Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department assesses references from British nationals during the visitor visa application process.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Visit caseworker guidance provides guidance to decision makers when assessing Visitor applications. It sets out that all information provided by the applicant must be assessed which may include supporting statements or references provided by British nationals to support the application - Visit caseworker guidance (accessible) - GOV.UK
Visitor visa applications are assessed on their individual merits, considering all aspects of the case. This may include supporting documents provided by a sponsor, which are then evaluated, along with the rest of the application, against the balance of probabilities to determine if the application meets the requirements of the Visitor Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules - Immigration Rules Appendix V: Visitor - Guidance - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support her Department provides to restaurant businesses who have incurred financial cost as a result of operating from premises affected by flammable cladding.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The key objective of the government’s cladding funding schemes is to ensure that life safety fire risks associated with cladding are addressed as quickly as possible to ensure that residents in residential buildings are safe and feel safe in their homes. Funding is available towards eligible costs related to action needed to mitigate the risk posed by cladding on residential buildings over 11m in height. Commercial leaseholders operating in mixed use residential and commercial developments may in some circumstances benefit from protections against having to pay service charges towards equivalent works to fix cladding. Full details of eligibility for cladding safety funding can be found at Cladding Safety Scheme overview - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the bounce back loan scheme implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic; and what assessment he has made of trends in the level of repayment.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The British Business Bank is undertaking a multi-year evaluation of the Covid-19 loan schemes, looking at whether the schemes met their objectives. The Year 2 evaluation report was published in November 2023 and shows that the schemes met their primary objectives of unlocking credit for businesses at scale and speed, reaching just over a quarter of small businesses in the UK. Evaluation evidence to date suggest that the schemes have had a positive impact on business outcomes like survival, turnover and employment.
Covid loan guarantee scheme performance data is published on a quarterly basis. As at 30 September 2024, within the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, £6.61 billion had been fully repaid by borrowers and £12.10 billion was being repaid on schedule.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help support small and medium sized enterprises with the cost of import charges.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Small and medium sized businesses make a vital contribution to the UK economy. There are various arrangements in place that enable businesses to access reduced or zero import charges.
With regards to customs duty, the UK has a number of free trade agreements which enable businesses to benefit from paying reduced or zero customs duty. The UK also has several customs procedures which allow businesses to pay a reduced amount of duty on their imports, depending on what they are and what they do with them – for example, if they are importing them temporarily or repairing them.
VAT is due on all imports of goods into the UK at the same rate as domestic transactions. This ensures imports cannot undercut UK businesses and does not represent an additional charge for businesses buying imports. VAT registered businesses are able to reclaim VAT paid upon import, in the same way as for domestic purchases, as well as making use of VAT accounting schemes to smooth cash flow.