Anneliese Dodds

The Government has provided an initial £50 million to local authorities in England to cover the costs of the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme. This includes £15 million for discretionary payments, which is a fixed envelope until 31 January 2021.

The introduction of temporary VAT relief was an extraordinary measure designed to relieve the burden of VAT on the price of purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) used for protection from COVID-19 by frontline workers and has particularly aided sectors that cannot recover VAT on such goods due to their VAT exempt status, such as care homes. This was needed during the initial period of the COVID-19 crisis when the global supply of PPE did not meet demand, resulting in inflated prices.

Since then, the Department has stabilised the United Kingdom PPE supply chain to meet current demand and this month, we will have a four-month stockpile of all COVID-19-critical PPE in place, with a tremendous contribution from UK manufacturers.

The Department has committed in the Winter Plan to provide free PPE for COVID-19 needs to Care Quality Commission-registered care homes and domiciliary care providers via the PPE portal until the end of March 2021. Now that supply has increased and prices have stabilised, the temporary zero-rate of VAT on PPE is therefore no longer required and ended on 31 October 2020 as planned.

The introduction of temporary VAT relief was an extraordinary measure designed to relieve the burden of VAT on the price of purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) used for protection from COVID-19 by frontline workers and has particularly aided sectors that cannot recover VAT on such goods due to their VAT exempt status, such as care homes. This was needed during the initial period of the COVID-19 crisis when the global supply of PPE did not meet demand, resulting in inflated prices.

Since then, the Department has stabilised the United Kingdom PPE supply chain to meet current demand and this month, we will have a four-month stockpile of all COVID-19-critical PPE in place, with a tremendous contribution from UK manufacturers.

The Department has committed in the Winter Plan to provide free PPE for COVID-19 needs to Care Quality Commission-registered care homes and domiciliary care providers via the PPE portal until the end of March 2021. Now that supply has increased and prices have stabilised, the temporary zero-rate of VAT on PPE is therefore no longer required and ended on 31 October 2020 as planned.

The introduction of temporary VAT relief was an extraordinary measure designed to relieve the burden of VAT on the price of purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) used for protection from COVID-19 by frontline workers and has particularly aided sectors that cannot recover VAT on such goods due to their VAT exempt status, such as care homes. This was needed during the initial period of the COVID-19 crisis when the global supply of PPE did not meet demand, resulting in inflated prices.

Since then, the Department has stabilised the United Kingdom PPE supply chain to meet current demand and this month, we will have a four-month stockpile of all COVID-19-critical PPE in place, with a tremendous contribution from UK manufacturers.

The Department has committed in the Winter Plan to provide free PPE for COVID-19 needs to Care Quality Commission-registered care homes and domiciliary care providers via the PPE portal until the end of March 2021. Now that supply has increased and prices have stabilised, the temporary zero-rate of VAT on PPE is therefore no longer required and ended on 31 October 2020 as planned.

The Test and Trace Support Payment of £500 was introduced on 28 September, to support people on low incomes who are unable to work from home if they are told to self-isolate by National Health Service Test and Trace and will lose income as a result.

We have worked closely with local authorities on the implementation of these payments and have provided them with support and guidance on how to administer the scheme, including discretionary payments.

The Government is working with industry, the National Health Service, social care providers and the army to ensure the supply of key medical equipment for the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak. Royal Mail and Amazon have also pledged to support with logistics. In addition, ministers and the Chief Medical Officer are working closely with counterparts in the devolved administrations to ensure an approach that works for the whole of the UK. We are in active discussions with the European Commission on future shared procurement opportunities and we will decide whether to participate in each on the basis of public health requirements at the time. We are exploring all procurement options for medical equipment and will give the NHS and the social care sector everything they need to tackle this outbreak.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is reforming its governance systems, including proposals to consolidate reporting requirements for numerous and often overlapping resolutions across the Organization’s broad health mandate, and to suggest an end date for reporting where one was not specified.

We support efforts by WHO to reform its governance processes, as this will make reporting on progress more efficient, strategic and impactful. In addition, this process will not prevent member states requesting further future reports and World Health Assembly agenda items on the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes beyond 2026.

We are aware of ongoing supply issues with some hormone replacement therapy (HRT) preparations. The addition of HRT to the Drug Tariff is completely unrelated to the shortage.

We have been working closely with all suppliers of HRT preparations to maintain overall supply to patients. We have shared relevant information about the supply situation and availability of HRT products with the National Health Service and are having discussions with organisations such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare and the British Menopausal Society. In October 2019 we took unprecedented action to ban the parallel export of all HRT products to keep these medicines in the United Kingdom.

We continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure relevant information about the HRT products affected by supply issues and the products that remain available is shared with the NHS on a regular basis.

We anticipate the supply situation will improve later this month (February 2020).

This information is not available.

The Department does not hold the information requested.

We have made clear our deep concern about the suggestion that any parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be annexed. As the Foreign Secretary set out in Parliament on 4 February, any move to unilaterally annex territory would be contrary to international law, damaging to peace efforts, and could not pass unchallenged. Although we will not discuss possible responses to hypothetical situations, we call on all parties to refrain from actions that would imperil the viability of a two-state solution, based on the 1967 lines, and make it harder to achieve a just and lasting peace.

As we made clear in the UN Security Council, we are deeply concerned by the continued demolition of Palestinian property by the Israeli authorities. Demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; call into question Israel's commitment to a viable two-state solution; and, in all but the most exceptional of cases, are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have repeatedly made clear to the Israeli authorities, most recently on 17 December 2019, our serious concern at the increase in demolitions of Palestinian properties in Area C of the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. The UK and international partners will continue to call for Israel to abandon demolition plans entirely, and instead provide a transparent route to construction for Palestinians in Area C. We support Bedouin communities and Palestinians facing demolition or eviction through our legal aid programme. The UK has also allocated £1.1 million to support essential infrastructure for vulnerable Palestinians in Area C.

We have made clear our deep concern about the suggestion that any parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be annexed, including during the UN Security Council Open Debate on the Middle East Peace Process on 21 January. Any declaration of a unilateral border change undermines the rules-based international order and the UN Charter. The UK calls on all parties to refrain from actions in contravention of international law that would imperil the viability of a two-state solution, based on the 1967 lines, and make it harder to achieve a just and lasting peace.

​The British Government does not hold this information. We have made clear our deep concern about the suggestion that any parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be annexed. Such a move would be contrary to international law, damaging to peace efforts, and could not pass unchallenged.

The UK supports counter-terrorism training for the Indonesian National Police, through the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC). This includes a broad range of counter terrorism investigation and analytical skills, essential equipment to enhance Indonesia’s forensic, surveillance and IT capabilities; training on the post-terrorist incident response, including first aid training. The British Armed Forces have provided the Indonesian military a number of professional educational courses for officers, and training in specific areas of capability, including maritime security. The UK does not provide Indonesia with any public order training.

There are currently no EU sanctions in place against individuals in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong our focus is on supporting a peaceful resolution through meaningful dialogue that addresses the concerns of the Hong Kong people. As the former Foreign Secretary announced on 25 June, no further export licences will be granted to Hong Kong for crowd control equipment for police unless we are satisfied that our concerns about human rights and fundamental freedoms have been addressed thoroughly.

The Government has announced a £1.5bn pot of additional business rates relief for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that are not eligible for the retail, hospitality and leisure business rates holiday. The statement by the Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government of 25 March 2021 explained the relief will be allocated to local authorities based on the stock of properties in the area and the sector-specific economic impacts of COVID-19.

Formal guidance will follow in due course, setting out the specific considerations that Local Authorities (LAs) should have regard for when providing relief. Relief will be for LAs to award on a discretionary basis. Funding will be available once the legislation relating to MCC provisions has passed and LAs have established their own local relief schemes. The Government will support LAs to do this as quickly as possible, including through new burdens funding.

The Government has announced a £1.5bn pot of additional business rates relief for businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that are not eligible for the retail, hospitality and leisure business rates holiday. The statement by the Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government of 25 March 2021 explained the relief will be allocated to local authorities based on the stock of properties in the area and the sector-specific economic impacts of COVID-19.

Formal guidance will follow in due course, setting out the specific considerations that Local Authorities (LAs) should have regard for when providing relief. Relief will be for LAs to award on a discretionary basis. Funding will be available once the legislation relating to MCC provisions has passed and LAs have established their own local relief schemes. The Government will support LAs to do this as quickly as possible, including through new burdens funding.

None of the Material Change of Circumstances (MCC) cases relating to Covid-19 restrictions has been settled by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). All cases were still within the statutory time limits for resolving cases under the Check Challenge Appeal legislation.

The Treasury is not providing details of the individuals listed in the HMT transparency return of 29 October 2020, due to UK GDPR considerations.

Ministers routinely meet with a range of private sector stakeholders. Transparency releases are published on a quarterly basis, and are currently publicly available for Ministerial meetings up to and including September 2020, which is in line with normal reporting timelines on disclosures.

Ministers routinely meet with a range of private sector stakeholders. Transparency releases are published on a quarterly basis, and are currently publicly available for Ministerial meetings up to and including September 2020, which is in line with normal reporting timelines on disclosures.

At Budget 2021 the Chancellor announced £18.8bn of funding is available from the COVID-19 reserve in 2021-22.

Treasury officials continue to work with departments to establish COVID-19 funding need as part of the Mains Estimates process, which will be published in the coming months.

Most tangible capital assets used in the course of a business are considered plant and machinery. HMRC publish more detail in the capital allowances manual, available at: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/capital-allowances-manual.

Information on the costs of reliefs is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs. These statistics, published annually by HMRC, contain estimates of the costs of non-structural tax reliefs. The estimates reflect the total amount by which users benefit from each relief and not the gain to the Exchequer should the relief be removed. Some reliefs are uncosted, usually due to data limitations.

The UK welcomes and supports efforts to enhance financial accountability, transparency and integrity and notes the recommendations within the FACTI Panel’s report.

In relation to illicit finance, the UK shares many of the concerns related to the negative impact of illicit finance, both in its impact on the volume of funds available for development, and the significant costs that the illicit activities related to the financial flows place on society. The UK recognises the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as the international standard setter on anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing. The FATF found that the UK has one of the strongest systems in the world for combatting illicit finance.

In relation to international tax abuse, the UK has long been a standard-setter and early adopter of OECD international tax standards. This includes international commitments on tax transparency aimed at tackling tax avoidance and evasion, offshore financial centres, and money laundering. The UK will continue to advance international cooperation and develop international standards on tax through the OECD as the primary standard-setting body on global tax matters.

The Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies have full control over their own fiscal matters. They have the right to set their own policy to support their economies, within international standards and determine their own tax rates. All Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories with a financial centre have made commitments to implementing global OECD standards on tax transparency and have agreed to introduce publicly accessible registers of company beneficial ownership.

Due to the site-specific nature of reliefs, it is not appropriate to comment on estimates at this stage. The total annual cost of tax reliefs will depend on the exact location and size of the Freeport tax sites. We will consider these costs when agreeing tax sites, and they will therefore be scored at a future fiscal event. The estimated costs will undergo the usual scrutiny from the OBR.

The table below shows HM Revenue and Customs annual resource budget each year from 2010-11 to 2020-21 as set out in the Published Supplementary Estimates.

Note: This table includes depreciation. This table excludes Capital expenditure, Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) and Non-Budget Spending.

The OBR provides independent scrutiny of Budget measures (and considers HM Treasury analysis as part of this process). The OBR has said that, at its peak in the financial year 2022-23, the super-deduction will bring forward 10% of business investment with a value of £20bn.

The economic impacts of the super-deduction are incorporated in the OBR’s forecasts contained within its Economic and Fiscal Outlook, which is available online.

The estimated economic impacts of reductions in the rate of Corporation Tax since 2010 were reflected in the OBR’s forecasts at the time those reductions were announced and detailed in the OBR’s published Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

However, it wasn’t added to the collection page on gov.uk at that time due to an administrative error. It can now be viewed on the GOV.UK collection page at the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

The super-deduction capital allowance will allow companies to reduce their taxable profits by 130% of the value of their investment in plant and machinery.

Investment in software can be classified as either a revenue expenditure, in which case it is deductible for tax purposes, or a capital expenditure, in which case it is generally addressed through the intangibles regime instead. This means software would be ineligible for the super-deduction.

However, if a company wishes, they can choose to make an election under s815 Corporation Tax Act 2009 to remove software from the intangibles regime and instead claim capital allowances. In this case, the super-deduction will be available.

HMRC are supporting and building trader capability to ensure compliance across different entry points in the UK during staged controls and when full controls are put in place in January 2022.

The Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) was introduced in 2014 to encourage risk finance investments in qualifying social enterprises. HMRC statistics show that up to 2018-19, about 110 enterprises have used the scheme to raise £11.2 million.

At the Budget on 3 March, the Government announced that SITR would be extended for two years, until April 2023, to continue support for qualifying investments into social enterprises. SITR will be extended with its current eligibility rules and targeting, to ensure that the scheme continues to focus on higher risk social enterprises that face the greatest difficulties in accessing finance.

The Government keeps all taxes and reliefs under review in order to ensure they continue to meet policy objectives in a way that is fair and effective. The Government previously published a Call for Evidence in 2019 on SITR’s use to date. The Government will publish a Summary of Responses to this on 23 March.

The taper on profits between £50,000 and £250,000 is designed to ensure that the benefit of the small profits rate is targeted at the smallest businesses, while at the same time minimising economic distortions for those to which it applies.

Companies with profits within the taper will continue to be subject to an effective tax rate on profit that is below the main rate.

The economic impacts of the Corporation Tax rate increase are forecast by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and contained within its Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

The lower profit limit, below which companies will be eligible for the small profits rate, will be reduced in proportion to the number of associated companies a company has. This is designed to prevent companies with profits over the small profits thresholds from being divided up in an attempt to take advantage of the lower rate. The upper profit limit will also be subject to this rule. Associated companies rules also applied under the previous small profits rate.

Expenditure on the provision of plant and machinery for leasing is not eligible for the new 130% super-deduction capital allowance, as is the case with other first year allowances such as Enhanced Capital Allowances in Enterprise Zones.

The super-deduction applies to investment on qualifying plant and machinery, including where that plant and machinery is for the purposes of digital transformation.

The Government takes fraud, abuse and tax avoidance very seriously, which is why the Government has taken repeated action at fiscal events to tackle fraud, abuse and avoidance in the tax system.

The super-deduction has been designed to safeguard against those risks. The legislation includes an anti-avoidance provision that applies to counteract arrangements which are contrived, abnormal or lacking a genuine commercial purpose. Further, there are existing rules that exclude connected party transactions from first-year allowances.

The objective of the Job Retention Bonus (JRB) was to incentivise employers to retain employees between November, when the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was due to end, and the end of January through a £1,000 bonus paid to the employer. However, the subsequent extension of the CJRS to April (now September) allowed employers to retain their staff during that period by covering 80% of the furloughed employees’ wages. Given this further extension to the end of September, the policy intent of the JRB falls away.

The Government remains committed to redeploying a retention incentive at the appropriate time.

Following the Chancellor’s announcement at the Winter Economy Plan, to help businesses repay their Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans (CBILS) the Government have amended the CBILS rules to allow lenders to extend loan terms from six to a maximum of ten years where the borrower is in difficulty and lenders judge that the extension will help borrowers repay their loan.

The British Business Bank recently issued guidance to all accredited lenders which allows them to extend the term of existing CBILS facilities beyond 6 years up to a maximum of 10 years. Therefore, lenders are now able to extend the term of existing CBILS facilities to SMEs. An extension can be granted at the discretion of the lender and would be given in line with a lender’s particular forbearance policies.

CBILS term extensions will be offered at the discretion of lenders, unlike the “Pay As You Grow” options for Bounce Back loans. Extensions will be limited to those borrowers that lenders assess are in difficulty and will benefit from the extension, and only for the duration required, meaning that lenders may offer an extension to 7 years, for example, rather than the maximum 10 years allowed.

Businesses can submit queries regarding the movement of goods internationally to the CHIEF operations team by email at chief.operations@hmrc.gov.uk. Businesses are also able to call the Customs and International Trade helpline on 0300 322 9434. There is also a webchat service available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/customs-international-tradeand-excise-enquiries. Capacity has been scaled up on both teams following the end of the transition period.

HM Treasury is considering all Budget representations submitted ahead of this year’s Budget, including those submitted via the budget.representations@hmtreasury.gov.uk email address.

The Government’s Budget representations online portal closed on 14 January. This early deadline allows time for representations to be processed and factored into policy-making. Any outstanding representations should be submitted directly to HM Treasury as soon as possible.

The Government has provided extensive guidance to traders to support them, including publishing the detailed Border Operating Model to help traders take the necessary steps. Recognising the impact of coronavirus on businesses’ ability to prepare, the UK Government has taken the decision to introduce the new border controls in three stages up until 1 July 2021. From 1 January to 30 June, traders when importing non-controlled EU goods to GB will have the option to make a declaration in their own records at the time of import followed by a supplementary declaration up to 175 days later, which provides traders and intermediaries with more time to prepare.

While HMRC will penalise deliberate non-compliance, they will seek to support those who make genuine errors to get it right. HMRC are carrying out a range of activities to support and educate traders on their obligations during this period, and are promoting the keeping of good records, which will be crucial in minimising losses to error once supplementary declarations are made.

Officials have had initial conversations with the Commission about the MoU and we are on track to agree it by March. We will not, however, be providing a running commentary on the status or content of the talks.

CHIEF has been scaled to 360 million declarations per year as part of HMRC’s preparations for the end of the Transition Period, which equates to 111 declarations per second. The CHIEF system message response time is 5 seconds, which is within the Service Level Agreement for all transactions and is currently performing well.

HMRC published a list of some 743,000 employers that claimed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in respect of December claim periods on 26 January 2021. Employers can ask for their details to be withheld if they can show that publication would lead to the threat of violence or intimidation toward the employer or other specified associated persons.

Before this date HMRC received 55 applications from employers to have their names withheld.

17 of these applications were accepted and will not be published. Two applications were rejected and 36 were pending. These employers were removed from the list before publication pending resolution of their applications.

To date no employer that has applied to have their details removed from the list has subsequently chosen to pay back their claim.

97.5% of queries are answered within 5 days, with 2.5% of queries being answered after 5 days. The volumes of queries to HMRC’s Tariff Classification Service have nearly doubled in the last six months, and many of these are not classification-related.

The statistics for pre-July 2020 show over 99% of queries were responded to within 5 days.

The CJRS supports businesses to preserve employer-employee matches by providing a mechanism to pay the wages of furloughed employees.

The Government continues to monitor CJRS take-up, with HMRC's latest official statistics producing analysis of claims split by characteristics including employer size, sector of the economy, geography, age and gender.

The latest HMRC official statistics for November and December show the number of employments furloughed increased to 3.7 million on 1 November (when the CJRS extension launched), reaching 4.1 million on 11 November, and reduced to 3.8 million on 31 December* (*provisional figure).

The Government has been clear that the reform of the off-payroll working rules will be introduced on 6 April 2021. The Government remains committed to introducing this policy in order to address the unfairness of non-compliance with the existing off-payroll working rules. Organisations should continue to prepare for the implementation of the reform. Since the reform was delayed in April 2020, Parliament has passed legislation enacting the reform from April 2021.

Many businesses have already made significant preparations to ensure they are ready for the reform and HMRC are committed to supporting businesses and individuals in the run up to and beyond the reform being implemented. HMRC are providing webinars, workshops and one-to-one calls as well as publishing updated guidance and factsheets to enable businesses to prepare.

The Government regularly engages with a range of stakeholders to inform policy making. The Government continues to engage with key stakeholders and affected organisations in relation to their preparations for the forthcoming reform.

The Government has been clear that the reform of the off-payroll working rules will be introduced on 6 April 2021. The Government remains committed to introducing this policy in order to address the unfairness of non-compliance with the existing off-payroll working rules. Organisations should continue to prepare for the implementation of the reform. Since the reform was delayed in April 2020, Parliament has passed legislation enacting the reform from April 2021.

Many businesses have already made significant preparations to ensure they are ready for the reform and HMRC are committed to supporting businesses and individuals in the run up to and beyond the reform being implemented. HMRC are providing webinars, workshops and one-to-one calls as well as publishing updated guidance and factsheets to enable businesses to prepare.

The Government regularly engages with a range of stakeholders to inform policy making. The Government continues to engage with key stakeholders and affected organisations in relation to their preparations for the forthcoming reform.

The UK, along with the rest of the world, continues to face significant economic disruption in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic – no major economy avoided a dramatic fall in GDP earlier in the year.

International comparisons of economic performance are challenging, particularly given the different approaches that countries take to measuring the contribution of public services to GDP. The Office for National Statistics stated in the December Quarterly National Accounts that “international comparisons should be made with care if the estimates being compared are based on different approaches to measuring the volume of non-market output”.

Further, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) set out in their November Economic and Fiscal Outlook that “some countries, including the UK, use direct measures of some public sector output but others assume that it is given by the associated inputs. If the latter approach were still used in the UK, then the fall in GDP the second quarter would have been around 4 percentage points smaller.”

This represents around a fifth of the overall reported fall in UK GDP in the first half of 2020 and, if adjusted for, would leave the UK’s performance over this period closer in line with other advanced economies.

The number of staff who have left the department from a post over the prior 5 years:

*The data for 20/21 covers the period April 20 to September 20

We do not report on sick days monthly, we do however have a return that we do annually. The number of sick days by directorate in each of the last 5 years can be found in the following tables:

2015/16

2016/17

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

HM Treasury takes the wellness of its staff seriously. Wellness is incorporated within the Treasury’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing policy. Every quarter, staff complete pulse surveys to assess progress against wellbeing criteria from the annual People Survey. Directors and Deputy Directors take action relating to these results to improve their staff’s wellbeing and stress levels.

HM Treasury has the following support in place for those that are suffering due to stress:

• Stress and Mental Health Awareness elearning – learn about stress, what the stressors can be and how to identify and lessen stress
• Stress risk assessment used to identify stressors and implement controls to help reduce/eliminate the stress
• Workplace Adjustments including flexible working
• Stress Management guidance
• Tips to help reduce stress
• Mental Health First Aiders
• Employee Assistance Programme – this is a confidential 24/7 helpline that can offer point people to where
• Occupational Health provision
• Mental Wellbeing Network
• Treasury Supporters, who are employees, trained to help colleagues work through any concerns, however serious whatever their cause
• Wellness Action Plans
• Time to Talk Workshops
• HR Advisers and Health, Safety & Wellbeing Team.

The table below contains the count of paid full time equivalent staffing and headcount per directorate for the most recent quarter end, September 2020.

Since 2016, HMRC have had a range of roles comprising specialist and non-specialist roles to support the preparation for the UK leaving the EU, as well as operational and support roles for the post-transition period. Not all roles require additional training and HMRC do not track their requirements against all roles. HMRC are therefore unable to provide a breakdown of training time across the years and against staff complement, both for the preparation and post-transition period, without incurring significant additional costs.

NS&I does not hold data for how many person-days posts have been vacant in each of the last five years.

Table: Number of staff in NS&I who have left a post in each of the last five years.

NS&I treats all discrimination, bullying and harassment, as misconduct and follows disciplinary procedure.

NS&I has not received any formal complaints of racist behaviour in the workplace in each of the last five years.

The Government has agreed a deal with the EU. The deal provides for streamlined customs arrangements, including recognising respective trusted trader schemes, to support the smooth flow of goods at the border, including ports.

HMRC have been working closely with the border industry, including ports, to ensure they are engaging with the new requirements and have taken the necessary steps to prepare. HMRC will continue to engage in order to identify any further support HMRC can provide.

Prior to 9 November 2020 customs & international trade telephone enquiries were handled through a combined Excise, Customs & international Trade (EXCIT) helpline. Demand for this line was significantly lower as the majority of the customer base, business and intermediaries alike, were experienced in trading on Rest of the World terms. Given the combined remit, HMRC are unable to provide the data requested.

Resource deployed on to the Customs & International (CIT) line from 9 November was 20 full time equivalent (FTE), increasing to the planned core level of 100 FTE by 14 December 2020. This provides capacity to handle 10,000 calls/chats per week.

HMRC have also have trained standby resource of a further 100 FTE to support any increase in demand. The standby resource increased to 300 FTE from 21 December 2020. This resource when added to core resource, delivers capacity to handle 38,000 calls/week. Further contingency has also been identified requiring a change in operational priorities across HMRC’s Customer Services Group. Core, standby and contingency resource combined would provide capacity to handle 60,000 calls per week.

Regular reviews are planned to ensure core deployment matches underlying demand.

Alongside the scalable resourcing plan, HMRC extended the opening hours of the CIT line. From 14 December, opening times were 08.00-20.00 Monday-Friday. HMRC also provided a service on 1^st and 2^nd January 2021 from 08.00-16.00 and are providing a service for each Saturday thereafter.

The Government recognises that this an extremely challenging time for businesses across the UK, particularly those required to close due to necessary restrictions to protect public health.

During the pandemic, the Government has regularly engaged with businesses and trade groups to understand the needs of businesses and has also continually monitored the impact of restrictions and Covid-19 support. This has informed our efforts to evolve the support available for businesses when necessary, including those changes announced in the Chancellor’s statement in the House of Commons on 9 October 2020.

The Government has provided, and will continue to provide, generous support to the self-employed during the COVID-19 pandemic through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) The third grant, combined with up to £14,070 worth of support for each individual from the first and second grants, makes the SEISS one of the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world.

The Government has adapted the generosity of the SEISS in line with the evolution of the virus. Following the announcement on 22 October that the third grant would cover 40 per cent of average monthly trading profits, the Government further increased the value of support to 55 per cent, and later – to 80 per cent of average trading profits for the period covering November to January, capped at £7,500 in total.

The Government’s policy responses are carefully designed to provide certainty and support to people and businesses across the UK to respond to the current public health restrictions. We continue to take a flexible approach and keep all impacts and policies under review.

The particular circumstances of the payment being made determines the payment method used (BACS, cheques, bank transfer or other methods). Wherever possible, HMRC try to give customers the choice to be paid directly into their bank account or by cheque.

The statistics show that paying prizes directly to the customers bank account has reduced the proportion of Premium Bonds prizes that go unclaimed compared to issuing warrants (cheques).

Since 2011, Premium Bonds holders have been able to have their prizes paid directly into a UK bank account in their name. Between 2011 and end of June 2018, NS&I paid out 110,300,054 prizes by warrant. Of these 569,461 (0.5%) have not yet been cashed and are therefore deemed unclaimed. In comparison between 2011 and December 2020, NS&I have paid out 72,385,607 directly to customers’ bank account. As of September 2020, of these 8,610 (0.01%) of the prizes have not been claimed.

Since 2011, Premium Bonds holders have been able to have their prizes paid directly into a UK bank account in their name. Since March 2020, more than 750,000 customers have switched from receiving paper warrants (cheques) to having their prizes paid directly into their bank account or automatically reinvested. As of December 2020, 82.5% of Premium Bonds prizes were either paid directly into a UK bank account or reinvested back into Premium Bonds.

The decision by NS&I announced on 17 September 2020 to pay all Premium Bonds prizes direct to customers’ bank accounts was informed by changing customer behaviours. It will make managing Premium Bonds prize distribution quicker, more cost-effective and have a much lower environmental impact.

Paying prizes directly to the customers bank account also reduces the proportion of Premium Bonds prizes from going unclaimed.

The Spending Review prioritised investment to support growth across the country, including through the National Infrastructure Strategy and by setting out our priority areas to receive multi-year funding settlements. It also set out how we will make decisions differently to support levelling up, for example our changes to the Green Book will better link projects and programmes to government objectives. The specific programmes that you mention are one part of this wider strategy to support growth across the country, with budgets in 21/22 as follows: £621m for the Towns Fund, £600m for the Levelling Up Fund, and £220m to help local areas prepare for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. We will set out further funding allocations for later years at future SRs.

The Government has introduced the ‘Pay as you Grow’ options to give businesses more time and flexibility to repay their loan on the terms that best suit them. This includes the ability to extend the term of the loan from 6 to 10 years (reducing average monthly payments by almost half), as well as the option to temporarily switch to interest-only payments or to take a full repayment holiday for 6 months.

These are standardised options which can be offered by lenders to all businesses. The options can be requested by borrowers ahead of their first repayment or later in the life of the loan. This will enable businesses to repay the loan on the terms which work best for their individual circumstances.

The Job Retention Bonus (JRB) will not be paid in February 2021 and the Government will redeploy a retention incentive at the appropriate time. The purpose of the JRB was to encourage employers to keep people in work until the end of January 2021. However, as the CJRS is being extended to the end of March 2021, the policy rationale of the JRB has fallen away.

HMRC have published statistics on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). These include information on the employments supported by the CJRS broken down by the employees’ gender. The statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-coronavirus-covid-19-statistics. The statistics do not show other gender identities because HMRC do not hold that information.

HMRC will publish statistics on the CJRS extension in due course. The date of publication will be pre-announced on GOV.UK. HMRC continue to monitor the use of these statistics and make improvements as necessary.

The Retail Prices Index (RPI) is a measure of inflation with a number of shortcomings. To address these shortcomings, the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) has made a proposal to reform RPI by bringing the methods and data sources of the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) into RPI. Owing to the use of RPI in specific index-linked gilts, prior to 2030 the Chancellor’s consent to this proposal is required before it can be implemented.

At the Budget in March, the government and UKSA launched a consultation to consider whether UKSA’s proposal should be implemented at a date other than 2030, and, if so, when between 2025 and 2030. The consultation closed for responses on 21 August. As part of the consultation, the government invited views on matters including how the holders of the government’s issues of index-linked gilts, all of which use RPI as their reference rate, will be affected by the implementation of reform.

The consultation can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-consultation-on-the-reform-to-retail-prices-index-rpi-methodology.

As announced on 9 November, the government and UKSA will respond to the consultation alongside the Spending Review on 25 November.

The 9 November announcement can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-letter-from-rishi-sunak-to-sir-david-norgrove-on-the-date-of-the-government-and-uk-statistics-authoritys-response-to-their-joint-consultation-on-re.

The Retail Prices Index (RPI) is a measure of inflation with a number of shortcomings. To address these shortcomings, the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) has made a proposal to reform RPI by bringing the methods and data sources of the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) into RPI. Owing to the use of RPI in specific index-linked gilts, prior to 2030 the Chancellor’s consent to this proposal is required before it can be implemented.

At the Budget in March, the government and UKSA launched a consultation to consider whether UKSA’s proposal should be implemented at a date other than 2030, and, if so, when between 2025 and 2030. The consultation closed for responses on 21 August. As part of the consultation, the government invited views on matters including how the holders of the government’s issues of index-linked gilts, all of which use RPI as their reference rate, will be affected by the implementation of reform.

The consultation can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-consultation-on-the-reform-to-retail-prices-index-rpi-methodology.

As announced on 9 November, the government and UKSA will respond to the consultation alongside the Spending Review on 25 November.

The 9 November announcement can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-letter-from-rishi-sunak-to-sir-david-norgrove-on-the-date-of-the-government-and-uk-statistics-authoritys-response-to-their-joint-consultation-on-re.

The Retail Prices Index (RPI) is a measure of inflation with a number of shortcomings. To address these shortcomings, the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) has made a proposal to reform RPI by bringing the methods and data sources of the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) into RPI. Owing to the use of RPI in specific index-linked gilts, prior to 2030 the Chancellor’s consent to this proposal is required before it can be implemented.

At the Budget in March, the government and UKSA launched a consultation to consider whether UKSA’s proposal should be implemented at a date other than 2030, and, if so, when between 2025 and 2030. The consultation closed for responses on 21 August. As part of the consultation, the government invited views on matters including how the holders of the government’s issues of index-linked gilts, all of which use RPI as their reference rate, will be affected by the implementation of reform.

The consultation can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-consultation-on-the-reform-to-retail-prices-index-rpi-methodology.

As announced on 9 November, the government and UKSA will respond to the consultation alongside the Spending Review on 25 November.

The 9 November announcement can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-letter-from-rishi-sunak-to-sir-david-norgrove-on-the-date-of-the-government-and-uk-statistics-authoritys-response-to-their-joint-consultation-on-re.

The Retail Prices Index (RPI) is a measure of inflation with a number of shortcomings. To address these shortcomings, the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) has made a proposal to reform RPI by bringing the methods and data sources of the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) into RPI. Owing to the use of RPI in specific index-linked gilts, prior to 2030 the Chancellor’s consent to this proposal is required before it can be implemented.

At the Budget in March, the government and UKSA launched a consultation to consider whether UKSA’s proposal should be implemented at a date other than 2030, and, if so, when between 2025 and 2030. The consultation closed for responses on 21 August. As part of the consultation, the government invited views on matters including how the holders of the government’s issues of index-linked gilts, all of which use RPI as their reference rate, will be affected by the implementation of reform.

The consultation can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-consultation-on-the-reform-to-retail-prices-index-rpi-methodology.

As announced on 9 November, the government and UKSA will respond to the consultation alongside the Spending Review on 25 November.

The 9 November announcement can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-letter-from-rishi-sunak-to-sir-david-norgrove-on-the-date-of-the-government-and-uk-statistics-authoritys-response-to-their-joint-consultation-on-re.

The temporary zero rate of VAT on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was an extraordinary measure to help affected sectors (such as hospitals and care homes) during the initial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and when the global supply of PPE did not meet demand.

This measure came to an end on 31 October (as legislated), as alternative measures introduced by the Government will ensure the supply of COVID-19 related PPE to affected sectors from November. This means the VAT relief is no longer required to ensure the supply of PPE is maintained and businesses that make VATable supplies can also recover any VAT they incur on the purchase of PPE as a business expense.

The temporary zero rate of VAT on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was an extraordinary measure to help affected sectors (such as hospitals and care homes) during the initial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and when the global supply of PPE did not meet demand.

This measure came to an end on 31 October (as legislated), as alternative measures introduced by the Government will ensure the supply of COVID-19 related PPE to affected sectors from November. This means the VAT relief is no longer required to ensure the supply of PPE is maintained and businesses that make VATable supplies can also recover any VAT they incur on the purchase of PPE as a business expense.

Operation of the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme in England does not require HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) information to be disclosed to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Local Authorities are administering the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme in England. All central government departments directly involved in the scheme (DHSC, MHCLG, DWP and HMRC) are collaborating to make sure Local Authorities have access to information necessary to administer this scheme and provide a clear view of its use.

HMRC have been working closely with DWP to make use of HMRC information to support the scheme. HMRC already disclose earnings and tax credit information to DWP under the Welfare Reform Act 2012. HMRC have agreed for DWP to extend its disclosure of taxpayer information to support Local Authorities in England which are administering the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme. This will provide information on claimants to Local Authorities in a legal, secure, proportionate and efficient way to enable Local Authorities to determine who is eligible for the scheme.

Under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, HMRC have a duty of confidentiality for information they hold. HMRC may only disclose taxpayer information under a limited number of circumstances, such as where legislation provides an information sharing gateway with another department for a specific purpose. Consent is generally required from HMRC for onward disclosure to organisations beyond those directly receiving taxpayer information

The Job Support Scheme is designed to protect jobs in businesses that are facing lower demand over the winter months due to COVID-19, to help their employees remain attached to the workforce. The total cost of the Job Support Scheme will depend on take-up; based on equivalent earnings to the average CJRS claim, the Government estimates the scheme would cost up to £1.8 billion for every million employments under the scheme for six months.

The Government support measures are well-targeted at businesses most in need, bearing in mind the need to act very quickly to deliver this unprecedented package. The OBR has said that that the positive actions the Government have taken “should…help to limit any long-term economic ‘scarring’, by keeping workers attached to firms and helping otherwise viable firms stay in business.”. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in particular, has supported more than 1.2 million firms to furlough 9.6 million jobs. We expect everyone to act responsibly and in the spirit of these packages, and only claim and use support as intended. In addition:

Under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), borrowers are required to restrict dividend payments, which means they are only allowed to make dividends payments which were a) declared before the CLBILS loan was taken out, b) are in keeping with similar dividends payments made in the preceding 12 months, and c) do not have a material negative impact on the borrower’s ability to repay the loan. In addition to restrictions on dividends payments, firms borrowing more than £50m will be required to agree to not make dividend payments or share buybacks, and to restrictions on pay and bonuses for senior management. These restrictions remain in place until the loan has been repaid.

Issuers participating in the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF) are required to commit to restraint on their capital distributions (including dividends and share buybacks) and on senior pay. This applies to all commercial paper (CP) maturing after 19 May 2021. Issuers will be required to provide a letter of commitment to HM Treasury in relation to this if a) an increase in an issuer's CCFF limit, over and above that suggested by the issuer’s investment rating, is requested and approved, and/or b) a CCFF transaction is entered into which involves CP maturing on or after 19 May 2021. HM Treasury reserves the right to publish this letter, should it become aware that the terms of the letter have not been complied with.

The recent legislative change gives HMRC second preferential creditor status for certain taxes. This change ensures that when a business enters insolvency, more of the taxes paid in good faith by its employees and customers, but held temporarily by the business, go to fund public services as intended, rather than be distributed to other creditors.

This change is not expected to have a significant impact on financial institutions, the lending market or wider economy. This measure is forecast to raise up to £220 million a year. To put this into perspective, bank lending to small and medium-sized businesses alone in 2019 was £57 billion.

The Seafarers Earnings Deduction (SED) offers a 100 per cent reduction in income tax on maritime employment income for UK and EEA resident seafarers who have a qualifying period of time absent from the UK. The qualifying period must be made up of at least 365 days, but return visits to the UK during that time up to a maximum of 183 consecutive days can count towards the qualifying period. This is among the most generous reliefs available to seafarers worldwide.

In addition, the Government has introduced a broad range of support to help meet this challenge. This includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and mortgage holidays for homeowners and landlords.

Guidance is available on GOV.UK for seafarers to check whether they are eligible for SED and what steps they need to take to claim, including a worksheet which seafarers can use each year to determine their eligibility.

As with other areas of tax policy, the Government is keeping this under review in light of the pandemic.

Departments have been reviewing their plans for this year in light of the focus they are putting on Covid-19 response and recovery, accelerating and reprioritising activity as necessary.

As we exit the current crisis, we will take stock of the economy and public finances and make further decisions as required

On 22 June, the Prime Minister set out a series of steps to relax further the current public health guidance for those identified as clinically extremely vulnerable to shield at home. This means from 1 August they will be able to return to work if they are unable to work from home, provided their workplace is COVID-safe.

The Government is asking employers to work with it in order to ease the transition back to a more normal way of life for their clinically extremely vulnerable employees. It is important that this group continue to take careful precautions, and employers should do all they can to enable them to work from home where this is possible, including moving them to another role if required. Where this is not possible, those who have been shielding should be provided with the safest onsite roles that enable them to maintain social distancing from others.

If employers cannot provide a safe working environment, the clinically extremely vulnerable will continue to have access to an unprecedented package of financial support. This is not limited to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, but also includes changes to Statutory Sick Pay to make it payable from day one, the introduction of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, and an increase in the generosity of welfare payments worth a further £8bn.

The Government will continue looking at what support is required for the clinically extremely vulnerable population as the public health guidance changes.

This Government is doing whatever it can to ensure that individuals, families and businesses are supported during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Government recognises that Tax Credits were introduced in the early 2000s and no longer fully reflect the world of work for many people. That is one of the reasons why we are introducing Universal Credit. Universal Credit replaces Tax Credits and several other legacy benefits, to provide a single system of means-tested support for working age people. Universal Credit is assessed and paid monthly and is based on claimants’ actual earnings in the month, rather than their annual income. As HMRC and DWP are experiencing significant increased demand, the Government has chosen to prioritise the safety and stability of the benefits system overall. That is why we have introduced measures that can be operationalised as quickly and safely as possible in order to provide support to those who need it most.

Suspending the income disregard in Working Tax Credit (WTC) would not benefit claimants on the lowest incomes who are already in receipt of the maximum support available through WTC.

This Government has taken additional steps to support those affected by Covid-19 and has announced a wide-ranging package of measures to support individuals, families and businesses affected by Covid-19. These measures include:

• Making Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) available for individuals diagnosed with Covid-19 or those unable to work because they are self-isolating in line with Government guidance. This is in addition to the change announced by the Prime Minister that SSP will be payable from day 1 instead of day 4 for affected individuals.
• Increasing the standard allowance in Universal Credit and the basic element of Working Tax Credit by up to £20 per week
• A further temporary relaxation of earnings rules for self-employed Universal Credit claimants
• Increasing the Local Housing Allowance for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants to the 30^th percentile of market rents.
• Introducing the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment. Businesses can put workers on temporary leave and the Government will pay them cash grants to cover 80% of their wages up to a cap of £2,500, providing they keep the worker employed.

Last week, the Chancellor announced £330 billion of guarantees for the economy, and charities and social enterprises are an important part of the system. Many charities and social enterprises will be eligible for the new Business Interruption Loan Scheme for loans of up to £5m, with no interest due for the first twelve months. Further, many charities are already eligible for 80% charitable rate relief, they will benefit from the new enhanced retail rate relief at 100%. Charities will also benefit from the new Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Further detail of government support is available at: www.businesssupport.gov.uk

The impact on UK tax revenues remains highly sensitive to the detailed design and implementation of the OECD proposals, which remain the subject of discussion.

It is therefore too early to provide a detailed assessment.

The UK will continue to work constructively with international counterparts on these proposals as they progress.

Securing a global solution to the tax challenges posed by digitalisation remains a priority for the Government.

The Government continues to play an active role in shaping the proposals under consideration within the OECD, with a view to delivering an enduring multilateral solution that works in the UK’s long-term fiscal and economic interests.

The Primary Threshold will increase above inflation from £166 to £183 per week. This does not affect State Pension entitlement.

The Government has announced that the Lower Earnings Limit, the point at which employees start to build State Pension entitlement, will be increased in line with inflation from £118 to £120 per week from April 2020.

The Child Trust Funds (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI2020/29) were laid on 15 January 2020 - www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/29/contents/made

Child Trust Funds (CTF) accounts will start to mature in September 2020 when the first children reach 18. These regulations ensure maturing CTF will retain their tax-free status and also provide that funds in a mature CTF may be transferred to an ISA without counting towards the individual’s annual ISA subscription limit.

HMRC has improved the National Insurance number notification letter, which is sent out prior to a child’s 16th birthday, to raise awareness of the Child Trust Funds scheme. The letter informs young people that they may have money in a Child Trust Fund and signposts them to HMRC’s guidance on accessing and managing the account.

The Child Trust Funds (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI2020/29) were laid on 15 January 2020 - www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/29/contents/made

Child Trust Funds (CTF) accounts will start to mature in September 2020 when the first children reach 18. These regulations ensure maturing CTF will retain their tax-free status and also provide that funds in a mature CTF may be transferred to an ISA without counting towards the individual’s annual ISA subscription limit.

HMRC has improved the National Insurance number notification letter, which is sent out prior to a child’s 16th birthday, to raise awareness of the Child Trust Funds scheme. The letter informs young people that they may have money in a Child Trust Fund and signposts them to HMRC’s guidance on accessing and managing the account.

Payments made to an individual as compensation for injury to feelings can be paid tax free where they are not connected with the termination of an employment. HM Revenue and Customs have recently updated guidance that sets out the circumstances in which compensation payments are, or are not, connected with the termination of an employment.

The information requested is not available as HMRC do not hold data relating to tax refunds for incorrect decisions regarding payments made for injury to feelings connected to the termination of employment.

As at 31 March 2019, there were 38,790 non-domestic properties in the Rating List in England and Wales with a Rateable Value of under £100,000 that are classified as public houses.

The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it.

All businesses, irrespective of size or business sector, are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.

If anyone thinks they are not receiving at least the minimum wage, they can contact Acas, in confidence, on 0300 123 1100 or submit a query online using the link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-and-work-rights-complaints .

The Government has more than trebled annual funding for minimum wage enforcement since 2014, providing a total budget of £26.3m in 2018-19. The additional investment has enabled a significant expansion of resources dedicated to enforcing the NMW.

The table below provides a breakdown of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff working in NMW enforcement, by month, for the last 3 years.

Other staff across HMRC also contribute to enforcing the NMW, including lawyers, technical advisors and those specialising in criminal investigations. These staff are not included in these numbers.

HMRC do not specifically record data on current and former employees when logging complaints. The table below shows the total number of complaints received from workers by HMRC, for each month, for the last 3 years.

The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it.

All businesses, irrespective of size or business sector, are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.

If anyone thinks they are not receiving at least the minimum wage, they can contact Acas, in confidence, on 0300 123 1100 or submit a query online using the link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-and-work-rights-complaints .

The Government has more than trebled annual funding for minimum wage enforcement since 2014, providing a total budget of £26.3m in 2018-19. The additional investment has enabled a significant expansion of resources dedicated to enforcing the NMW.

The table below provides a breakdown of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff working in NMW enforcement, by month, for the last 3 years.

Other staff across HMRC also contribute to enforcing the NMW, including lawyers, technical advisors and those specialising in criminal investigations. These staff are not included in these numbers.

HMRC do not specifically record data on current and former employees when logging complaints. The table below shows the total number of complaints received from workers by HMRC, for each month, for the last 3 years.

As of 31 March 2019, there were 467,040 non-domestic properties in the Rating List in England and Wales with a Rateable Value of under £51,000 that are classified as part of the retail sector.

The Valuation Office Agency publishes statistics on the stock of properties at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-stock-of-properties-including-business-floorspace-2019. The next published update to the above statistics is planned for July 2020.

Overpayments are a feature of the annualized tax credits system. Figures for the value of overpayments relating to 2019-20 tax credits awards will not be known until all awards have been finalised in January 2021.

The most recent estimate of overpayments relates to the 2017-18 award year and can be found in the following publication.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/child-and-working-tax-credits-statistics-finalised-annual-awards-supplement-on-payments-2017-to-2018

In this year, 1.45 million tax credits awards had an overpayment at the point of finalisation. The total value of overpayments was £1.55 billion.

Estimates of the average value of repayments in each of the last 12 months are not readily available. Tax credits repayments are repaid through a number of routes, including through the Universal Credit (UC) system. Information on the monthly value of all these repayments could only be collected at disproportionate cost.

For the year 2017/18, HMRC received repayments of £1.29bn. These repayments were made on overpayments from all previous award years. On top of this, £188m of tax credits overpayments transferred to DWP as customers migrated to UC.

We do not comment on referrals or ongoing investigations but do publish information in respect of cases where a deprivation order has been served.

Figures for conducive deprivation orders, which are made under Section 40(2) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, have been published as part of the transparency report on disruptive and investigatory powers. Three reports have been published to date in 2015, 2017 and 2018:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473603/51973_Cm_9151_Transparency_Accessible.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593668/58597_Cm_9420_Transparency_report_web.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disruptive-and-investigatory-powers-transparency-report-2018

Section 40(3) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, allows for deprivation of citizenship where fraud, false representation or concealment of material facts have been used to obtain British citizenship. Since February 2020 these figures have been published via the Transparency report on asylum data, which can be found using the links below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-transparency-data-february-2020

We do not comment on referrals or ongoing investigations but do publish information in respect of cases where a deprivation order has been served.

Figures for conducive deprivation orders, which are made under Section 40(2) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, have been published as part of the transparency report on disruptive and investigatory powers. Three reports have been published to date in 2015, 2017 and 2018:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473603/51973_Cm_9151_Transparency_Accessible.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593668/58597_Cm_9420_Transparency_report_web.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disruptive-and-investigatory-powers-transparency-report-2018

Section 40(3) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, allows for deprivation of citizenship where fraud, false representation or concealment of material facts have been used to obtain British citizenship. Since February 2020 these figures have been published via the Transparency report on asylum data, which can be found using the links below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-transparency-data-february-2020

All MP Enquiry Line staff and the majority of supporting MPAM staff, have access to the EU Settlement Scheme database.

The Home Office does not hold the information in the format requested. Visa income is not differentiated between the various categories in which they are received and so our financial systems will not allow us to provide this level of detail.

Visa and immigration income data is published annually in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts. See page 137 of the Home Office 2018-19 Annual Report and Accounts for the most recent disclosure of visa and immigration income.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/807126/6.5571_HO_Annual_Report_201920_WEB.PDF

The HO does not routinely collect data on the time taken to issue ASPEN cards but we are continuing to work with all accommodation providers to ensure that applicants are able to access financial support upon dispersal. There is an Emergency Support Payment (ECP) provision available from Providers to ensure that Service Users are supported until receipt of their ASPEN Card.

Migrant Help have sustained an average call waiting time of less than a minute since 8^th January.

The Home Office monitors closely the performance of asylum support application decision making and has a range of targets for processing support applications depending on the nature of the application being made.

Inormation on processing times is not recorded in a format suitable for publication and there are no plans to publish such statistics at this time.

There are various types of correspondence received by Migrant Help via a range of routes. It is therefore not possible to give average times, however all correspondence received through Royal Mail is dealt with within 48 hours of receipt.

Migrant Help have been recruiting and training staff to ensure they are resourced sufficiently to meet demand and they are working closely with accommodation providers and the Home Office to ensure that appropriate escalation mechanisms are in place so that service users can access support.

Staffing levels for both AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) and EAGL (Eligibility, Advice & Guidance) are more than double what they were when the lines first opened in September 2019.

Migrant Help have been recruiting and training staff to ensure they are resourced sufficiently to meet demand and they are working closely with accommodation providers and the Home Office to ensure that appropriate escalation mechanisms are in place so that service users can access support.

Staffing levels for both AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) and EAGL (Eligibility, Advice & Guidance) are more than double what they were when the lines first opened in September 2019.

The UK has a proud record of providing protection for asylum seekers fleeing persecution. Each case is considered sensitively, appropriately and on its individual merits. All available evidence is carefully and sensitively considered against a background of relevant case law and in light of published country information, which covers country specific issues.

The UK only ever returns those who both the Home Office and the courts are satisfied do not need our protection and have no legal basis to remain in the UK.

Providing the information requested in relation to number of people returned to the UK following removal would require a manual check of individual records and I am therefore not able to provide this to you. In a small number of cases each year individuals are brought back to the UK either by the Home Office or a Court for further consideration of their case. When this occurs, we review all circumstances with the Courts as appropriate.

Until October 2018, there was a published Service Standard in place to decide 98% of straight-forward cases within six months from date of claim. Whilst the operation consistently achieved this for three years, the number of non-straight forward cases awaiting a decision grew rapidly and it became clear that the former service standard no longer best served those that used our services. For these reasons, former Ministers agreed that we should move away from the service standard to reprioritise cases in the short term, whilst we come to longer term arrangement for service standards that meet the needs of all parties.

As a result, we moved away from the 6-month service standard to concentrate on older claims, cases with acute vulnerability and those in receipt of the greatest level of support, including Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC). That has meant some claims that would have been categorised as straightforward and received a decision within 6 months have waited longer.

However, it would be difficult to attribute this to changes to the service standard, as asylum intake has been significantly higher than expected levels since October 2018.. Published statistics show that there were 35,566 asylum applications in the UK (main applicants only) in the year ending December 2019, an increase of 21% from the previous year.

This means that despite a number of interventions, the number of claims awaiting a decision has grown.

AIRE is the new Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility service provided by Migrant Help. The AIRE contract contains a number of formal performance measures, including Key Performance Indicators, which provide a mechanism by which the effectiveness of contract delivery can be measured. These are monitored in formal monthly and quarterly contract governance meetings. Measures can be taken where performance falls short of the standards we set.

We will continue to monitor performance and the effectiveness of the contracts through the monthly Contract Management Groups and quarterly Strategic Review Management Boards.

Further information about the performance measures within the contract can be found in the contracts, published here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/028be8bb-3c69-494d-bfdd-59c2e1b34379?p=@UFQxUlRRPT0=NjJNT08=

There are currently no plans to publish a review into the provision of AIRE.

AIRE is the new Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility service provided by Migrant Help. The AIRE contract contains a number of formal performance measures, including Key Performance Indicators, which provide a mechanism by which the effectiveness of contract delivery can be measured. These are monitored in formal monthly and quarterly contract governance meetings. Measures can be taken where performance falls short of the standards we set.

We will continue to monitor performance and the effectiveness of the contracts through the monthly Contract Management Groups and quarterly Strategic Review Management Boards.

Further information about the performance measures within the contract can be found in the contracts, published here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/028be8bb-3c69-494d-bfdd-59c2e1b34379?p=@UFQxUlRRPT0=NjJNT08=

There are currently no plans to publish a review into the provision of AIRE.

The date of receipt of the oldest outstanding asylum claim is 23^rd August 2012.

There are cases in particular where more complex issues arise around a claimant’s entitlement to asylum and there is a need for us to engage in wider stakeholder involvement, alongside additional analysis and scrutiny. These cases continue to be processed as quickly as possible, but the Secretary of State has to be satisfied that our decisions are compliant with the 1951 Refugee Convention prior to service as this is a mandatory requirement.

The Home Office does not routinely publish information on the trends in the level of time taken from the date of an asylum claim to the date of a substantive asylum interview as this information is not held in a reportable format

However, the Home Office do publish information on the number of main asylum applications awaiting an initial decision, by duration from the period end of March 2020, and can be found in table ASY_04 of the published Immigration statistics www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2020/list-of-tables#asylum-and-resettlement

Over the last 18 months, UK Visas and Immigration have increased the number of Asylum decision makers and support staff as part of a rolling recruitment campaign and mobilised a transformation programme that seeks to simplify, streamline and digitise processes as part of the plans to speed up the asylum decision making process and reduce the time from date of claim to substantive interview.

In line with the Home Office’s commitment to protect the health and wellbeing of its staff and applicants as a top priority in response to COVID-19, Asylum Operations made the decision to cease face to face substantive asylum interviews with effect from Thursday 19^th March 2020.

However, it is crucial to our applicants that we restart processing their applications for protection as soon as it is safe to do so. The Home Office has successfully used video technology to support remote interviewing for more than 2 years and has appropriate operating procedures that are designed to ensure participants are able to give the best account of their circumstances.

To keep people safe but allow the Home Office to gather the additional information needed to make a decision on their claim for protection, Asylum Operations have secured additional mobile digital and video interviewing kit that enables more applicants to be interviewed remotely. We remain committed to restarting substantive asylum interviews as soon we can establish a process that allows the participants - applicants, representatives, interpreters and interviewers - to do so safely.

Our records indicate that the oldest outstanding Further Submission relating to an asylum claim was received on 18 October 2005.

UK Visas and Immigration has undertaken exercises to review the oldest Further Submissions cases. Where more complex issues arise, it can take time to progress the decision on a case, but we keep all cases under regular review, and they are decided as soon as it is possible to do so.

The Home Office does not routinely publish information on the timing of further submissions. However, the Home Office does publish information on the number of main asylum applications awaiting an initial decision and this can be found in table ASY_04 of the published Immigration statistics www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2020/list-of-tables#asylum-and-resettlement

The date of receipt of the oldest outstanding asylum claim is 23^rd August 2012.

There are cases in particular where more complex issues arise around a claimant’s entitlement to asylum and there is a need for us to engage in wider stakeholder involvement, alongside additional analysis and scrutiny. These cases continue to be processed as quickly as possible, but the Secretary of State has to be satisfied that our decisions are compliant with the 1951 Refugee Convention prior to service as this is a mandatory requirement.

The Home Office does not routinely publish information on the trends in the level of time taken from the date of an asylum claim to the date of a substantive asylum interview as this information is not held in a reportable format

However, the Home Office do publish information on the number of main asylum applications awaiting an initial decision, by duration from the period end of March 2020, and can be found in table ASY_04 of the published Immigration statistics www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2020/list-of-tables#asylum-and-resettlement

Over the last 18 months, UK Visas and Immigration have increased the number of Asylum decision makers and support staff as part of a rolling recruitment campaign and mobilised a transformation programme that seeks to simplify, streamline and digitise processes as part of the plans to speed up the asylum decision making process and reduce the time from date of claim to substantive interview.

In line with the Home Office’s commitment to protect the health and wellbeing of its staff and applicants as a top priority in response to COVID-19, Asylum Operations made the decision to cease face to face substantive asylum interviews with effect from Thursday 19^th March 2020.

However, it is crucial to our applicants that we restart processing their applications for protection as soon as it is safe to do so. The Home Office has successfully used video technology to support remote interviewing for more than 2 years and has appropriate operating procedures that are designed to ensure participants are able to give the best account of their circumstances.

To keep people safe but allow the Home Office to gather the additional information needed to make a decision on their claim for protection, Asylum Operations have secured additional mobile digital and video interviewing kit that enables more applicants to be interviewed remotely. We remain committed to restarting substantive asylum interviews as soon we can establish a process that allows the participants - applicants, representatives, interpreters and interviewers - to do so safely.

The date of receipt of the oldest outstanding asylum claim is 23^rd August 2012.

There are cases in particular where more complex issues arise around a claimant’s entitlement to asylum and there is a need for us to engage in wider stakeholder involvement, alongside additional analysis and scrutiny. These cases continue to be processed as quickly as possible, but the Secretary of State has to be satisfied that our decisions are compliant with the 1951 Refugee Convention prior to service as this is a mandatory requirement.

The Home Office does not routinely publish information on the trends in the level of time taken from the date of an asylum claim to the date of a substantive asylum interview as this information is not held in a reportable format

However, the Home Office do publish information on the number of main asylum applications awaiting an initial decision, by duration from the period end of March 2020, and can be found in table ASY_04 of the published Immigration statistics www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2020/list-of-tables#asylum-and-resettlement

Over the last 18 months, UK Visas and Immigration have increased the number of Asylum decision makers and support staff as part of a rolling recruitment campaign and mobilised a transformation programme that seeks to simplify, streamline and digitise processes as part of the plans to speed up the asylum decision making process and reduce the time from date of claim to substantive interview.

In line with the Home Office’s commitment to protect the health and wellbeing of its staff and applicants as a top priority in response to COVID-19, Asylum Operations made the decision to cease face to face substantive asylum interviews with effect from Thursday 19^th March 2020.

However, it is crucial to our applicants that we restart processing their applications for protection as soon as it is safe to do so. The Home Office has successfully used video technology to support remote interviewing for more than 2 years and has appropriate operating procedures that are designed to ensure participants are able to give the best account of their circumstances.

To keep people safe but allow the Home Office to gather the additional information needed to make a decision on their claim for protection, Asylum Operations have secured additional mobile digital and video interviewing kit that enables more applicants to be interviewed remotely. We remain committed to restarting substantive asylum interviews as soon we can establish a process that allows the participants - applicants, representatives, interpreters and interviewers - to do so safely.

There are currently 85 cases on hold pending the drafting of case handling instructions since the conclusion of the Immigration4U trial. Although the main trial ended on 26 November 2018, the second trial did not conclude until 2 June 2019.The Home Office is in the final stages of writing the guidance.

The Home Office will ensure decision makers will be provided with the requisite training and support to ensure that these applications are promptly concluded. The applications will be prioritised in date order.

There are currently 85 cases on hold pending the drafting of case handling instructions since the conclusion of the Immigration4U trial. Although the main trial ended on 26 November 2018, the second trial did not conclude until 2 June 2019.The Home Office is in the final stages of writing the guidance.

The Home Office will ensure decision makers will be provided with the requisite training and support to ensure that these applications are promptly concluded. The applications will be prioritised in date order.

There are currently 85 cases on hold pending the drafting of case handling instructions since the conclusion of the Immigration4U trial. Although the main trial ended on 26 November 2018, the second trial did not conclude until 2 June 2019.The Home Office is in the final stages of writing the guidance.

The Home Office will ensure decision makers will be provided with the requisite training and support to ensure that these applications are promptly concluded. The applications will be prioritised in date order.