Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to protect people who have accrued debt as a result of the covid-19 outbreak from losing their homes.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
For mortgage payers, the Government has worked with mortgage lenders and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure the financial sector provides access to mortgage payment holidays. In addition, support for Mortgage Interest provides qualifying borrowers who cannot afford their mortgage interest with financial help, enabling them to stay in their homes.
The Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support for tenants. This includes providing nearly £1 billion of additional support for private renters claiming Universal Credit or Housing Benefit by increasing the Local Housing Allowance rate in 2020-21. The Government paused possession proceedings over the summer and now, to ensure that renters served notice can stay in their homes over winter, has extended notice periods to six months in all but the most egregious cases. And there will be no enforcement of evictions in areas of local lockdown, where access to premises is restricted, or over the Christmas period in England and Wales.
To help people in problem debt get their finances back on track, the budget for free debt advice in England has been increased to over £100 million this financial year. And from May 2021 the Breathing Space scheme will offer people in problem debt a pause of up to 60 days on most enforcement action, interest, fees and charges.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Welsh Government will receive in Barnett Consequentials from the £3 billion of new funding introduced for green buildings in England as part of the Plan for Jobs.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As part of the Plan for Jobs, the Chancellor announced over £3 billion of new funding for green buildings. This funding is subject to the Barnett formula. We are working closely with the devolved administrations to ensure they have the best information about likely changes in Barnett funding to facilitate their financial planning.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of credit card processing fees on small businesses and charities since the discouragement of cash payments during the covid-19 outbreak; and what steps he is taking to ensure businesses are not negatively affected by the increase in credit card payments.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government remains committed to helping businesses and workers through the present very difficult time, and has announced unprecedented support, including a range of grant and tax deferral schemes, and £300 billion of guarantees, equivalent to 15 per cent of UK GDP. For voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations, the government has pledged £750 million to ensure they can continue their vital work supporting the country during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Government remains closely engaged with the financial regulators to monitor and assess risks around cash relating to COVID-19. In order to help control the virus, all businesses and individuals have been encouraged to follow the latest Government advice. To work safely during Coronavirus, retailers have been recommended to minimise contact around transactions, for example, considering using contactless payments. However, it remains the individual retailer’s choice as to whether to accept or decline any form of payment, including cash or card.
Some acquirers (the financial services firms which enable retailers to process card payments) are taking voluntary measures to support their business customers, for example through waiving fees, and the Government welcomes such action.
Furthermore, the Payment Systems Regulator is currently carrying out a market review into card-acquiring services. Its review is examining how competition is working, including looking at the fees retailers pay for card-acquiring services and the quality of service they receive. The interim findings will be published in Q3 2020.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the Welsh Government on (a) extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, (b) other employment support and (c) an adequate level of financial support for outdoor residential centres.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Treasury’s priority is to support the whole UK economy through Covid-19. IT HAS taken unprecedented steps to support viable businesses to stay afloat and protect the incomes of the most vulnerable.
The Welsh Government and Office of the Secretary of State for Wales play a key part in these discussions, and there is regular engagement on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and the Welsh Government’s plans to protect jobs and support key sectors in Wales.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to extend the reduced rate of VAT for hospitality, holiday accommodation and attractions to (a) travel and (b) holiday letting agencies.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In light of the Covid-19 outbreak, the Chancellor has introduced a range of measures to help individuals and businesses through the crisis, including grants, loans and relief from business rates at a cost of more than £300 billion.
Property agencies are included in the temporary reduced rate provided that the contract is between the customer and the agent, and that the agent has the power to grant someone a licence to occupy holiday accommodation. Passenger transport for more than 10 people is ordinarily zero-rated for VAT purposes.
Expanding the scope of the temporary VAT reduction would come at a considerable cost to the Exchequer. However, the Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support educational charities; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of (a) extending the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for and (b) a package of support for educational charities whose operations will not be able to return to normal until January 2021 at the earliest.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government has announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will continue until 31 October. This Scheme must be temporary, and we must ensure people can get back to work when it is safe to do so and get the UK economy up and running again.
Many charities and social enterprises have benefitted from existing measures to support employers and businesses. Under these measures, charities have deferred VAT bills and will pay no business rates for their shops next year. In April the Government announced a £750 million support package for charities. £360 million of funding will be allocated directly to charities providing essential services and supporting vulnerable people including children and young people, while £370 million will be available to local charities including through the National Lottery Community Fund.
In addition, the Government has announced a £1 billion catch-up package to help teachers support those who have fallen behind while out of school and over £100 million to support remote learning.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to maintain the current level of employment support for people who are shielding and whose workplaces cannot be made covid-safe when the shielding scheme comes to an end on 1 August 2020.
Answered by Jesse Norman
On 22 June, the Prime Minister announced that the Government will relax the current public health guidance for those identified as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) to shield at home. This means from 1 August they will be able to return to work if they are unable to work from home, provided their workplace is COVID-safe.
It is important that this group continue to take careful precautions, and employers should do all they can to enable them to work from home where this is possible, including moving them to another role if required. Where this is not possible, the CEV should be provided with the safest on-site roles that enable them to maintain social distancing from others.
If employers cannot provide a safe working environment, the CEV will continue to have access to an unprecedented package of financial support. This is not limited to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, but also includes the introduction of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, and an increase in the generosity of welfare payments worth a further £8bn.
Current guidance for those who live with the shielded, including those in multi-generational households, is that they do not need to shield themselves but must carefully follow guidance on social distancing.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department made before deciding how (a) maternity leave, (b) sick leave and (c) holidays affect the value of claims made to the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government takes care to pay due regard to the equality impacts of its policy decisions relating to the Covid-19 outbreak, including the equality impacts of the SEISS, in line with all legal requirements and the Government’s commitment to promoting equality.
It is not possible for HMRC to know the reasons why an individual’s profits may have dropped in earlier years from income tax self-assessment returns. However, by calculating the grant on a three-year average of profits, the SEISS supports people who saw a dip in profits for parental/sickness leave.
HMRC have published statistics about the number and value of SEISS claims made by 31 May, including a breakdown by gender. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/self-employment-income-support-scheme-statistics-june-2020
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the calculation of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, what assessment his Department has made of the financial effect on women of not exempting maternity leave taken in (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2016-17.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government takes care to pay due regard to the equality impacts of its policy decisions relating to the Covid-19 outbreak, including the equality impacts of the SEISS, in line with all legal requirements and the Government’s commitment to promoting equality.
It is not possible for HMRC to know the reasons why an individual’s profits may have dropped in earlier years from income tax self-assessment returns. However, by calculating the grant on a three-year average of profits, the SEISS supports people who saw a dip in profits for parental/sickness leave.
HMRC have published statistics about the number and value of SEISS claims made by 31 May, including a breakdown by gender. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/self-employment-income-support-scheme-statistics-june-2020
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that holiday insurance companies do not insist that claimants first file for a chargeback claim before they pay out on claims; and what discussions he has had with representatives from the Financial Conduct Authority and (b) Competition and Markets Authority on that matter.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Travel insurance typically applies only for losses that cannot be recovered from elsewhere. Customers should therefore first contact travel providers or accommodation providers for reimbursement. In the next instance, credit card providers would provide a refund under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 if the payment was made by credit card and cost was over £100 per unit. However, travel insurance policies differ so customers should check the terms and conditions of their policy or speak to their insurer.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published guidance for firms handling consumer claims during the Covid-19 crisis. Where consumers have two potentially valid avenues of redress against regulated firms (for example, from an insurer and credit provider) there is nothing in their rules that stops an insurer, credit provider or other regulated firm settling the claim in full (so long as there is no disadvantage to the consumer in this) and, where appropriate, seeking to claim back from the other firm involved.
The FCA will be consulting in the coming weeks on guidelines so that in future their expectations of firms and the choices for consumers will be clearer. More broadly, the FCA has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.