Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his recent trip to California (a) began and (b) ended; and whether those dates are different to his original itinerary.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chancellor was in the US on a long-planned business trip. He met with industry leaders from the tech and investment sectors to discuss the global economic recovery, investment in the UK, as well as the latest trends and innovations in the global tech sector.
The Chancellor travelled to San Francisco on Tuesday 14th December and departed on Thursday 16th December. The Chancellor returned to the UK earlier than planned.
The remainder of the information will be published in the usual way in the quarterly transparency returns, available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel. The next publication is due February 2022.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his recent visit to California was purely for the purposes of conducting official business.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chancellor was in the US on a long-planned business trip. He met with industry leaders from the tech and investment sectors to discuss the global economic recovery, investment in the UK, as well as the latest trends and innovations in the global tech sector.
The Chancellor travelled to San Francisco on Tuesday 14th December and departed on Thursday 16th December. The Chancellor returned to the UK earlier than planned.
The remainder of the information will be published in the usual way in the quarterly transparency returns, available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel. The next publication is due February 2022.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who he met on his recent trip to California; and who accompanied him on that trip.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chancellor was in the US on a long-planned business trip. He met with industry leaders from the tech and investment sectors to discuss the global economic recovery, investment in the UK, as well as the latest trends and innovations in the global tech sector.
The Chancellor travelled to San Francisco on Tuesday 14th December and departed on Thursday 16th December. The Chancellor returned to the UK earlier than planned.
The remainder of the information will be published in the usual way in the quarterly transparency returns, available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel. The next publication is due February 2022.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What economic contingency planning his Department has undertaken in the event of a third wave of covid-19.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Throughout the pandemic, the Government has sought to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods while also supporting businesses and public services across the UK.
We have put in place an economic package of support totalling £352 billion through the furlough and self-employed income support schemes, support for businesses through grants and loans, business rates and VAT relief.
At the Budget, the Chancellor extended this package of economic support to accommodate even the most cautious view about the time it might take to exit restrictions and to provide certainty and continuity to business. The Government continues to keep all impacts and policies under review.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What steps the Government is taking to help prevent the fraudulent use of Government schemes to provide financial support for people and businesses during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC, and the Government more generally, take the risk of fraud arising from the use of COVID-19 support schemes very seriously. Accordingly the Government has established a ministerial board, chaired jointly by ministers from the Cabinet Office and Home Office. This board has set direction on the fraud response, with work coordinated by the Government's Counter-Fraud Function. COVID-19 schemes have been assessed for fraud risk and appropriate controls have been designed and implemented. Departments are working together to share intelligence, and to identify and investigate cases of suspected fraud.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to extend the mortgage holiday period for people who have recently been made redundant or who are unemployed as a result of the covid-9 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
We are continuing to work closely with lenders and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure that people are supported during these challenging times, especially if they are facing financial distress.
Lenders are continuing to show forbearance as required, working together with borrowers to establish how they can best affordably and gradually get back on track. Customers who are concerned about their current financial situation should get in touch with their lender at the earliest possible opportunity.?
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to enable fintech banks to provide loans to tech start-ups.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK is home to a world-leading fintech sector and an impressive amount of talent and expertise in this area. The government knows that fintech firms play an important role in the lending market, especially for smaller businesses.
The government is grateful for the way the sector has responded to the current crisis by identifying opportunities where technology may support our response. Already, a number of leading UK fintechs have been accredited by the British Business Bank (BBB) to help deliver the government’s business lending schemes. As of 17 May 464,393 facilities have been approved under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, totalling £14.18bn.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many workers in the tourism industry have been furloughed through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Applications for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) opened on Monday 20 April. By close of 11 May, HMRC had received 935,000 claims representing 7.5m furloughed employments and £10.1bn.
This is a new scheme and HMRC are currently working through the analysis they will be able to provide based on the data available. HMRC will make the timescales for publication and the types of data available in due course.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many workers in the hospitality industry have been furloughed under the Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Applications for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) opened on Monday 20 April. By close of 11 May, HMRC had received 935,000 claims representing 7.5m furloughed employments and £10.1bn.
This is a new scheme and HMRC are currently working through the analysis they will be able to provide based on the data available. HMRC will make the timescales for publication and the types of data available in due course.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Bow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many self-employed workers have been successful with an application to the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme went live on 13 May 2020.
By midnight on 14 May, about 1.1 million claims representing £3.1 billion had been made.