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Written Question
Private Education: VAT
Thursday 5th September 2024

Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed application of VAT to private school fees on families who can only access SEND provision in private schools due to deficits in local provision.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education, which is why we have made the tough decision to end tax breaks for private schools. This will raise revenue for essential public services, including investing in the state education system.

State education is accessible to all children. All children of compulsory school age are entitled to a state-funded school place if they need one and the Department for Education works to support Local Authorities to ensure every local area has sufficient places for pupils.

Where pupils are placed in a private school because their needs cannot be met in the state sector, and they have their places funded by their Local Authority, the Local Authority will be able to reclaim the VAT they incur on these pupils’ fees. In Northern Ireland, it will be the Education Authority who fund placements in private schools and will be able to reclaim the VAT in this way.

Where a placement at a specific private school is necessary to meet the pupil’s needs in England, that school will be named in the pupil’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).


Written Question
Climate Change: Finance
Tuesday 23rd April 2024

Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has had discussions with the Bank of England on incorporating the impact of climate change in inflation modelling.

Answered by Bim Afolami

The Treasury meet with the Bank of England regularly to discuss their assessment of the economy, inflation and the impact of shocks and structural trends, including climate change.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the government’s official forecaster. They published their latest assessment of the economic and fiscal outlook (EFO) which includes inflation on 6th March. The Fiscal risks and sustainability report, published in July 2023, included discussion of the long-term impact of climate change on the fiscal position.

The Bank of England has operational independence over monetary policy and publishes its own forecasts, including for inflation, in its quarterly Monetary Policy Report.


Written Question
Renewable Energy: Supply Chains
Thursday 7th September 2023

Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 6.11 in the report of the Royal Trustees on the Sovereign Grant Review 2023, if he will take steps to ensure that the increased surplus to the Exchequer from the Crown Estate in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 is used to train UK resident workers to meet the demand for supply chain jobs in Renewable Energy Zones.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Exchequer Secretary (Treasury)

The government continues to work with industry, The Crown Estate and other partners to support the UK's offshore wind manufacturing sector. Funding is allocated in line with the government’s overall priorities, primarily through the spending review process, with the overall amount of spending informed by the wider fiscal position.


Written Question
Air Passenger Duty
Monday 14th November 2022

Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of tickets on higher rate flights incurrent the (a) reduced and (b) standard rate of Air Passenger Duty in each of the last five years.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence

HMRC is unable to publish information on tickets and revenue received from higher rate flights where the plane was over 20 tonnes and equipped to carry fewer than 19 passengers. This is because the information is disclosive.

HMRC produces estimates of Air Passenger Duty passenger numbers and receipts, at the following link:

Air Passenger Duty Bulletin - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If ‘higher rate flights’ in PQ80793 refers to travel to Band B destinations, reduced and standard rate Band B passenger numbers are published in the above link. The table below displays this information for each of the last five years.

APD passengers by financial year

Reduced Rate Band B Passengers (thousands)

Reduced Rate Band B Passengers (% of Total Band B Passengers)

Standard Rate Band B Passengers (thousands)

Standard Rate Band B Passengers (% of Total Band B Passengers)

Total Band B Passengers (thousands)

Total Passengers (thousands)

2017 to 2018

18,742

78.2%

5,235

21.8%

23,977

118,352

2018 to 2019

19,372

78.5%

5,312

21.5%

24,683

122,394

2019 to 2020

19,597

78.6%

5,338

21.4%

24,935

118,692

2020 to 2021

1,535

77.5%

446

22.5%

1,981

12,118

2021 to 2022 [provisional]

5,403

75.9%

1,711

24.1%

7,114

39,115


Written Question
Air Passenger Duty
Monday 14th November 2022

Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Air Passenger Duty revenues have been from flights where the plane was over 20 tonnes and equipped to carry fewer than 19 passengers in each of the last five years.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence

HMRC is unable to publish information on tickets and revenue received from higher rate flights where the plane was over 20 tonnes and equipped to carry fewer than 19 passengers. This is because the information is disclosive.

HMRC produces estimates of Air Passenger Duty passenger numbers and receipts, at the following link:

Air Passenger Duty Bulletin - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If ‘higher rate flights’ in PQ80793 refers to travel to Band B destinations, reduced and standard rate Band B passenger numbers are published in the above link. The table below displays this information for each of the last five years.

APD passengers by financial year

Reduced Rate Band B Passengers (thousands)

Reduced Rate Band B Passengers (% of Total Band B Passengers)

Standard Rate Band B Passengers (thousands)

Standard Rate Band B Passengers (% of Total Band B Passengers)

Total Band B Passengers (thousands)

Total Passengers (thousands)

2017 to 2018

18,742

78.2%

5,235

21.8%

23,977

118,352

2018 to 2019

19,372

78.5%

5,312

21.5%

24,683

122,394

2019 to 2020

19,597

78.6%

5,338

21.4%

24,935

118,692

2020 to 2021

1,535

77.5%

446

22.5%

1,981

12,118

2021 to 2022 [provisional]

5,403

75.9%

1,711

24.1%

7,114

39,115


Written Question
VAT: Fines
Thursday 19th May 2022

Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many penalties have been issued by HMRC in respect of late payment of VAT in financial years (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2020-21.

Answered by Lucy Frazer

The number of Default Surcharge penalties issued in respect of both late return submissions and of late payment of VAT in the 2020-21 financial year was 279,430 and was 610,170 in the 2021-22 financial year.


Written Question
Revenue and Customs: ICT
Monday 16th May 2022

Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC is aware of any data lost in the most recent program upgrade of the Digital Tax Program.

Answered by Lucy Frazer

HMRC is not currently aware of any data loss that has occurred within, or as a result of, any of HMRC’s programmes to digitalise tax.

HMRC take security matters very seriously and maintain strict protocols in terms of cyber-security and the security, storage, management, and processing of customer data.


Written Question
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Aviation
Wednesday 26th January 2022

Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding the Government provided to the aviation industry via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

HM Revenue and Customs regularly published statistics on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).

The statistics published in August 2020 can be found on gov.uk:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-august-2020.

These statistics report that employers classified under Passenger air transport and Freight air transport and space transport (Standard Industry Classification 2007, groups 51.1 and 51.2) claimed £283 million for staff on furlough between the start of the scheme and 31 July 2020.

Statistics published on 3 June 2021 report that employers in the Passenger air transport and Freight air transport and space transport sectors claimed £295 million from 1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021. These figures can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-3-june-2021.

Further statistics published on 16 December 2021 report that employers in the Passenger air transport and Freight air transport and space transport sectors claimed £172 million from 1 May 2021 to 30 September 2021. These figures can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coronavirus-job-retention-scheme-statistics-16-december-2021.

There are no figures available for the value of CJRS claims for the Passenger air transport and Freight air transport and space sectors from 1 August 2020 to 31 October 2020.


Written Question
Migrant Workers: Data Protection
Wednesday 30th June 2021

Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what processes are in place to protect the data protection rights of migrants in the event that their personal tax data is used to determine (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful applications for indefinite leave to remain.

Answered by Jesse Norman

HMRC have a duty of confidentiality for information they hold on all taxpayers. HMRC only share or disclose information that is necessary and proportionate for the intended purpose, through strict adherence to data protection principles such as UK GDPR, and only with comprehensive governance in place to monitor those exchanges and the purposes to which data can be used or retained.

In the event that the Home Office and HMRC undertake an exchange in relation to applications for indefinite leave to remain, the processes in place to uphold the data protection rights of migrants are the same as for all applicants. It is the responsibility of the Home Office to determine whether applications are successful or unsuccessful.


Written Question
English Language: Education
Friday 11th June 2021

Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to extend full business rates relief to all English Language Teaching (ELT) schools in (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.

Answered by Jesse Norman

The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance on eligibility for the relief, which is targeted at premises that are wholly or mainly being used as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues; for assembly and leisure; or as hotels, guest and boarding premises, and self-catering accommodation.