Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which Departments received funding from revenues from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy during Spending Review 2020.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Soft Drinks Industry Levy is not linked to any specific programmes, or departmental spending. Departmental spend for children’s food and to promote children’s health is allocated through Spending Reviews. This provides departments with certainty over their programme budgets, as tax revenues vary year-to-year.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the expected (a) turnaround time and (b) service level is for recipients of child benefit who are pursuing outstanding claims and queries; and whether those (i) turnaround times and (ii) service levels have been met over the last two years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC aim to process new claims and changes of circumstances from UK Child Benefit and tax credit customers in 22 days. For international customers HMRC aim to process new claims and changes of circumstances in 92 days. For other priority post items HMRC aim to deal with those queries in 15 days. Those targets have been met in each of the last two years.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue has been raised by the Soft Drinks Industrial Levy in each year since its inception; and how much of that revenue has been spent in each year.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
HM Revenue and Custom’s January 2021 publication of tax receipts shows that, since its introduction in April 2018, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) has raised the following amounts during each full financial year:
2018-2019 £240 million
2019-2020 £337 million
The provisional 2020-21 year to date (April to December 2020) total is £224 million.
There is no formal link between SDIL revenues and specific spending programmes. However, the Government will continue to invest in supporting public health.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department is taking to support small business owners who have had their NatWest bank accounts suspended or closed after applying for the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government launched the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) to support businesses’ access to finance during the pandemic. As of 24 January, the scheme has supported more than 87,000 businesses access more than £20bn of finance.
Decisions about what products are offered to individual businesses, including business bank accounts, remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies, it would therefore be inappropriate for the Government to intervene in these individual decisions.
There is no requirement in the scheme rules for an applicant to have a business bank account with the lender they apply with. The Government believes any dispute arising between banks and their customers is best resolved by the parties involved. Should individuals be unsatisfied with their bank's response to their complaint, they may wish to consider an approach to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) who provide a free, independent dispute resolution service for bank customers, including eligible small businesses.
Currently there are over 100 accredited lenders offering CBILS, and individuals may wish to consider approaching one of these various lenders to access support.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the VAT reduction to five per cent was not granted to amusement arcades.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July to support the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and protect 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and will run until 31 March 2021.
Hospitality for the purposes of this relief includes the supply of food and non-alcoholic beverages from restaurants, cafes, pubs and similar establishments for consumption on the premises. It also includes the supply of hot food and non-alcoholic hot beverages to take away. Where an amusement arcade provides such hospitality, that hospitality will benefit from the reduced rate.
While the Government keeps all taxes under review, this relief comes at a significant cost to the Exchequer, and there are currently no plans to extend the scope of the reduced rate. This policy will cost over £2 billion, and while some businesses in some sectors are disappointed, a boundary for eligibility had to be drawn.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative estimate he has made of how much money was in dormant assets on (a) 1 January 2020 and (b) 17 November 2020; and what the budgetary headings are for how those funds have been spent.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government does not currently have estimates for the increase in dormant assets money over the period set out in this question. We have been working with industry stakeholders to estimate the value of dormant assets in the insurance and pensions, investment and wealth management, and securities sectors, and will be publishing our findings in due course.
The distribution of dormant accounts money is governed by the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008. The Act dictates that all dormant accounts money must be used to fund initiatives that have a social or environmental purpose, with a specific focus on youth, financial inclusion and social investment in England. Since 2011, over £745m has been released for such initiatives across the UK through The National Lottery Community Fund.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2020 to Question 71066 on Life Insurance: Mental Illness, what steps his Department is taking to encourage insurance companies to take into consideration the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on people who have taken their own lives when processing life insurance claims.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector regarding its response to this unprecedented situation.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and 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 working closely with the FCA to ensure that the rules are being upheld and supports the regulator in its role.
In July 2020, the FCA launched further consultation on updated guidance for firms on the treatment of vulnerable consumers. This guidance also takes into consideration the impact of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the vulnerability of consumers. The FCA expects to finalise this guidance by early 2021.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Prudential Regulatory Authority on the provision of life insurance for people with diagnosed mental health conditions.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is determined that all insurers should treat customers fairly.
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is responsible for the prudential regulation (the amount of capital that must be held) of a number of financial service providers, including insurers, while the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) sets the conduct standards required of insurance firms in relation to their business. The FCA requires firms dealing with all customers, including those with mental health issues and other vulnerabilities, to act honestly, fairly and professionally in accordance with their customers' best interests; to pay due regard to the interests of their customers and treat them fairly; and communicate information to them in a way which is clear, fair and not misleading.
Where the FCA becomes aware that firms are treating customers, including customers with vulnerabilities such as mental health issues, unfairly, they will consider this on a case-by-case basis and use the full range of regulatory and supervisory powers to put things right.
The FCA has placed access and vulnerability at the core of its Mission and Business Plan. In July 2019, the FCA launched a consultation on guidance for firms on the treatment of vulnerable consumers, including those with mental health conditions. The FCA planned to issue a further consultation on the Guidance in early 2020, but this was postponed due to the Covid 19 pandemic. It will now be published later this year.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of employees that are eligible for furlough that have been made unemployed.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has so far protected over 7.5 million workers and almost 1 million businesses. While there is no obligation for employers to take up the scheme, the Government encourages all firms affected by coronavirus to treat their employees fairly and carefully.
The Government is also supporting people on low incomes who may need to rely on the welfare system through a significant package of temporary measures. These include a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element, and a nearly £1bn increase in support for renters through increases to the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants.?These changes will benefit all new and existing claimants. Anyone can check their eligibility and apply for Universal Credit by visiting?https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether respite and day carers for children and adults that are unable to work as a result of the covid-19 outbreak are eligible for financial support from the Government.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Individuals who are unable to work as a result of COVID-19 may have access to support through either the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) or the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
To be eligible for the CJRS, employees must have been on their employer’s PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 and HMRC must have received an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before 19 March 2020. Eligible employees can be on any type of employment contract, including full-time, part-time, agency, fixed-term, flexible or zero hour contracts.
The SEISS will allow eligible individuals to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months, and capped at £7,500 in total. Self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships, are eligible if they have submitted their Income Tax Self-Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19, continued to trade, and have been adversely affected by COVID-19. To qualify, their self-employed trading profits must be less than £50,000, with more than half of their income deriving from self-employment. Some 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment could benefit from this scheme, based on 2017-18 data.
Those not eligible for these schemes may have access to other support Government is providing, including a package of temporary welfare measures and up to three months’ mortgage payment holidays for those in difficulty with mortgage payments.