Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to work with his international counterparts to investigate companies and agents who were promoting loan charge schemes.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The UK has one of the world’s largest networks of tax treaties and exchange agreements which HMRC regularly utilise to exchange information with other countries’ tax authorities. This includes asking, where appropriate, for information that will assist investigations into tax avoidance schemes including those caught by the loan charge and the companies and agents who promote these schemes.
The UK via HMRC is also a leading member of the Joint International Taskforce on Shared Intelligence and Collaboration (JITSIC), a network of 42 national tax administrations. The core purpose of JITSIC is to facilitate the sharing of information and collaboration between tax authorities in order to identify and close down abusive tax arrangements.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a means tested loan charge repayment scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government estimates that 50,000 individuals were affected by the Loan Charge and that following the implementation of the Loan Charge Review’s recommendations, about 11,000 will be taken out of its scope altogether, and more than 30,000 will benefit from the changes. One significant change is to allow taxpayers to split their loan balance evenly across three tax years.
People will not to have to pay their Loan Charge debts in one go. Where a taxpayer cannot pay in full on time, HMRC will seek to agree payment by instalments with them. The payment plan agreed will be based on what the taxpayer can afford and there is no upper limit over how long HMRC can potentially spread payments.
HMRC will not require payment of more than 50% of disposable income, aside from where taxpayers have very high disposable incomes. Where a taxpayer has no disposable assets and earns less than £50,000, they are automatically entitled to a minimum of a five-year payment plan, and where they earn less than £30,000, a minimum of seven years. HMRC have also committed that they will not force a taxpayer to sell their main home or release their existing pension to fund a disguised remuneration or Loan Charge tax bill.
HMRC have established a dedicated team to handle enquiries from Loan Charge taxpayers. Any taxpayer unable to pay in full and needing a payment plan should contact the Loan Charge helpline on 03000 599110.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the findings in sections 7.6 and 7.7 of the report on HS2 published by Lord Berkeley on 5 January 2020.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government commissioned Doug Oakervee to provide advice on how and whether to proceed with HS2 and his report will inform our decisions. We will of course give appropriate consideration to Lord Berkeley’s personal views.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many HS2 Ltd community engagement meetings have been cancelled in Denham in the last twelve months.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
HS2 Ltd and its contractors have not cancelled any community engagement activities in Denham during 2019.
Over the last twelve months HS2 Ltd and its contractors continued to engage regularly with residents, and local stakeholders such as the Parish Council, in the Denham area. The most recent community event was a drop-in session held on 10 December at Higher Denham Community Hall.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what financial compensation has been agreed by HS2 Ltd for the compulsory purchase of land in Denham.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
All compulsory purchase payments made by HS2 Ltd are in line with the compensation code – the body of statute, case law and established practice that underpins the approach to property compensation. Information regarding financial compensation for specific land or to individuals is not made publicly available as it is commercially sensitive.
HS2 Ltd publishes detailed information online regarding compulsory purchase compensation and procedures. This information can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/compulsory-purchase-system-guidance
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Compulsory Purchase Orders in Denham were undertaken by HS2 Ltd in the last five years.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
One compulsory purchase notice was issued in Denham since February 2017. This is the point at which powers to compulsorily acquire land for HS2 were conferred on the Secretary of State through the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act 2017.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the report on HS2 published by Lord Berkeley on 5 January 2020, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the accuracy of the estimated cost benefit ratio of between 0.6 and 1 and (b) the value for money of the estimated cost of £107billion at 2019 detailed in that report.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State commissioned the Oakervee Review to provide advice on how and whether to proceed with HS2, including examining the project’s costs and benefit. Doug Oakervee’s report will inform our assessment of the estimated cost if the Government decided to proceed. We will of course give appropriate consideration to Lord Berkeley’s personal views.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport of 10 July 2019, official report, column 203-204WH, what the (a) budget and (b) timetable is for extending High Speed Two to Scotland.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As currently planned, HS2 trains will run directly to Scotland via a connection to the West Coast Mainline, improving journey times with London. The Department for Transport has been working closely with Transport Scotland and Network Rail to look at further options which, subject to having a good business case, could further improve journey times. In August 2019 the Prime Minister asked Doug Oakervee to chair an independent review of HS2 to provide advice on how and whether to proceed. The Government will set out the next steps for High Speed 2 in due course.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies on High Speed Two of the National Infrastructure Commission’s Report entitled Better Delivery: the challenge for freight, published in April 2019; whether High Speed Two will deliver the required additional capacity for future growth in freight; and what costed alternatives to High Speed Two his Department assessed to deliver similar future freight capacity.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government is considering the recommendations of the National Infrastructure Commission’s study on the future of freight (Better Delivery: The Challenge for Freight, April 2019) and will respond in due course.
By replacing long distance passenger trains that currently run on the existing railway, HS2 will release spare capacity, particularly on the southern part of the West Coast Main Line. Subject to the outcome of the Oakervee Review and decisions by Government on whether and how to proceed with HS2, DfT expects to publish a Full Business Case which includes an assessment of the implications of HS2 for the freight industry.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what compensation schemes for Denham residents have been put in place by HS2 Ltd.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has introduced a range of statutory and non-statutory property compensation schemes across the three phases of the HS2 route to support people and businesses impacted by the programme. Further details on all of the schemes can be found on the gov.uk website at https://www.gov.uk/claim-compensation-if-affected-by-hs2.
The schemes were introduced following extensive public consultation and will remain in place until one year after HS2 is operational.
In addition, HS2 Ltd supports local groups through the HS2 Community & Environment Fund and the HS2 Business & Local Economy Fund. This funding aims to add benefit over and above committed mitigation and statutory compensation to support communities and local economies along the route that are demonstrably disrupted by the construction of HS2. A total of £40 million is available for projects along the HS2 Phase One route. To date £112,000 has been awarded to projects based in the Beaconsfield constituency, with further funding also awarded to projects working across multiple constituencies in Buckinghamshire.