To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Mileage Allowances
Tuesday 27th February 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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 - Exchequer Secretary (HM 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.


Written Question
Housing: Insurance
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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 - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

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.


Written Question
Buildings: Fire Prevention
Friday 22nd September 2023

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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 - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

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.
Written Question
Unemployment: Young People
Tuesday 19th September 2023

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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 - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

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.


Written Question
Public Sector: Pay Settlements
Monday 12th June 2023

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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 - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

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.


Written Question
Banks: Loans
Monday 12th June 2023

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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 - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

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.


Written Question
Tax Avoidance
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

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 - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

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.


Written Question
Mortgages: North West
Monday 17th April 2023

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the number of people on standard variable rate mortgages in (a) Weaver Vale constituency and (b) the North West.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

According to UK Finance, c.20% of UK residential mortgages are on a variable rate. This includes standard variable rates, which mortgage borrowers typically revert to when their fixed-rate deal ends.

As set out in the statement published following the Chancellor’s roundtable with the major mortgage lenders, the Financial Conduct Authority and Martin Lewis in December, the majority of borrowers are able to switch to a new fixed-rate deal with their existing lender without undergoing an affordability test, providing they are up to date with payments and not looking to borrow more. The major mortgage lenders also committed to providing well-timed information to help customers plan ahead should their current fixed rate be due to end.


Written Question
Help to Buy Scheme: Individual Savings Accounts
Monday 27th March 2023

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the impact of the help to buy ISA scheme on house prices.

Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Help to Buy: ISA’s property price cap of £250,000 for properties outside London (£450,000 within London) allows the Government to target support more precisely at the people the scheme is intended to help. Since its launch in 2015, the scheme has supported 531,507 property completions across the UK, with a mean property value of £176,828 compared with an average first-time buyer house price of £245,350.

Further information on the Government’s home purchase support schemes can be found at: https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk


Written Question
Child Benefit: Inflation
Thursday 22nd September 2022

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of raising the income threshold for High Income Child Benefit Charge in the context of recent trends in inflation.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The adjusted net income threshold of £50,000 for HICBC only affects a small minority of earners with comparatively high incomes. Given this, the government considers that the current threshold for HICBC remains the best option but, as with all tax thresholds, this is kept under review.