Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the VAT paid on second hand vehicles entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain is solely for the profit made rather than on the sale price of the vehicle after the transition period.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Northern Ireland Protocol frames the approach to VAT on goods, including the second-hand margin scheme, in Northern Ireland. As is the case for tax policy generally, the Government is keeping this under review.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) financial support to furlough staff employed by and (b) other financial support for political parties has been allocated (i) intentionally and (ii) in error during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC are not able to provide information on political parties or any other specific organisations that may have received financial support from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
This is because of HMRC’s duty of confidentiality. HMRC cannot publish identifying information that relates to their functions, which includes the CJRS, unless there is an appropriate legal basis for publication. No such legal basis was in place for the CJRS prior to 12 November 2020 when the latest CJRS Direction was signed.
In line with the published direction, as part of HMRC’s commitment to transparency and to deter fraudulent claims, HMRC will publish information about employers who claim for periods starting on or after 1 December 2020.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding has been returned to his Department from the Northern Ireland Executive in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Statement of Funding Policy sets out the amount that the Northern Ireland Executive is able to put through Budget Exchange, which allows the Executive to carry over underspends from one year to the next. A limit of 0.6% Resource DEL and 1.5% Capital DEL can be carried forward in any year. Any underspends in excess of these limits will be forfeited unless exceptionally agreed otherwise with HM Treasury.The Northern Ireland Executive publishes information on underspends in end of year accounts and underspends for the past 5 years are published here: https://www.finance-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/dfp/FOI%20DOF%202020-0091%20Response.pdf
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide additional financial support to the Northern Ireland Executive to assist local businesses affected by local lockdowns in Northern Ireland as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
On 24 July we made an unprecedented upfront guarantee to the Northern Ireland Executive. We guaranteed that they will receive at least £2.2bn in additional Resource DEL funding for this year. This gives the Northern Ireland Executive the certainty to plan and deliver their coronavirus response this year. The guaranteed funding helps to ensure people, businesses and public services in the Northern Ireland Executive are supported throughout the pandemic
On 9 October we uplifted this guarantee to £2.4bn, thereby providing an additional £200m to the Executive
This is in addition to the UK-wide measures that the people and businesses in Northern Ireland will benefit from, such as the Job Retention Scheme, Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) discussions and (b) meetings his Department has held with the Northern Ireland Executive in delivering a Free Port in the Foyle constituency.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We plan to introduce up to 10 Freeports across the UK. Freeports will unleash the potential of our ports, regenerating communities across the UK.
We are working with the Devolved Administrations, including the Northern Ireland Executive, to enable the creation of Freeports across all four nations of the UK.
Specific locations will be chosen in due course according to a fair, open and transparent allocation process.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the ability of Northern Ireland's airports to offer duty free sales after the transition period.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government continues to work through the implications of the Northern Ireland Protocol, and the unique situation in Northern Ireland that it creates for VAT and excise.
The Government is committed to providing guidance on how the NI Protocol will work, including for duty-free goods, ahead of the end of the transition period.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking with HMRC to provide financial assistance for increased utilities costs to those working from home during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Employees who have been advised to work from home during the COVID-19 outbreak are eligible to claim tax relief for the additional cost of heating and lighting the room in which they work and for the cost of business telephone calls. They can claim relief on a fixed amount of £4 per week up to 5 April 2020 and £6 per week thereafter. This increase was announced at Budget. Alternatively, employees can claim relief on the actual amounts incurred, subject to them being able to provide evidence, such as phone bills.
In addition, the Government has introduced legislation so that, where an employer encourages their staff to purchase their own home office equipment and reimburses the expense, an exemption will ensure that employees now receive the full reimbursement free from tax and Class 1 National Insurance Contributions (NICs). This is a temporary exemption which applies from 16 March 2020 until 5 April 2021. Relevant guidance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-which-expenses-are-taxable-if-your-employee-works-from-home-due-to-coronavirus-covid-19.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what additional financial support the Government plans to provide to the devolved Administrations to ensure that people on universal credit are supported when facing increasing food costs during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The UK Government’s response to Covid-19 has been UK-wide, and that is why the UK Government has so far announced almost £7 billion of funding to the devolved administrations to support people, business and public services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland This means £3.5 billion for the Scottish Government, £2.1 billion for the Welsh Government and £1.2 billion for the Northern Ireland Executive. This is in addition to the package of temporary welfare measures we have announced to support those on low incomes, including a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will lower the minimum lending criteria under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme from £10 million per lender in order to ensure credit unions are able to provide loans.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government has set out an unprecedented package of support for all businesses affected by this crisis, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS).There are currently 14 lenders offering loans under BBLS. More information on these partners can be found on the British Business Bank’s (BBB’s) website: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-schemes/bounce-back-loans/current-accredited-lenders-and-partners/.
There are currently over 60 lenders offering finance under CBILS, with 22 new lenders having been accredited since the scheme launched. The list of accredited CBILS lenders can be found on the British Business Bank’s website: https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/ourpartners/coronavirus-business-interruption-loan-scheme-cbils-2/current-accredited-lenders-and-partners/.
Any lender that wishes to become accredited under BBLS or CBILS should contact the BBB, who administer the scheme.
Asked by: Colum Eastwood (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Foyle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to enable all care providers to register as zero-rated for VAT.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Many care services provided by charities, public bodies and regulated private welfare institutions to elderly people are exempt from VAT, meaning no VAT is charged on the care service. Organisations offering such services are not required to charge VAT where they are regulated by the Care Quality Commission.
There are no plans to change the VAT treatment of care services at present.