Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to review Public Works Loan Board rates offered to councils.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The PWLB lending facility exists to provide cost effective loans to local authorities to support investments and service delivery. HMT keeps all PWLB rates under review, including the discounted rate for investment in social housing which we extended in Autumn Budget to the end of 2025-26 to give LAs certainty with their capital plans for the year ahead.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 5.52 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to inheritance tax on Death in Service awards for surviving spouses of military personnel.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included within the value of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027.
Transfers to spouses and civil partners are exempt from inheritance tax. This means death benefits paid to spouses or civil partners are unaffected.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, HC 295, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of the increase to employer's national insurance contributions on the Ministry of Defence.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government will be supporting departments with the cost of additional employer national insurance contributions. This is in line with the Government’s usual approach to supporting the public sector, as was the case with the previous government’s Health and Social Care Levy. The allocation for the Ministry of Defence, along with all other departments, will be set out in due course.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Fixing the foundations: public spending audit 2024-25, updated on 2 August 2024, whether the results of the Spending Review will be announced at a future fiscal event.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The results of ‘Phase 1’ of the Spending Review, announced in July, were laid with the Autumn Budget on 30 October. 'Phase 1’ covers the financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26. The Budget fixed the envelope for ‘Phase 2’ of the Spending Review, which will conclude in late spring 2025.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the £2.26bn loan for Ukraine will be included in the GDP figure for defence expenditure.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The UK’s contribution to the ERA will be provided to the Government of Ukraine as a loan from the UK Government, for them to spend on military procurement. Because it is not direct UK defence spending, HMG’s assessment is the £2.26bn ERA loan will therefore not count as NATO qualifying UK defence spending.
It will be in addition to current NATO qualifying UK defence spending.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Oral Statement of 22 October 2024 on Ukraine, Official Report, columns 183-4, whether she has had discussions with her Ukrainian counterpart on the proportion of the £2.26 billion loan to Ukraine that will be spent on the UK defence industry.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
With regard to the UK’s disbursement of its £2.26bn contribution to the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration scheme, the loan agreement and full terms remain in discussion and no decision has yet been made on what Ukraine will buy using this money. The UK intends to begin disbursing this money from early next year.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will hold discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on trends in the level of insurance premium increases for people involved in a motor insurance claim.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Treasury Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors on an ongoing basis.
The Government is determined that insurers should treat all customers fairly and insurance companies are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) rules.
The FCA is an independent body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry across the United Kingdom and has robust powers to act against firms that fail to comply with its rules. The FCA monitors firms to make sure they provide products that are fair value, and, where necessary, it will take action.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had recent discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on the regulation of the car insurance sector.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Treasury Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors on an ongoing basis.
The Government is determined that insurers should treat all customers fairly and insurance companies are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) rules.
The FCA is an independent body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry across the United Kingdom and has robust powers to act against firms that fail to comply with its rules. The FCA monitors firms to make sure they provide products that are fair value, and, where necessary, it will take action.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the sanction compliance of LetterOne’s recent acquisition of a 15 per cent stake in Harbour Energy.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK’s financial sanctions regime is overseen by HM Treasury’s Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI). OFSI’s position regarding the ownership and control status of LetterOne is that the entity is not subject to UK financial sanctions.
In relation to wider control of Harbour Energy, following consideration under the National Security and Investment Act 2021, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster allowed the proposed acquisition of 46.5% of Harbour Energy Plc by BASF Handels- und Export GmbH to proceed, subject to necessary and proportionate measures to address national security concerns. Details can be found in the Final Order published by the Cabinet Office on 30th July on gov.uk. The Government cannot comment on detail of national security assessments.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the average annual cost per school of abolishing business rates relief for fee-paying schools.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced on 29 July 2024, the government will legislate to remove the eligibility of private schools in England to business rates charitable rates relief. The Government will confirm the introduction of these tax policy changes at Budget, at which point the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will certify the Government’s costings for these measures. The revenue raised will help to deliver the Government’s commitments relating to education and young people.