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Written Question
Public Expenditure: Scotland
Wednesday 18th October 2023

Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Barnett consequentials for Scotland are of the construction of the HS2 rail project.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Funding for the HS2 programme has been provided to the Department for Transport’s (DfT). The Barnett formula has applied changes to the DfT’s budget to date as a result of funding for the HS2 programme, and the Scottish Government has received Barnett consequentials as a result.

At spending reviews, the Barnett formula is applied to changes in each UK government department’s DEL budget with the Barnett consequentials that arise then added to the devolved administrations’ baseline block grants.  As the Barnett formula is not applied to changes in funding for all the individual programmes within a UK government department’s DEL budget, the Barnett consequentials associated with these individual programmes cannot be identified.

The Barnett formula will continue to apply in the usual way as per the Statement of Funding Policy to any additional funding subsequently confirmed in this Spending Review period. All decisions on funding beyond the Spending Review 21 period will be taken at the next Spending Review.


Written Question
Gambling
Tuesday 8th November 2022

Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential economic costs of delaying the publication of the Gambling White Paper.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

No assessment has been made. In line with its statutory duties, the independent OBR publish the fiscal impact of any government policy that is introduced as part of the Budget process.


Written Question
Car Allowances
Friday 27th May 2022

Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to increase the business mileage rate for motorists.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government sets Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) to minimise administrative burdens. AMAPs aim to reflect running costs including fuel, servicing and depreciation. Depreciation is estimated to constitute the most significant proportion of the AMAPs.

Employers are not required to use the AMAPs. 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.


Written Question
Cash Dispensing
Wednesday 15th December 2021

Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will make it its policy to (a) include legislative proposals protecting access to cash in next year's Queen's Speech and (b) engage with UK Finance's Access to Cash Action Group to inform those proposals.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government recognises that cash has ongoing importance to the daily lives of millions of people across the UK, particularly to those in vulnerable groups. The Government has committed to legislating to protect access to cash for those who need it and ensuring that the UK's cash infrastructure is sustainable for the long term.

To support the development of legislation, the Government has undertaken an Access to Cash Consultation seeking views on proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel reasonable distances to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities. The consultation closed on 23rd of September, and the Government will set out next steps in due course.

Alongside the Government’s commitment to legislate, industry also has an important role to protect access to cash. The Government therefore welcomes the announcement to fund additional shared service Bank Hubs and the direction set by the recent announcement from the Cash Action Group on industry commitments to support access to cash. I look forward to seeing what results these industry initiatives deliver in protecting cash facilities for local communities across the UK.


Written Question
Cash Dispensing
Wednesday 15th December 2021

Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Which analysis, published 9 December 2021, on the increased rate of bank branch closures in the last 12 months, if he will make it his policy to set a timetable for bringing forward legislative proposals to protect access to cash.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government recognises that cash has ongoing importance to the daily lives of millions of people across the UK, particularly to those in vulnerable groups. The Government has committed to legislating to protect access to cash for those who need it and ensuring that the UK's cash infrastructure is sustainable for the long term.

To support the development of legislation, the Government has undertaken an Access to Cash Consultation seeking views on proposals for new laws to make sure people only need to travel reasonable distances to pay in or take out cash. The Government’s proposals intend to support the continued use of cash in people’s daily lives and help to enable local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring they can access deposit facilities. The consultation closed on 23rd of September, and the Government will set out next steps in due course.

Alongside the Government’s commitment to legislate, industry also has an important role to protect access to cash. The Government therefore welcomes the announcement to fund additional shared service Bank Hubs and the direction set by the recent announcement from the Cash Action Group on industry commitments to support access to cash. I look forward to seeing what results these industry initiatives deliver in protecting cash facilities for local communities across the UK.


Written Question
Cash Dispensing
Thursday 20th May 2021

Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he is making on ensuring people have access to cash throughout the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government recognises that cash is important to the daily lives of millions of people across the UK, and has committed to legislating to protect access to cash for those who need it and ensuring that the UK's cash infrastructure is sustainable for the long term.

Last year, the Treasury published a Call for Evidence, which sought views on the key considerations associated with cash access, including deposit and withdrawal facilities, cash acceptance, and regulatory oversight of the cash system. The Government has recently announced that it will consult this Summer on legislative proposals for protecting cash for the long term.

The Government has also made legislative changes to support the widespread offering of cashback without a purchase by shops and other businesses as part of the Financial Services Act 2021. These changes will come into effect in late June of this year. The Government’s view is that cashback without a purchase has the potential to be a valuable facility to cash users, and to play an important role in the UK’s cash infrastructure.


Written Question
Financial Services Compensation Scheme: Compensation
Thursday 29th April 2021

Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the announcement of a compensation scheme for London and Capital Finance bond holders of 19 April 2021, whether his Department has considered paying similar compensation to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to offset claims they have already settled.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Following an extensive investigation, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) found that certain London Capital and Finance (LCF) bondholders were eligible for FSCS compensation.

The FSCS has now paid out £57.6m to over 2,800 LCF bondholders, and has identified and contacted all bondholders whom it believes are eligible for compensation.

As previously announced, the government will establish a compensation scheme for all LCF bondholders who are not eligible for FSCS compensation. Details of this scheme were set out in a Written Ministerial Statement on 19 April. The government expects the scheme to have paid all bondholders within 6 months of securing the necessary primary legislation, which it will bring forward as soon as parliamentary time allows.

The scheme will not make payments to the FSCS to offset settled claims, as these claims were paid to eligible bondholders in line with FSCS rules. HM Treasury’s separate compensation scheme will compensate those bondholders who are not eligible for FSCS compensation, recognising the unique and exceptional circumstances around LCF’s failure. This compensation will be capped at 80% of bondholders’ initial investments up to a cap of £68,000.


Written Question
Payments
Tuesday 20th April 2021

Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders on bringing forward legislative proposals to allow cashback without a purchase.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government has supported an amendment to the Financial Services Bill that will introduce legislative changes to allow for the widespread offering of cashback without a purchase by shops and other businesses.

The Government’s view is that cashback without a purchase has the potential to be a valuable facility to cash users, and to play an important role in the UK’s cash infrastructure. The recent Call for Evidence on Access to Cash invited views on this issue. It noted that cashback with a purchase was the second most frequently used method for withdrawing cash in the UK behind ATMs in 2019. There were 123 million cashback transactions when using a debit card to make a purchase amounting to a total value of £3.8 billion.

Pre-existing legislation, which derives from the EU’s Second Payment Services Directive, has meant that if a merchant wanted to offer cashback without requiring the customer to make a purchase, that shop, or its agent, would have to be authorised or registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This presents a significant burden for many businesses.

This legislative change to enable cashback without a purchase will allow merchants to offer this service without being authorised or registered with the FCA. It is only possible now that the UK has left the EU and is a welcome step towards protecting access to cash for the future.

Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel


Written Question
Cash Dispensing
Thursday 4th March 2021

Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that people can continue to access cash; and if he will publish the Government's timeframe for bringing forward legislative proposals to protect access to cash.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government has committed to legislate to protect access to cash and ensure that the UK’s cash infrastructure is sustainable for the long term. To progress this work, the Government published a Call for Evidence on Access to Cash in October 2020. The Call for Evidence sought views on the key considerations associated with cash access, including deposit and withdrawal facilities, cash acceptance, and regulatory oversight of the cash system. The Government is considering responses to the Call for Evidence and will set out next steps in due course.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Treasury has been working closely with regulators and industry to ensure customers continue to have access to essential banking services, including cash, while also protecting the safety of staff and customers. This has meant the vast majority of people have been able to access cash through the pandemic.

The Government created the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy Group in 2019, which has provided a forum for the public bodies to formally co-ordinate respective approaches to access to cash. This is chaired by HM Treasury and attended by the Bank of England, Payment Systems Regulator and Financial Conduct Authority. The members published an update on the actions of its members in July 2020. This included work led by the PSR and FCA to develop a comprehensive picture of cash access infrastructure across the UK.


Written Question
Cash Dispensing
Monday 25th January 2021

Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Government's timeframe is for bringing forward legislative proposals on protecting access to cash; and whether he has made an assessment of how those potential proposals are planned to interrelate with the existing work of the FCA, his Department and industry to protect access to cash.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Government recognises that cash remains important to millions of people across the UK and has committed to protecting access to cash for those that need it. The Government published a Call for Evidence on 15 October 2020 seeking views on the key considerations associated with cash access, including deposit and withdrawal facilities, cash acceptance, and regulatory oversight of the cash system. The Call for Evidence closed on the 25 November 2020. The Government is considering responses and will set out next steps in due course.

The FCA and PSR have also been leading a programme of work with industry, including engaging with consumer groups, to reach agreement on sustainable long-term solutions for cash access. HM Treasury has been closely involved in this work; the findings from which are being used to inform the Government’s approach on cash.