Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local radio stations residing in multi occupancy business premises are able to access funds from the Small Business Grant scheme during the outbreak so they can continue broadcasting to their local communities.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund have been designed to support the smallest businesses, and smaller businesses in the some of the sectors which have been hit hardest by measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The two schemes have been tied to the business rates system and rating assessments, which together provide a framework for Local Authorities to make payments as quickly as possible. Businesses in the business rates system are also likely to face particularly high fixed costs, such as fixed rents.
In some cases, businesses operating in multi-occupancy spaces will have their own rating assessments and may therefore be eligible for the grants schemes. In these cases, Local Authorities are urging landlords and management agents to support them in ensuring that the grants reach the correct ratepayers.
Businesses operating in multi-occupancy spaces which do not have their own ratings assessment are not eligible for the grants schemes. Extending eligibility to these businesses would not be practicable as it would require Local Authorities to create an entirely new system and to put in place appropriate anti-fraud checks. This would significantly increase Local Authorities’ workloads at a time when they are already working under pressure to support struggling businesses as quickly as possible.
Small businesses which are not eligible for the Small Business Grant Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund should still be able to benefit from other measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business, including:
An option to defer VAT payments by up to twelve months;
The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, now extended to cover all businesses including those which would be able to access commercial credit;
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses with their wage bills;
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to provide support to the self-employed.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the covid-19 outbreak, whether he has plans to review the regulations of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 to allow (a) businesses and (b) financial providers to negotiate the terms of loans.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to doing whatever it takes to get our nation through the impacts of COVID-19 and, as part of this, is continually assessing ways of supporting the financial sector, where evidence shows that interventions are required. This includes the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The Government is working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the financial sector on this issue to assess whether further action is necessary.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that charities are financially supported during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Many charities and social enterprises will benefit from the existing measures announced to support employers and businesses. Under these measures, like other businesses, charities can defer their VAT bills and pay no business rates for their shops next year. All charities are eligible for the job retention scheme and the right answer for many charities will be to furlough their employees with the government paying 80% of wages.
However, we know that some charities are providing critical services and wider support to vulnerable people and communities during the pandemic. On 8 April the Chancellor announced a £750 million package of support for charities providing key services and supporting vulnerable people during the Covid-19 crisis. This new package of support will enable such organisations to continue providing essential services to those most in need.
This funding package will help charities providing essential services to continue their operations and to weather the storm until we return to more normal times. Funding for charities will be made available in the coming weeks and further information will be announced on Gov.uk. The Government’s aim is to get funding to those in greatest need as soon as possible.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what additional fiscal steps he is taking to support agricultural businesses subject to exemption from business rates but experiencing acute financial difficulties during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has set out a package of measures to support businesses, including agricultural businesses, through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19, including those businesses not eligible for business rate relief.
This support for business includes the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme for small and medium-sized businesses, a statutory sick pay relief package, the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment, and a new lending facility from the Bank of England for larger firms.
These measures provide a comprehensive, coordinated and coherent response to what is a serious and evolving economic situation. As the wider economic picture becomes clearer, the Government will continue to act to get the nation through the impacts of COVID-19 and the Government stands ready to announce further action wherever necessary.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the feasibility of cancelling (a) beer duty and (b) VAT payments that are to be paid due at the end of March 2020 for (i) pubs, (ii) restaurants and (iii) other businesses in the hospitality industry.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Chancellor has announced an unprecedented package of support for pubs, restaurants and hospitality businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Firms eligible for small business rate relief or rural rate relief will be eligible for cash grants of up to £10,000, and firms in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with eligible properties with a rateable value below £51,000 will be eligible for cash grants of up to £25,000.
A business rates holiday has been put in place for all eligible businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors.
In addition, all VAT registered businesses will be able to defer their VAT payments due on VAT returns for the period until the end of June, to be repaid by the end of the financial year, and access support worth up to 80% of their employees’ wages.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of provisions of the Finance Act 2017 due to be implemented in 2020 on potential additional costs for emergency service personnel using their own vehicles to attend emergencies.
Answered by Jesse Norman
New rules for valuing the taxable benefit of the use of assets were introduced in April 2017. As these might have adversely affected a small number of individuals using emergency vehicles for private use, the Government introduced transitional arrangements in 2018 so that the previous basis for valuing any benefit for users of emergency vehicles would apply until April 2020.
In addition, the Government extended the existing tax exemption for users of emergency vehicles to include ordinary commuting. Where the only private use of the vehicle is for ordinary commuting or for journeys made while on call, there is no income tax liability.
Employers and employees have had time to review any contractual arrangements for the provision of an emergency vehicle for private use and have had the option to limit private use of the vehicle so that it is compatible with the extended tax exemption.
This legislation applies where an individual is using an emergency vehicle provided by their employer and not to individuals using their own vehicles.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the forthcoming changes to IR35 legislation on the willingness of large companies to employ self-employed contractors.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published in July 2019 set out HMRC's assessment that extending the reform to large and medium sized organisations in public and third sectors is not expected to have any significant macro-economic impacts. The TIIN can be found here: https://bit.ly/2YTbOaA. In addition, independent research conducted by IFF Research and Frontier Economics, following the implementation of the off-payroll reform in the public sector in 2017, showed that the reform had not resulted in significant disruption to the sector, or to its use of contingent labour.
The Government announced a review of changes to off-payroll working rules on 7 January 2020 to determine if any further steps can be taken to ensure the smooth and successful implementation of the reform due to come into force in April 2020. The review will also consider whether any additional support for businesses is needed to ensure that the self-employed, who are not in scope of the rules, are not affected. The review will conclude in mid-February 2020.