Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total forecast figure budgeted for the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was when that scheme was launched in June 2020.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The original forecast figure for the Eat Out to Help Out scheme was £500 million. This estimate was based on the 2018 ONS Annual Business Survey turnover data for the relevant sectors, along with the Spring Budget consumption forecast, and was published in the Plan for Jobs 2020. This can be found under table 1 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-plan-for-jobs-documents/a-plan-for-jobs-2020.
The amount paid under the scheme was £840 million, due to the popularity of the scheme and its effectiveness in meeting the policy objectives of incentivising consumer use of restaurants, and other such establishments, and protecting jobs in hospitality.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average annual amount spent by his Department is on photographers for the Chancellor; and which budget line and cost category that spending is recorded against.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All photographs are taken by members of the Treasury’s in-house communications team at no additional cost.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing (a) a bonus-malus or grant scheme and (b) zero per cent or reduced VAT rate on new electric vehicles to incentivise consumer purchase of those vehicles.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The government already provides ‘Plug-in Grants’ for zero emission cars and ultra-low emission vans, motorcycles and taxis, which provide a discount on the cost of a new vehicle, reducing the price paid by the consumer. At the Spending Review 2020, the Chancellor confirmed £582m to extend these grants to 2022/2023.
With regards to VAT on electric vehicles, VAT makes a significant contribution towards the public finances, raising around £130 billion in 2019/20, and helps fund the Government's priorities including the NHS, schools, and defence. Any loss in tax revenue would have to be balanced by a reduction in public spending, increased borrowing or increased taxation elsewhere.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the rate of VAT for charging electric vehicles on street to the rate for charging electric vehicles at home.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Electricity supplied to homes for all purposes benefits from a reduced rate of 5 per cent of VAT. While all taxes are kept under review, there are no plans to reduce the rate of VAT for charging of electric vehicles when away from home.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's document, Public sector exit payments: Response to the consultation, published in July 2020, what his timescale is for introducing limits on public sector redundancy payments.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 as amended by the Enterprise Act 2016 granted HM Treasury the power to implement the £95,000 public sector exit payment cap through secondary legislation in the form of affirmative regulations.
HMT consulted on draft regulations to implement the exit payment cap in 2019 and laid regulations before Parliament in July 2020. The public sector exit payment cap will come into force on 4 November 2020, which is 21 days after the regulations were made.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the Exchequer was of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme in August 2020.
Answered by Jesse Norman
By midnight on 31 August, £522 million had been claimed through the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.
Businesses can make claims until 30 September and HMRC will publish a final costing in October.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse has been of the Cycle to Work scheme in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of that scheme in each of the next two years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In May 2020, the cost of the Cycle to Work scheme in 2018/19 was published in the Non-Structural Tax Relief statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs
In addition to this, the cost of the Cycle to Work scheme (rounded to nearest £5m) for each of the last five years has been estimated as follows:
2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 |
55 | 50 | 50 | 45 | 50 |
The cost of the Cycle to Work scheme for the next two years has not been estimated.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including Directors of micro limited companies in the second payment of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
I refer the Honourable Member to the written answer to Parliamentary Question 54215 given on 9 June 2020: www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-03/54215/
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that insurance companies make payments in respect of business interruption policies that cover the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is in continual dialogue with the insurance sector to understand and influence its response to this unprecedented situation and is encouraging insurers to do all they can to support customers during this difficult period.
The Government is working closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that the rules are being upheld during this crisis and fully supports the regulator in its role. The FCA rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed. In addition, 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.
On 1 May the FCA outlined its intention to seek a court declaration, on an agreed and urgent basis, and for a selected number of key issues, to resolve uncertainty for many customers making business interruption claims.
Subsequently on 1 June, the FCA announced the policy wordings that would be tested in the court action and insurers it had invited to participate directly, along with an initial list of policy wordings and insurers that will potentially be impacted by the Court’s decision on the representative sample. The FCA expects to publish a final list of all the relevant insurers and policies that may have impacted wordings in early July, and expects a court hearing to take place in late July.
However, it is important to note that most businesses have not purchased insurance that covers losses from non-property damage. Additionally, while some policies cover losses arising from any disease classed as notifiable by the government, or a denial of access to a building, most of these policies only cover a specific list of notifiable diseases or an incident specifically on the premises of the business. Insurance policies differ significantly, so businesses are encouraged to check the terms and conditions of their specific policy and contact their providers. The terms of a policy cannot be changed retrospectively.
The Government encourages businesses to seek assistance through the wider support package if they are in financial difficulty. Businesses should explore the full package of support set out by the Chancellor in the Budget, on 17 March, and on 20 March, which includes measures such as business rates holidays, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and wage support.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure businesses who pay business rates via their rent are eligible for coronavirus business support grant funds.
Answered by Jesse Norman
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 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 shared spaces, individual users 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 shared 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.