Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much and what proportion of foreign direct investment in the UK in 2017 came from (a) acquisitions, mergers and joint-ventures, (b) new investments and (c) expansions of existing investments.
Answered by John Glen
Data on the proportions of foreign direct investment (FDI) by acquisitions, mergers and joint-ventures, new investments and expansions of existing investments in 2017, is not yet available. The annual release containing this information will be published in December 2018.
The stock of foreign direct investment in the UK increased to £1.6 trillion in 2017, a further 0.7% increase in addition to the record high FDI inflows in 2016.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many firms claimed video games tax relief in each year since its introduction.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
HMRC publishes reports on the number of claims for video games tax relief. Information for the period 2014-15 to 2016-17 can be found in Table 4.1 here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/creative-industries-statistics-july-2017
Companies have a period of one year to submit returns after the end of the accounting period and another year to amend or withdraw a claim. Therefore, the data for 2016-17 remains provisional and subject to change due to claims not yet received.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of video games tax relief on (a) employment and b) investment in the video games sector.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The creative sector tax reliefs provide support to ensure that these highly skilled and innovative industries thrive in the UK.
Since its introduction in 2014 the Video Games Tax Relief has supported almost £700 million of UK expenditure in the industry.
Although the government does not collect statistics on employment in the video games sector specifically, video games industry body TIGA estimate that in 2016 there were 33,637 employed in the games industry or in jobs indirectly supported by studios, compared to 30,741 in 2014.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) small and (b) large firms have claimed research and development tax relief in each year since 2010.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
HMRC publishes reports on the number of claims for Research and Development (R&D) tax relief by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies. Information for the period 2010-11 to 2015-16 can be found in Table RD1 here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/corporate-tax-research-and-development-tax-credit
Information for the period 2016-17 will be published in Autumn 2018.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to display the annual cash value of changes in income tax on PAYE pay slips.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Payslips relate to income from one employment only and do not show income from other jobs or sources of taxable income. Employers do not have access to this information and would not be able to show the annual change in an individual’s tax liability.
However, this information is provided in annual tax summaries which have been issued since 2014. Tax summaries show individuals how their income tax and National Insurance contributions have been calculated for all their employments and other forms of taxable income, and how this contributes to public expenditure.
Individuals can use the information on their tax summaries to compare how changes to income tax, such as increases to the personal allowance, affect their tax bill. Since 2010, the personal allowance has increased by 80 per cent - from £6,475 in 2010-11 to £11,850 in 2018-19.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in (a) North Swindon constituency, (b) Swindon, (c) England and (d) the UK were (i) removed from paying income tax and (ii) paid reduced income tax as a result of increases to the personal allowance in each year since 2010.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Since the start of the 2015 Parliament, further increases to the personal allowance (up to £11,850 in 2018-19) are expected to cut income tax for 31 million individuals in the UK in 2018‑19, including 26.1 million individuals in England, of which 2.8 million individuals are in the South West, which includes Swindon and the Parliamentary Constituency of North Swindon. This includes taking 1.2 million of the lowest paid out of income tax altogether in the UK, 986,000 in England, and 109,000 in the South West.
These estimates are based on the 2014-15 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s November 2017 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Over the 2010-2015 Parliament, policy measures to increase to the personal allowance in each year since 2010 are estimated to have reduced the income tax liability of 28 million individuals in the UK in 2015-16, including 23.4 million individuals in England, of which 2.4 million individuals are in the South West, which includes Swindon and the Parliamentary Constituency of North Swindon. This includes taking 4 million of the lowest paid out of income tax altogether in the UK, 3.3 million in England, and 344,000 in the South West.
These estimates are based on the 2013-14 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2016 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
HM Treasury does not publish this information at constituency level or town/city level.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the revenue accrued to the public purse from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy in each year from 2018 to 2022; and what proportion of that revenue will be allocated to (a) England and (b) the devolved administrations.
Answered by Andrew Jones
As published in Table 2.2 of the Spring Budget 2017, the levy is expected to raise approximately £385m per year from April 2018. This is less than originally expected at Budget 2016, reflecting the OBRs judgement that producers will reformulate a higher proportion of their products towards lower sugar content.
In total, the Government has provided extra funding across the UK of almost £1.2 billion up to 2020, linked to the levy. This is split with almost £1 billion allocated to the Department for Education in England, and the remainder to the Devolved Administrations. The government is therefore committed to providing more funding to 2020 than the levy is forecast to raise, as the Chancellor guaranteed at Spring Budget 2017.
Every penny of England’s share of the spending funded by the levy will continue to be spent on giving school-aged children a better and healthier future, including through doubling the Primary Sports Premium and providing extra funding for breakfast clubs. Whilst still meeting this commitment, the Secretary of State for Education announced in July that she would reprioritise £315m in healthy pupils capital funding, redirecting it to core schools funding. This is a major boost for our schools. DfE’s overall budget has not been cut and there has been no change to funding for the Devolved Administrations as a result of this reprioritisation.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much and what proportion of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy allocated to England is allocated for spending on school sports and healthy living initiatives.
Answered by Andrew Jones
As published in Table 2.2 of the Spring Budget 2017, the levy is expected to raise approximately £385m per year from April 2018. This is less than originally expected at Budget 2016, reflecting the OBRs judgement that producers will reformulate a higher proportion of their products towards lower sugar content.
In total, the Government has provided extra funding across the UK of almost £1.2 billion up to 2020, linked to the levy. This is split with almost £1 billion allocated to the Department for Education in England, and the remainder to the Devolved Administrations. The government is therefore committed to providing more funding to 2020 than the levy is forecast to raise, as the Chancellor guaranteed at Spring Budget 2017.
Every penny of England’s share of the spending funded by the levy will continue to be spent on giving school-aged children a better and healthier future, including through doubling the Primary Sports Premium and providing extra funding for breakfast clubs. Whilst still meeting this commitment, the Secretary of State for Education announced in July that she would reprioritise £315m in healthy pupils capital funding, redirecting it to core schools funding. This is a major boost for our schools. DfE’s overall budget has not been cut and there has been no change to funding for the Devolved Administrations as a result of this reprioritisation.