Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will exempt nurseries in England from business rates.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget in October, the Government committed to increasing spending on early years and family services to over £8 billion in 2025-26. This includes an additional £1.8 billion which will be paid to early years providers to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare and help more parents, particularly women, stay in and return to work.
Business rates are a broad based tax on the value of non-domestic properties including nurseries.
To protect small businesses, the government announced at the Autumn Budget that it would freeze the small business multiplier next year. Taken together with Small Business Rates Relief, this intervention ensures that over a million properties will be protected from inflationary increases.
In addition to this support, standalone nurseries are also eligible for charitable rate relief where they have a ‘charitable purpose’.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to provide additional investment for the pharmacy network.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At the Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced a £22.6 billion increase in day to day spending for the Department of Health and Social Care from 2023-24 to 2025-26. This is an average increase of 4% in real terms funding growth for the NHS, the highest since before 2010 excluding COVID-19 years.
The Department of Health and Social Care will set out further details of how detailed allocations will be spent, including pharmacy funding, in due course.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, if she will provide additional financial support to pharmacies for (a) employer National Insurance contributions, (b) the national minimum wage and (c) business rates.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Budget will provide support for government departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer NICs costs only. Pharmacies are independent contractors and therefore will not be exempt from these changes. This is consistent with the approach to previous Employer NICs changes, as was the case with the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
At the Budget the Chancellor announced a £22.6 billion increase in day to day spending for the Department of Health and Social Care from 2023-24 to 2025-26. This is an average increase of 4% in real terms funding growth for the NHS, the highest since before 2010 excluding COVID-19 years.
The Department of Health and Social Care will set out further details of how detailed allocations will be spent, including pharmacy funding, in due course.
From 1 April 2025, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 6.7% to £12.21 per hour for eligible workers aged 21 and over. This represents an increase of £1,400 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW and is expected to benefit over 3 million low-paid workers. In accepting the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations, which balance the impacts on business, competitiveness of the labour market and wider economy, as well as the cost of living, the government is providing support to the lowest-paid workers in the economy whilst ensuring that wider economic conditions remain stable and create the conditions for growth.
We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century. To deliver our manifesto pledge, from 2026-27, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including pharmacies, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
Ahead of these changes being made, the Government recognises that businesses will need support in 2025-26. As such, we have prevented the current RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, and we have frozen the small business multiplier.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to point 22 of Table 5.1 at page 117 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the application of the standard VAT rate to services provided by private schools on small private schools.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has conducted thorough and detailed analysis of the impacts of this policy.
A Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN) has been published which sets out this analysis. This assessment includes exchequer impacts, economic impacts, impacts on individuals and families, business impacts, equalities impacts, and HMRC operational impacts. This was published online and can be found here: Private school fees — VAT measure - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to increase the number of banking hubs in rural communities.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this parliament. Over 80 banking hubs are already open and Cash Access UK, who oversee banking hub rollout, expect 100 hubs to be open by Christmas.
The specific location of these hubs is determined independently by LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network. Criteria that LINK considers includes whether another bank branch remains nearby, the local population, the number of cash-accepting businesses and the financial vulnerability of the community.
An alternative option for accessing face-to-face banking services in rural areas is via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, cash cheques, and check their balance at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will increase the number of banking hubs due to be built in the next five years.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this parliament. Over 80 banking hubs are already open and Cash Access UK, who oversee banking hub rollout, expect 100 hubs to be open by Christmas.
The specific location of these hubs is determined independently by LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network. Criteria that LINK considers includes whether another bank branch remains nearby, the local population, the number of cash-accepting businesses and the financial vulnerability of the community.
An alternative option for accessing face-to-face banking services in rural areas is via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, cash cheques, and check their balance at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the revenue raised by the ten percent tariff imposed on the import of mobility scooters.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Mobility scooters that are imported into the UK are classified under the description of ‘Vehicles specially designed for travelling on snow, golf cars and similar vehicles’. The commodity code for this classification is 8703101800. There is a customs duty tariff rate of 10% on imports for this commodity code.
Analysis of management information shows around £6m of customs duty liabilities was recorded for commodity code 8703101800 in 2023/24. This estimate applies to all types of vehicles imported under this commodity code and is not specific to Mobility Scooters only.