Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Prisons of 28 March 2023, Official Report, column 811 on Prison Education, whether the Fair Deal pensions policy will apply to staff working for education providers that are classified as public sector bodies.
Answered by John Glen
The New Fair Deal policy introduced in 2013 does not apply to Further Education providers. Following the recent ONS reclassification of FE colleges as public sector bodies, this policy is under review.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2022 to Question 101719 on Safe Hands Plans: Insolvency, whether the Government plans to provide financial support to people who lost money as a result of the collapse of the Safe Hand Funeral plan group.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
In January 2021, the government legislated to bring all pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from 29 July 2022. This has ensured that 1.6 million funeral plan customers are, for the first time, protected by compulsory and robust regulation as they seek to put their affairs in order.
Safe Hands Plans went into administration in March 2022. The government understands that this will be very concerning for customers of Safe Hands.
It would not be appropriate for the Government to set the precedent or expectation that it will use taxpayer money to compensate consumers for the misconduct of unregulated firms or products which were not sold as FCA regulated at the time. The Government’s role is instead to ensure that the appropriate regulation is in place to guard against such failures happening.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to provide further support towards energy costs for the hospice sector in addition to the Energy Bill Discount Scheme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
On January 9, the Government has announced a new Energy Bills Discount Scheme to provide eligible business, charities and the public sector, including eligible hospices with a discount on high energy bills for a further 12 months from April 23 until March 24. This will help those locked into contracts signed before recent substantial falls in the wholesale price manage their costs and provide others with reassurance against the risk of prices rising again.
The Government has been clear that the current levels of support through Energy Bills Relief Scheme, unprecedented in its nature and huge scale, were time-limited and intended as a bridge to allow organisations to adapt. The new scheme therefore strikes a balance between supporting businesses for a further 12 months, from April 2023 to March 2024, and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the impact on consumers of the decision by UK banks and Building Societies to close the PayM mobile payments system.
Answered by John Glen
On 29 September Pay.UK and fifteen of the UK’s banks and building societies announced their decision that Paym, the mobile payments service, will close permanently on 7 March 2023.
Pay.UK have observed that payment volumes through Paym have diminished over the past three years as fewer people sign up to use the service. As an independent company limited by guarantee, Pay.UK has discretion over its decision-making, with oversight from the Bank of England and Payment Systems Regulator in relation to its recognised and designated payment systems.
Customers will continue to have access to a range of alternative payment methods. In addition, Pay.UK assures customers that the closure process will be carried out with the needs of Paym users front of mind and, to minimise any disruption, banks and building societies will engage with their customers ahead of their closure date to make them aware of the changes and what it means for them. Pay.UK advises that any Paym customers with concerns about the change should speak to their bank or building society.
For further information on the closure of Paym, please see the following webpage:
https://newseventsinsights.wearepay.uk/media-centre/press-releases/paym-mobile-payments-service-to-close-in-2023/#:~:text=London%2C%2029%20September%202022%3A%20Pay,customers%20on%207%20March%202023
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of rising prices of gluten-free products on people with coeliac disease.
Answered by John Glen
Since being appointed on 14 October, the Chancellor has regularly discussed with Cabinet colleagues the cost of living challenge.
The UK Government continues to monitor prices closely using the Consumer Prices Index and to work with industry to promote transparency for consumers.
Staple gluten free items remain available on NHS prescription to people with coeliac disease.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of permanently reducing the rate of VAT for (a) food and (b) beverages on (i) pubs and (ii) the wider hospitality industry in City of Durham constituency.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The VAT reduced rate for the hospitality sector was a temporary measure designed to support the cash flow and viability of sectors that have been severely affected by COVID-19. It was appropriate that as restrictions were lifted and demand for goods and services in these sectors increased, the temporary tax reliefs were first reduced and then removed in order to rebuild and strengthen the public finances.
According to OBR forecasts, VAT will have raised approximately £135 billion in 2021/22, helping to fund key spending priorities such as important public services, including the NHS and policing. In addition, this request should be viewed in the context of over £50 billion of requests for relief from VAT received since the EU referendum.
While there are no plans to reduce the rate of VAT on food, beverages, pubs or the wider hospitality industry, the Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether an individual can decline the £200 Energy Bills Rebate.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
All domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will receive a £200 reduction in their electricity costs from this October. This will be delivered via energy suppliers and will be clearly identifiable as a line item on electricity bills.
The reduction in costs will help people with the increase in energy bills by spreading the increased costs over a few years, so they are more manageable for households.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the finding of Scope and the Disabled Children’s Partnership’s report entitled The Gap Widens, published in October 2021, that there is a £2.1 billion funding gap in disabled children’s health and social care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education, ahead of the upcoming Spending Review, on tackling unmet need in disabled children’s health and care services.
Answered by Simon Clarke
HM Treasury Ministers and officials regularly meet with other government departments and a range of stakeholders, which includes discussions around support for children.
The government has to date provided the NHS with over £32 billion to support its response to and recovery from COVID-19, which includes the provision of healthcare services to disabled children. This is part of the overall £97 billion support for health services since the start of the pandemic.
The government has also given over £6 billion in un-ringfenced funding directly to councils to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including children’s services. At last year’s Spending Review, the government provided councils with access to over £1 billion of spending for social care through £300 million of new social care grant and the ability to introduce a 3% adult social care precept. This funding was additional to the £1 billion social care grant announced in 2019 which was maintained in line with the government's manifesto.
HM Treasury will continue to work with other government departments, including the Department for Health and Social Care, Department for Education and Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to ensure the Spending Review reflects the requirements of children’s health and care services in the longer term.