Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of (a) implementing additional tax measures for the tobacco industry and (b) ringfencing tax receipts from the tobacco industry to help fund steps the Government is taking to reduce smoking prevalence to 5% or less by 2030.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is unable to speculate on tax matters outside of fiscal events. As with all taxes, the Government keeps the tobacco duty system under review during its yearly Budget process.
As announced by the Prime Minister on 4 October 2023, the Government is creating the first smokefree generation, by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 14 this year or younger will never be legally sold tobacco products. This will prevent future generations from ever taking up smoking, as there is no safe age to smoke. The command paper sets out the proposed actions the Government will take to tackle smoking and youth vaping including an additional £70 million per year to support local authority-led stop smoking services and can be accessed here:
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support the growth of the financial services sector.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In July, the Chancellor set out his ambitious Mansion House Reforms package, which will help to support the growth of the financial services sector by:
o reforming the pensions market to boost returns and improve outcomes for pension fund holders whilst increasing funding liquidity for high-growth companies;
o helping companies grow and list in the UK; and
o enabling us to seize the opportunities of the future by reforming and simplifying our regulatory rulebook.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department (a) forecasted would be spent and (b) spent on compensation for Equitable Life policyholders at 2011 prices in each financial year since 2011.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government allocated £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report).
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies make use of the Section 317 exemption of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
This information is not collected as the provision of these benefits are not subject to Income Tax or National Insurance contributions, therefore there is nothing for employers to report to HM Revenue & Customs.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax-free sales were made where the goods were delivered straight to an address outside the UK in Great Britain in 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Goods exported from the UK can be zero rated for VAT purposes provided export conditions are met, although local taxes and duties remain due upon import into the destination country. UK VAT registered exporters are required to account for this in their VAT records and retain evidence to prove the goods have left the UK to support the zero-rating. However, the reporting requirements are such that HMRC does not hold the specific information requested.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's Tourism Recovery Plan: Update on Delivery, published in March 2023, what assessment he has made of the impact of the removal of the VAT-free shopping scheme on businesses.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government engaged with varied stakeholders and produced analysis on the cost of VAT-free shopping before withdrawing the previous scheme.
Our analysis, which took increased tourist spending into account, found that introducing worldwide VAT-free shopping would come at a fiscal cost of £2 billion each year.
Furthermore, the OBR’s assessment of the previous VAT-free shopping scheme showed that its withdrawal would have a limited behavioural effect on decisions to visit, or spend, in the UK.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of exempting operators of Integrated Retirement Communities from liability for Stamp Duty Land Tax when buying back leases as part of the sale of a units to a new resident.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government has recently been made aware of this proposal for a Stamp Duty Land Tax relief. All taxes are kept under review.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to improve the regulatory framework for the financial services sector.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Financial Services and Markets Bill seizes the opportunities of Brexit, tailoring financial services regulation to UK markets to bolster our competitiveness and deliver better outcomes for consumers and businesses.
The Bill implements the outcomes of the Future Regulatory Framework Review, revoking retained EU law, so it can be replaced with an approach designed for the UK.
The Bill introduces secondary growth and competitiveness objectives and measures to ensure clear accountability, appropriate democratic input, and transparent oversight of the regulators.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that algorithms used in the insurance markets do not lead to racial discrimination in pricing.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Insurers are required to abide by the Equality Act (2010) and are not allowed to use ethnicity as a risk factor when determining the price of insurance.
The recent Citizens Advice report highlights an important point that there is the risk of discrimination in pricing in the insurance market and this matter should be looked into further.
Insurers must treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) rules. The FCA is an independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry, including insurers.
The Government is keen to ensure that all consumers have access to a range of financial products that suits their needs and is keeping this situation under review.