Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential impact of applying VAT to private school fees on local sports clubs.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education, which is why we have made the tough decision to end tax breaks for private schools. This will raise revenue for essential public services, including investing in the state education system
This VAT change will not impact pupils with most acute additional needs where these can only be met in private schools, as determined by an Education and Health Care Plan in England, and equivalent processes in other nations.
Where pupils are placed in a private school because their needs cannot be met in the state sector, and they have their places funded by their Local Authority, the Local Authority will be able to reclaim the VAT they incur on these pupils’ fees. In Northern Ireland, it will be the Education Authority who fund placements in private schools and will be able to reclaim the VAT in this way.
The government will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the impacts of the changes, including the equalities impacts, alongside the Finance Bill.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in its assessment of mortgage mis-selling complaints.
Answered by Bim Afolami
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme may be able to pay compensation to customers who have lost money as a result of bad mortgage advice or been mis-sold mortgage endowments. The FSCS can only pay compensation if the firm, broker, or advisor that the customer dealt with was regulated and has failed. Any complaints about live regulated firms should be addressed to the Financial Ombudsman Service. For mortgage claims, the FSCS carries out its compensation function within rules set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but is operationally independent of them. The FSCS publishes an annual report and levy class statements, including for the home finance intermediation levy class. The FSCS’s certified accounts and audit report are provided to HM Treasury each year, and copies are laid before Parliament.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of appeals to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme have resulted in an over-turned decision.
Answered by Bim Afolami
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK’s compensation scheme of last resort and pays compensation to consumers when authorised financial firms fail. If a claimant is unhappy with the FSCS’s decision on their claim, they can launch an appeal which will be reviewed by someone independent of the original decision. The FSCS operates a 2-stage internal appeal process. In the financial year 2022-2023, the FSCS made just under 97,000 claims decisions, and 1,695 customers asked the FSCS to review its decisions. The FSCS does not publish data on the proportion of appeals that are upheld or rejected at each stage. Customers who are unhappy at the end of the FSCS’s internal appeal process have the option of seeking a Judicial Review of the FSCS’s decision on their claim.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of deferring eligibility for Agricultural Property Relief for all environmental land management schemes on the estates of (a) landowners and (b) farmers who will die prior to 6 April 2025.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Spring Budget 2024 announced that the government will introduce legislation to extend the existing scope of agricultural property relief from 6 April 2025 to land managed under an environmental agreement with, or on behalf of, the UK government, Devolved Administrations, public bodies, local authorities, or approved responsible bodies.
The date of implementation is consistent with the normal tax-policy making process and with previous changes to the inheritance tax system.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Basis Period Reform on the availability of accounting resources for (a) sole traders and (b) partnerships.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Basis period reform is an important simplification to the tax system. The government introduced this reform in Finance Act 2022 to create a simpler, fairer, and more transparent set of rules for the allocation of self-employment and partnership income to tax years.
The reform simplifies tax computations for businesses, making it easier to complete self assessment tax returns and reducing administrative burdens. Basis period reform has no effect on the availability of accounting resources for the self-employed or partnerships.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the value attributed to a prevented fatality in his Department's Green Book.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The Government uses a common value for the Value of a Prevented Fatality (VPF). The monetary valuation of VPF can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tag-data-book.
It is uprated annually in line with inflation and real income growth. It is reviewed by HM Treasury on an ongoing basis and updated when new evidence becomes available.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the planned cessation of the Household Support Fund on the financial status of councils.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
No decisions have been taken on the Household Support Fund (HSF)
The Government has provided £842m to Local Authorities in England to deliver the HSF in England over 2023-24, and provided over £2 billion for the HSF since October 2021. This is additional funding given to Local Authorities which has been ringfenced to support households in need with the cost of essentials, such as food or energy and water bills.
The Government continues to keep all of its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend social investment tax relief beyond 31 March 2023.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As the Chancellor announced in his Spring Budget, the Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) will be allowed to expire in April 2023. New investments made on or after 6 April 2023 will no longer qualify for income and capital gains tax relief.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people claim the Blind Person’s Allowance as of 7 November 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Latest published projections estimate that there were 36,900 claimants of Blind Person’s Allowance in 2021-22.
For more information, please refer to the annual ‘Estimated cost of non-structural tax reliefs’ publication, last published in December 2021. The most relevant information has been extracted into the table below.
These estimates are based on the 2018-19 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2021 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Name | Tax Type | Description | 2021-22 cost | 2021-22 no. of claimants |
Blind Person’s Allowance | Income tax | For income tax purposes, people certified blind and on a local authority register of blind persons (where different rules apply for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) can claim an additional personal allowance. | £20 million | 36,900 |
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure individuals with dyslexia and other disabilities are not disqualified from obtaining insurance.
Answered by John Glen
It is a priority for the Government that everyone has access to suitable and affordable financial products and services.
Insurers must abide by the Equality Act 2010 and are also required by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to treat customers fairly. The FCA is responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry, including insurers.
In addition, from April 2021, the FCA requires all firms offering retail travel insurance to signpost consumers to a directory of specialist providers if they are declined cover, offered cover with an exclusion, or charged a significantly higher premium based on their serious pre-existing medical condition.