Asked by: Lord Turnbull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they are imposing a VAT charge on boats and yachts bought in the UK which are taken abroad and returned after more than three years.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Goods imported from another customs territory, including boats, are chargeable to import VAT and customs duties unless any relief applies. This is to help ensure a level playing field between goods purchased in the UK and goods purchased overseas.
The Returned Goods Relief (RGR) is a long-standing relief which provides relief from customs duty and import VAT for goods exported from the UK and returned within three years. The UK RGR provisions from 1 January 2021 also include transitional rules which allow goods which had been transported from the UK to the EU, and were located in the EU at the end of the transition period, to return to the UK by 30 June 2022. HMRC can also use discretion to waive the normal three-year return requirement in exceptional circumstances. Such requests have to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Lord Turnbull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, if a UK resident buys furniture in the UK and takes it abroad, they will have to make a second VAT payment if the furniture is returned to the UK after three years.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Goods imported into the UK, including furniture, are subject to customs duties and import VAT unless any relief applies.
The Returned Goods Relief (RGR) is a long-standing measure which relieves goods from customs duty and import VAT where the owner exports the goods from the UK and returns these within three years. This period can be extended on a case by case basis in exceptional circumstances.
Under transitional rules, goods which had been transported from the UK to the EU more than three years ago and were located in the EU at the end of the transition period, can also benefit from RGR provided these return to the UK by 30 June 2022.
Asked by: Lord Turnbull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what comparison they have made of the impact on the maintenance of global temperatures until 2100 of adopting (1) net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, (2) net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, and (3) a reduction of 80 per cent carbon emissions by 2050.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The Government has not made this comparison itself. The legislation that Parliament passed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in the UK by 2050 is aligned with advice from our independent Committee on Climate Change, and is based on evidence regarding global emissions provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Special Report on the impact of 1.5°C global warming.
The evidence shows that in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C, global emissions of carbon dioxide must roughly halve by 2030 and reach net zero by around 2050. The UK’s net zero target is for all greenhouse gases which goes beyond this global pathway to 1.5°C. Delivering this target will require ambitious action across government and this commitment puts us in a strong position to call for other countries to follow our lead and consider what similar commitments they can make.
Asked by: Lord Turnbull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that their proposed Future Homes Standard will have on (1) the cost of building new homes, and (2) people’s fuel bills.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Future Homes Standard will require all new build homes to have low carbon heating. Cooking appliances are not controlled under the Building Regulations, however, we expect that many developers will choose not to install new gas connections in developments adopting the Future Homes Standard. There are a range of alternatives, including modern electric and induction hobs, which are cleaner and safer to use than gas, cheaper to install and maintain, and better for the environment.
The Future Homes Standard is about building homes that are affordable to buy, affordable to run, and help to meet our climate change commitments. We will set out further details as part of our 2019 consultation on the energy efficiency requirements of the Building Regulations.
Asked by: Lord Turnbull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their proposed Future Homes Standard to mandate the end of fossil-fuelled heating systems in all new houses after 2025 will also cover fossil-fuelled cookers and hobs; and what assessment they have made of what alternative technologies or fuels will be used in in their place.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Future Homes Standard will require all new build homes to have low carbon heating. Cooking appliances are not controlled under the Building Regulations, however, we expect that many developers will choose not to install new gas connections in developments adopting the Future Homes Standard. There are a range of alternatives, including modern electric and induction hobs, which are cleaner and safer to use than gas, cheaper to install and maintain, and better for the environment.
The Future Homes Standard is about building homes that are affordable to buy, affordable to run, and help to meet our climate change commitments. We will set out further details as part of our 2019 consultation on the energy efficiency requirements of the Building Regulations.
Asked by: Lord Turnbull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current area of the Victoria Tower Gardens; what area will be taken up by the Holocaust Memorial and associated works; and what area will remain for recreational use.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The current area of Victoria Tower Gardens is 18,848m2 . The Memorial will take up 1387m2 which is approximately 7 per cent of the park; the remaining area will be publicly accessible.
Asked by: Lord Turnbull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to help those purchasers of houses with leasehold agreements with excessive uprating provisions to replace such provisions with fairer ones.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government is clear that unfair leasehold practices have no place in the housing sector. We are committed to improving the leasehold system by making it fairer and more transparent. We will be introducing legislation to ban new leasehold houses.
It is right that developers who sold leaseholds with onerous terms should support their customers to amend such lease terms. Some developers have introduced assistance schemes which is welcome. The Government is engaging with industry to ensure they are taking action to provide assistance to existing leaseholders with onerous terms.
Asked by: Lord Turnbull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have given to departments on the advice they should give to EU nationals they have recruited and who serve initially in an office located in the UK and are then posted to an overseas office of the department.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
EU citizens and their family members resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 will be able to apply for UK immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme, in line with the draft Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union published on 19 March 2018.
As set out in paragraph 3.4 of the Statement of Intent on the scheme published on 21 June 2018, ‘resident in the UK’ will include those who are outside the UK on 31 December 2020 but who have maintained continuity of residence here, generally as set out in current free movement rules for those who have not already acquired EU permanent residence rights, and up to five years’ absence for those who have. Once granted, settled status under the scheme will not lapse unless the holder is then absent from the UK for more than five consecutive years.
We are considering carefully how we can ensure that EU citizen Crown servants and their family members, the EU citizen family members of British citizen Crown servants and EU citizen family members of HM Forces personnel, are not unfairly disadvantaged under the scheme by absences from the UK as a result of overseas postings. We are working closely with other departments on this issue and will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Lord Turnbull (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the immigration status of EU nationals who are recruited by a Government department, serve for a time in the UK, and are then posted to serve in an overseas office of that department.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
EU citizens and their family members resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 will be able to apply for UK immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme, in line with the draft Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union published on 19 March 2018.
As set out in paragraph 3.4 of the Statement of Intent on the scheme published on 21 June 2018, ‘resident in the UK’ will include those who are outside the UK on 31 December 2020 but who have maintained continuity of residence here, generally as set out in current free movement rules for those who have not already acquired EU permanent residence rights, and up to five years’ absence for those who have. Once granted, settled status under the scheme will not lapse unless the holder is then absent from the UK for more than five consecutive years.
We are considering carefully how we can ensure that EU citizen Crown servants and their family members, the EU citizen family members of British citizen Crown servants and EU citizen family members of HM Forces personnel, are not unfairly disadvantaged under the scheme by absences from the UK as a result of overseas postings. We are working closely with other departments on this issue and will set out further details in due course.