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 - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
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.
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 - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
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.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department taking to ensure that (a) pubs and (b) other SME’s can claim business interruption insurance policies for extended periods of closure and financial loss due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly and settle claims quickly once settlement terms are agreed. The FCA has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.
The Government is pleased that a final judgment has been reached by the Supreme Court in the FCA Business Interruption test case and trust that this will provide the legal clarity urgently sought by policyholders. The FCA has set out its expectation that insurers should communicate to all impacted policyholders what this judgment means for their claim and should move quickly to resolve claims as determined by the judgment, making interim payments wherever possible.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on eligible self-employed people’s livelihoods of the time taken by the Government to announce the details of the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, covering February to April 2021, in the 2021 Budget on 3 March 2021.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 153300 on 22 February 2021.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to provide financial assistance to students in private rented accomodation who are unable to pay their rent as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Steve Barclay
This has been a very difficult time for students and we encourage universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure they are fair, clear and have the interests of students at heart.
We recognise that in these exceptional circumstances some students may face financial hardship. The Department for Education has worked with the Office for Students to clarify that providers are able to use existing funds, worth around £256 million for academic year 2020/21, towards hardship support. The Government has also made available a further £20m to support those that need it most, particularly disadvantaged students. The funding has been distributed to approved fee cap providers, who have flexibility in how they distribute the funding to students in a way that will best prioritise those in greatest need.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on providing a rebate to students renting private rented accommodation but not living in that accommodation as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Steve Barclay
The Chancellor of the Exchequer speaks regularly to the Secretary of State for Education on matters of shared interest.
Private accommodation providers are autonomous and are responsible for setting their own rent agreements. Whether a student is entitled to a refund or to an early release from their contract will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between them and their provider.
We recognise that in these exceptional circumstances some students may face financial hardship. Higher Education providers are able to use existing funds, worth around £256 million for academic year 2020/21, towards hardship support. The Government has also made available a further £20m to support those that need it most, particularly disadvantaged students.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the 30 October 2020 cut-off date for furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme on people who started new jobs after that date.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) was extended on 31 October. For an employee to be eligible for the extension, their employer must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee, between 20 March and 30 October 2020. The 30 October cut-off date is necessary and allows as many people as possible to be included by going right up to the day before the announcement, balancing the risk of fraud that existed as soon as the scheme became public. Extending the cut-off date further would have significantly increased the risk of abuse, because claims could not be confidently verified against the risk of fraud by using the data after this point.
The Government understands that the new restrictions are challenging for some businesses. The Chancellor has announced further support, including a new one-off grant of up to £9,000 to support businesses in England which are legally required to close. This comes in addition to the existing monthly grants for closed businesses of up to £3,000 per month. Local authorities will also receive an additional £500m, to a total of £1.6bn, of discretionary funding to allow them to support their local businesses.
The CJRS is not the only support available for employees. The Government has boosted the generosity of the welfare system by £7.4bn in 2020-21 including through a temporary £20 a week increase in the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Government support provided to businesses through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, what assessment the Government had made of the potential merits of making provision of that support conditional on companies avoiding initiating redundancy proceedings for the duration of their receipt of that support.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The scheme has been successful in supporting employers whose operations have been severely affected by coronavirus in retaining their employees.
Where a business considers that redundancy is the only option, the business must still follow rules which include giving a notice period and consulting staff before a final decision is reached. Any redundancy process should be fair and reasonable, with appropriate equalities considerations.
To support employees the Government has announced a far-reaching package of support to help individuals through the coronavirus pandemic, including a half-billion pound boost to the welfare system.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the provision of loans to airlines by the Government's Covid Corporate Financing Facility, what accountability measures (a) his Department and (b) the Bank of England have (i) in place and (ii) planned for to ensure that those loans are spent on (A) suitable and (B) approved business costs and liabilities.
Answered by John Glen
The Covid Corporate Financing Facility is designed to support companies who would ordinarily seek market-based finance to strengthen working capital, but find themselves struggling to access financial markets in this uncertain operating environment. It primarily provides bridging support to see through the temporary nature of Covid-19 related disruption, by catalyzing the market for short term corporate funding.
Since 19 May the Government has imposed restraints on capital distributions (including dividends and share buybacks), as well as senior pay, on companies accessing the CCFF. Firms must provide a letter of commitment to these constraints to HMT, which HMT reserves the right to publish if it becomes aware the terms of the letter have not been complied with.
In order to ensure support can be provided quickly, and in a broad-based manner, those are the only conditions imposed on participating firms at this time. Firms must meet strict criteria to access the CCFF so that the Government is confident the funds will be repaid.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the provision of loans to businesses by the Government's Covid Corporate Financing Facility, whether information on the items of expenditure that businesses require those loans for will be (a) published (i) directly, (ii) in an anonymised and (iii) in a summarised form or (b) provided upon request in an anonymised form under Freedom of Information legislation.
Answered by John Glen
The Covid Corporate Financing Facility is designed to support companies who would ordinarily seek market-based finance to strengthen working capital, but find themselves struggling to access financial markets in this uncertain operating environment. It primarily provides bridging support to see through the temporary nature of Covid-19 related disruption, by catalyzing the market for short term corporate funding.
Since 19 May the Government has imposed restraints on capital distributions (including dividends and share buybacks), as well as senior pay, on companies accessing the CCFF. Firms must provide a letter of commitment to these constraints to HMT, which HMT reserves the right to publish if it becomes aware the terms of the letter have not been complied with.
In order to ensure support can be provided quickly, and in a broad-based manner, those are the only conditions imposed on participating firms at this time. Firms must meet strict criteria to access the CCFF so that the Government is confident the funds will be repaid.