Asked by: Guto Bebb (Independent - Aberconwy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on the decision of the Financial Conduct Authority to withdraw from the Connaught Income Fund Series 1 settlement negotiations.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I was very sorry to hear about the difficulties faced by investors in the Connaught Income Fund Series 1 and hope that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are able to finalise their investigation promptly.
On 10 March, the FCA provided an update on proceedings which can be found here:
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/fca-statement-on-connaught
The FCA is operationally independent from Government and carries out its functions within the framework of statutory objectives and duties agreed by Parliament. In view of the FCA’s independence it would not be appropriate for the Treasury to comment further on this ongoing investigation.
Asked by: Guto Bebb (Independent - Aberconwy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2015 to Question 225793, for what reason the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency imposes a five per cent surcharge on people who pay by monthly direct debit, but does not do so on people who pay by annual direct debit.
Answered by Priti Patel
Motorists who buy a six month Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) licence have historically paid a ten per cent surcharge.
The Government has introduced a direct debit scheme for the payment of VED, to allow families and businesses to spread their tax payments. Under the scheme, the surcharge has been halved to five per cent when the tax is paid by six monthly and monthly instalments. The retention of a surcharge prevents a loss in VED revenue which would otherwise need to be made up elsewhere, by either increasing other taxes or reducing the Government’s investment in public services.
Asked by: Guto Bebb (Independent - Aberconwy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2015 to Question 220917 and to the Answer of 26 January 2015 to Question 221596, what the surcharge is for payment by monthly direct debit for each licence administered by his Department.
Answered by David Gauke
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Transport is responsible for administering Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) payments on behalf of HM Treasury. HM Treasury does not administer any other licences. Motorists who elect to pay VED by monthly direct debit pay a 5 per cent surcharge. The 5 per cent surcharge applies to payment of VED for cars, vans and motorcycles by monthly direct debit. No charge applies when paying by annual direct debit.
Asked by: Guto Bebb (Independent - Aberconwy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the number of workers using the Construction Industry Scheme; and whether there has been a significant variation in such numbers during the last year.
Answered by David Gauke
The latest assessment of the number of workers using the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) is 1,006,000 subcontractors. No assessment has been made of variation in numbers in the last year.
Asked by: Guto Bebb (Independent - Aberconwy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Chapter 2.147 of the Autumn Statement 2014 (a) who is handling the review on umbrella companies, (b) who is being consulted and (c) what progress has been made with the consultation to date.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and HM Treasury are handling the review on the use of overarching contracts of employment by employment intermediaries, including umbrella companies, in the temporary labour market. Officials have met with over 70 interested organisations from a number of sectors. The discussion paper closes on 10 February 2015.
Asked by: Guto Bebb (Independent - Aberconwy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department is making on preventing companies from deducting both employer and employee National Insurance contributions from their employees' pay packets.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and HM Treasury are handling the review on the use of overarching contracts of employment by employment intermediaries, including umbrella companies, in the temporary labour market. Officials have met with over 70 interested organisations from a number of sectors. The discussion paper closes on 10 February 2015.
Asked by: Guto Bebb (Independent - Aberconwy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to stop agencies using umbrella companies to manage the payroll function of companies within the construction industry.
Answered by David Gauke
Umbrella companies have been a part of the UK labour market for many years and, when operated responsibly, provide a useful conduit through which payments, including tax, can be made. As such, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are not taking steps to stop agencies using umbrella companies to manage the payroll function of companies within the construction industry.
However the Government is concerned at the growing use of overarching contracts of employment by employment intermediaries such as umbrella companies, which allow some temporary workers to benefit from tax relief for home-to-work travel expenses that is not generally available to other workers. The government published a discussion document on 16 December 2014 inviting representations from interested parties to inform potential future action
Asked by: Guto Bebb (Independent - Aberconwy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assurances he has received that agreements between the individual banks and the Financial Conduct Authority in relation to the interest rate swap redress scheme were identical.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No conversations have taken place between the Financial Conduct Authority and HM Treasury on the potential fining of the banks following the FCA redress scheme. Furthermore, HM Treasury had not had sight of the agreements held between the FCA and the individual banks. The nature of the agreements is a matter for the FCA as an independent regulator.
However, I took part in a debate on the FCA’s review scheme last month, along with my Hon. Friend, where the issue of the individual agreements was discussed. Following the debate, I wrote to the FCA to put forward my view that more transparency in this matter will help to provide greater assurance that the review has been conducted in a fully independent and impartial manner. I also encouraged the FCA to come to an agreement with the banks as soon as possible on what might be shared with the Treasury Select Committee.
Asked by: Guto Bebb (Independent - Aberconwy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the potential fining of banks following the completion of the interest rate swap redress scheme.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No conversations have taken place between the Financial Conduct Authority and HM Treasury on the potential fining of the banks following the FCA redress scheme. Furthermore, HM Treasury had not had sight of the agreements held between the FCA and the individual banks. The nature of the agreements is a matter for the FCA as an independent regulator.
However, I took part in a debate on the FCA’s review scheme last month, along with my Hon. Friend, where the issue of the individual agreements was discussed. Following the debate, I wrote to the FCA to put forward my view that more transparency in this matter will help to provide greater assurance that the review has been conducted in a fully independent and impartial manner. I also encouraged the FCA to come to an agreement with the banks as soon as possible on what might be shared with the Treasury Select Committee.
Asked by: Guto Bebb (Independent - Aberconwy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that HM Revenue and Customs' MP helplines are easily accessible for hon. Members and their staff.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs operates some dedicated MP telephone hotlines and the contact information is available on the MPs website