Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that customers of Azure Services Ltd who were impacted by the mis-selling of loans for timeshares at the Golden Sands Resort in Malta are able to access financial redress.
Answered by Alan Mak
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been established as an independent regulator responsible for the supervision and regulation of conduct in financial services. The FCA’s independence from Government does not mean it can act arbitrarily, rather it must operate within the framework of statutory duties and powers agreed by Parliament. As well as being required to operate within this framework, the FCA is fully accountable to Parliament for how it discharges its statutory functions.
This direct accountability to Parliament reflects the FCA’s statutory independence and the fact that it is solely responsible for everyday operational decisions without Government approval or direction, and so it is primarily accountable for them. The Government has no plans to support a cross-party parliamentary investigation into the FCA’s handling of issues relating to Azure Services Limited, as this would be a matter for Parliament. That notwithstanding, the Treasury plays an important role in holding the FCA accountable, including through engaging closely with the FCA across all levels of seniority.
The Government recognises the impact on consumers as a result of Azure Services’ business practices whilst it operated as a credit broker without the relevant Office of Fair Trading (OFT) licence and, later on, FCA authorisation. However, the Government notes the decision by Barclays Partner Finance to refund over £210m to customers who took out a loan following an introduction by Azure Services. Barclays Partner Finance is currently putting in place the necessary arrangements for this programme of remediation and has committed to contact impacted customers before the end of the year to set out the next steps.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to support a cross-party investigation into the Financial Conduct Authority's handling of the mis-selling of timeshares by Azure Services Limited.
Answered by Alan Mak
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been established as an independent regulator responsible for the supervision and regulation of conduct in financial services. The FCA’s independence from Government does not mean it can act arbitrarily, rather it must operate within the framework of statutory duties and powers agreed by Parliament. As well as being required to operate within this framework, the FCA is fully accountable to Parliament for how it discharges its statutory functions.
This direct accountability to Parliament reflects the FCA’s statutory independence and the fact that it is solely responsible for everyday operational decisions without Government approval or direction, and so it is primarily accountable for them. The Government has no plans to support a cross-party parliamentary investigation into the FCA’s handling of issues relating to Azure Services Limited, as this would be a matter for Parliament. That notwithstanding, the Treasury plays an important role in holding the FCA accountable, including through engaging closely with the FCA across all levels of seniority.
The Government recognises the impact on consumers as a result of Azure Services’ business practices whilst it operated as a credit broker without the relevant Office of Fair Trading (OFT) licence and, later on, FCA authorisation. However, the Government notes the decision by Barclays Partner Finance to refund over £210m to customers who took out a loan following an introduction by Azure Services. Barclays Partner Finance is currently putting in place the necessary arrangements for this programme of remediation and has committed to contact impacted customers before the end of the year to set out the next steps.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of waiving all tax on the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants with a rebate on the amount paid to reduce the risk of people being unable to manage payment plans and saving for their 2021-22 tax bill.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
I refer the Hon Member to the answer that was given on 25 February 2022 to UIN 127486.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing Mileage Allowance Payments in the context of the recent increase in petrol and diesel prices.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government sets the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) rates to minimise administrative burdens.
Organisations are not required to use the AMAPs rates. Instead, they can agree to reimburse the actual cost incurred, where individuals can provide evidence of the expenditure, without an Income Tax or National Insurance charge arising.
Alternatively, they can choose to pay a different mileage rate that better reflects their employees’ circumstances. However, if the payment exceeds the amount due under AMAPs, and this results in a profit for the individual, they will be liable to pay Income Tax and National Insurance contributions on the difference.
The Government keeps this policy under review.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the recent announcement of an upfront delayed payment of £200 on energy bills will apply to those living in park homes who purchase their electricity via the park home owner; and whether other support will be provided to park home residents.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
There are certain situations where a third party will be responsible for the bill (and be named on it). In this situation, any electricity charges are then passed onto the end user, typically through an all-inclusive rent (in the case of a landlord/tenant) or ‘pitch’ charges, e.g. for a park home.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will explore this issue further, including by gathering further information via the government consultation.
Under the Warm Home Discount, currently suppliers have the option to spend up to £40 million per year on Industry Initiatives. Industry Initiatives provide valuable support to vulnerable households, including those not eligible for the rebate. The Park Homes Warm Home Discount Scheme is one such initiative, where customers can apply for a rebate if they live in a park home. Last summer Government consulted on reforms to the Warm Home Discount, including making Industry Initiatives mandatory from 2022/23.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on additional support for the UK travel industry in response to the (a) imposition of covid-19 related restrictions on and (b) reductions in international travel.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Chancellor speaks to his colleagues on a regular basis about a range of matters.
Ultimately the best way to support aviation and the wider travel sector is through the safe and sustainable recovery of international travel, which is why we have recently confirmed the removal of pre-departure and day 2 PCR test requirements for eligible fully vaccinated passengers and all under 18s arriving in England. The Government is working with the Devolved Administrations to ensure a four-nation approach, which we fully support.
We have worked closely with the travel sector throughout the pandemic to help find ways to enable people to travel safely, while protecting public health. The aviation and aerospace sectors are being supported with over £12 billion made available through loan guarantees, support for exporters, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility and grants for research and development.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration has been accorded to new rules for alcohol excise duty in order to ensure this will not unfairly and disproportionately place a greater burden on the UK's wine industry.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The reforms announced at the Budget will produce an alcohol duty system that is overall simpler, fairer and healthier.
The Government believes it is appropriate to charge different rates of duty on drinks based on their alcoholic strength, with stronger drinks paying more duty and lower ABV drinks paying less duty. To minimise differences between categories of drinks, for the first time all products at 8.5% ABV or above will pay the same rate of duty regardless of the product type. This will also be true of products below 3.5% ABV. The existing system of taxing wines above 22% ABV in line with spirits on the basis of their pure alcohol content will continue. The Government also believes it is right to move wine to be taxed in proportion to its strength, as is already the case for beer and spirits. These reforms will result in lighter still wines below 11.5% ABV and many sparkling wines becoming cheaper, while higher strength still wines will pay more duty.
The Government is continuing to engage with industry, and industry members are encouraged to respond to the alcohol review consultation before the deadline of 30 January 2022.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to ensure that new rules for alcohol excise duty will not disproportionately burden the UK's wine industry.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The reforms announced at the Budget will produce an alcohol duty system that is overall simpler, fairer and healthier.
The Government believes it is appropriate to charge different rates of duty on drinks based on their alcoholic strength, with stronger drinks paying more duty and lower ABV drinks paying less duty. To minimise differences between categories of drinks, for the first time all products at 8.5% ABV or above will pay the same rate of duty regardless of the product type. This will also be true of products below 3.5% ABV. The existing system of taxing wines above 22% ABV in line with spirits on the basis of their pure alcohol content will continue. The Government also believes it is right to move wine to be taxed in proportion to its strength, as is already the case for beer and spirits. These reforms will result in lighter still wines below 11.5% ABV and many sparkling wines becoming cheaper, while higher strength still wines will pay more duty.
The Government is continuing to engage with industry, and industry members are encouraged to respond to the alcohol review consultation before the deadline of 30 January 2022.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the equity of taxation based on ABV percentage of the product in the new alcohol excise duty regulations on wine importers.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The reforms announced at the Budget will produce an alcohol duty system that is overall simpler, fairer and healthier.
The Government believes it is appropriate to charge different rates of duty on drinks based on their alcoholic strength, with stronger drinks paying more duty and lower ABV drinks paying less duty. To minimise differences between categories of drinks, for the first time all products at 8.5% ABV or above will pay the same rate of duty regardless of the product type. This will also be true of products below 3.5% ABV. The existing system of taxing wines above 22% ABV in line with spirits on the basis of their pure alcohol content will continue. The Government also believes it is right to move wine to be taxed in proportion to its strength, as is already the case for beer and spirits. These reforms will result in lighter still wines below 11.5% ABV and many sparkling wines becoming cheaper, while higher strength still wines will pay more duty.
The Government is continuing to engage with industry, and industry members are encouraged to respond to the alcohol review consultation before the deadline of 30 January 2022.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the Government's proposed reforms to alcohol excise duty do not apply the same rate to all categories of alcoholic drinks; and what assessment his Department has made of the impact of those reforms on the wine industry.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The reforms announced at the Budget will produce an alcohol duty system that is overall simpler, fairer and healthier.
The Government believes it is appropriate to charge different rates of duty on drinks based on their alcoholic strength, with stronger drinks paying more duty and lower ABV drinks paying less duty. To minimise differences between categories of drinks, for the first time all products at 8.5% ABV or above will pay the same rate of duty regardless of the product type. This will also be true of products below 3.5% ABV. The existing system of taxing wines above 22% ABV in line with spirits on the basis of their pure alcohol content will continue. The Government also believes it is right to move wine to be taxed in proportion to its strength, as is already the case for beer and spirits. These reforms will result in lighter still wines below 11.5% ABV and many sparkling wines becoming cheaper, while higher strength still wines will pay more duty.
The Government is continuing to engage with industry, and industry members are encouraged to respond to the alcohol review consultation before the deadline of 30 January 2022.