Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) feasibility and (b) potential merits of extending the retail, hospitality and leisure business rates relief scheme beyond 31 March 2024 for businesses in business improvement districts.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The 2023-2024 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) Business Rates Relief scheme provides eligible, occupied, retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a 75 per cent relief, up to a cash cap limit of £110,000 per business. This was an expansion from the 50 per cent rate in 2022-2023. Currently, around 230,000 properties are eligible for this relief, representing a tax cut worth over £2 billion.
Businesses may also benefit from other business rates measures, including the multiplier freeze, and the Supporting Small Business scheme, which caps bill increases at £600 per year for businesses losing some or all of their eligibility for Small Business or Rural Rate Relief due to the recent revaluation.
Any future announcements regarding business rates relief will be made at a fiscal event.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help banks and payment service providers to easily (a) identify and (b) prevent romance scams.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government takes the issue of authorised push payment (APP) fraud, of which romance fraud is one form, very seriously, and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime. Working alongside the regulators, law enforcement, and industry, the Government continues to support numerous fraud-prevention initiatives, including the Payments Systems Regulator’s work to enhance information sharing between payment providers.
Information sharing between firms plays a key role in identifying scammers and preventing scams. As noted in the Home Office’s recent Fraud Strategy, the Government, regulators and industry are working together to identify opportunities for greater information sharing to better tackle fraud ‘up stream’. The PSR has set up an industry working group, including Pay.UK and UK Finance, to agree what data could be shared.
In order to prevent APP fraud, HM Treasury is investigating amending legislation to enable payment service providers such as banks to delay payments beyond the existing legislative timescales in limited, high-risk fraud scenarios. This will allow enhanced customer engagement to take place. This could enable firms to take more of a ‘risk-based’ approach to payments processing.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there is a time limit on HMRC's pursuit of outstanding monies owed under the loan charge.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Where a taxpayer cannot pay their liability in full, HMRC’s priority is to agree a manageable and sustainable Time to Pay instalment arrangement with any taxpayer who engages with them to seek a resolution. There is no maximum repayment period, and these arrangements are flexible and can be updated if the taxpayer’s circumstances change.
In the small number of cases where the taxpayer has insufficient disposable income to agree a Time to Pay arrangement, HMRC will pause debt collection activity. HMRC will inform the taxpayer and aim to review each case every six to twelve months to see if the taxpayer’s circumstances have materially changed.
Where a taxpayer’s circumstances materially change, HMRC will restart debt collection activity even if a number of years have passed, because there is no statute of limitations on tax debts. This ensures the tax system is fair to all taxpayers who pay what they owe when they have the ability to do so.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much Social Investment Tax Relief was claimed by investors of Social Impact Bonds in each successive tax year since that relief was introduced.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The information is not available as investors claiming Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) are not required to inform HMRC whether they have invested in Social Impact Bonds. HMRC publishes National Statistics annually which break down total investment into SITR companies by tax year, as shown below.
Tax Year | Amount raised by SITR enterprises (£ million) |
2014-15 | 0.5 |
2015-16 | 2.3 |
2016-17 | 2.5 |
2017-18 | 2.5 |
2018-19 [p] | 4.7 |
2019-20 [p] | 3.3 |
Total | 15.8 |
HMRC’s National Statistics on SITR can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/enterprise-investment-scheme-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-and-social-investment-tax-relief-may-2021
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimates she has made of the total value of UK inhaler exports to the rest of the world.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website: www.uktradeinfo.com. From this website, it is possible to build data tables based upon bespoke search criteria: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/ots-custom-table/
The Tariff Classification of inhalers differs dependent upon whether medication is dispensed from them and, if so, what type of medicine. Consequently, published statistics applicable to empty inhalers, and medicinal inhalers at an aggregated level, within Harmonised System code 3004, have been provided.
The total value of UK inhaler exports to the rest of the world can be found in the table below:
Table 1: Total Non-EU export Trade Value (£), for calendar years 2019 - 21 | |||
Commodities | 2019 | 2020 | Jan-Sep 2021 |
All commodities under HS4 3004 - |
|
|
|
Medicaments consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic use, put up in measured doses “incl. those for transdermal administration” or forms or packings for retail sale (excl. goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006) | 7,401,780,279 | 7,517,387,269 | 5,261,039,814 |
HS4 9019, CN8s: 90192000 & 90192090 - Mechano-therapy appliances; massage apparatus; psychological aptitude-testing apparatus; ozone therapy, oxygen therapy, aerosol therapy, artificial respiration or other therapeutic respiration apparatus | 46,136,530 | 73,847,317 | 62,942,879 |
|
|
|
|
Total | 7,447,916,809 | 7,591,234,586 | 5,323,982,693 |
Data source: Overseas Trade Statistics | |||
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 September 2021 to Question 52624 on the probate limit, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the probate limit of premium bonds.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As required by legislation governing NS&I, NS&I will request a Grant of Probate for any holding over £5,000. Making payment without probate comes with some risk, as there could be a subsequent successful claim on the deceased’s estate. The cost of having to pay out against a second claim would be borne by the taxpayer.
The Government will keep under review the effect of increasing the probate limit that applies to customer holdings in National Savings and Investments (NS&I).
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of further increasing the probate limit.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government has made no recent assessment in relation to the effect of increasing the probate limit. In most circumstances the provision of a bank’s services, including the administration around bereavement, are a commercial decision for the bank. The Government does not intervene in these decisions.
The treatment of customers by UK banks and building societies which are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is governed by its Principles of Business. This includes a general requirement for firms to provide a prompt, efficient and fair service to all their customers, including those who have recently suffered a bereavement. The FCA does not have specific rules or guidance regarding probate in its rules. However, all firms regulated by the FCA are bound by its Principles which apply to the way banks and building societies conduct themselves. This includes how they handle probate.
The main current account providers also publish information about the additional services they offer consumers, including information on the bereavement services they offer. More information can be found on the FCA website: https://www.fca.org.uk/data/mandated-voluntary-information-current-account-services/providers-links#voluntary
The Government remains supportive of previous industry efforts to improve handling of these sensitive cases, including the implementation of the British Bankers’ Association’s (now known as UK Finance) Bereavement Principles. These Principles include a commitment from firms to provide support to meet individuals’ needs throughout the bereavement process and to work to resolve everything as quickly and simply as possible.