Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increases in the cost of living on (a) women, (b) ethnic minorities, (c) disabled people, (d) single parents and (e) women with no recourse to public funds.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government understands that people are worried about the cost of living challenges ahead.
That’s why the government has announced support worth £26 billion for 2023-24, designed to target the most vulnerable households. The Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24. This is in addition to benefits uprating, which is worth £11 billion to working age households and people with disabilities. The support includes £1 billion of new funding to enable a further twelve-month extension to the Household Support Fund, which helps Local Authorities assist those who might otherwise fall through the cracks.
Support is already in place to support households this winter. In addition to the Energy Price Guarantee, the government has announced £37 billion of support for the cost of living in 2022-23.
The Treasury carefully considers the equality impacts of the individual measures announced at fiscal events on those sharing protected characteristics, including gender, ethnicity and disability – in line with both its legal obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and its strong commitment to equality issues.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to increase the property price cap for Lifetime ISAs in line with the rate of inflation.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Lifetime ISA is intended to support younger people saving for their first home or for later life by offering a generous government bonus of 25% on up to £4,000 of savings each year. These funds, including the government bonus, can be used to purchase a first home up to the value of £450,000.
The Government considers that the £450,000 price cap is suitable to support the majority of first-time buyers across the UK, who typically purchase less expensive properties than other buyers, while also ensuring sustainable public finances. The most recent Office for Budget Responsibility forecast stated that bonus payments will have an exchequer cost of £3.5 billion between 2021 and 2027. The price cap ensures that this significant investment of public money is more precisely targeted towards households that may find it more difficult to get onto the property ladder.
First-time buyers who can purchase a home valued over £450,000 are likely to have an income significantly above that of the average household in the UK and are therefore more likely to be able to purchase a first home without the support of this scheme.
However, the Government continues to keep all aspects of savings policy under review.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making payments for waking watches in buildings deemed not fire safe VAT exempt in the context of the financial effects of that matter on leaseholders.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government already maintains a zero rate for fire safety equipment when provided alongside the construction and renovation of residential or charitable buildings. There is also a relief for the cost of replacing fire cladding on buildings if it is tied to the initial construction of the building and is shown to be defective.
Waking watch should only be in place for a short period of time and the relevant responsible person should move quickly to install a common fire alarm system as they are a more cost effective and reliable option. That is why the Government has set aside £30m to install common alarm systems in eligible buildings to replace expensive waking watch measures. No interim measures should be considered as a substitute for completing remediation as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the financial effect on hospitality sector workers of not having had their tronc payments included in the calculation of their furlough payments.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) aims to enable employers to keep people in employment. In order to achieve this, the CJRS grants compensate employers for the payments that they are contractually obliged to make in order to avoid the need for redundancies. Covering payments made at the discretion of the employer or a client such as tips, including those distributed through tronc payments, would go beyond the objectives of the scheme.
The Government recognises that for some employees, the pay in scope for this emergency grant package will be less than the overall sum they usually receive. The Government is supporting people on low incomes who need to rely on the welfare system through a significant package of temporary measures introduced in March 2020. This includes a £20 per week increase to the 2020-21 Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element and almost £1 billion of additional support for private renters claiming Universal Credit or Housing Benefit in 2020/21 following the increase of the local housing allowance rate to the 30th percentile. These changes are benefitting new and existing claimants.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will include tronc payments with the furlough for the remainder of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) aims to enable employers to keep people in employment. In order to achieve this, the CJRS grants compensate employers for the payments that they are contractually obliged to make in order to avoid the need for redundancies. Covering payments made at the discretion of the employer or a client such as tips, including those distributed through tronc payments, would go beyond the objectives of the scheme.
The Government recognises that for some employees, the pay in scope for this emergency grant package will be less than the overall sum they usually receive. The Government is supporting people on low incomes who need to rely on the welfare system through a significant package of temporary measures introduced in March 2020. This includes a £20 per week increase to the 2020-21 Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element and almost £1 billion of additional support for private renters claiming Universal Credit or Housing Benefit in 2020/21 following the increase of the local housing allowance rate to the 30th percentile. These changes are benefitting new and existing claimants.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of excluding from the self employment income support scheme people who have less than 50 per cent of their income coming from self-employment on levels of financial adversity in that group.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The design of the SEISS, including the eligibility requirement that an individual’s trading profits must be at least equal to their non-trading income, is intended to target support at those who most need it, and who are most reliant on their self-employment income.
The Government does recognise that some of the rules, criteria and conditions necessary to ensure that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) worked for the vast majority of people have meant that some did not qualify.
Those who are ineligible for the SEISS may still be eligible for other elements of the substantial package of support available. The Universal Credit standard allowance has been temporarily increased for 2020-21 and the Minimum Income Floor relaxed for the duration of the crisis, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have fallen significantly, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this, they may also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department conducted an equalities impact assessment of the decision to exclude the 1.3 million self-employed people who have less than 50 per cent of their income coming from self-employment, from the self employment income support scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The self-employed are very diverse and have a wide mix of turnover and profits, with monthly and annual variations even in normal times, and in some cases with substantial alternative forms of income too. The design of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), including the eligibility requirement that an individual’s trading profits must be at least equal to their non-trading income, means it is targeted at those who most need it, and who are most reliant on their self-employment income.
The Government takes equality considerations seriously and has been careful to give due regard to Public Sector Equality Duties throughout its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. When designing the SEISS, the Treasury undertook an analysis of how the scheme, including the eligibility criteria, may affect individuals with protected characteristics, in line with its Public Sector Equality Duty.
The SEISS continues to be just one element of a substantial package of support for the self-employed. Those ineligible for the SEISS may still be eligible for other elements of the support available, including increased levels of Universal Credit, Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of individuals subject to No Recourse to Public Funds conditions who are currently supported by the furlough scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC do not hold information on the immigration status of migrants supported by the furlough scheme, and are therefore unable to provide the requested data.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to provide financial support to those with No Recourse to Public Funds conditions who are currently supported by the furlough scheme, when the scheme ends.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is an unprecedented scheme that was designed to be in place only as a temporary measure while businesses regrouped and responded to the crisis. Building on the action taken in the face of the immediate threat posed by the virus, the government is now proceeding with the second phase of its response with a targeted Plan for Jobs which will support the UK’s economic recovery while continuing to prioritise people’s health.
The Home Office leads on policy towards those with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) and is working closely with the Treasury and other government departments, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department of Health and Social Care to support people, including migrants with NRPF, through this crisis. Departments are sharing what they are learning from other bodies and charities with each other to ensure that the government continues to take a compassionate and pragmatic approach to an unprecedented situation.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of HMRC compliance with the requirement in Section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code that time off with pay for safety representatives will not be set against facility time allowed under existing arrangements.
Answered by Jesse Norman
As a department HMRC have an obligation to provide reasonable paid time off to recognised trade union representatives to undertake trade union duties. This will include paid time off as necessary for safety representatives as set out in section 3.1.8 of the Civil Service Management Code.
HMRC have a legislative obligation, set out in the Trade Union Act (2016), that information relating to facility time for relevant union officials is published annually, with facility time defined by that Act as including time off taken by a relevant union official that is permitted by the official’s employer, including where this arises under “regulations made under section 2(4) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974”.