Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publications entitled Government procurement card HMT spend greater than £500: July 2022 and August 2022, published 31 May 2023, what was the (a) nature and (b) purpose of the conference services for which (i) Cherron Inko-Tariah was paid £3,339.99 on 13 July 2022, (ii) Terry Tew Sound & Light were paid £2,370 on 18 July 2022, and (iii) Livegroup Ltd were paid £7,389.26 on 11 August 2022.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The purpose of this expenditure was for events and conferences.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for April 2022, which teams in his Department have access to the digital whiteboard software purchased from Metro Retro on 20 April 2022; and for what purpose it is used.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Digital whiteboard software is vital for business planning and enables joint up remote working.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Department’s publication entitled Government procurement card HMT spend greater than £500: October 2022, published 31 May 2023, what was the (a) nature and (b) purpose of the furniture and fittings purchased on 25-26 October 2022 from (i) JW Plant & Co. Ltd and (ii) Crown Fine Art.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The expenditure is related to improvements to offices.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Government procurement card HMT spend greater than £500: July 2022, published 31 May 2023, what was the (a) nature and (b) purpose of the services for which Burtt, Jones & Brewer were paid £4,140 on 13 July 2022.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This spend relates to building services and a site survey.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Government procurement card HMT spend greater than £500: June 2022, published 31 May 2023, what was the (a) nature and (b) purpose of the training for which The Insight Story Ltd. was paid £3,050.40 on 15 June 2022; and which teams in his Department received that training.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This spend delivered Human Resources (HR) services in the form of management and leadership training, to HM Treasury staff.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Government procurement card HMT spend greater than £500: September 2022, published 31 May 2023, for (a) which individuals and (b) how many nights, was accommodation purchased at the Royal Livingstone Hotel on 4 September 2022; and what was the purpose of that stay.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Accommodation was purchased to facilitate attendance at East and South Africa Anti Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) meeting which is a Financial Action Taskforce style regional body (FSRB).
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Government procurement card HMT spend greater than £500: July 2022, published 31 May 2023, what was the (a) nature and (b) purpose of the services for which Powtoon Ltd. were paid £2,396 on 13 September 2022.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information requested refers to the payment for HM Treasury’s Powtoon user licenses.
The licenses were purchased initially for the creation of virtual training modules for staff during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what evidential basis his Department set the disability cost of living payment at £150.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
At Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced it will provide a further Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 in 2023/24. This was on top of the previous one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment, worth £150, announced in May 2022.
Cost of Living Payments, available to those on means-tested benefits, are also designed to support those on low incomes with the rising cost of living, with a £650 payment announced in May and a £900 payment announced at Autumn Statement 2022.
Disabled people and those with long-term health conditions will also benefit from other forms of Cost of Living support. This includes the Energy Price Guarantee, Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Council Tax rebate.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of bank branches which have closed in (a) Lancashire and (b) England in each year since 2015.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The way people bank in the UK continues to develop at pace, with more consumers and businesses than ever enjoying the convenience, security, and speed of digital banking. In 2021, 86% of UK adults used a form of remote banking, such as an app, online or on the phone. Banking customers have never had more choice in how they fit their banking into their everyday lives.
The Government believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking services. However, decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial issue for banks and building societies. The Government does not intervene in these decisions or make direct assessments of these branch networks.
Guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to close their branches or free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on the everyday banking and cash access needs of their customers and consider possible alternative access arrangements. This ensures that the implementation of closure decisions is undertaken in a way that treats customers fairly.
Alternative options for access can be via 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. New shared bank hubs are also being piloted, providing basic banking services and dedicated space where community bankers from major banks can meet customers of that bank.
As part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022, the Government has introduced legislation to protect access to cash. The Bill protects access to cash by establishing the Financial Conduct Authority as the lead regulator and providing it with appropriate powers to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities.