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Written Question
Motor Vehicles: Taxation
Thursday 29th June 2023

Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of charging tax on (a) scooters and (b) other smaller petrol motor vehicles.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a tax on mechanically propelled vehicles kept or used on public roads. This includes petrol cars and motorcycles.

Rates for cars can vary based on date of first registration, engine size and emissions. Rates for motorcycles can vary based on engine size. For the purposes of VED, a motorcycle is defined as a motorbicycle or motortricycle that does not exceed 450kg unladen and therefore includes some vehicles that are commonly referred to as ‘scooters’.

Currently petrol cars, first registered between March 2001 and March 2017 and with emissions of less than 100g/km CO2 as well as all electrically propelled vehicles are exempt from VED.

At Autumn Statement 2022 the Chancellor announced that from 1 April 2025 all electric cars, vans and motorcycles would pay VED in the same way as petrol and diesel equivalents. This will mean that all cars, vans and motorcycles will pay VED unless otherwise exempt.

As with all taxes, VED is kept under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor.


Written Question
Wines: Excise Duties
Wednesday 7th June 2023

Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the changes to the rates of Alcohol Duty on the wine industry.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the assessment of impacts from changes to the duty rates made at the Spring Budget 2023.

The Government had to make some tough decisions at Spring Budget in line with its commitment to managing the UK economy responsibly. However, prior to this, the wine industry has benefitted from freezes at 4 out of the last 5 fiscal events. Further, through the Government’s historic alcohol duty reforms, we are standardising the treatment of still and sparkling wine, providing a substantial duty cut for sparkling wine. In addition, lighter wines below 10.4% will pay less duty from 1 August.


Written Question
Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services
Monday 27th March 2023

Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether all callers to HMRC are charged the same rate.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Phone providers set telephone call charges, including for calls to HMRC.

For more information on telephone call charges, please refer to the GOV.UK website here: https://www.gov.uk/call-charges.


Written Question
Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services
Monday 20th March 2023

Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much income was accrued by HMRC through telephone call charges applied to incoming calls in financial year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 to date.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

HMRC does not charge customers for calls to 0845 or 03000 numbers. There is further information about 0300 numbers on the Ofcom website:

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/numbering/what-are-03-numbers/

For more information on call charges, please refer to GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/call-charges


Written Question
Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services
Monday 20th March 2023

Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's rational is for applying call charges to incoming public telephone calls to His Majesty's Revenue & Customs.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

HMRC does not charge customers for calls to 0845 or 03000 numbers. There is further information about 0300 numbers on the Ofcom website:

http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/phone/numbering/what-are-03-numbers/

For more information on call charges, please refer to GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/call-charges


Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 22 Nov 2022
Energy (oil and gas) profits levy

Speech Link

View all Paula Barker (Lab - Liverpool, Wavertree) contributions to the debate on: Energy (oil and gas) profits levy

Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 22 Nov 2022
Energy (oil and gas) profits levy

Speech Link

View all Paula Barker (Lab - Liverpool, Wavertree) contributions to the debate on: Energy (oil and gas) profits levy

Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 17 Nov 2022
Autumn Statement

Speech Link

View all Paula Barker (Lab - Liverpool, Wavertree) contributions to the debate on: Autumn Statement

Written Question
Mortgages: Defaulters
Wednesday 16th November 2022

Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of rising interest rates on the number of mortgage defaults across England.

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

The Government remains watchful for any emerging trends in light of rising interest rates; however, these will be based on arrears levels that are at historic lows: out of a total of 8.4 million residential mortgages, according to the latest UK Finance data, 74,560 were in arrears at the end of June, 10% fewer than in the same period in the previous year.

Interest rates are rising across the world as countries manage rising prices largely driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. As everyone’s financial situation is unique, the impact of these rate rises on individual households will vary. It is worth noting, however, that around 75% of residential mortgages are on a fixed rate and are therefore shielded from rate rises in the short term.

Nevertheless, the Government understands that people across the UK are worried about the cost of living, and are seeing their disposable incomes decrease as they spend more on the essentials. That is why we have announced £37 billion of support for the cost of living this financial year. In addition to the Energy Price Guarantee, millions of the most vulnerable households will receive £1,200 of support this year, with additional support for pensioners and those claiming disability benefits.

If mortgage borrowers do fall into financial difficulty, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidance requires firms to provide support through tailored forbearance options. The Government has also taken a number of measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit, and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.


Written Question
Mortgages: Non-payment
Thursday 27th October 2022

Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the increase risked in non-payment of mortgages in the context of a potential increase in Bank of England interest rates in (a) Liverpool Wavertree constituency and (b) the North West of England.

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

Mortgage arrears levels remain at historically low levels. According to the latest UK Finance data, there were 74,560 homeowner mortgages in arrears at the end of June, 10% fewer than in the same period in the previous year.

Around 75% of residential mortgage borrowers are on fixed-rate deals and are therefore shielded from interest rate rises in the short term.

However, the Government has already taken immediate action to help households, including those in the Liverpool Wavertree constituency and the North West of England, through the Energy Price Guarantee. This is in addition to the £37 billion of targeted support for the cost of living this financial year.

For mortgage borrowers that do enter financial difficulty and struggle to keep up with payments, Financial Conduct Authority guidance requires firms to provide support through tailored forbearance options. This could include a range of measures depending on individual circumstances.

The Government has also taken a number of measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit, and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.