Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to reinstate the mortgage payment holiday scheme for homeowners that are in financial difficulties as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We have extended the period that borrowers can apply for a mortgage holiday to support homeowners in financial distress. Mortgage borrowers who have not yet taken a payment holiday are able to take a payment holiday for up to six months. Borrowers who have taken an initial payment holiday can top this up to six months. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) guidance released on 17 November sets out that mortgage holidays (up to a maximum of 6 months) will remain an option for borrowers until 31 March 2021. However, the FCA guidance also notes that all payment holidays will need to end by 31 July 2021.
For borrowers that have already taken a full six months payment holiday, the FCA’s guidance sets out that firms should continue to provide support through tailored forbearance options for those borrowers that are facing ongoing financial difficulties. This could include granting new mortgage payment holidays.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential level of fraud in (a) peer to peer lending and (b) crowdfunding.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government takes matters of fraud extremely seriously. We continue to work closely with industry to close down the vulnerabilities that fraudsters exploit and ensure members of the public have the information they need to spot a scam and stand up to fraudsters.
We set up the Joint Fraud Taskforce to help build a collaborative law enforcement, government and industry response to tackling fraud. The Taskforce have already delivered on initiatives such as Take Five (the fraud awareness campaign). The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ScamSmart website also aims to help consumers protect themselves against investment scams, by allowing users to search a warning list to check an investment opportunity and report scams or unauthorised firms.
The FCA has a broad range of powers to oversee the peer to peer (P2P) and parts of the crowdfunding sectors. Moreover, P2P lending and investment-based crowdfunding are regulated activities under Financial Services Markets Act (FSMA 2000).
HM Treasury works closely with the FCA on an ongoing basis to understand what risks it has identified in the sectors it regulates, including the potential for an increase in fraud.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he has made available for businesses that have not been registered for self assessment before 2018.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Throughout this crisis, the Government has spent over £280 billion to make available a package of support for businesses which has included billions in wage support, loans, tax deferrals, business rate reliefs, and general and sector-specific grants.
These schemes were designed with two principles in mind; the need to target support at those who most need it, and the need to protect the exchequer against error, fraud, and abuse. The Government needs to balance its commitment to support people through the pandemic, with its duty to protect the taxpayer and ensure that public funds are managed responsibly.
The Government has acknowledged that it has not been possible to support everyone as they might want. The practical issues that have prevented the Government from being able to include businesses that did not register for self-assessment before 2018 for the previous SEISS grants, namely that HMRC will not have access to their self-assessment returns in time to verify their eligibility, still remain. However, those businesses may still be eligible for other aspects of the generous support package.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be updated to include people employed between 30 October 2020 and the national lockdown announced in January 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was extended on 31 October, ahead of the national lockdown on 1 November. The 30 October cut-off date allows as many people as possible to be included by going right up to the day before the announcement, balancing the risk of fraud that existed as soon as the scheme became public.
The Government understands that the new restrictions are challenging for some businesses, and the Chancellor has announced further support measures. These are carefully designed to complement the existing ones so as to ensure jobs and livelihoods are protected. This support includes a new one-off grant of up to £9,000 to support businesses in England which are legally required to close. This comes in addition to the existing monthly grants for closed businesses of up to £3,000 per month. Local authorities will also receive an additional £500m, to a total of £1.6bn, of discretionary funding to allow them to support their local businesses.
The CJRS is not the only support available for employees. The Government has boosted the generosity of the welfare system by £7.4bn in 2020-21 including through a temporary £20 a week increase in Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element. This means that for a single Universal Credit claimant (25 or over), the standard allowance has increased from £317.82 to £409.89 per month. The £20 per week uplift is one part of a package of temporary welfare measures, which also includes the suspension of the Universal Credit Minimum Income Floor to support self-employed people on low incomes.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the changes to state aid rules as a result of the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government has published guidance on the subsidy control obligations that the UK will be subject to post-EU Exit. This sets out further detail on the subsidy control obligations that now apply in the UK, and how compliance with these rules should be approached.
A copy of this guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/complying-with-the-uks-international-obligations-on-subsidy-control-guidance-for-public-authorities
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Local Restrictions Support grant will be available for (a) coach operators, (b) tour operators, (c) fairgrounds, (d) tour guides and (e) language schools.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Eligibility for the Local Restrictions Support Grant (and the new one-off cash grants of up to £9,000) will depend on businesses’ individual circumstances. Businesses in England are eligible if they:
- occupy property on which they pay business rates (and are the ratepayer)
- have been required to close because of the restrictions
- have been unable to provide their usual in-person customer service from their premises
Businesses which are not eligible for these grants for closed businesses, for example because they are not legally required to close or because they do not occupy business premises, may be able to benefit from the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG). We recently increased the funding available under this scheme to £1.6 billion across England. It is up to each local authority to determine eligibility for the ARG based on their assessment of local economic need; however, we encourage local authorities to support businesses which have been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, but which are ineligible for the other grant schemes.
In addition to the grant schemes, we have made available a wider package of support including an extension of the furlough scheme until April; an extension of the COVID-19 loan schemes until March; a business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure business properties; mortgage holidays; enhanced Time to Pay for taxes; and VAT cuts and deferrals.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the level of financial support required by non-pub businesses affected by the hospitality curfew during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
In December, the 10pm closing time for hospitality was modified to last orders at 10pm and closing time at 11pm. This was to allow customers to depart gradually and provide greater flexibility for hospitality venues. The Government recognises that non-pub businesses and restaurants, would have been impacted by these and other restrictions. This is why the Government has acted to deliver support to these businesses through:
The Government is continuing to collect evidence on the impact of the pandemic on the sector and to work with businesses and representative groups to inform our efforts to support it.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to provide the English Language Teaching sector with (a) tourism sector status or (b) business rates relief during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government has provided enhanced support through business rates relief to businesses occupying properties used for retail, hospitality and leisure given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance for local authorities on eligible properties. As set out in the guidance, support is targeted at premises that are wholly or mainly being used as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues; for assembly and leisure; or as hotels, guest and boarding premises and self-catering accommodation. It is for local authorities to determine eligibility for reliefs, having regard to guidance issued by the Government.
As announced at the Spending Review, to support businesses the Government will freeze the business rates multipliers for one year and will announce any decisions on future rate reliefs in the New Year.
A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday, such as language schools, has also been made available.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2020 to Question 91922, which company was the first to receive Last Resort Business Intervention support.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
As confirmed at the Summer Economic Update, the government has announced support for one firm, Celsa Steel (UK) Ltd, to enable the company to continue trading. The details of that loan were announced on 2 July 2020 in the BEIS SoS WMS (HCWS332). Any future companies will be considered on a case by case basis and will be expected to agree to appropriate conditions. As with any agreement, commercial and policy conditions are monitored using a variety of appropriate mechanisms.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2020 to Question 91922, what the ambitious conditions on climate change and Net Zero targets are which companies are expected to commit to in order to receive support as a Last Resort Business Intervention.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Companies receiving support need to agree to appropriate conditions, including those relating to tax, supplier payment terms, climate change and corporate governance. Each company will be considered individually and there is no guarantee that support will be provided. As with any agreement, commercial and policy conditions are monitored using a variety of appropriate mechanisms.