Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling institutional pension funds to invest in (a) temporary family accommodation and (b) homes for social rent.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
In one of the first major acts of this Government, the Chancellor launched a landmark pensions review, dedicated to unlocking billions of pounds of investments to boost growth and make every part of Britain better off. The review is consulting widely and a recent call for evidence sought feedback on the role of pension schemes in investing in different asset classes. The first phase of the review will conclude in the coming months.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a moratorium on evictions for mortgage prisoners.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government understands the challenges that mortgage prisoners face and will work with regulators and the industry to ensure that this issue is properly considered.
There are significant measures in place to protect vulnerable mortgage borrowers across the mortgage market, including mortgage prisoners. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments in order to provide tailored support. Closed book lenders must also comply with the FCA’s Consumer Duty, which ensures firms prioritise fair treatment and good outcomes for their customers.
The Government also has a number of measures in place to help people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit; the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS); and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to support mortgage prisoners.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government understands the challenges that mortgage prisoners face and will work with regulators and the industry to ensure that this issue is properly considered.
There are significant measures in place to protect vulnerable mortgage borrowers across the mortgage market, including mortgage prisoners. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments in order to provide tailored support. Closed book lenders must also comply with the FCA’s Consumer Duty, which ensures firms prioritise fair treatment and good outcomes for their customers.
The Government also has a number of measures in place to help people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit; the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS); and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of raising the rates of travel mileage and fuel allowances; and what assessment he has made of the impact of those rates on the income of low-paid workers.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. AMAPs are intended to create administrative simplicity and certainty by using an average rate.
As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review. In considering changes to the AMAP rate, the Government has to balance the responsible management of public finances, which fund our essential public services, with support for individuals.
At Spring Budget 2023, the government announced continued support for households and businesses by maintaining the rates of fuel duty at the levels set on 23 March 2022 for an additional 12 months, by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut and cancelling the planned inflation increase for 2023-24. That represents a saving for all drivers this year of overall around £5bn and for the average car driver around £100.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with representatives from home insurance providers on the potential impact of trends in the price of insurance premiums on policyholders.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Insurers make commercial decisions about the terms, conditions or price that they set when offering insurance, informed by the insurer’s claims experience and other industry-wide statistics. The Government does not intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers as this could damage competition in the market.
However, the Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value (i.e. the price a consumer pays for a product or service is reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive).
The FCA monitors firms to make sure they are providing products that are fair value and has robust powers to act against firms that fail to comply.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the total income his Department expects to receive from VAT payable on (a) cladding and (b) other building safety remediation projects carried out between June 2017 to June 2023.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government does not hold information on the amount of revenue raised through VAT paid on cladding and other building safety remediation projects carried out between June 2017 and June 2023. This is because this type of work is likely to be completed by businesses that undertake a variety of construction-related projects, and HMRC do not require businesses to provide a breakdown on their VAT returns of exactly what projects the VAT was charged on.Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount of potential tax revenue not received due to (a) economic inactivity and (b) unemployment of young people in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Glen - Shadow Paymaster General
The Government does not have a single recognised definition of young people for these purposes, with Office for National Statistics (ONS) labour market statistics published for 16 to 17, 18 to 24, and 25 to 34 year old age groups. Many young people in these groups are economically inactive by choice, as they dedicate their time to study and gain the knowledge they need to get the jobs they want. This will pay off later – for example, a Level 4/5 apprenticeship has a wage premium of 22% for those aged 19 and over in England. Meanwhile, the current unemployment rate for 16-24 year olds is low by historical standards and below the EU average.
More broadly, our employment rate is the 4th highest in the G7 – higher than the US, Italy and France. Furthermore, the Government announced a £7 billion package of support to target labour supply at the Spring Budget, which led the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to increase its estimate of employment by 110,000 by 2027-28.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the ongoing pay negotiations with public sector workers.
Answered by John Glen - Shadow Paymaster General
The Government put forward an offer to Agenda for Change unions, which the NHS Staff Council have accepted.
Pay for most other frontline workforces will be set through an independent Pay Review Body (PRB process). The Government will consider reports submitted by the PRBs and Awards will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing stronger regulatory requirements for banks on disclosure of lending criteria to borrowing customers.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The government is committed to ensuring that consumers are able to access credit where appropriate, so that they can achieve their financial goals. However, the government does not believe that it would be appropriate for lenders to disclose their precise lending criteria.
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require lenders to undertake creditworthiness and affordability assessments before lending to a potential borrower. These rules are based on the principle that money should only be lent to a consumer if they can afford to repay it. The rules set out what is expected of firms, and the sanctions if they lend irresponsibly. Firms are free to use a variety of methods and processes to assess credit risk and affordability, and firms can decide what is appropriate in the circumstances.
However, every lender will have its own idea of the particular profile of person that it wishes to lend to. Such information is commercially sensitive and its disclosure could lead to consumers being incentivised to provide misleading information in their credit application and accessing credit products that might not be appropriate for them.
The government is committed to high regulatory standards and will continue to work with regulators to ensure consumer lending is responsible.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of carrying out a new review of the Loan Charge.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The 2019 Independent Loan Charge Review drew upon all the available evidence and expert advice to consider the appropriateness of the Loan Charge, and its impact on individuals, reflecting the main concerns that had been raised by MPs and campaigners. The Government accepted all but one of the twenty recommendations in the review.
There are no plans for a further independent review.