Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the proposed UN framework on international tax cooperation.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK strongly supports developing countries' efforts to scale-up domestic resource mobilisation to finance sustainable development.
The UK engaged constructively in the negotiations on the UN tax resolution. However, the UK, alongside many other countries, is concerned that proceeding with a UN convention on international tax at this time would not be the most effective way to achieve these goals. An Explanation of Vote was published on GOV.UK on 22nd November. [LINK]
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish his Department's guidance to Ministers in 2021 on issuing special licenses to persons or organisations for activities otherwise prohibited by sanctions.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, part of HM Treasury, has an established framework for the circumstances in which decisions relating to licensing applications can be delegated to Officials. Following the Treasury’s Written Ministerial Statements of 30 March 2023, the Treasury laid the current framework in the Libraries of the House of Commons and House of Lords. We will now do the same with the version in operation in 2021.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish his Department's guidance to Ministers on issuing special licenses to persons or organisations for activities otherwise prohibited by sanctions.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, part of HM Treasury, has an established framework for the circumstances in which decisions relating to licensing applications can be delegated to Officials. Following the Treasury’s Written Ministerial Statements of 30 March 2023, the Treasury laid the current framework in the Libraries of the House of Commons and House of Lords. We will now do the same with the version in operation in 2021.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to publish the conclusions of the review into the special licenses granted to the law firm undertaking work on behalf of Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
HM Treasury does not comment on specific licensing cases.
HM Treasury’s Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) takes operational decisions relating to the implementation of financial sanctions in line with the relevant regulations. However, OFSI has not considered it appropriate for the Treasury to effectively decide on whether a case has sufficient merit to be permitted to proceed by deciding whether to license legal fees. Rather, OFSI's position has been that the merits should be decided by the appropriate court. OFSI assesses cases on a costs-basis only, ensuring that the fees requested are reasonable in accordance with the derogations available under the sanctions regimes.
We need to carefully balance the right to legal representation - which is a fundamental one - with wider issues, including the aim and purpose of the sanctions. It is right therefore that HM Treasury are examining whether there are any changes that can be made to this policy. We will update the House in due course.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to compensate local authorities for tax revenue lost due to Investment Zones.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government will compensate local authorities for the reduction in retained business rates related to the implementation of business rates reliefs in Investment Zones.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to review the VAT regime for electricity, in order to support electric vehicle uptake.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government is committed to supporting electric vehicle uptake. Since the Spending Review 2020, we have committed £2.5 billion to vehicle grants and charging infrastructure to accelerate the country's transition to electric vehicles. However, we have no plans to review the VAT regime for electricity.
Although the supply of electricity is normally subject to the standard rate of VAT (20 per cent), in order to keep costs down for families, the supply of electricity for domestic use, including charging electric vehicles at home, attracts the reduced rate of VAT (5 per cent).
Expanding the existing relief would come at a cost. VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances, raising around £130 billion in 2019-20, and helps fund the Government's priorities including the NHS, schools, and defence. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing, or increased taxation elsewhere.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what funding he plans to allocate to decarbonise homes.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The recent Spending Review invested £3.9bn to decarbonise buildings. This included: £450m to drive growth in the heat pump market through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme; £338m to continue our support for heat networks; £1.4bn to decarbonise public sector buildings, and £1.8bn to support low-income households to decarbonise their homes through the Home Upgrade Grant and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
This means that, since March 2021, the Government will have committed over £9.7bn to decarbonising buildings, of which £3bn is to install energy efficiency measures in over 500,000 homes, saving households an average of £290 per year.
As set out in the Heat and Building Strategy, the Government is also implementing policies to create a market friendly regulatory framework to increase clean heat uptake. This includes setting an ambition to phase out all new fossil fuel heating from 2035 and consulting on an earlier date for high-carbon fossil fuel heated off gas grid homes.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to reintroduce the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in the event that further restrictions are introduced in the context of the rising rate of covid-19 infections.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
As we have done throughout the pandemic, we are closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. We will continue to respond proportionately to the changing path of the virus.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Government has a strong track record of responding quickly, flexibly, and comprehensively in supporting jobs, businesses, individuals, and families when needed.
The effectiveness of our £400 billion package of interventions since the start of the pandemic, and the strength of the recovery that we have seen from previous waves means the economy is in a different place now.
Employee numbers are above February 2020 levels in every part of the country and have grown consistently through this year.
So, it is right that our economic response in the face of Omicron adapts too and that our support is better targeted at the businesses that need it the most, providing better value for taxpayers and helping the economy to bounce back more quickly.
However, we recognise the impact Omicron and Government guidance is having on businesses and individuals, which is why on 21 December 2021 we announced £1 billion of new grant support for the hospitality, leisure, and cultural sectors, and reintroduced the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme. This is on top of the existing package of support, in place through to Spring 2022, which includes the Recovery Loan Scheme, business rates relief, VAT reduction, and the ongoing commercial rent moratorium.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential reintroduction of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in the context of the spread of the omicron covid-19 variant.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
As we have done throughout the pandemic, we are closely monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. We will continue to respond proportionately to the changing path of the virus.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Government has a strong track record of responding quickly, flexibly, and comprehensively in supporting jobs, businesses, individuals, and families when needed.
The effectiveness of our £400 billion package of interventions since the start of the pandemic, and the strength of the recovery that we have seen from previous waves means the economy is in a different place now.
Employee numbers are above February 2020 levels in every part of the country and have grown consistently through this year.
So, it is right that our economic response in the face of Omicron adapts too and that our support is better targeted at the businesses that need it the most, providing better value for taxpayers and helping the economy to bounce back more quickly.
However, we recognise the impact Omicron and Government guidance is having on businesses and individuals, which is why on 21 December 2021 we announced £1 billion of new grant support for the hospitality, leisure, and cultural sectors, and reintroduced the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme. This is on top of the existing package of support, in place through to Spring 2022, which includes the Recovery Loan Scheme, business rates relief, VAT reduction, and the ongoing commercial rent moratorium.
Asked by: Kate Osamor (Independent - Edmonton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to take steps to remove the holiday let tax exemption that allows landlords to lower their mortgage interest payments by using properties for holiday lets rather than longer-term tenancies.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Tax relief on mortgage interest is available for landlords renting properties both as longer-term tenancies and as furnished holiday lets. Tax relief on mortgage interest on properties rented as longer-term tenancies is available at the basic rate of income tax; we estimate that only 1 in 10 landlords are affected by this restriction introduced in 2017 and phased in over four years. The Government keeps all taxes under review.