Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential economic merits of expanding the definition of infrastructure under the Levelling Up Fund to include environmental regeneration projects with merit that may have been refused funding under the Green Recovery Challenge as a result of oversubscription.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Levelling Up Fund will invest in a range of high value local investment priorities that improves everyday life across the UK. A range of benefits for will considered during the assessment process for the Fund, with projects expected to be fully aligned to UK legal commitments, such as delivering Net Zero. Further information on this can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential environmental benefits of expanding the definition of infrastructure under the Levelling Up Fund to include environmental regeneration projects with merit that may have been refused funding under the Green Recovery Challenge as a result of oversubscription.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Levelling Up Fund will invest in a range of high value local investment priorities that improves everyday life across the UK. A range of benefits for will considered during the assessment process for the Fund, with projects expected to be fully aligned to UK legal commitments, such as delivering Net Zero. Further information on this can be found on gov.uk.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has taken steps to encourage employers to furlough employees who have been instructed to shield during the covid-19 outbreak rather than place those employees on Statutory Sick Pay.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has been available since the start of the pandemic, including for the duration of the Government’s most recent shielding advice, reintroduced from 4 January 2021. Shielding guidance is no longer in place, but Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) individuals can continue to be claimed for like everyone else, subject to the CJRS eligibility criteria.
It is not for the Government to decide whether an individual firm should put its staff on furlough; that is a decision for the employer, in consultation with the employee. CEV individuals should talk to their employer to discuss and agree options in relation to work, such as working from home, or returning to the workplace in a different role if their previous position cannot be fulfilled in a Covid-secure manner.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of extending the VAT cut for the hospitality and leisure industries on levels of job retention in (a) the gambling industry and (b) adult gaming centres.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced on 15 July to support the cash flow and viability of over 150,000 businesses and protect 2.4 million jobs in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and will run until 31 March 2021.
This policy will cost over £2 billion and it is necessary for a boundary for eligibility to be drawn. The Government keeps all taxes under review, and any future decisions on tax policy will be made at Budget.
The Government has announced a significant support package to help businesses from a whole range of sectors through the winter months, which includes an extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, an extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, and an extension of the application window for the Government-backed loan schemes.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on levels of first-time home ownership of extending the stamp duty holiday.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The temporary SDLT relief was designed to stimulate immediate momentum in a property market where property transactions fell by as much as 50 per cent during the COVID-19 lockdown in March. This has also supported the jobs of people whose employment relies on custom from the property industry, such as retailers and tradespeople. First time buyers will benefit from the increase in available properties and save up to an additional £10,000 in SDLT, on top of the £5,000 they could already save under First Time Buyers relief.
The Government will continue to monitor the market. However, as the relief was designed to provide an immediate stimulus to the property market, the Government does not plan to extend this relief.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing child tax credit.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Child Tax Credit was increased in line with CPI in April 2020, and will be further increased as part of the annual uprating exercise in April 2021 to ensure it keeps its value relative to the cost of living.
Alongside these increases, the Government has put in place a comprehensive package of measures to support families on low incomes through the current crisis. This includes income support schemes, support for renters, help with utilities, a £500 million local authority hardship fund, a £7.4 billion package of additional welfare measures, the £170 million Covid Winter Grant Scheme to ensure families get extra support this winter, and the £220 million Holiday Activities and Food programme to give children access to nutritious meals and engaging activities.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of reforming the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to allow directors of small limited companies to undertake work while on furlough to support the economic viability of those companies.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Where furloughed directors need to carry out particular duties to fulfil their statutory obligations, they may do so provided it is no more than would reasonably be judged necessary for that purpose. In particular, they should not do work of a kind they would carry out in normal circumstances to generate commercial revenue or provide services to or on behalf of their company. This also applies to companies with a sole director.
Businesses that can remain open but are operating with reduced demand can use flexible furlough to keep staff working part time.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending eligibility for Business Support Grants to all small business, regardless of whether they operate in a commercial premises.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government recognises that the past few months have been very challenging for businesses in a wide variety of sectors. The various COVID-19 business grants have all been intended to support businesses facing high fixed property-related costs in some of the sectors hit hardest by the fall in consumer footfall caused by COVID-19, on the basis that businesses in this situation would find it particularly challenging to meet their high fixed property-related costs. This is why eligibility for both the original grant schemes and the new Local Restrictions Support Grant schemes is tied to the business rates system.
The Government has additionally allocated all local authorities in England £1.6 billion for the Additional Restrictions Grant, which local authorities can use to support businesses which are not eligible for the one-off or monthly grants for closed businesses, for example because they do not operate from commercial premises.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the discretionary grant fund allocated to local authorities to provide further assistance to small limited companies during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The £1.1 billion of discretionary business support funding made available to all English local authorities through the Additional Restrictions Grant is only one part of the Government’s comprehensive support package for businesses and local authorities during this time.
The Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) will provide businesses in England which are legally required to close due to national or local restrictions with up to £3,000 per month of closures, depending on their rateable value.
In addition, through the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open), local authorities which are subject to restrictions on socialising (in particular a ban on indoor household mixing) will receive additional funding so that they can make grants of up to £2,100 per month to hospitality, leisure and accommodation businesses which are able to remain open but which are experiencing a severe reduction in demand due to these restrictions. Local authorities will also receive a 5% discretionary top up to their Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) allocation; local authorities have significant discretion over how they use this top up funding.
Business across the country should also be able to benefit from additional measures in the Government’s unprecedented package of support for businesses, such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been extended through to 31 March; the Self Employment Income Support Scheme, which will provide the self-employed with grants worth up to 80% of trading profits, covering November 2020 to January 2021; and the COVID-19 lending schemes.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of converting Bounce Back Loans into grants to provide further assistance to small limited companies during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government launched the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) on May 4th to ensure that the smallest businesses can access loans of up to £50,000 in a matter of just days. As of 13 December, the scheme had supported more than 1.4 million businesses with facilities in excess of £43.5 billion.
With the government covering repayments for businesses for the first-year repayments for BBLS loans won’t begin until June 2021 at the earliest. The Pay as you Grow options announced by the Chancellor will enable businesses to repay their Bounce Back Loans on the terms which work best for them, giving them more time to repay and giving them the flexibility they may need to help their business recover and grow. This includes the ability to extend the term of the loan from 6 to 10 years (reducing average monthly payments by almost half), as well as the option to temporarily switch to interest-only payments or to take a full repayment holiday for 6 months.
We have always been clear that these are loans and not grants, and that businesses are of course expected to make every effort to repay the loans, as is only right as the taxpayer stands behind these loans.
The Government recognises the significant challenges facing businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has responded to this with an unprecedent package of business support. These support measures include, but are not limited to: The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), A 12-month business rates holiday for all eligible retail, leisure and hospitality businesses in England, Cash grants of up to £3,000 per month to help businesses that are closed with their costs, including paying their supply chains, and a VAT deferral for up to 12 months.