; and what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of those changes.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government introduced changes on 1 January 2021 which meant that online marketplaces were liable to account for UK VAT on sales of goods in consignments valued £135 and below which are outside the UK at the point of sale, and for goods of any value sold by overseas sellers that are in the UK at the point of sale. The Government also removed Low Value Consignment Relief, which relieved VAT for goods imported into the UK in consignments up to £15 in value.
On 27 October 2021, the Office for Budget Responsibility set out their assessment of the fiscal impact of these changes as part of their Economic and Fiscal Outlook. They estimate the measures will generate £1.4 billion in the year 2021-22, with an expected increase each year following this.