Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has plans to review and update the Overseas Scale Rates.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Employers have a choice about whether to use the Overseas Scale Rates (OSR) or to pay the actual expenses incurred. If an employer pays actual expenses, they must check the employees’ receipts, but they do not have to do this if they use the OSR.
There will be occasions where OSR may not reflect the current prices in a particular location. If the employer chooses not to reimburse all of the actual expenses, the employee may claim tax relief on the difference from HMRC. The employee must provide HMRC with evidence such as receipts and what the employer has reimbursed.
The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has made with the Financial Ombudsman Service on support for people who have been missold a shared appreciation mortgage.
Answered by Bim Afolami
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has received a number of complaints from people who purchased shared appreciation mortgages and are alert to the issues involved.
Any borrower that feels they have been mis-sold a shared appreciation mortgage should bring their complaint to the FOS, which can provide arbitration in such cases.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the banking sector on (a) pending payments and (b) reimbursement payments for incomplete purchases.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to bring currency services into the scope of the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) can only consider cases which fall within its compulsory or voluntary jurisdiction. The FOS compulsory jurisdiction covers regulated activities being undertaken by firms authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The voluntary jurisdiction includes firms which have voluntarily agreed to be subject to FOS processes and decisions where they do not already fall within the compulsory jurisdiction.
Providing currency exchange services is not an FCA regulated activity, and so is not automatically within scope of the compulsory jurisdiction of the FOS. However, some payment services can involve some element of currency exchange services (for example, when making an online purchase in a foreign currency, using a payment card, or withdrawing foreign cash from an ATM). As payment services are regulated activities, and payment service providers are FCA authorised, these services will fall within scope of the FOS.
The jurisdiction of the FOS and what complaints it can deal with are determined by the FCA and set out in the FCA Handbook. The FCA is operationally independent from Government.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish (a) the percentile figure for (i) energy intensity and (ii) trade intensity for swimming pools and leisure centres the Government calculated when forming Energy and Trade Intensive Industries scheme and (b) the energy intensity and trade intensity for all other sectors on that scheme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
We have taken a consistent approach to identifying the most energy and trade intensive sectors, with all sectors that meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity eligible for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) component of the Energy Bills Discount Scheme. These thresholds have been set at sectors falling above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, plus any sectors eligible for the existing energy compensation and exemption schemes.
Further information on the methodology has now been published on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-discount-scheme-factsheet/energy-bills-discount-scheme-energy-and-trade-intense-industries-assessment-methodology.
All other eligible businesses will automatically receive a unit discount on their bills of up to £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2023 to Question 138433 on Energy Bill Relief Scheme: Leisure and Swimming Pools, for what reason his Department did not provide the percentile figure for (a) energy intensity and (b) trade intensity for (i) swimming pools and (ii) leisure centres as part of the Government's trade and energy intensity assessment.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The new Energy Bills Discount Scheme will provide all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users across the UK with a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024, following the end of the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme. It will also provide businesses in sectors with particularly high levels of energy use and trade intensity with a higher level of support.
We have taken a consistent approach to identifying the most energy and trade intensive sectors, with all sectors that meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity eligible for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) support. These thresholds have been set at sectors falling above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, plus any sectors eligible for the existing energy compensation and exemption schemes.
All other eligible businesses will automatically receive a unit discount on their bills of up to £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas.
Further details on the scheme, including information on eligibility and discount levels, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bills-discount-scheme.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish (a) a list of the (i) energy intensity and (ii) trade intensity percentiles of each sector within the list of sectors eligible for the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries scheme and (b) the percentile figures for (i) swimming pools and (ii) leisure centres which his Department has calculated.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The new Energy Bills Discount Scheme will provide all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users across the UK with a discount on high energy bills until 31 March 2024, following the end of the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme. It will also provide businesses in sectors with particularly high levels of energy use and trade intensity with a higher level of support.
We have taken a consistent approach to identifying the most energy and trade intensive sectors, with all sectors that meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity eligible for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) support. These thresholds have been set at sectors falling above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, plus any sectors eligible for the existing energy compensation and exemption schemes.
All other eligible businesses will automatically receive a unit discount on their bills of up to £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas.
Further details on the scheme, including information on eligibility and discount levels, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bills-discount-scheme.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason trade intensity was determined as one of the two key criteria for eligibility for enhanced energy support; and when that decision was communicated to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Under the Energy Bills Discount Scheme, eligibility for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETIIs) support is based on energy and trade intensity. These firms, predominately in manufacturing industries, are often less able to pass through cost to their customers due to international competition.
The firms eligible for ETIIs scheme are those operating within sectors that fall above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, and those within sectors eligible for the existing Energy Intensive Industries compensations and exemption schemes.
Government departments are in regular contact on a range of issues, including energy, and were engaged throughout the Energy Bill Relief Scheme review process.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on funding for the construction of a new hospital building at the Leeds General Infirmary.
Answered by John Glen
At Spending Review 2020, the New Hospitals Programme received £3.7bn of funding up to 2024/25. At the Autumn Statement, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to the New Hospitals Programme, which includes Leeds General Infirmary.
I have not discussed the specifics of this case with the Secretary of State, though I look forward to discussions with him about the New Hospitals Programme, and wider health policy issues, in the coming weeks and months as part of the Treasury’s ongoing engagement with DHSC on these matters.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Spen Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing VAT on defibrillators.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Automated External Defibrillators (AED) save lives, which is why the Government has taken action to boost their provision. The Government provides support to aid the purchase of AEDs through VAT refunds on purchases made by local authorities and VAT reliefs for purchases made through voluntary contributions, where the AED is donated to eligible charities or the NHS. Otherwise, they attract the standard rate of VAT.
The Government is continuing to look at what more can be done. The Department of Health and Social Care are examining whether there are ways to further expand public access to defibrillators.
Introducing any new VAT reliefs would come at a cost to the Exchequer and any changes should be seen in the context of over £50 billion worth of requests for relief from VAT received since the EU referendum. Given this, there are no plans to change the current VAT treatment on defibrillators. However, the Government keeps all taxes under constant review.