Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of HMRC in tackling tax avoidance.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is committed to tackling tax avoidance and evasion to ensure that everyone, no matter who they are, pays the right amount of tax at the right time. Most tax avoidance schemes simply do not work, and those who use them may end up having to pay much more than the tax they tried to avoid, including penalties.
As a result of the action the Government has taken to clamp down on tax avoidance, the estimated avoidance tax gap has shown a steady decline from £4.8 billion (1.1 per cent of total tax liabilities) in 2005-06 to £1.2 billion (0.2 per cent) in 2020-21.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people are employed by HMRC in (a) Wales, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) England and (d) Scotland as of 24 October 2022.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
People employed by HMRC, as of September 2022, in Wales, Northern Ireland, England, and Scotland are shown below:
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) women and (b) Black and minority ethnic people were employed by HMRC in each of the last five years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The number of women employed by HMRC in each of the last five years is shown in Table A below.
Table A:
Year | Employees |
2018 | 35770 |
2019 | 34742 |
2020 | 34257 |
2021 | 33225 |
2022 | 35359 |
The number of black and minority ethnic people employed by HMRC in each of the last five years is shown in Table B below.
Table B:
Year | Employees |
2018 | 5844 |
2019 | 6103 |
2020 | 6487 |
2021 | 6697 |
2022 | 8597 |
To monitor diversity, HMRC asks staff to voluntarily and confidentially record their ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, gender identity, and carer details on their HR records. The information can be input or updated at any time (either on entry to the department or at any time during employment).
The recording of diversity information is not mandatory, but HMRC asks everyone to consider the importance of recording it for individuals and the Organisation. The information provided for black and ethnic minorities therefore comes with a caveat that it represents only those who have chosen to declare this.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of HMRC's budget.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Treasury Ministers have regular discussions with officials from both HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and HM Treasury regarding HMRC’s finances.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to make his first official visit to Wales.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer looks forward to an official visit to Wales, and visits to all the devolved nations, in the coming months, when his diary allows.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to restore the UK's Official Development Assistance budget to 0.7 per cent of GDP.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In July 2021 the former Chancellor set out the fiscal circumstances under which the UK will make the return to spending 0.7% of its GNI on ODA. This is set out in detail in a written ministerial statement, here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-07-12/hcws172.
Each year, the Government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely and will review and confirm, in accordance with the Act, whether a return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecasts.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the adequacy of that Department's budget in helping meet the Government’s environmental objectives.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The government is committed to protecting and enhancing our natural environment in line with the ambitious approach set out in our 25 Year Environment Plan and legislated in the Environment Act 2021.
These long-term objectives will be achieved through a combination of public expenditure, private finance, and other policy levers.
The budget allocated to the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs will enable them to drive continued progress during this parliament.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are women.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Treasury is committed to building a Department that reflects those it serves, drawing on diversity of background and expertise, to enable it to offer the best possible advice to ministers, strengthening policymaking.
As at 31 March 2021, 48.7% of Core Treasury staff were female. Further information on the diversity of Treasury staff can be found on page 44 of Treasury’s Annual Review and Accounts, which can be accessed at ES983664_CCS001_CCS0620768248-001_COVER_1-1.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of people in his Department are from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Treasury is committed to building a Department that reflects those it serves, drawing on diversity of background and expertise, to enable it to offer the best possible advice to ministers, strengthen policymaking.
As at 31 March 2021, 19.4% of Core Treasury staff were from ethnic minorities. Further information on the diversity of Treasury staff can be found on page 44 of Treasury’s Annual Review and Accounts, which can be accessed at ES983664_CCS001_CCS0620768248-001_COVER_1-1.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)