Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment has she made of the potential impact of uprating mileage allowance scheme rates on the travel costs of people working in the voluntary sector.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee's expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. These rates are also used by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage (simplified motoring expenses) and can be used by organisations to reimburse volunteers who use their own vehicle for voluntary purposes.
Voluntary organisations reimbursing volunteers can either use the AMAP rates or can reimburse the actual cost incurred where the volunteer drivers can evidence such costs without a tax liability arising. Any reimbursement above the AMAP rates would be subject to Income Tax unless the driver can show evidence of the expenditure. It is ultimately up to the voluntary organisation to determine the amount they reimburse to volunteers.
In estimating typical motoring costs per business mile HMRC use a variety of information. This includes information from the AA, the National Travel Survey, the Association of British Insurers and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (fuel prices). The AMAP rate is intended to reflect both running costs (such as fuel) and a proportion of standing costs (such as insurance, MOT and depreciation).
As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review. Any changes to are announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events, taking into account the wider economic and fiscal context.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of abolishing the mileage allowance scheme reduced rate for over 10,000 miles of travel in the tax year on the travel costs of people working in the voluntary sector.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee's expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. These rates are also used by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage (simplified motoring expenses) and can be used by organisations to reimburse volunteers who use their own vehicle for voluntary purposes.
Voluntary organisations reimbursing volunteers can either use the AMAP rates or can reimburse the actual cost incurred where the volunteer drivers can evidence such costs without a tax liability arising. Any reimbursement above the AMAP rates would be subject to Income Tax unless the driver can show evidence of the expenditure. It is ultimately up to the voluntary organisation to determine the amount they reimburse to volunteers.
In estimating typical motoring costs per business mile HMRC use a variety of information. This includes information from the AA, the National Travel Survey, the Association of British Insurers and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (fuel prices). The AMAP rate is intended to reflect both running costs (such as fuel) and a proportion of standing costs (such as insurance, MOT and depreciation).
As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review. Any changes to are announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events, taking into account the wider economic and fiscal context.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support the implementation of UN General Assembly resolution A /RES/78/230 on the Promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations adopted on 22 December 2023.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK has been an active participant in negotiations at the UN, as we are committed to working with others to ensure inclusive and effective international tax cooperation.
We maintain the view that a UN Framework Convention will only be successful in delivering this objective if it is clear in its aims, seeks to build upon rather than reinvent existing initiatives, and seeks to secure the broad support and participation of members.
We will continue to engage constructively in support of those principles.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Welsh Government will receive in additional Barnett Formula consequential funding as a result of the most recent pay award for NHS staff in England.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Barnett formula applies to all increases or decreases to Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL). When UK Government departmental budgets change, the Barnett formula will apply in the usual way. Any Barnett consequentials in 2024-25 resulting from the recent pay award for NHS staff in England would be confirmed at Autumn Budget 2024 and Supplementary Estimates 2024-25.
The published Block Grant Transparency document provides a detailed breakdown of how the block grants are calculated. The most recent report was published in July 2023.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the Crown Estate publishing the (a) asset value and (b) net revenue profit of the Crown Estate in Wales within its annual accounts.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
To achieve efficiency in its operations, the Crown Estate runs many of its functions at a whole enterprise level. As a result, separate financial statements for Wales would not reflect the fact that expenditure is incurred for the benefit of the whole portfolio, and it is not possible to disaggregate net revenue profit attributable to Wales.
The Crown Estate published a Wales Review to supplement the annual report and highlight The Crown Estate’s work in Wales.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the volume of trade was between Fishguard and the Republic of Ireland in the (a) latest period for which data is available and (b) corresponding period in 2021.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The volume of trade between Fishguard and the Republic of Ireland from May 2021 and May 2024 is as follows:
Table 1: Republic of Ireland trade with Fishguard port, imports and exports trade value and net mass (1)
| Exports to Ireland |
|
| Imports from Ireland (2) | |
| Statistical Value (£) | Net Mass (kg) |
| Statistical Value (£) | Net Mass (kg) |
Fishguard |
|
|
|
|
|
May 2021 | 14,187,755 | 3,870,278 |
| - | - |
May 2024 | 19,796,270 | 8,577,563 |
| 15,984,165 | 13,047,190 |
|
| Data Source: Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics HMRC | |||
(1) The data is based on customs declarations which have listed “Fishguard” as the port of departure/arrival. Where it has been left blank the movement is not assigned to a port. (2) HMRC trade data does not contain port data for 2021 imports as Staged Customs Controls (SCC) allowed an extended period for businesses to complete their declarations. During this period HMRC sourced intra-EU data from Intrastat declarations which do not collect port/location information. | |||||
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much additional funding the Welsh Government received based on updated calculations to the Barnett Formula at the end of the 2023-24 financial year.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The 2021 Spending Review set the largest annual block grant for the Welsh Government, in real terms, of any spending review settlement since the devolution Acts. On top of this the Welsh Government received over £1 billion through the Barnett formula in 2023-24, including £200 million at Supplementary Estimates 2023-24.
The Welsh Government is well-funded to deliver all its devolved responsibilities, receiving around 20% more per person compared to equivalent funding in England. This is around £1 billion more each year than the Holtham Commission indicated – and the Welsh Government agreed - was fair for Wales relative to England.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times HMRC has directed non-established taxable persons whose business is not established in the EU to appoint a VAT representative in each of the last five financial years; what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of these VAT representatives that were themselves established in the UK; and how many and what proportion of non-established taxable persons whose business is not established in the EU failed to comply with such a direction.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
HMRC does not hold data on how often they direct a non-established taxable person (NETP) to appoint a UK VAT representative, or levels of compliance.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Barnett Formula consequential funding for Wales will be of the announcement of 29t November 2023 of £30 million for women and girls football in England; and when the Welsh government will receive that funding.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Barnett formula is applied when departmental budgets change – not when departments announce how they are spending their budgets. When the Department for Culture Media and Sport’s budget changes in relation to this funding, the Barnett formula will apply in the usual way as set out in the published Statement of Funding Policy document.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to support the implementation of the UN General Assembly’s resolution on the Promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Exchequer Secretary (Treasury)
The UK strongly supports developing countries' efforts to scale-up domestic resource mobilisation to finance sustainable development.
The UK engaged constructively in the negotiations on the UN tax resolution. However, the UK, alongside many other countries, is concerned that proceeding with a UN convention on international tax at this time would not be the most effective way to achieve these goals. An Explanation of Vote was published on GOV.UK on 22nd November. [LINK]