Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to bring forward further legislative proposals to protect (a) access to cash and (b) in-person banking services.
Answered by John Glen
The Government recognises that cash remains an important part of daily life for millions of people across the UK, and remains committed to legislating to protect access to cash.
From 1 July to 23 September last year, the Government held the Access to Cash Consultation on further proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities.
The Government received responses to the consultation from a broad range of respondents, including individuals, businesses, and charities. The Government has carefully considered responses to the consultation and will set out next steps in due course.
More broadly, the government wants to ensure that people have appropriate access to financial services, and recognises the importance of appropriate access to banking. Options for access can be via fixed and mobile bank branches, telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows 99% of personal banking and 95% of business banking customers to deposit cheques, check their balance and withdraw and deposit cash at 11,500 Post Office branches in the UK.
Following the Government’s commitment to legislate to protect access to cash, firms are working together through the Cash Action Group to develop new initiatives to provide shared services including bank hubs. The Government welcomes the direction set by industry’s commitments at the end of last year and looks forward to seeing what results they deliver in protecting cash facilities for local communities across the UK.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the civil service payroll in central government was, by department, in (a) 2010, (b) 2015, (c) 2019 and (d) March 2022.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Detailed information of staff costs for each departmental group may be found in their respective Annual Reports and Accounts (ARAs). These can be found here: Annual Reports and Accounts for Central Government Departments - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). 2010, 2015, and 2019 data is available but information for 2021-22 will not be available until after the end of the financial year. ARAs are expected to be published from Summer 2022.
Additional pay-bill costs, including employer’s social security and pension costs, severance payments and capitalised staff costs, are the difference between salary bill and pay-bill. For salary bill costs please refer to the answer to PQ UIN 145964.
Aggregate level staff costs for central government are reported in the Whole of Government Accounts, which can be found here: Whole of Government Accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data for 2010, 2015 and 2019 is available. Data for 2022 will not be available until after 2021-22 departmental Annual Reports and Accounts have been published and the Whole of Government Accounts have been produced.
HM Treasury’s own data collections, at present, do not differentiate between the different types of employment when looking at salary and pay-bill costs. Central government data will therefore include Public Servants, NHS, Armed Forces, and Academies, as well as Civil Servants.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total salary bill for the civil service in central government was, by department, in (a) 2010, (b) 2015, (c) 2019 and (d) March 2022.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Total salary bill for the civil service can be approximately calculated using data from Cabinet Office owned national statistics, Civil Service Statistics.
Mean earnings data is available, by department, as part of the Civil Service Statistics. These figures represent the mean earnings of all permanent employees on a full-time equivalent basis. They are available by gender and can be found in table 31.
Total employees on a full-time equivalent basis, by department, can also be found as part of the Civil Service Statistics. This data can be found in table 8. Using this data, alongside table 36, which gives the gender split in the civil service by department, and table 31 it is possible to calculate an approximate total paybill for each civil service department.
Full tables for 2010, 2015 and 2019 can be found here: Civil Service statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). 2022 data is not yet available but is expected to be published in Summer 2022 on the same website.
Asked by: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle cases of lenders potentially penalising mortgage applicants on the basis of them taking furlough or a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants.
Answered by John Glen
Decisions concerning the pricing and availability of loans, including application requirements, remain commercial decisions for lenders and the Government does not seek to intervene. For individuals applying for new credit, it remains important that lenders are able to carry out proper checks to ensure that they are not lending in an unaffordable way, especially if, for example, a borrower’s income had not yet returned to the level it was at pre Covid-19. Where an individual has been refused a mortgage with one provider we would also urge them to shop around, recognising lenders do not all take the same approach to assessing affordability.