Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the £750 million Government financial support announced for charities in response to the covid-19 outbreak has been paid out; and to how many charities that funding has been allocated.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
£360 million will be allocated by the Government directly to charities providing essential services and supporting vulnerable people. Up to £200 million will be allocated to hospices across the next quarter, and £76 million has been allocated for victims of domestic and sexual abuse and vulnerable children. Further allocations will follow shortly. £310 million will be allocated in England through the National Lottery Community Fund, with £60m allocated through the Barnett formula so the devolved administrations are funded to provide similar support in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The application process will be open to charities in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether agency workers will be eligible to access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government seeks, as far as possible, to protect people’s jobs and incomes. This is an unprecedented jobs retention scheme and the Government has been working hard to set out further details on the scheme. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is open to any individual who was on an employer’s PAYE payroll on 19 March 2020. Full details can be found in the guidance available at www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme and www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme, which provides answers to these questions.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the average pay of people on (a) zero-hours and (b) casual contracts will be calculated under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government seeks, as far as possible, to protect people’s jobs and incomes. This is an unprecedented jobs retention scheme and the Government has been working hard to set out further details on the scheme. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is open to any individual who was on an employer’s PAYE payroll on 19 March 2020. Full details can be found in the guidance available at www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme and www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-80-of-your-employees-wages-to-claim-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme, which provides answers to these questions.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with his Danish counterpart on the feasibility of implementing a Danish-style system for income protection for workers in the UK.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is taking an approach that best fits the specific circumstances of the UK. On Friday 20 March, the Chancellor announced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment. This is in addition to nearly £7bn of extra funding for welfare, including: a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit standard allowance and Working Tax Credit basic element; a relaxation of earnings rules for self-employed Universal Credit claimants affected by the economic impacts of Covid-19; and extension of Statutory Sick Pay from day one.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a tax holiday to defer payments from self-employed people ahead of the July deadline.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has announced an unprecedented package of support for businesses and individuals affected by Covid-19, and remains committed to doing whatever it takes to support the economy as necessary.
UK VAT registered businesses, including charities, can defer VAT payments due with their VAT returns between now and the end of June. No UK VAT registered business will have to make a VAT payment alongside their VAT return to HMRC in that period. They will have until the end of the financial year to repay.
The Government will also give all eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England a 100% business rates holiday for the next 12 months. The Government also extended the support available to individuals and businesses, including a package of government-backed and guaranteed loans, which make available an initial £330 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of GDP.
For Income Tax Self-Assessment, payments due on the 31st of July 2020 will be deferred until the 31st of January 2021.
Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, employers (including charities) can put workers on temporary leave and the government will pay them cash grants of 80% of their wages up to a cap of £2,500 a month, providing they keep the worker employed. They will receive the grant from HMRC, covering the cost of wages backdated to 1 March 2020.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be available for those unable to work because they are self-isolating in line with government advice; this is on top of the Prime Minister’s announcement that SSP will be payable from day 1 instead of day 4 for affected individuals. Support will be available through Universal Credit and Contributory Employment and Support Allowance for those not eligible for SSP.
HMRC have scaled up their Time to Pay offer to all taxpayers, including charities, who are in temporary financial distress as a result of Covid-19 and have outstanding tax liabilities. Taxpayers can contact HMRC’s dedicated Covid-19 helpline to get practical help and advice on 0800 0159 559.
The Chancellor will continue to review and make further announcements as events unfold if required.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he plans to provide to charities and civil society organisations to ensure their (a) effectiveness and (b) solvency during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
On Tuesday evening, the Chancellor announced £330 billion of guarantees for businesses across the UK and emphasised his commitment to do whatever it takes to see industries through the Covid 19 outbreak.
Many charities and social enterprises will be eligible for the new Business Interruption Loan Scheme for loans of up to £5m, with no interest due for the first six months. While many charities are already eligible for 80% charitable rate relief, they will benefit from the new enhanced retail rate relief at 100%.
Furthermore, a new power in the Covid 19 bill will ensure the Chancellor and HMG as a whole can take whatever further financial actions necessary to support sectors across the economy. The Chancellor has asked cabinet colleagues to urgently convene meetings over the coming days with business leaders and representatives in these affected sectors, in order to identify specific opportunities to support them and their industries.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people claimed Entrepreneurs' Relief in each year since 2015, by constituency.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The number of taxpayers claiming Entrepreneurs’ Relief in each constituency is given in the attached table by tax year from 2015-16 to 2017-18. Statistics on Capital Gains Tax for 2018-19 are currently due for publication in August 2020. Values under 30 have been suppressed due to statistical disclosure control.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Ilford North constituency who claimed entrepreneurs relief in each year since 2015.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The number of taxpayers claiming Entrepreneurs’ Relief in the Ilford North constituency are given in the table below by tax year from 2015-2016 to 2017-18.
Year | Number of taxpayers |
2015-16 | 64 |
2016-17 | 35 |
2017-18 | 55 |
Statistics on Capital Gains Tax for 2018-19 are currently due for publication in August.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department issued to Departments on the baseline for bids for the spending review; and whether the effect of additional resources in relation to the UK leaving the EU were included in the calculations for that review.
Answered by Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
At launch, the Treasury sent official-level guidance and templates setting out financial and other information required from Departments to make assessments of funding needs.
As at all spending reviews and spending rounds, in Spending Round 2019 baselines have been adjusted to represent ongoing spend, with one-off or time limited spend removed and ongoing spend from the Reserves baselined. This applied to additional resources for leaving the EU that had been provided from the Reserves.
Asked by: Wes Streeting (Labour - Ilford North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the electric vehicle charging infrastructure investment fund will open for applications.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund is a crucial step in accelerating the roll out of chargepoints and ensuring electric vehicle drivers have access to the right infrastructure. In February 2019, the Government entered into exclusive negotiations with a preferred bidder. We are in the final stages of negotiations and the fund is expected to begin investing shortly.