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Written Question
Local Government Services: Immigrants
Tuesday 21st May 2019

Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the effect on local authority budgets of the Government's no recourse to public funds policy.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

I have regular discussions with the Home Secretary and the Communities Secretary about their budgets, including the impact of any government policy that may affect local authority finances.

We need to make sure our immigration system is fair, while also protecting the taxpayer. There are already exemptions to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition for those in genuine need, such as those facing destitution or to protect the welfare of a child. I would expect the relevant departments to raise any issues at the Spending Review, where we can consider how we fund our priorities across government.

Local Government Core Spending Power is increasing in real terms this year. We have provided an additional £650m for social care in 2019-20.


Written Question
Public Works Loan Board
Thursday 9th May 2019

Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of loan applications declined by the Public Loans Work Board in each local authority in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

The Public Works Loan Board is a non-discretionary lender and does not refuse an application if satisfied that it conforms to the policy framework governing its lending arrangements. There have been no instances of refusal in the last 12 months.


Written Question
Public Works Loan Board
Thursday 9th May 2019

Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average maturity is of the loans made by the Public Works Loan Board in the last 12 months.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

The Debt Management Office carry out the day to day lending functions of the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). They publish information monthly on their website on loans which have been issued, and annual updates on outstanding loans, including the dates when loans are due to mature.

The weighted average period to maturity of PWLB fixed rate loans advanced in the 12 months between April 2018 and March 2019 was 34 years.


Written Question
Public Works Loan Board
Thursday 9th May 2019

Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many loans made by the Public Works Loan Board reached their maturity in the last 12 months; and what value of those loans was (a) repaid from local authority resources, (b) repaid using a new loan and (c) not repaid and have defaulted.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

The Debt Management Office carry out the day to day lending functions of the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). They publish information monthly on their website on loans which have been issued, and annual updates on outstanding loans, including the dates when loans are due to mature.

631 loans totalling £1.7bn reached maturity in the 2018-19 financial year. All loans that were due for repayment in this period were repaid in full. The PWLB does not have any details of the source of the funds used by borrowers to repay the loans.


Written Question
Public Works Loan Board
Thursday 9th May 2019

Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the value of the loans from the Public Loans Work Board that were annuitised over their lifetime; and what proportion of those loans were repayable only on maturity.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

A breakdown of Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) loans by repayment type is published annually in the PWLB Report and Accounts which is available on the UK Debt Management Office’s website at: www.dmo.gov.uk/publications/?offset=0&itemsPerPage=20&parentFilter=1438&childFilter=1438|1466&startMonth=1&startYear=1998.

As at end March 2019 the breakdown of all outstanding PWLB loans by repayment type was as follows: £3.6bn (4.7%) were Annuity loans; £3.3bn (4.3%) were advanced as Equal Instalments of Principal loans; and £70.6bn (91%) were Maturity repayment loans.


Written Question
Public Works Loan Board
Tuesday 30th April 2019

Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the repayment terms are for loans made to local authorities through the Public Works Loan Board.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

The repayment terms for loans provided by Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) depend on the type of loan taken out by the local authority. Two types of loan are available from the Board: fixed rate and variable rate loans. Full details of the repayment terms of PWLB loans are available in the PWLB’s lending arrangements circular: https://www.dmo.gov.uk/media/15841/circular-160.pdf.
Written Question
Public Works Loan Board
Monday 11th March 2019

Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2019 to Question 225566 on Public Works Loan Board, what the purpose was of each loan since 2010; and if his Department will include that information as part of the monthly loans report.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

Information about the purpose of Public Works Loan Board loans is not centrally held. The Public Works Loan Board operates as a non-discretionary lender, and it is not therefore part of its arrangements to require information on the reasons for, or circumstances surrounding, loan applications or borrowing activity.

Responsibility for local authority spending and borrowing decisions lies with locally-elected council Members, who are democratically accountable to their electorates. Local authorities are required to have regard to the Prudential Code and statutory guidance when they borrow from the PWLB or from any other lender, these are published by The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and form the Prudential Framework. The main objective of the Prudential Framework is to ensure that the capital investment plans of local authorities are affordable, prudent and sustainable.


Written Question
Public Works Loan Board
Monday 4th March 2019

Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many loans were made by the Public Works Loan Board to local authorities; on what dates the loans were made; and what the (a) value and (b) purpose was of each loan.

Answered by Elizabeth Truss

The UK Debt Management Office publishes on its website information on loans advanced by Public Works Loan Board on a monthly basis. This information is publicly available for all loans since 1 October 2010 and covers the amount advanced for each loan, the interest rate, the term and the repayment type of the loan. This information is available at https://www.dmo.gov.uk/responsibilities/local-authority-lending-pwlb/monthly-loans-report/.

Under the prudential regime, decisions on borrowing are devolved to local authorities who are democratically accountable to their electorates. Information about the purpose of Public Works Loan Board loans is not centrally held.


Written Question
VAT
Friday 24th March 2017

Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average time taken for an HM Revenue and Customs VAT investigation involving a small or medium-sized business was in the 2015-16 financial year.

Answered by Jane Ellison

HM Revenue and Customs estimate that during 2015-2016, VAT compliance checks on small or medium sized businesses averaged 13.9 weeks between being opened and closed.


Written Question
Personal Injury: Compensation
Tuesday 7th June 2016

Asked by: Chris Philp (Conservative - Croydon South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of personal injury whiplash claims.

Answered by Harriett Baldwin

Between 1 April 2013 and 6 April 2015 the coalition government implemented a substantial programme of reform to reduce and control costs, strengthen the medical evidence process and reduce incentives to pursue fraudulent and unnecessary whiplash claims.

Despite that progress, the present government remains concerned about the number and cost of whiplash claims, which is why further reforms were announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement in November 2015. These new reforms will remove the right to compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity from minor whiplash injuries, and reduce legal costs by raising the small claims limit for personal injury claims to £5,000. The government will consult on the detail of these reforms in due course, with a view to implementing them as soon as the necessary legislation is in place.