Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to ensure a fair distribution of finance to the Northern Ireland agricultural sector following the decision not to ring-fence the farm support package.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Northern Ireland Executive’s (NIE) Spending Review settlement for 2025-26 is the largest in real terms of any settlement since devolution. The NIE is receiving £18.2 billion in 2025-26, including an additional £1.5 billion through the operation of the Barnett formula.
The NIE is responsible for the allocation of its settlement to its devolved responsibilities, including the agricultural sector in Northern Ireland. To support this principle, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has agreed to baseline into 2025-26 the full amount provided to farmers, land managers, and fisheries in 2024-25.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many farms, if transferred in (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Scotland, and (4) Northern Ireland, are eligible for the payment of inheritance tax following the Budget of 30 October.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief [1].
It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR. Up to around 520 of these are expected to relate to claims for APR (including those that also claim for BPR), and this number falls to around 430 when claims that include AIM shares are excluded. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) each year are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.
Estates claiming agricultural property relief are required to provide HMRC with the value of agricultural assets, and this is used when calculating whether tax is due. However, it is not possible to provide constituency level analysis on claims which may be made in the future.
[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase of insurance premiums for motor vehicles and dwellings.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Insurers make commercial decisions about the pricing of insurance following their assessment of the relevant risks. Currently premiums are being affected by specific economic factors that are increasing the cost of claims, such as the rising cost of replacement parts and materials. The Government does not generally intervene in these decisions as this could damage competition in the market.
However, the Government is determined that insurers treat customers fairly and firms are required to do under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA 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).
On 16 October, the FCA announced a package of work in the insurance market amid concerns about rising prices. This includes a market study on premium finance – a form of credit that allows insurance customers to spread the upfront annual cost of their premium – for both home and motor insurance products.
On the same day, the Government launched a cross-Government taskforce on motor insurance. This Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with banks and other ATM providers to ensure customers may continue to access cash free of charge.
Answered by Simon Kirby
The Government believes that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers in the UK.
To this end, the Government is engaging with LINK and its members, including banks and Independent ATM Deployers, to ensure that widespread free access to cash is maintained, and is encouraged to hear that LINK’s members have committed to further work to find a solution to the dispute.
The Government is also working closely on the issue with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which was established in 2015 to promote competition, innovation, and the needs of end users within payment systems. The PSR is in regular contact with LINK, and is monitoring the situation closely, including assessing the potential effect of any development on the provision of ATMs in the UK.
The PSR has the power to act should LINK or any of its members behave in a way that conflicts with any of its statutory objectives.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much (a) income tax and (b) VAT was accrued to the public purse from activities related to flight training schools in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jane Ellison
HM Revenue and Customs are not able to disaggregate statistics on tax accruals down to lower level trade sector such as flight schools.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse of illegal tobacco entering the UK by way of the border with the Republic of Ireland has been in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Estimates of the volume and total revenue losses associated with the tobacco illicit market are published in ‘Tobacco Tax Gap Estimates 2015 to 2016’. This is available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561322/HMRC-tobacco-tax-gap-estimates-2016.pdf.
The estimate is based on comparing tobacco consumed with returns to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) detailing legitimate manufacture, import and an estimate of cross border shopping. It does not distinguish between imported illicit product and that manufactured in the UK.
The estimates provide a national picture of the illicit tobacco market and are not broken down on a regional basis. Therefore, HMRC does not have an estimate of revenue losses attributable to illicit tobacco entering the UK from the Republic of Ireland.
The methodology for producing the estimates are provided in the ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2016 edition: Methodological Annex’: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561314/HMRC-measuring-tax-gaps-2016-methodological-annex.pdf.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of tobacco used in the UK that is illegally (a) imported and (b) manufactured.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Estimates of the volume and total revenue losses associated with the tobacco illicit market are published in ‘Tobacco Tax Gap Estimates 2015 to 2016’. This is available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561322/HMRC-tobacco-tax-gap-estimates-2016.pdf.
The estimate is based on comparing tobacco consumed with returns to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) detailing legitimate manufacture, import and an estimate of cross border shopping. It does not distinguish between imported illicit product and that manufactured in the UK.
The estimates provide a national picture of the illicit tobacco market and are not broken down on a regional basis. Therefore, HMRC does not have an estimate of revenue losses attributable to illicit tobacco entering the UK from the Republic of Ireland.
The methodology for producing the estimates are provided in the ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2016 edition: Methodological Annex’: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561314/HMRC-measuring-tax-gaps-2016-methodological-annex.pdf.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from the Northern Ireland Executive on the merits of introducing a windfall tax on profits from the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme in Northern Ireland.
Answered by David Gauke
The Treasury has received no such representations.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HM Revenue and Customs posts there were in (a) Fermanagh and South Tyrone and (b) West Tyrone constituencies in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Between 2006 and 2008 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) carried out a Regional Review Programme (RRP) designed to take forward the consolidation of its estate and the relocation of staff nationwide in line with business plans. The economic climate and changing customer demands meant that HMRC had to become leaner and more efficient.
At the outset of the RRP, HMRC had in the region of 600 staffed offices. Around 100 of these were classed as specialist sites such as ports or docks which had to be retained and were outside the review process. By December 2008, HMRC had published decisions on the future of these buildings - 258 would be vacated and 235 would be retained
The number of HMRC posts in Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency in 2007-08 was 71. At the end of October 2016 the number of posts in this constituency was 33.
Since the formation of HMRC there has not been an HMRC office situated in the West Tyrone constituency.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the automatic application to Northern Ireland of any change in corporation tax in Great Britain.
Answered by David Gauke
The Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Act 2015 allows for devolution to the Northern Ireland Assembly of the power to set a Northern Ireland rate of corporation tax for certain trading income. Commencement of this legislation remains dependent on the Executive demonstrating that its finances are on a sustainable footing.
In advance of the legislation being commenced and any new Northern Ireland rate being in operation, any change to the UK rate of corporation tax will apply across the UK, including Northern Ireland. After commencement the Northern Ireland rate would apply to certain trading income arising in Northern Ireland. The UK wide rate of corporation tax would continue to apply to other income.