Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, HC 295, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to business rates relief on grassroots music venues.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is committed to supporting the creative industries, which play a key role in driving economic growth, contributing £124.6bn GVA in 2022 and supporting over 2 million jobs.
At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Chancellor set out plans to transform the business rates system over the parliament, including an intention to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high-street Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties – like grassroots music venues - from 2026-27. Permanently lower tax rates will provide certainty for RHL properties, ending the cliff-edge created by the temporary 1-year RHL relief that has been repeatedly rolled over since the pandemic.
In the interim period, for 25-26, the government has extended RHL relief at 40% and frozen the small business multiplier. This is a package worth over £1.6 billion in 2025-26, aimed at supporting the smallest properties.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when private schools should become VAT registered.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
On 29 July, the Government announced that, as of 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by a private school in the UK for a charge will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. This will also apply to boarding services provided by private schools.
Any fees paid from 29 July 2024 relating to the term starting in January 2025 onwards will be subject to VAT. Private schools that are not currently registered for VAT will be able to register after 30 October. Further guidance can be found on the GOV.UK website here: Charging and reclaiming VAT on goods and services related to private school fees - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Government’s forecast of the revenue raised from these changes will be scrutinized by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility before being published at Budget on 30 October. Details of the Government’s assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes will also be published at Budget in the usual way.
The Government has considered the policy’s interaction with Human Rights law, and is confident that it is compatible with the UK’s obligations under the Human Rights Act.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the decline in international postgraduate student numbers on the UK’s economy.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
International students make a significant positive contribution to the British economy. According to a study by HEPI and Kaplan, the lifetime net economic benefit of the 21/22 cohort of international students was £37bn with each student making a net contribution of nearly £100,000 on average.
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) make a net migration forecast to underpin their economic and fiscal forecasts, which reflects the latest data and migration policy. At Spring Budget, the OBR assessed migration to fall more sharply than the ONS net migration projections in the short-term before it reaches 315,000 at the end of the forecast period. Rising emigration and effect of policy explain their adjustment.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to enforce sanctions on businesses trading with Russia; and whether her Department is taking steps to help tackle the shipment of goods by Mykines Corporation LLP to Russia.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HMRC is responsible for enforcing export controls on strategic goods and sanctions and investigating potential breaches of those controls; a role it takes very seriously.
HMRC considers all credible information it receives and takes action accordingly. However, HMRC is unable to comment on specific cases.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to increase the speed of responses to HMRC complaints.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HMRC is committed to delivering performance improvements to complaints handling and response times for customers. HMRC are working hard to address backlogs across post receipts from customers across various channels as well as customer complaints.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the customs easement on humanitarian aid for Ukraine after June 2023.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
On 27 May 2022 the UK Government extended the temporary customs easement introduced in March 2022 to make it easier to move aid and donations out of the UK to support the people of Ukraine.
The easement, which excludes all controlled goods and dual use goods, remains under review ahead of its scheduled end date on 19 June 2023.
Government advice remains that organisations and people who would like to help should donate cash through trusted charities and aid organisations, rather than donating goods. Cash can be transferred quickly to the areas of greatest need, where it can be used to buy what is most needed.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making care home expenses tax deductible.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This Government believes we need to have a social care system to give every person the dignity and security that they deserve. This is why we committed to improving social care in our manifesto.
At the Autumn statement, in November, the Government made available up to £2.8 billion in 2023-2024 and £4.7 billion in 2024-2025 to support adult social care and get people out of hospital on time and into appropriate care settings.
This includes £1 billion of new grant funding in 2023-2024 and £1.7 billion in 2024-2025, £1.3 billion in 2023-2024 and £1.9 billion in 2024-2025 savings from delaying the rollout of charging reform and further flexibility for local authorities on council tax.
Successive Governments have held the longstanding principle that personal expenditure is not deductible against income tax.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to confer eligibility for temporary importation vehicle relief under the HMRC form C110 on people who have arrived under the Homes for Ukraine scheme for the full duration of their visas.
Answered by Richard Fuller - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Ukrainian refugees entering the UK temporarily under the Homes for Ukraine scheme do not need to declare their personal vehicles to customs, pay any customs duty, or import VAT on their vehicle, provided the vehicle is taxed and registered in its home country.
This is provided for under the Temporary Admission (TA) procedure which allows certain goods to be imported into the UK temporarily, with total relief from customs duty and import VAT. Under TA, imported goods or belongings must not be altered (but can be repaired to maintain their condition) and must be re-exported within a set time period (normally 6 months).
Ukrainian refugees staying in the UK longer than 6 months under the terms of their visas can apply for an extension of the TA set-period by contacting HMRC’s National Temporary Admission Section (NTAS) at: ntis@hmrc.gov.uk. If they provide NTAS with a copy of their Biometric Residence Permit, or any other evidence of their permission to remain in the UK, HMRC will grant an extension up to 3 years.
The C110 is an optional form which provides evidence that the vehicle is under temporary importation status if stopped on public roads by the police or a customs official.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the amount the Government received in voluntary contributions via direct bank transfer to the Treasury in the 2021-22 financial year.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The total amount received from voluntary contributions specifically for the reduction of the national debt is published annually in the annual Report and Accounts of the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt receipts and payments, which can be found on the Debt Management Office’s website. The web link to the publicly available information is provided as follow:https://www.dmo.gov.uk/media/hf5l1t1t/crndrep2022.pdf