Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that carers within the armed forces community are supported when faced with an increased cost of living.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The government values the vital contribution made by carers to society and continues to provide financial support to unpaid carers – including members of the Armed Forces community – through Carer’s Allowance, the Carer Element in Universal Credit and through other benefits. Carers within the Armed Forces community have access to various channels of government support. Carers may be eligible for Carer’s Allowance if the person for whom they care receives disability benefits or related qualifying payments such as Armed Forces Independence Payment and the War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance.
The government understands that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and particularly to the most vulnerable members of society such as disabled people and their carers. That is why the Cost of Living package announced on 26 May includes UK-wide support to help disabled people with the particular extra costs they are facing, with 6 million people who receive non-means-tested disability benefits due to receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150. Veterans in receipt of a disability benefit through the Department for Work and Pensions, such as Personal Independence Payment, or in receipt of similar support specifically for veterans – such as Armed Forces Independence Payment, the War Pension Mobility Supplement or War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance – are eligible for the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. Carers of these veterans will also benefit from this payment if they live in the same household.
Carers may also be able to benefit from other elements of the £37 billion of support for the cost of living the government has announced this year, which include: a one-off Cost of Living Payment of £650, paid in two instalments, for over 8 million households across the UK in receipt of means-tested benefits; an extra one-off £300 this year for over 8 million pensioner households, to cover the rising cost of energy this winter; and £400 off the bills of all domestic electricity customers in Great Britain from October, through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS).
Previously announced measures to help people tackle the cost of living will also benefit carers, including frozen alcohol duty and fuel duty, raising the NICs threshold, council tax rebates and the rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour. For people that are not eligible for Cost of Living Payments or for those that still need additional support, the government is providing an extra £500 million of local support, via the Household Support Fund. The Fund will be extended from this October to March 2023, bringing total funding for the scheme to £1.5 billion.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the cost of living support offered to carers within the armed forces community.
Answered by Simon Clarke
The government values the vital contribution made by carers to society and continues to provide financial support to unpaid carers – including members of the Armed Forces community – through Carer’s Allowance, the Carer Element in Universal Credit and through other benefits. Carers within the Armed Forces community have access to various channels of government support. Carers may be eligible for Carer’s Allowance if the person for whom they care receives disability benefits or related qualifying payments such as Armed Forces Independence Payment and the War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance.
The government understands that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and particularly to the most vulnerable members of society such as disabled people and their carers. That is why the Cost of Living package announced on 26 May includes UK-wide support to help disabled people with the particular extra costs they are facing, with 6 million people who receive non-means-tested disability benefits due to receive a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150. Veterans in receipt of a disability benefit through the Department for Work and Pensions, such as Personal Independence Payment, or in receipt of similar support specifically for veterans – such as Armed Forces Independence Payment, the War Pension Mobility Supplement or War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance – are eligible for the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. Carers of these veterans will also benefit from this payment if they live in the same household.
Carers may also be able to benefit from other elements of the £37 billion of support for the cost of living the government has announced this year, which include: a one-off Cost of Living Payment of £650, paid in two instalments, for over 8 million households across the UK in receipt of means-tested benefits; an extra one-off £300 this year for over 8 million pensioner households, to cover the rising cost of energy this winter; and £400 off the bills of all domestic electricity customers in Great Britain from October, through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS).
Previously announced measures to help people tackle the cost of living will also benefit carers, including frozen alcohol duty and fuel duty, raising the NICs threshold, council tax rebates and the rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour. For people that are not eligible for Cost of Living Payments or for those that still need additional support, the government is providing an extra £500 million of local support, via the Household Support Fund. The Fund will be extended from this October to March 2023, bringing total funding for the scheme to £1.5 billion.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the additional cost of living support he announced on 26 May 2022 will apply to (a) second homes and (b) holiday lets.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is providing over £15bn of additional support, targeted particularly on those with the greatest need. This package builds on the over £22bn announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37bn this year.
The Government is helping all domestic electricity customers in Great Britain to cope with the impact of higher energy bills, with £400 off their bills from October through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS). This is a doubling of the £200 of support announced in February, and there will no longer be any repayments.
The Government’s intention is for EBSS to reach as many households as possible, while minimising the administrative complexity of the scheme. BEIS has consulted on the basis of paying EBSS via all domestic electricity meter points. A small number of households have multiple meter points – for example, some households have a second home or second meter points in their garage. The Government does not expect this to be a widespread issue.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money he has allocated for military support for Ukraine as of 14 April 2022.
Answered by Simon Clarke
UK military and economic assistance to Ukraine is longstanding. The UK has been in the vanguard in supplying military aid to Ukraine during the current conflict, providing a package worth over £450 million in lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine, including thousands of anti-tank weapons, air defence systems, helmets, body armour, and night vision goggles.
In addition, we are providing export financing to enhance Ukrainian naval capabilities, and since 2014 have invested in building Ukrainian military capacity, including training thousands of Ukrainian troops.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money HM Treasury will receive this year from the National Insurance increase in financial year 2022-23; and how much funding will be allocated to the (a) NHS and (b) care sector from that rise in that year.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In 2022-23, the Health and Social Care Levy takes the form of an increase to National Insurance contributions. The most recent estimate of the net yield from this increase is £12.7 billion, which was published in Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021.
A population share of receipts from the 2022-23 increase will go to the NHS or equivalent in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as with the existing NHS National Insurance contributions allocation.
Funding for Health and Social Care over the next three years was confirmed at Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an exception to the termination of tax credit applications due to absence in the event that the applicant was not able to safely return to the UK from Afghanistan.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government is aware of fewer than five cases where a UK resident travelled to Afghanistan and did not return to the UK within the 12-week time limit for temporary absences from the UK as set out in the tax credits legislation.
Under the tax credits legislation, HMRC can only pay customers who are temporarily absent from the UK for up to a maximum of 12 weeks. When the end of the relevant period has been reached, claims are terminated, regardless of the circumstances.
Where a tax credit claim is terminated because the customer does not meet the conditions for presence in the UK, the customer can apply for other means of support, such as Universal Credit, on their return to the UK.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the financial impact on families who were trapped in in Afghanistan for longer than 12 weeks in 2021 of the suspension of their claims for tax credits.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government is aware of fewer than five cases where a UK resident travelled to Afghanistan and did not return to the UK within the 12-week time limit for temporary absences from the UK as set out in the tax credits legislation.
Under the tax credits legislation, HMRC can only pay customers who are temporarily absent from the UK for up to a maximum of 12 weeks. When the end of the relevant period has been reached, claims are terminated, regardless of the circumstances.
Where a tax credit claim is terminated because the customer does not meet the conditions for presence in the UK, the customer can apply for other means of support, such as Universal Credit, on their return to the UK.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many UK residents who were trapped in Afghanistan for longer than 12 weeks in 2021 subsequently had their tax credits claims ended.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Government is aware of fewer than five cases where a UK resident travelled to Afghanistan and did not return to the UK within the 12-week time limit for temporary absences from the UK as set out in the tax credits legislation.
Under the tax credits legislation, HMRC can only pay customers who are temporarily absent from the UK for up to a maximum of 12 weeks. When the end of the relevant period has been reached, claims are terminated, regardless of the circumstances.
Where a tax credit claim is terminated because the customer does not meet the conditions for presence in the UK, the customer can apply for other means of support, such as Universal Credit, on their return to the UK.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the £4.3 billion fraudulently claimed through covid-19 support payments which is yet to be recovered which comes from debt in (a) Plymouth, (b) Devon and (c) Cornwall.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
HMRC’s estimate for the amount lost to fraud and error in the schemes during 2020- 21 is 8.7 per cent in Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), 2.5 per cent in Self-Employment Income Support Scheme phases 1-3, and 8.5 per cent in the Eat Out to Help Out (EOHO) scheme. This equates to £5.8 billion, against a spend of £81.2 billion.
HMRC prioritised getting money to those who needed it with the schemes designed to minimise fraud while not unnecessarily delaying payments. The schemes were designed to prevent fraud, both in the eligibility criteria and the claim process itself. However, they could still be attractive to fraudsters.
To ensure quick payment, HMRC undertook pre-payment risk assessments of 22 million claims (£93 billion) within 72 hours of receipt, blocking those indicating criminal activity.
HMRC have taken a supportive and reasonable approach where mistakes have been made, giving customers the opportunity to correct them without fear of sanctions. By law, claimants can notify and amend incorrect claims within 90 days without penalty. An online system to help people correct mistakes was set up and all claims are risk assessed and considered for post payment checks. HMRC look at a variety of factors, including comparing the claims to historic data (e.g. pre-pandemic payroll data), third party information, and other intelligence, like Fraud Hotline calls. HMRC have also compared claims made to different support schemes to identify where they might want to ask more questions, such as in the case of a restaurant who had furloughed all their staff under CJRS but were also claiming under the EOHO scheme.
Claims HMRC think are higher risk, or appear more complex, are selected for “One-to-One” intervention (OTO). Lower or less complex risk claims are considered for “One-to-Many” (OTM) Campaigns.
OTM are written campaigns to address simpler risks. The same communication is sent to up to tens of thousands of customers. HMRC are clear with what they are asking, where to get support, and how to put it right. They also ensure there is follow up if customers do not respond to the OTM approach.
OTO interventions are direct enquiries by experienced compliance officers for more complex risks.
HMRC are taking tough action to tackle fraudulent behaviour. Anyone who keeps money despite knowing they were not entitled to it, faces repaying up to double the amount, plus interest and potentially criminal prosecution in serious cases.
HMRC established the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce, which is estimated to recover approximately £800 million to £1 billion in the two years to 2022-23, on top of around £500 million which was recovered in 2020-21. HMRC will continue to address fraud and error in the schemes beyond the duration of the taskforce.
For COVID-19 schemes, compliance checks are carried out when HMRC suspects there has been an overpayment of the claim, which may be due to either error or fraud. This work is still ongoing and therefore HMRC cannot say what proportion of any amount that is fraudulently claimed will be from businesses based in Plymouth, Devon, and Cornwall.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his planning assumption is on the amount the Exchequer will receive in fines from water companies in each of the next five years.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are unable to forecast sector specific fines, which are set as an outcome to legal proceedings and vary based on the offence.
In the period from 2010 to date, the Environment Agency have brought 190 successful prosecutions against the Water Companies with the Courts imposing fines of approximately £140 million.