Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that the wedding industry is able to access suitable and affordable insurance for potential delays and cancellations due to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Wedding operators may be eligible for assistance through the wider Government support package if they are in financial difficulty.
Ideally all firms would be able to purchase the insurance products they need on a market basis, but the Government recognises that in some exceptional circumstances that may not be possible. The Government is committed to ensuring firms have access to a range of financial products that suit their needs and is keeping this situation under review.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the rate of VAT on e-publications is different from the rate for hard copy publications; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Under current legislation, the UK applies a zero rate of VAT to physical publications. The supply of e-publications is standard rated.
Changes were made to EU legislation in December 2018 which gave Member States the option to apply a zero rate to e-publications. This has not so far been taken up by the UK.
The Government keeps all taxes under review, including VAT. Any amendments to the VAT regime as it applies to physical publications and e-publications must be carefully assessed against policy, economic and fiscal considerations. Any representations on this will be considered as part of the fiscal event process.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing VAT from sales of eBooks.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government keeps all taxes under review, including VAT.
Any amendments to the VAT regime as it applies to physical publications and e-publications must be carefully assessed against policy, economic and fiscal considerations. Any representations on this issue will be considered as part of the fiscal event process.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many individuals (a) in total and (b) per parliamentary constituency will HMRC directly notify of the changes to the application of the loan charge.
Answered by Jesse Norman
On 20 December 2019, the Government published the Independent Review of the Loan Charge and the Government’s response to the Review. The Government accepted all but one of the Review’s recommendations.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are writing to around 50,000 individuals directly to notify them of the outcome of the review, setting out what it means for the individual and the next steps for them. Information is not currently available at constituency level for these individuals.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people received Specified Adult Childcare Credits in each of the last three years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The table below shows the number of approved applications for Specified Adult Childcare Credits over the last three calendar years. The figures for 2019 are provided up to and including September.
2019 – to date | 11,797 |
2018 | 11,080 |
2017 | 11,522 |
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The proportion of staff HM Treasury employed as apprentices as of 31st January 2019 was 1.7%. We expect an additional 15 new apprentices to start this financial year, meaning 2.5% of our staff will be new apprentices over the period 1 April 2018 – 31 March 2019. This is an increase on last year, which can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2017-to-2018
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications for a tax-free childcare account have been started but not completed.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The information requested is not readily available. Extensive analysis would be required to identify robust data on the number of childcare service applications that were started but subsequently not completed which would incur a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many parents have closed a tax-free childcare account since that policy was introduced.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
To date more than 391,000 parents have opened a Tax–Free Childcare account and over 109,000 parents have used their account to make a payment to a childcare provider.
Around 313,000 of the parents who have opened a Tax-Free Childcare account applied at the same time as for 30 hours free childcare. 30 hours free childcare saves parents using the full 30 hours up to £5,000 per child per year.
Tax-Free Childcare account usage is substantially higher amongst parents who get Tax-Free Childcare only, compared to parents who have both a Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare account.
8,265 Tax-Free Childcare accounts have been closed since the scheme launched in April 2017.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax-free childcare accounts have (a) been created and (b) had at least one payment made from that account to date.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
To date more than 391,000 parents have opened a Tax–Free Childcare account and over 109,000 parents have used their account to make a payment to a childcare provider.
Around 313,000 of the parents who have opened a Tax-Free Childcare account applied at the same time as for 30 hours free childcare. 30 hours free childcare saves parents using the full 30 hours up to £5,000 per child per year.
Tax-Free Childcare account usage is substantially higher amongst parents who get Tax-Free Childcare only, compared to parents who have both a Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare account.
8,265 Tax-Free Childcare accounts have been closed since the scheme launched in April 2017.
Asked by: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made for the number of children with disabilities that are in receipt of tax-free childcare.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
There are currently 2,290 live Tax-Free Childcare accounts for disabled children.