Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to return the official development assistance budget to 0.7 per cent of GNI; and what the fiscal criteria are for that return.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government intends to return to the 0.7% target when the fiscal situation allows. We cannot at this moment predict with certainty when the current fiscal circumstances will have sufficiently improved.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for (a) the live events sector and (b) other industries that are unable to re-open until Spring 2021 as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has said there will be no further extensions or changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). After eight months of the CJRS, the scheme will close at the end of October.
The introduction of flexible furloughing further ensures that firms can adjust how they furlough to match their speed of reopening. Firms will be able to claim under the CJRS until October flexibly.
It would be challenging to target the CJRS to specific sectors in a fair and deliverable way, and it may not be the case that this is the most effective or sensible way to provide longer term support for those sectors who may not yet be reopening.
The Government will continue to engage with businesses and sectors with the aim of ensuring that support provided is right for those sectors and for the economy as a whole.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether caterers providing food for (a) wedding breakfasts and (b) similar events are eligible for the VAT cut announced on 8 July 2020 on eat-in or hot takeaway food from restaurants, cafes and pubs as the covid-19 restrictions are eased.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Catering for events and functions provided on the catering supplier’s premises are covered by the new reduced rate, with the exclusion of alcoholic beverages. This is set out in the catering, takeaway food guidance (VAT Notice 709/1) published on GOV.UK.
Further detail about the application of the new reduced rate can be found in the Revenue and Customs guidance on the temporary reduced rate of VAT for hospitality, holiday accommodation and attractions, also published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend financial support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to people with blood cancer who (a) have been shielding but cannot work from home or (b) have been advised to continue shielding from August.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government recognises that COVID-19 has posed significant challenges for those suffering with cancer.
The Government has put in place unprecedented levels of income support to help people deal with the financial consequences of COVID-19. This does not just include the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, but also the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, changes to Statutory Sick Pay, and the £9.3bn which the OBR estimates that the Government has injected into the welfare system.
The Chancellor announced on 12 May that the CJRS scheme will be extended until October. Before 30 June, any employee could be furloughed, including those suffering from cancer. From 1 July, an employee can only continue to be furloughed if they have previously been furloughed for at least 3 consecutive weeks taking place any time between 1 March 2020 and 30 June.
For those required to shield after 1 August, they will receive a letter or notification advising them of this, and they will continue to be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay on the basis of their shielding status.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to allow the incremental introduction of VAT for small businesses.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The UK currently has the highest VAT registration threshold in Europe. At Budget 2016, the VAT registration threshold was increased to £83,000. This means that businesses with a turnover of £83,000 and below do not have to register for VAT.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to increase the housing supply for those with social care needs.
Answered by David Gauke
Supported housing provides valuable support to some of our country’s most vulnerable people, including those with social care needs.
The Government is committed to protecting and increasing the supply of supported housing. At Spending Review the Government announced £400 million of funding to deliver 8,000 new specialist affordable homes for the vulnerable, elderly or those with disabilities through the Affordable Homes Programme. In addition, 6,000 more specialised homes are also being funded through the Department of Health’s Care and Support Specialised Housing (CASSH) fund.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to build up UK digital infrastructure in rural areas.
Answered by David Gauke
The government is taking a range of steps to provide rural areas with the digital infrastructure they need. The £1.7bn superfast broadband programme, will deliver at least 24 Mbps speeds to 95% of premises by the end of 2017. Autumn Statement 2016 announced further investment of over £1 billion in 5G and full-fibre networks, working in partnership with local areas to extend full-fibre coverage across the UK, following consultation. The government is also legislating for a new broadband Universal Service Obligation, giving people a legal right to request fast broadband services of at least 10mbps, wherever they live, and is investing up to £600 million to release more spectrum capacity to enable industry to continue to meet regulatory obligations for mobile communications premises coverage of 98% and geographic coverage of 90%.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal support his Department is giving to infrastructure initiatives in East Suffolk.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has committed to invest £100bn in infrastructure over the course of this Parliament. There are 31 projects and programmes in the East of England in the National Infrastructure Pipeline, which include the energy, transport and waste sectors. The Pipeline is a strategic overview of the level of public and private infrastructure investment planned over the rest of this decade and beyond. These projects and programmes have a total capital value of more than £6 billion, of which more than £2.5 billion is public spending.
Asked by: Dan Poulter (Labour - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal incentives his Department plans to put in place to stimulate growth in the science and technology industry to support British agriculture.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government recognises the importance of science investment in boosting agricultural productivity and growth, which in turn affects competitiveness and real food prices. For firms undertaking research and development (R&D), the Government already has R&D tax credits in place to incentivise this investment. In 2012/13 R&D tax credits provided support to over 15,000 companies, supporting around £13.2bn of innovative investment.
Alongside this, the Government’s Agri-Tech Strategy (published July 2013) aims to make the UK a world leader in agricultural technology, innovation and sustainability. This includes allocation of over £320m to further build the pipeline of innovation from the laboratory to the farm; including £70m to support commercialisation projects through the Agri-Tech Catalyst, which the Government continues to invite bids for.
The Government also announced a further £400m Research Partnership Investment Fund competition at Budget 2015.