Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2020 to Question HL9766 on Musical Instruments: Customs, what options other than a Carnet a UK citizen residing in the UK has to transport video, photography, and recording equipment between the EU and UK whilst undertaking freelance work.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In addition to using carnets, there are two main alternative options for transporting video, photography and recording equipment between the EU and the UK - Temporary Admission and Returned Goods Relief.
Temporary Admission is a customs procedure that allows a person to import non-UK goods temporarily into the UK. Using Temporary Admission means any import duty or import VAT is suspended as long as the goods are removed from the UK at a later date. Temporary Admission is useful if a person needs to temporarily import goods such as samples, professional equipment or items for auction, exhibition or demonstration into the UK. Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-to-import-goods-temporarily-to-the-uk-or-eu.
Returned Goods Relief (RGR) allows eligible items to be reimported free from Customs duty and import VAT. The relief can apply to exported items returning to the UK if certain conditions can be met. For RGR to apply goods must normally be returned within three years of the date of export unless exceptional circumstances exist. For RGR on import VAT to apply the exporter and importer must be the same person and any VAT due must have been previously paid in the UK or EU. Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pay-less-import-duty-and-vat-when-re-importing-goods-to-the-uk-and-eu.
Temporary Admission and Returned Goods Relief may be available in the EU. Further information on EU customs procedures can be found at https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/business/customs-procedures_en.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made on the duty review for alcohol announced in the spring Budget 2020; and what assessment he has made of the potential economic merits of lowering the duty on spirits.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - Leader of HM Official Opposition
A call for evidence was held in 2020, which closed on 29 November. The Government is now analysing the responses provided and will provide further updates on the duty review in due course.
Alcohol duties are kept under review and the impact of a change to spirits duty is considered at each fiscal event, including its effects on the economy.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to provide fiscal support to payroll giving organisations who have experienced a reduction in their transactions as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Shadow Paymaster General
The Government recognises that businesses across the economy face lower demand due to the impact of Covid-19.
The Government has announced unprecedented support for businesses during the pandemic, for which payroll giving organisations are eligible. Measures introduced by the government include VAT relief and loan guarantee schemes. The application deadline for the loan guarantee schemes – Bounce Back Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme – has been extended to the end of January 2021.
Payroll giving organisations can benefit from the recent extension to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until the end of March 2021. Furloughed employees will receive 80% of their current salary for hours not worked.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to process imports that are retained in port so as to avoid demurrage charges being imposed on businesses in North Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Demurrage charges are applied to the consignee by the shipping line when a container stays in the port for longer than a set period of time. The period of time is determined by the shipping line, which varies between 5 to 7 days. This is a standard procedure at all ports across the UK.
A reason why the container might be held at the port is if it has been held to be checked by customs. The charges are applied daily, at a rate of £40 to £60 per day. In order to avoid demurrage charges on businesses in the North Cornwall constituency, the Government is minimising delays and ensuring a smooth running of the border port.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) ice cream served from an ice cream van and (b) other takeaway cold foods are eligible for the reduced rate of VAT for the hospitality industry.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Cold takeaway food, for example sandwiches, is zero-rated, provided it is not of a type that is always standard rated such as ice cream, potato crisps, sweets, some beverages and bottled water.The temporary reduced rate of VAT was introduced to support the tourism and hospitality sectors and will help over 150,000 businesses and protect over 2.4 million jobs. Ice cream served for consumption on the premises in ice cream parlours or other food establishments will benefit from the reduced rate.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to encourage commercial lenders provide temporary commercial mortgage repayment holidays to businesses in the tourism and hospitality industries.
Answered by John Glen - Shadow Paymaster General
The Government has worked proactively with lenders to ensure that flexible support is provided to commercial landlords, including those in the tourism and hospitality sectors, through this difficult time. We announced on 29 May that lenders are committed to showing flexibility to commercial landlord customers that need it. The full statement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-publish-code-of-practice-with-commercial-sector-in-boost-to-high-street
A payment holiday is one of the options available for those that are facing financial difficulty and lenders are attempting to maximise the flexibility they can offer to borrowers at this time.
Ahead of the June payment day, all the main commercial lenders will be in contact with their major commercial landlord borrowers to identify concerns they have and provide support where appropriate.
It is right that where landlords receive support, they extend this to their tenants.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing repayment holidays for vehicle leasing during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Shadow Paymaster General
On 27 April, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published guidance that sets out what it expects firms to do for customers who are facing temporary payment difficulties due to the exceptional circumstances arising from COVID-19. This includes granting the customer a payment deferral for 3 months on motor finance and leasing payments.
The Government continues to work closely with the FCA and industry on this matter and stand ready to protect consumers wherever it is necessary.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits for people who have changed jobs or who were made redundant in March 2020 of extending the cut-off date for real time information submissions in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to 31 March 2020.
Answered by Jesse Norman
On 15 April, the Government announced it would extend the cut-off date for the CJRS to 19 March, to include employees whose payroll information was notified to HMRC by 19 March. Processing claims for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in cases where HMRC did not have RTI data by 19 March would require much greater manual handling by HMRC, which would significantly slow down the system while risking substantial levels of fraud. It would also require greater resource for HMRC when they are already under significant pressure to deliver the system designed. Those not eligible for the scheme may be able to access the other support Government is providing, including a package of temporary welfare measures and up to three months’ mortgage payment holidays for those struggling with their mortgage payments.
Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to introduce an online chat function to the government gateway system.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Following the introduction of a new Digital Engagement Platform in January 2020, HMRC will be introducing a range of new interactive digital interventions across all of their digital services over the next two years. HMRC’s aim is to encourage taxpayers to make full use of those digital services, and this will in turn drive the choices that HMRC make on which digital interventions to deploy and where.Asked by: Scott Mann (Conservative - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the UK is ranked fifth in the comparative productivity levels of G7 countries; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the levels of productivity in rural and urban communities in the UK are equal.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We recognise that UK productivity is lower than some of our peers. But we must also recognise that we have a number of strengths that we should continue to build on. We are the world’s fifth largest economy. We have many of the best universities on earth, are one of the most attractive places in the world to do business and lead in many 21st-century technologies and innovations. Closing our productivity gap, which exists compared to other nations but also between regions in the UK, will be vital in unleashing the UK’s potential.
We are committed to levelling up opportunity across all places in the UK. This means making sure that prosperity is shared across all our towns and cities. So far, we have announced a £5bn package of investment for buses and cycling, opened up a consultation on Freeports, and we’ve confirmed that we will proceed with HS2 to deliver essential North-South connectivity, greater capacity, and shorter journey times.