Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, on the potential merits of including the voice as one of the eligible instruments for Orchestral Tax Relief.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is not currently considering expanding the scope of eligible instruments to include the voice, however the government keeps the tax system under review.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13692 on National Insurance, for what reason he was unable to provide the information requested.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Pursuant to my answer to PQ 13692, HMRC has seen a significant rise in the number of A1 applications and in other National Insurance work which has impacted processing times. The current processing time for A1 certificates is 10 weeks for applications received online. This is an improvement against September 2023 where the processing time was 15 weeks.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken to issue A1 forms on the UK’s live music sector.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Many musicians travel internationally for performances, and HMRC acknowledges that access to A1 certificates is important to them in accessing their social security rights in the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
HMRC has seen a significant rise in the number of A1 applications and in other National Insurance work which has impacted processing times.
While progress has been made, HMRC acknowledges that more needs to be done to meet its service standards and is aiming to do so for all types of A1 applications by the end of April 2024. To address this the department has implemented a recovery strategy, including providing additional resources. HMRC has also recently introduced new online versions of the A1 application forms based on customer feedback, along with additional features to improve the application process.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average processing time was for issuing an A1 form in (a) January 2023, (b) September 2023, (c) December 2023 and (d) January 2024.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Many musicians travel internationally for performances, and HMRC acknowledges that access to A1 certificates is important to them in accessing their social security rights in the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
HMRC has seen a significant rise in the number of A1 applications and in other National Insurance work which has impacted processing times.
While progress has been made, HMRC acknowledges that more needs to be done to meet its service standards and is aiming to do so for all types of A1 applications by the end of April 2024. To address this the department has implemented a recovery strategy, including providing additional resources. HMRC has also recently introduced new online versions of the A1 application forms based on customer feedback, along with additional features to improve the application process.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to deliver his Department's service standards for the issuing of A1 forms by April 2024.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Many musicians travel internationally for performances, and HMRC acknowledges that access to A1 certificates is important to them in accessing their social security rights in the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
HMRC has seen a significant rise in the number of A1 applications and in other National Insurance work which has impacted processing times.
While progress has been made, HMRC acknowledges that more needs to be done to meet its service standards and is aiming to do so for all types of A1 applications by the end of April 2024. To address this the department has implemented a recovery strategy, including providing additional resources. HMRC has also recently introduced new online versions of the A1 application forms based on customer feedback, along with additional features to improve the application process.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress HMRC has made on reducing the time taken to issue f A1 forms.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Many musicians travel internationally for performances, and HMRC acknowledges that access to A1 certificates is important to them in accessing their social security rights in the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
HMRC has seen a significant rise in the number of A1 applications and in other National Insurance work which has impacted processing times.
While progress has been made, HMRC acknowledges that more needs to be done to meet its service standards and is aiming to do so for all types of A1 applications by the end of April 2024. To address this the department has implemented a recovery strategy, including providing additional resources. HMRC has also recently introduced new online versions of the A1 application forms based on customer feedback, along with additional features to improve the application process.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to Orchestra Tax Relief announced in the Spring Budget 2023 on the economic sustainability of orchestras.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Orchestras are a crucial part of the UK arts sector. That is why at Spring Budget 2023, the government went further to support orchestras by announcing a 2-year extension to the current 45% (for non-touring productions) and 50% (for touring productions) rates of orchestra tax relief (OTR).
From April 2024, qualifying expenditure for OTR will be that incurred on goods and services used or consumed in the UK. To qualify, 10% of expenditure on a production must be incurred on goods or services that are used or consumed in the UK. This is a significant decrease from the current requirement for 25% of expenditure to be incurred on goods or services in the UK or EEA. The government expects this will support companies in adjusting to the new rules.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the cultural tax reliefs beyond 31 March 2025.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the value of the UK’s world-leading creative industries and arts sectors.
The ‘cultural tax reliefs’ consist of theatre tax relief (TTR), orchestra tax relief (OTR) and museums and galleries exhibitions tax relief (MGETR).
There is no end date for the TTR or OTR.
MGETR will end on 1 April 2026. The sunset clause for MGETR was extended to this date at Spring Budget 2023, to enable museums and galleries to benefit from the extension of the 40% (for non-touring productions) and 45% (for touring productions) rates of the cultural reliefs. However, the Government keeps all tax reliefs under review.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has a target for the maximum timescale between an application being submitted for PAYE registration and it being granted.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The service level agreement for receipt of a PAYE reference number following an application is 15 working days.Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is taking steps to reduce the time taken for applications for (a) PAYE reference and (b) VAT numbers to be processed.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
VAT Registration applications are now being worked within the 40 working day service level.
For PAYE, Employer Registration applications can be submitted digitally using our Online Tax Registration Service https://www.gov.uk/register-employer or via the Employers Helpline on 0300 200 321.
We are focussed on reducing the time taken for businesses to receive the PAYE reference number following application by investing in digital solutions and utilising additional resources to drive down the number of cases on hand.