Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to introduce a temporary Help to Repay scheme for energy debts in the Autumn Statement 2023.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Through the energy crisis, the Government has provided unprecedented support for consumers, including by paying nearly half of household bills between October 2022 and June 2023, saving households £1,500 on average.
This is in addition to the benefits uprating and Cost of Living Payments in 2023-24, helping more than 8 million UK households on eligible means tested benefits, 8 million pensioner households and 6 million people across the UK on eligible disability benefits.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2021 to Question 912435 on hire companies and trade with the EU, once the hire company has checked the national regulations of the country it is doing business in to understand how best to operate, what tax is payable when hire goods return through UK customs; what paperwork must be completed; and where hire companies can find the detail of the applicable UK regulations.
Answered by Jesse Norman
If taking goods temporarily out of the UK (including hiring), an ATA Carnet can help simplify customs formalities by allowing a single document to be used for clearing goods through customs in the countries that are part of the ATA Carnet system. Both the UK and all EU Member States accept ATA Carnets. In the UK, ATA Carnets are administered by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). Business wishing to use ATA Carnets are advised to contact the LCCI directly to discuss their business needs.
Temporary Admission offers an alternative means to import goods temporarily into the EU, provided the relevant conditions are met. The management of EU import and export procedures is the responsibility of the customs authorities of the EU Member States so businesses and individuals should confirm the processes at their port of arrival.
Businesses re-importing goods into the UK can claim relief from import VAT and any customs duty under Returned Goods Relief (RGR), provided specific conditions are met. RGR applies to goods exported from the UK and re-imported within three years in an unaltered state and can apply to goods which are imported into the UK following their export from the UK under Temporary Admission or with an ATA Carnet.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made for the implications of his policies of the data collected by the Federation of Wholesale Distributors on the risk to wholesale businesses of liquidation.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government fully recognises the extreme disruption to people’s lives, jobs and businesses caused by the necessary actions taken to tackle COVID-19. It is for this reason that the Government has announced unprecedented levels of support for workers and businesses. Food and drink wholesalers, which have played a critical role in supporting the food supply chain throughout the past months, are eligible for a number of these schemes, including:
• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help keep millions of people in employment;
• £10,000 cash grants for all business properties in receipt of Small Business Rates Relief and Rural Rates Relief;
• The Bounce Back Loan Scheme for small businesses to borrow between £2,000 to £50,000, with no interest payments or fees for the first 12 months; and
• The Discretionary Grant Fund for small and micro businesses that are not eligible for other grant schemes.
Food and drink wholesalers will also benefit from the Chancellor’s recent announcement of the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme which will encourage people to safely return to eating out at restaurants for sit-down meals.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what government assets and services have been privatised in each year since 2010; what the pre-sale valuation was of each such asset or service; and what income was generated by each such privatisation.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The proceeds obtained from government asset sales that are listed for the financial years 2010-15 can be obtained from the “Summer Budget 2015 data sources”, p20, which is available here, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443273/Data_sources_-_Summer_Budget_2015.pdf
Announcements are available on gov.uk for sales since Summer Budget 2015 of RBS, Royal Mail, former Northern Rock mortgages and further sales of Lloyds Banking Group shares.