Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the independent review into the loan charge will include consideration of the issuing of section 684 notices prior to 2011.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget, the Government committed to an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting an exemption to the extra money owed in vehicle tax for cars with a list price of more than £40,000 if the vehicle is a registered taxi with wheelchair accessibility improvements.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) is an additional Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) supplement payable from year 2-6 of a car’s lifecycle, and liable on new cars with a list price of £40,000 or more.
Any vehicle modifications for disabled users made prior to first registration are not included when calculating the list price for the purposes of ECS. However, there is no exemption from the ECS for modifications made to taxis for disabled users after the first registration.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will take steps to restore the level of funding allocated to international development and aid projects to 0.7% of GDP.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
This Government is committed to restoring ODA spending at the level of 0.7 per cent of GNI as soon as fiscal circumstances allow. The Government will set out its approach to the House in due course.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether changes to taxation arrangements of furnished holiday lets will apply to purpose-built holiday lodges on sites designated for leisure and tourism purposes.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The Government has announced that it will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax regime from April 2025, equalising the tax treatment of all individual FHL and non-FHL businesses. This will make the taxation of property fairer and simpler while raising revenue for vital public services. The changes will not penalise or prohibit the provision of FHLs more widely.
The status of individual businesses, and so the application of tax rules, will always depend on the specific facts of each case.
The Government keeps all aspects of tax policy under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to ensure pension remediation for public sector workers affected by the McCloud judgement.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 provides remedy for discrimination that arose when new public service pensions schemes were introduced between 2014 and 2016. The remedy has two main elements: older “legacy” pension schemes were closed as of 1 April 2022 to equalise future accrual in newer “reformed” schemes; and, from 1 October 2023 all affected members are being given a choice at retirement (or within 18 months of 1 October 2023 for those who have already retired) as to whether to receive legacy or reformed scheme benefits for the remedy period.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support his Department is providing to small and medium-sized enterprises to help with costs in the context of the rate of inflation.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
The Government recognises the challenges facing businesses and that is why we have made it a priority to halve inflation this year, on the path back to the target of 2%.
We have taken several steps to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), including a substantial package of business rates support worth £13.6bn over the next five years; additional tax relief at a higher rate of 14.5% for R&D intensive SMEs; and the Small Profits Rate will mean 70% of businesses will see no increase in Corporation Tax this year.
The supply side policies announced at Spring Budget – such as action on childcare support – will also provide a boost to growth without fuelling inflation and ease the pressures faced by SMEs by delivering the workforce they need to succeed.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Consistent with the answer given to a written question on 17 May 2022, the information requested on recruitment consultant expenditure is not available, as we do not hold detail of expenditure on recruitment costs at this level of granularity for any of the financial years in question.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his department has spent on headhunters in each of the last three years.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
HM Treasury does not hold information on head-hunters separately within its recruitment costs.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse has been of Ministerial severance pay in their Department in each year since 1 January 2016 to 8 November 2022.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Provision of severance payments for Ministers is set out in legislation.
Details of the severance payments made to ministers when leaving office are published in departments’ annual reports and accounts.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the Government's Growth Plan 2022 on the rate of inflation.
Answered by Felicity Buchan
The Government’s Energy Price Guarantee will limit average household energy bills to £2,500. External forecasts expect this intervention to reduce inflation by around 5 percentage points this winter.
The Government’s Growth Plan will enhance UK competitiveness and lead to greater opportunities. By targeting 2.5% trend growth, the Growth Plan will ensure sustainable improvements in living standards.
The Office for Budget Responsibility is the government’s official forecaster and will publish its next forecast on the economy, including for inflation, on the 31st October.