Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps (a) his Department and (b) other Government bodies are taking to monitor the contract with Bounty Joy Ltd; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC does not have a direct contract with Bounty Joy Limited, they are a sub-contractor of HMRC’s print provider Communisis. As such, there are no contract terms to monitor.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what changes were made to the Child Benefit Claim Form (CH2) in April 2021; and for what reason those changes were made.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Changes were made to the Child Benefit Claim Form (CH2) in April 2021 to align wording across different versions of the form in response to user feedback from GOV.UK and to ensure consistency of language throughout the CH2. These changes included minor adjustments to drafting to aid clarity and formatting changes to align with other versions of the form.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when Bounty Joy Ltd secured the contract to give out child benefit forms to women in maternity wards; how long that contract lasts for; and how much Bounty Joy Ltd receives from (a) his Department, (b) any other Government department and (c) NHS Trusts; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Simon Clarke
HMRC does not have a direct contract with Bounty Joy Limited, however they are a sub-contractor of HMRC’s print provider Communisis. As such, Bounty Joy Limited do not receive any direct payment from HMRC.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department first became aware that Bounty Joy Ltd were not providing information to women they were contacting who had recently given birth on the possible loss of some pension rights in the event that those women did not apply for child benefit; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Simon Clarke
HMRC do not have a direct contract with Bounty Joy Ltd.
HMRC’s Customer Communication Services Contract is with Communisis UK Ltd. Communisis have a sub-contractor relationship with Bounty Joy Ltd.
Child Benefit claim forms are included in birth packs handed out to new parents by Bounty representatives on maternity wards. Bounty representatives do not have an official role in explaining Child Benefit eligibility criteria, nor the possible implications of not submitting a claim. This information is, however, included on the front page of the Child Benefit claim form.
Although access to maternity wards for Bounty representatives has been limited throughout the pandemic, Bounty have continued to supply the packs to maternity wards as usual, to be handed to new mothers by hospital staff.
Qualifying Years for State Pension can be accrued in different ways: National Insurance (NI) contributions whilst individuals are working or self-employed; by being credited with NI credits whilst being in receipt of certain benefits (including for Child Benefit); and through making voluntary NI contributions. As an individual’s NI record can be filled in a number of ways not all individuals will require the National Insurance credits that come with Child Benefit.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department first became aware that Bounty Joy Ltd were not providing information to women they were contacting who had recently given birth on the possible loss of some pension rights in the event that those women did not apply for child benefit; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Simon Clarke
HMRC do not have a direct contract with Bounty Joy Ltd.
HMRC’s Customer Communication Services Contract is with Communisis UK Ltd. Communisis have a sub-contractor relationship with Bounty Joy Ltd.
Child Benefit claim forms are included in birth packs handed out to new parents by Bounty representatives on maternity wards. Bounty representatives do not have an official role in explaining Child Benefit eligibility criteria, nor the possible implications of not submitting a claim. This information is, however, included on the front page of the Child Benefit claim form.
Although access to maternity wards for Bounty representatives has been limited throughout the pandemic, Bounty have continued to supply the packs to maternity wards as usual, to be handed to new mothers by hospital staff.
Qualifying Years for State Pension can be accrued in different ways: National Insurance (NI) contributions whilst individuals are working or self-employed; by being credited with NI credits whilst being in receipt of certain benefits (including for Child Benefit); and through making voluntary NI contributions. As an individual’s NI record can be filled in a number of ways not all individuals will require the National Insurance credits that come with Child Benefit.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how his Department informs new mothers of their rights to claim child benefit; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Simon Clarke
Information about Child Benefit and the Child Benefit claims process is available for all new parents on GOV.UK.
Regular communications activity to encourage take-up is issued throughout the year in a variety of formats including via press release and social media posts, and by working with pregnancy and parenting organisations such as Bounty and Emma’s Diary.
In addition to monthly Child Benefit payments, these communications also reference the non-monetary benefits such as National Insurance credits – and provide information about the High Income Child Benefit Charge.
The Child Benefit claim form is included in Bounty Packs which are distributed to all new mothers on maternity wards. Although access to maternity wards for Bounty representatives has been limited throughout the pandemic, Bounty have continued to supply the packs to maternity wards as usual, to be handed to new mothers by hospital staff.
During the pandemic, communications also promoted an easement that temporarily relaxed the policy requirement for Child Benefit claimants to provide a birth registration certificate as part of their claim – as part of additional efforts to ensure new parents were able to overcome pandemic-related disruption and access the support to which they were entitled. This easement ended on 31 October 2021.
We continue to look for effective channels to reach new mothers with information about Child Benefit and the Child Benefit claims process – including via the General Register Office and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many women who have given birth have also provided personal data to Bounty Joy Ltd in each year of the Bounty Joy Ltd contract with his Department; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC does not have a direct contract with Bounty Joy Limited as they are a subcontractor of HMRC’s print provider Communisis.
However, any personal data that is completed on the Child Benefit claim form is returned directly to HMRC and would not be provided to Bounty Joy Limited.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has had any (a) financial contract and (b) meetings with (i) Clifford Chance LLP, (ii) FTI Consulting and (iii) Fenchurch Advisory Partners in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HM Treasury has contracted with Clifford Chance LLP in the last five years as follows:
Service Description | Start Date | End Date | Value |
Provision of legal services to support the issuance of UK Sovereign Sukuk | 28/10/2019 | 20/08/2024 | £1,000,000 |
Provision of legal services to support the launch of the inaugural UK Green Gilt | 03/03/2021 | 02/03/2023 | £200,000 |
Provision of legal services supporting UK engagement with the European Commission on financial services equivalence questionnaires | 04/06/2020 | 31/07/2020 | £90,000 |
Provision of legal services supporting UK engagement with the European Commission on financial services equivalence questionnaires | 09/04/2020 | 31/07/2020 | £35,000 |
Provision of additional legal resource for Treasury Legal Advisors | 01/02/2018 | 24/05/2019 | £1,000,000 |
The department has not contracted with the other named suppliers in that period.
Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ask the Financial Conduct Authority to require Liverpool Victoria to publish how much they have spent on their efforts to demutualise and sell the business to Bain Capital.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Financial Conduct Authority have advised that the costs associated with the attempted sale of LV= to Bain Capital will be disclosed as part of LV =’s 2021 Annual Report.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution of the Economic Secretary to the Treasury of 14 December 2021, Official Report column 268WH, if he will publish the correspondence from Liverpool Victoria (LV=); and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
A Freedom of Information request for this correspondence was received and the letter has now been released.