Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with (a) hon. Members and (b) representatives from the Equitable Members Action Group on further compensation for people affected by the Equitable Life scheme.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Honourable Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath to the answer I gave on 17 May 2021.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to reassess the calculation of the compensation payments made to people affected by the Equitable Life scheme.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Honourable Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath to the answer I gave on 17 May 2021.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the methodology for the calculation of payments made through the Equitable Life Payment Scheme.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Honourable Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath to the answer I gave on 17 May 2021.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making additional compensation payments to people affected by the Equitable Life scheme.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are no plans to reopen the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. The Equitable Life Payment Scheme closed to claims in 2015 and further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.
The methodology for calculating payments to Equitable Life policyholders was published in 2011 and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-design.
I can assure the Hon Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath that relevant records are currently retained and will continue to be as long as it is legal to do so.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to (a) retain and (b) maintain data needed to make further payments to Equitable Life policy holders.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are no plans to reopen the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. The Equitable Life Payment Scheme closed to claims in 2015 and further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.
The methodology for calculating payments to Equitable Life policyholders was published in 2011 and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-design.
I can assure the Hon Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath that relevant records are currently retained and will continue to be as long as it is legal to do so.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of payments made under the Equitable Life Payment Scheme.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are no plans to reopen the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. The Equitable Life Payment Scheme closed to claims in 2015 and further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.
The methodology for calculating payments to Equitable Life policyholders was published in 2011 and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-design.
I can assure the Hon Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath that relevant records are currently retained and will continue to be as long as it is legal to do so.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take in 2021 to help people affected by the Equitable Life scandal.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are no plans to reopen the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. The Equitable Life Payment Scheme closed to claims in 2015 and further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.
The methodology for calculating payments to Equitable Life policyholders was published in 2011 and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-design.
I can assure the Hon Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath that relevant records are currently retained and will continue to be as long as it is legal to do so.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) Ministers in his Department on (i) compensation and (ii) support for people affected by the Equitable Life scandal.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are no plans to reopen the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. The Equitable Life Payment Scheme closed to claims in 2015 and further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.
The methodology for calculating payments to Equitable Life policyholders was published in 2011 and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-design.
I can assure the Hon Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath that relevant records are currently retained and will continue to be as long as it is legal to do so.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to provide support for newly self-employed people who are ineligible for support from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In delivering the SEISS, the Government has had to balance reaching as many people as possible, while protecting the public purse from the substantial risk of fraud by organised criminals and others who would seek to exploit these schemes. This has meant using data that HMRC already hold, in the form of Self-Assessment Tax Returns for the years up to and including 2018-19.
The SEISS continues to be just one element of a substantial package of support for the self-employed. The Universal Credit standard allowance has been temporarily increased for 2020-21 and the Minimum Income Floor relaxed for the duration of the crisis, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have fallen significantly, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this, they may also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of 25 January to Questions 137329 and 140287, what steps his Department is taking to overcome the practical issues that have prevented the Government from being able to include the newly self-employed in 2019-20 in the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
Answered by Jesse Norman
In delivering the SEISS, the Government has had to balance reaching as many people as possible, while protecting the public purse from the substantial risk of fraud by organised criminals and others who would seek to exploit these schemes. This has meant using data that HMRC already hold, in the form of Self-Assessment Tax Returns for the years up to and including 2018-19.
The SEISS continues to be just one element of a substantial package of support for the self-employed. The Universal Credit standard allowance has been temporarily increased for 2020-21 and the Minimum Income Floor relaxed for the duration of the crisis, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have fallen significantly, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this, they may also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.