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Written Question
Overseas Trade: China
Monday 31st October 2016

Asked by: Tom Blenkinsop (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans unilaterally to grant China market economy status in the event of the UK leaving the EU and its single market.

Answered by Simon Kirby

The UK remains a full member of the EU until we formally exit and all rights and obligations under the EU, including trade defence measures, still apply. We will continue to support the EU’s trade agenda and we look forward to the Commission’s proposals on Market Economy Status later in the Autumn.


Written Question
Concentrix
Monday 17th October 2016

Asked by: Tom Blenkinsop (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claimants in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Redcar and Cleveland and (d) Middlesbrough have had a tax credit claimed stopped and subsequently reinstated by Concentrix in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Jane Ellison

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is currently focussed on resolving the outstanding cases but will be preparing analysis, which will be available in due course. HMRC does not keep records of the total number of people who had their tax credits payments withheld, or for how long


Written Question
Concentrix
Monday 17th October 2016

Asked by: Tom Blenkinsop (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have had their tax credits stopped and subsequently reinstated by Concentrix due to incorrect information held on claimants cohabiting.

Answered by Jane Ellison

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is currently focussed on resolving the outstanding cases but will be preparing analysis, which will be available in due course. HMRC does not keep records of the total number of people who had their tax credits payments withheld, or for how long


Written Question
Concentrix: Standards
Monday 17th October 2016

Asked by: Tom Blenkinsop (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of (a) the amount of money wrongly withheld from benefit claimants due to errors made by Concentrix and (b) the average length of time that payments were mistakenly withheld.

Answered by Jane Ellison

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is currently focussed on resolving the outstanding cases but will be preparing analysis, which will be available in due course. HMRC does not keep records of the total number of people who had their tax credits payments withheld, or for how long


Written Question
Individual Savings Accounts: First Time Buyers
Monday 12th September 2016

Asked by: Tom Blenkinsop (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to amend the Lifetime ISA proposal so that the 25 per cent government bonus can be used towards a deposit on a first home.

Answered by Jane Ellison

As is usual with new financial products, the Government continues to work closely with industry on the finer details of the policy, including on the operation of withdrawals for first house purchase. Ministers will provide a statement on the position in due course.


Written Question
Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK: Redcar
Tuesday 14th June 2016

Asked by: Tom Blenkinsop (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to provide any funding for a further assessment of the Redcar SSI site as recommended in the independent report, Tees Valley: opportunity unlimited, published on 7 June 2016.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

I welcome Lord Heseltine’s independent report on the Tees Valley following the closure of the SSI steelworks. As noted in the report, the Government is providing funding for an intermediate body to manage the site prior to the creation of the Mayoral Development Corporation, and is funding site assessments in 2016-17 in order to understand the scale and complexity of the SSI site. The case for any further Government funding will be considered in light of those assessments.


Written Question
Transport: North of England
Wednesday 2nd March 2016

Asked by: Tom Blenkinsop (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to provide additional funding for projects identified by the forthcoming Northern Transport Strategy.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The government will need to consider the proposals from both Transport for the North and the National Infrastructure Commission before taking any funding decisions. The Government looks forward to the publication of both reports in the coming weeks.


Written Question
Iron and Steel: Redcar
Thursday 29th October 2015

Asked by: Tom Blenkinsop (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide financial support to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to compensate for the loss in business rates due to closure of the Redcar steel works.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government has announced an £80 million support package for Redcar. We are working with the local Task Force to design a package that will include funding for workers to retrain, support to start their own business, and help for local businesses to grow and create jobs.


Written Question
Public Sector: VAT
Tuesday 8th July 2014

Asked by: Tom Blenkinsop (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HM Revenue and Customs is taking to ensure that public sector bodies do not underpay VAT.

Answered by David Gauke

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) deploys its resources according to risk and has a continuous programme of work assuring tax compliance across a range of taxes, including VAT, in the public (and private) sector. Since 2008 there has been a dedicated operational unit responsible for compliance activity in the public sector, and they aim to treat the public sector in the same way as HMRC treats similar customers in the private sector.


Written Question

Question Link

Tuesday 6th May 2014

Asked by: Tom Blenkinsop (Labour - Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much HM Treasury received in VAT charged on ebooks in (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14.

Answered by David Gauke

No reliable estimate has been possible for the value of VAT levied on the sale of e-books purchased in 2012‑13 and 2013-14.