Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Summary of reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief, published on 30 October 2024, whether the £1 million threshold for the two reliefs will be uprated over this Parliament by inflation.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The allowance will be £1 million from 6 April 2026. Decisions about future increases will be taken in the same way as for other inheritance tax reliefs.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Summary of reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief published on 30 October 2024, how many estates she expects to be affected from the combined reforms to the two reliefs on which the £495 million estimate in revenue is derived in 2027-28.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
2021-22 is the latest available year for outturn statistics on APR and BPR claims. Further details around the timing of data releases for statistics around Inheritance Tax liabilities can be found in the ‘timeliness and punctuality’ section of the statistics’ Background Quality Report at:
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR. Up to around 520 of these are expected to relate to claims for APR (including those that also claim for BPR), and this number falls to around 430 when claims that include AIM shares are excluded. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) each year are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Summary of reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief, published on 30 October 2024, what equivalent figures HMRC hold on claims for the two reliefs for years after the 2021-22 tax year.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
2021-22 is the latest available year for outturn statistics on APR and BPR claims. Further details around the timing of data releases for statistics around Inheritance Tax liabilities can be found in the ‘timeliness and punctuality’ section of the statistics’ Background Quality Report at:
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR. Up to around 520 of these are expected to relate to claims for APR (including those that also claim for BPR), and this number falls to around 430 when claims that include AIM shares are excluded. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) each year are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to impose VAT on private school fees for any part of the academic school year commencing in September 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education, which is why we have made the tough decision to end tax breaks for private schools. This will raise revenue for essential public services, including investing in the state education system.
The Prime Minister has been clear that if a child has an Education, Health and Care Plan that requires them to attend a private school because their needs cannot be met in the state sector, they will not feel an impact from VAT being charged on fees. The Chancellor has also been clear that changes will not come into force until 2025.
Further details on this policy will be set out in due course. The Government engages with a wide range of stakeholders with an interest in Government policy, including VAT, as part of the policy development and implementation process as a matter of course.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason kinship carers can only claim the lower rate of Child Benefit if they already have children for whom they claim Child Benefit; and if he will take steps to review this policy.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
The higher rate of Child Benefit can only be paid for the eldest child. It is intended to help all families with children, acknowledging the impact on a family’s finances of the arrival of a child/children in the family. The arrival of a child for the first time may mean for instance that many parents have to give up work altogether or work reduced hours. When Child Benefit ends for the eldest child, the higher rate becomes payable for the next eldest child. The government keeps all policies under review in the usual way.
Financial support for kinship carers is paid at the discretion of the local authority and in accordance with their model for assessing support needs. There is no limit on the level of support, including financial support, that local authorities can provide. The local authority should have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has established a (a) board and (b) working group for the purposes of realising the economic growth potential of East West Rail.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
HM Treasury has recently established an official-level East West Rail economic growth board with representatives from relevant government departments (DfT, DLUHC, DBT, DSIT & the IPA). The board will ensure that central government is fully joined up in its support for locally-led plans to maximise the benefits of East West Rail, and will co-ordinate activity accordingly.
The government provided £15m of funding at Spring Budget 2023 to support local authorities along the East West Rail route to further progress their plans to make the most of the railway for their communities.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the value for money of public spending on the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.
Answered by John Glen
The Government recognises the significant economic potential of the Oxford to Cambridge region, but also that it is constrained by poor connectivity, limited laboratory space, and high housing costs. The Spring Budget set out the Government’s commitment to East West Rail, which will unlock locally-led growth. In line with the usual process, East West Rail Company will produce an Outline Business Case ahead of an application for planning consent and the Treasury will assess the value for money of the scheme at this point.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the independent review of Loan Charges published on 3 December 2020, whether he plans to commission a new review to examine the Loan Charge in the context of promoters of these schemes as well individuals using these schemes.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
An independent review of the Loan Charge has already taken place. The 2019 Review, which was conducted by Lord Morse, concluded that it was right for the Loan Charge to remain in force and for the Government to collect the tax due. The Government accepted 19 of the 20 recommendations in the Review, including those related to the promoters of schemes.
Following the Review, HMRC published its strategy to challenge and deal with promoters of tax avoidance schemes. A key part of this strategy is to disrupt the business models of promoters of disguised remuneration and other tax avoidance schemes and use every tool available to prevent them marketing their schemes. HMRC has a range of legislative powers to tackle promoters, under three main regimes: Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes, Promoters of Tax Avoidance Schemes, and the Enablers penalty. Penalties can be charged for various failures to comply with the requirements of these regimes.
The Government recognises that there is more to do to stop promoters from selling their schemes. Finance Acts 2021 and 2022 introduced new measures that will help HMRC to take action more quickly.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the energy rebate announced on 3 February 2022, what steps he plans to take to enable customers to reject the rebate prior to payment or return the rebate if paid to them automatically.
Answered by Helen Whately - Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
All domestic electricity customers in Great Britain will receive a £200 reduction in their electricity costs from this October. This will be delivered via energy suppliers and will be clearly identifiable as a line item on electricity bills.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing the rate of VAT payable on solar panels and battery storage installation.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The Government maintains a reduced rate of VAT of 5 per cent on the installation of many Energy Saving Materials, including solar panels, subject to certain conditions. Battery storage installation may qualify for the reduced rate of VAT when supplied as part of an installation of qualifying goods.Extending the current relief would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. VAT raised around £130 billion in the year 2019-20, and helps to fund key spending priorities, including on health, education, and defence.