Asked by: Huw Merriman (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to (a) reduce or (a) zero rate VAT charges applied to the costs of onsite staff of sheltered housing schemes for older people where those staff are supplied by property management companies.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Although the supply of staff is generally standard rated, in order to keep costs down for older people, the supply of sheltered housing schemes is exempt from VAT, meaning no VAT is charged to the final consumer
Going further would come at a cost to the Exchequer and must be viewed in the context of over £50 billion of relief requests from VAT since the EU referendum. VAT makes a significant contribution to the public finances, raising about £130 billion in 2019/20, and helps to fund key spending priorities including on health, schools, and defence. Given this, there are no current plans to change the VAT treatment of supplies of staff.
Asked by: Huw Merriman (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the potential effect of the take-up of zero emission vehicles on receipts to the Exchequer from fuel duty in (a) 2025, (b) 2030, (c) 2040 and (d) 2050.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
The Government is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the transition towards electric vehicles and the phase out of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will make a vital contribution to this.
The interim Net Zero Review report in December last year highlighted that structural changes in the economy related to net zero will have fiscal implications. Much of the revenue from fossil fuel-based taxes is likely to be eroded during the transition to a net zero economy. However, there is currently a high level of uncertainty regarding the effect on receipts.
As we move forward with this transition, the Government will need to ensure that revenue from motoring taxes keeps pace with this change, so that the Government can continue to fund the first-class public services and infrastructure that people and families across the UK expect.
Asked by: Huw Merriman (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to clauses 2.1 and 2.2 of the amendments to the Treasury Direction to the Jobs Retention Scheme, published on 25 June 2020, whether employers are prohibited from using grants from the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme for employees placed on redundancy notice periods; and whether those grants must be repaid by employers if used during this period.
Answered by Jesse Norman - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
The CJRS is designed to protect jobs and to keep people in employment. Where employers must make redundancies, they should do so in accordance with the normal rules and with contractual obligations. This includes giving a notice period and consulting staff before a final decision is reached.
Employers may continue to claim under the scheme for a furloughed employee who is serving a statutory notice period subject to eligibility based on contact of employment.