Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Institute of Alcohol Studies' article entitled £27.4 billion cost of alcohol harm in England every year, published on 20 May 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Following the recent alcohol duty reforms, all alcoholic products are now taxed by strength. This reflects public health priorities and helps to address potentially harmful products like ‘white’ ciders and strong fortified wines, which are often cited by health groups as being abused.
The Chancellor has confirmed that she will set out plans for tax – as well as spending and borrowing – in the usual way at the Budget on 30 October.
HM Treasury welcomes representations as part of this policy making process and Budget submissions will be received through the online portal until 10 September.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria she plans to use to identify potential locations for new banking hubs.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of banking to communities and high streets. The Government has therefore committed to work closely with banks to roll out at least 350 banking hubs, which provide individuals and businesses up and down the country with critical cash and banking services.
Currently, when a branch closes or a community makes a request, LINK (the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network) is responsible for assessing whether a banking hub would be a suitable recommendation for a community. The criteria that LINK uses to assess the needs of a local community can be found on LINK’s website.
In December last year, the Financial Conduct Authority consulted on its regulatory approach to access to cash, including the criteria it proposes designated entities should use when assessing the needs of local communities. This can be found here. The FCA intends to publish its final rules in the third quarter of this year.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department plans to take to support co-operatives.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important contribution that co-operatives make to the economy, serving local communities around the UK and ensuring the UK has a diverse business sector with their model of shared ownership. Co-operatives, alongside other mutuals in the UK, had combined annual revenues of £87.9 billion in 2022, equating to 3.5% of UK GDP.
The Government is committed to supporting the UK’s co-operative and mutuals sector and will be working closely with the sector to address any barriers that it currently faces.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Money and Health Policy Institute report entitled Debts and Despair, published in December 2023, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of instructing the Financial Conduct Authority to place limits on how often creditors can contact people in debt.
Answered by Bim Afolami
The Government wants to see fair treatment of individuals in problem debt, and there is a range of work underway across government and regulators to promote responsible debt collection practices.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new Consumer Duty aims to ensure firms provide a higher standard of care to their customers. This includes that firms take reasonable steps to contact customers at a suitable time, taking individual needs into account.
The Government and the FCA will continue to work closely together to ensure consumer protections are fit for purpose, including through the upcoming reform of the Consumer Credit Act.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the recommendations of Debt Justice's Together Against Debt Manifesto, published in March 2024.
Answered by Bim Afolami
The Government is committed to supporting people in problem debt. This is why at Spring Budget 2024 the Chancellor announced changes to make it easier to access a Debt Relief Order (DRO) in England and Wales.
In May 2021, the Government launched the Breathing Space scheme, providing a period of protections from creditor enforcement action for individuals in problem debt. The Government Debt Management Function (GDMF) have also recently developed and published a toolkit to help public sector creditors identity and support vulnerable individuals.
The Government provides a range of debt advice services through the Money and Pensions Service to meet the needs of individuals in problem debt, including national and community-based services.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the temporary easement for wine products will end on 1 February 2025.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Exchequer Secretary (Treasury)
As part of the new alcohol duty system, the Government introduced the temporary wine easement. During this period, all wine between 11.5-14.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) will pay duty as if it were 12.5% ABV. The temporary wine easement will last until 1 February 2025, giving the wine industry over two years to adapt to the new system.
The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the recent reforms and will evaluate the impact of the new rates and structures three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023. This will allow time to understand the impacts on the alcohol market, and for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data with which to evaluate the effects of the reform.
As with all taxes, the Government keeps the alcohol duty system under review during its yearly Budget process.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to improve the regulation of debt collection practices.
Answered by Bim Afolami
The Government wants to see fair treatment of individuals in problem debt, and there is a range of work underway across government and regulators to promote responsible debt collection practices.
In June 2023 the FCA, Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom published a joint letter via the UK Regulators’ Network (UKRN) setting out how firms in their respective sectors should support customers in financial difficulty. On 18 March 2024, the same group of regulators issued further guidance, setting out their shared expectations on firms’ debt collection practices. This is to ensure that firms support customers in debt and that firms’ collection practices are not causing harm to customers.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to increase the regulation digital buy-now pay-later products.
Answered by Bim Afolami
The Government is committed to regulating Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL).The Government will publish a response to the consultation, which will set out next steps, in due course.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has conducted recent distributional analysis of the impact of inflation on people in different income brackets.
Answered by Bim Afolami
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish experimental statistics which show the inflation experienced by households across the income distribution:
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by CAGE entitled Who would be affected by Capital Gains Tax reform, published in February 2024.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
Substantial reforms to CGT rates and allowances would involve a number of wider policy trade-offs and so careful thought must be given to the impact that they would have on taxpayers, as well as any additional administrative burden on HMRC.
The Government will continue to keep the tax system under review.