Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to reduce the tax burden (a) companies and (b) people operating in the hair and beauty sector.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The temporary VAT reduction is designed to support businesses and jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chancellor has announced a range of measures to help individuals and businesses through the crisis, including grants, loans and relief from business rates worth more than £300 billion.
All eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will pay no business rates in England for 12 months from 1 April 2020 and the Government deferred Value Added Tax (VAT) payments so UK VAT-registered businesses did not need to pay any VAT due with VAT returns from 20 March through to the end of June 2020, until 31 March 2021.
A range of further measures has been made available. This includes the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep people in employment. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme has also been launched to help small businesses during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Government will continue to consider how best to support the economic recovery.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to support owners of hair and beauty businesses in the UK as the covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The temporary VAT reduction is designed to support businesses and jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chancellor has announced a range of measures to help individuals and businesses through the crisis, including grants, loans and relief from business rates worth more than £300 billion.
All eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will pay no business rates in England for 12 months from 1 April 2020 and the Government deferred Value Added Tax (VAT) payments so UK VAT-registered businesses did not need to pay any VAT due with VAT returns from 20 March through to the end of June 2020, until 31 March 2021.
A range of further measures has been made available. This includes the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep people in employment. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme has also been launched to help small businesses during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Government will continue to consider how best to support the economic recovery.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend eligibility for the temporary VAT cut for the hospitality sector to the hair and beauty sector.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The temporary VAT reduction is designed to support businesses and jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chancellor has announced a range of measures to help individuals and businesses through the crisis, including grants, loans and relief from business rates worth more than £300 billion.
All eligible businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will pay no business rates in England for 12 months from 1 April 2020 and the Government deferred Value Added Tax (VAT) payments so UK VAT-registered businesses did not need to pay any VAT due with VAT returns from 20 March through to the end of June 2020, until 31 March 2021.
A range of further measures has been made available. This includes the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep people in employment. The Bounce Back Loan Scheme has also been launched to help small businesses during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Government will continue to consider how best to support the economic recovery.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to provide financial support to the live entertainment industry and the (i) self-employed and (ii) freelance workers it supports.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
During this difficult time the Treasury is working intensively with employers, delivery partners, industry groups and other government departments to understand the long-term effects of social distancing across all key areas of the economy.
The Government recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on sectors like the entertainment industry.
That is why the Chancellor has already announced unprecedented support for individuals and businesses, to protect against the current economic emergency. This includes to our welfare system including Universal Credit and Statutory Sick Pay; grant schemes such as the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund and the Discretionary Grant Fund; a range of government-backed and guaranteed loan schemes; the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
The CJRS was announced in March to help firms keep millions of people in employment, it is a temporary scheme ending at the end of October which has so far helped 1.1 million employers across the UK furlough 9.3 million jobs, protecting people’s livelihoods (as at midnight 28 June 2020 - here is a link to the latest figures). The SEISS helps self-employed workers adversely affected by COVID-19. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extension of the scheme on 29 May and eligible individuals may now qualify for a second and final grant. This means the UK continues to have one of the most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world as the economy reopens.
We will continue to monitor the impact of government support with regard to supporting public services, businesses, individuals, and sectors such as the entertainment industry as we respond to this pandemic and consider the longer-term economic recovery.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to take fiscal steps to help protect post-production film industry jobs affected by covid-19 restrictions on filming for (a) television and (b) film.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
During this difficult time the Treasury is working intensively with employers, delivery partners, industry groups and other government departments to understand the long-term effects of Covid-19 across all key areas of the economy.
The Government recognises the extreme disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on sectors like the creative industries, and on workers in television and film.
That is why the Chancellor has already announced unprecedented support for individuals and businesses, to protect against the current economic emergency. This includes to our welfare system through Universal Credit and Statutory Sick Pay; grant schemes such as the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund and the Discretionary Grant Fund; a range of government-backed and guaranteed loan schemes; the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
The CJRS was announced in March to help firms keep millions of people in employment, it is a temporary scheme ending at the end of October which has so far helped 1.1 million employers across the UK furlough 9.3 million jobs, protecting people’s livelihoods (as at midnight 28 June 2020 - here is a link to the latest figures). The SEISS helps self-employed workers adversely affected by COVID-19. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extension of the scheme on 29 May and eligible individuals may now qualify for a second and final grant. This means the UK continues to have one of the most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world as the economy reopens.
We will continue to monitor the impact of government support with regard to supporting public services, businesses, individuals, and sectors such as the entertainment industry as we respond to this pandemic and consider the longer-term economic recovery.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to protect jobs in the (a) travel and (b) tourism industries, which operate domestic and overseas school trips, beyond the current scheduled end date of the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme and to allow companies to plan for the future in the event restrictions on (i) domestic and (ii) overseas school trips remain in place.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Government has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency including almost £300 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of UK GDP. Travel and tourism businesses continue to have access to a range of support measures including, but not limited to:
The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible and how to apply - https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.
On 11 May the Government published its COVID-19 recovery strategy which sets out our plan for moving to the next phase of our response. The strategy sets out a cautious roadmap for easing existing measures in a safe and measured way. On 23 June the Government announced that elements of the tourism industry in England, such as hotels and guesthouses – that meet the required social distancing and public health measures – can reopen from 4 July. Options for overseas travel are currently being reviewed.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to support the British curry industry.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There is a significant package of support currently available to businesses in restaurant and takeaway sectors. These include:
In order to support businesses wishing to remain open, the Government has also changed regulations to enable restaurants, cafes and pubs to offer delivery and food takeaways without going through the normal planning process.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, on how many occasions has (a) he, (b) officials from his Department and (c) other Government representatives have met the British Horseracing Authority to hold discussions on (i) race horse welfare during the covid-19 outbreak and (ii) the financial effect of covid-19 on the ability of race horse owners to ensure the welfare of those horses.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Following the suspension of racing on 18 March 2020, DEFRA, which leads on horse welfare, worked with the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) on a weekly basis to quickly agree guidance for the care of racehorses during this lockdown period in line with social distancing.
DCMS officials have also been in regular communication with the BHA and the Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) regarding the economic impacts of Covid on the industry and the measures being taken to uphold horse welfare. The BHA has also taken part in regular calls with the Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage and representatives of the sporting sector on these issues and the resumption of racing and other sports behind closed doors.
The government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, which includes the racing industry, given the acute impacts of COVID-19 on those sectors. A range of measures to support all businesses were made available, including business rates relief, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme. The government has provided access to £10k grants to 700,000 small and medium enterprises who are currently eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rates Relief.
On 17 April, the HBLB and Racing Foundation agreed an immediate £22 million cash flow and hardship funding package to support racing. The HBLB has reported on these packages on a weekly basis with the main racing bodies including the BHA.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the 14-day quarantine period on the (a) tourism, (b) travel and (c) hospitality sectors.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We remain in regular contact with stakeholders, including UKHospitality, UKInbound and the ABTA, to closely monitor COVID-19’s impact on the tourism, travel and hospitality sectors. No impact assessment has been made by my Department.
The Home Office commissioned Her Majesty's Treasury to assess the economic impacts of the mandatory 14 day self-isolation requirement. The Department for Transport fed into this analysis and ensured that the significant impact of the policy on the transport sector was reflected.
We appreciate that the quarantine measures will present difficulties for these sectors. The quarantine policy will be reviewed regularly and the first review will take place in the week beginning 28 June. We are also working with the transport industry to see how we can introduce agreements with other countries when safe to do so, so people from the UK can go abroad and tourists can come here.
Tourism and hospitality businesses and workers can access the Government’s economic support package. These include the recently extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, loan schemes, as well as business rates relief and grants for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to extend Business Rates Relief to businesses in the warehousing industry.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
The Business Rates Relief has been directed towards the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors as these are properties that are wholly or mainly being used by visiting members of the public. However, businesses outside of these sectors, like the warehousing industry, continue to have access to a range of government support measures including, but not limited to:
Support for businesses, including the warehousing sector, remains under constant review.
The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible and how to apply - https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.