Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 63, page 48, of the report entitled Mobilising Green Investment: 2023 Green Finance Strategy, published in March 2023, for what reason the launch of the consultation on the next stage of the UK Green Taxonomy process has been delayed.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains committed to delivering a UK Green Taxonomy to support an increase in financing for activities supporting the transition to net zero and delivering on UK environmental objectives.
Developing a usable and useful Taxonomy is a complex and technical exercise, linked to multiple sectors of the economy and various legislative and regulatory frameworks.
The Government continues to work at pace and expects to publish the consultation shortly.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's expected timeline is on completing all stages of the UK Green Taxonomy process.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains committed to delivering a UK Green Taxonomy to support an increase in financing for activities supporting the transition to net zero and delivering on UK environmental objectives.
We expect to consult shortly. Following the consultation, we will analyse responses and provide a government response in accordance with Cabinet Office consultation principles, with a view to finalising the Taxonomy.
As set out in the Green Finance Strategy (2023), the Government will introduce a testing period of voluntary disclosures for at least two reporting years. In the longer term, we also maintain the ambition to introduce mandatory disclosures against a future Taxonomy.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will raise VAT thresholds for small businesses.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that accounting for VAT can be a burden on small businesses. This is why, at £85,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether. Views on the VAT registration threshold are divided and the case for change has been regularly reviewed over the years.
In 2018, the Government consulted on how the design of the VAT registration threshold could better incentivise growth. However, there was no clear option for reform.
While the Government keeps all taxes under review, it was announced at Autumn Budget 2022 that the VAT threshold will be maintained at its current level of £85,000 until 31 March 2026.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of raising VAT thresholds for small business.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that accounting for VAT can be a burden on small businesses. This is why, at £85,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether. Views on the VAT registration threshold are divided and the case for change has been regularly reviewed over the years.
In 2018, the Government consulted on how the design of the VAT registration threshold could better incentivise growth. However, there was no clear option for reform.
While the Government keeps all taxes under review, it was announced at Autumn Budget 2022 that the VAT threshold will be maintained at its current level of £85,000 until 31 March 2026.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of VAT thresholds on small businesses.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that accounting for VAT can be a burden on small businesses. This is why, at £85,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether. Views on the VAT registration threshold are divided and the case for change has been regularly reviewed over the years.
In 2018, the Government consulted on how the design of the VAT registration threshold could better incentivise growth. However, there was no clear option for reform.
While the Government keeps all taxes under review, it was announced at Autumn Budget 2022 that the VAT threshold will be maintained at its current level of £85,000 until 31 March 2026.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the high income child benefit charge on household finances where (a) one parent's income is and (b) both parents' incomes are above the threshold.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) is calculated on an individual rather than household basis in line with other tax policy. If the HICBC was based on household income, this could mean finding out the incomes and relationships of all Child Benefit claimants. This could put disproportionate burdens on families, as most claimants are not affected by HICBC and currently do not need to provide this information to HM Revenue and Customs.
Regarding the threshold, the current level enables the Government to support most families while keeping welfare expenditure sustainable. In 2020-21 (the latest year that data is available), 88% of Child Benefit claimants were unaffected by the HICBC. Regarding the impact on families, the HICBC applies as long as one parent’s income is above the threshold. In 2020-21, 99.7% of those who declared a liability for HICBC paid income tax at the higher rate or above.
As with all elements of tax policy, the Government keeps the HICBC under review.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the child benefit income eligibility threshold in line with inflation.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) is calculated on an individual rather than household basis in line with other tax policy. If the HICBC was based on household income, this could mean finding out the incomes and relationships of all Child Benefit claimants. This could put disproportionate burdens on families, as most claimants are not affected by HICBC and currently do not need to provide this information to HM Revenue and Customs.
Regarding the threshold, the current level enables the Government to support most families while keeping welfare expenditure sustainable. In 2020-21 (the latest year that data is available), 88% of Child Benefit claimants were unaffected by the HICBC. Regarding the impact on families, the HICBC applies as long as one parent’s income is above the threshold. In 2020-21, 99.7% of those who declared a liability for HICBC paid income tax at the higher rate or above.
As with all elements of tax policy, the Government keeps the HICBC under review.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of basing child benefit eligibility on household rather than individual income.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) is calculated on an individual rather than household basis in line with other tax policy. If the HICBC was based on household income, this could mean finding out the incomes and relationships of all Child Benefit claimants. This could put disproportionate burdens on families, as most claimants are not affected by HICBC and currently do not need to provide this information to HM Revenue and Customs.
Regarding the threshold, the current level enables the Government to support most families while keeping welfare expenditure sustainable. In 2020-21 (the latest year that data is available), 88% of Child Benefit claimants were unaffected by the HICBC. Regarding the impact on families, the HICBC applies as long as one parent’s income is above the threshold. In 2020-21, 99.7% of those who declared a liability for HICBC paid income tax at the higher rate or above.
As with all elements of tax policy, the Government keeps the HICBC under review.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal support his Department is providing to help increase the number of skilled jobs in Rother Valley in the next (a) year, (b) 5 years and (c) ten years.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
This government is committed to ensuring that the education and skills system is truly responsive to local needs. That is why at the most recent Spending Review, the government announced the biggest long-term settlement for post-16 education in England since 2015, rising to £3.8bn by 2024-25 over this Parliament. This included the first increase to apprenticeships funding since 2019-2020 – it will rise from £2.5bn in 2021-22 to £2.7bn in 2024-25, investment in Skills Bootcamps to retrain adults, and funding for thousands of T Levels students. This funding will impact areas like the Rother Valley in the short, medium and long term.
The government has built on this commitment by delivering a range of measures in places like the Rother Valley, including bringing employers, providers, and stakeholders in a local area together to drive short, medium and long term change through Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIP).
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the economic output of (a) Rother Valley constituency (b) South Yorkshire and (c) the UK in each year since 1994.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates of Gross Value Added (GVA). GVA data for Rother Valley and South Yorkshire is published by the ONS from 1998 onwards, and can be found on the ONS website, as follows:
- Rother Valley Parliamentary Constituency [ Disaggregating UK annual subnational gross value added (GVA) to lower levels of geography - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) ].
- South Yorkshire [Regional economic activity by gross domestic product, UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)].
The ONS publishes UK Gross Domestic Product. This is available from 1955 at: [Gross Domestic Product: chained volume measures: Seasonally adjusted £m - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)