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  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support he plans to provide to home-buyers after the end of the mortgage guarantee scheme in 2016.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government is committed to addressing the affordability of housing and making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. At Budget 2014, the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme was extended to 2020 and the Government also intends to support younger buyers through delivering 200,000 Starter Homes by 2020, to be sold at a 20% discount for first time buyers under 40. These measures will also be supported by the launch of a Help to Buy: ISA through which the Government will top up mortgage deposit savings for first time buyers by 25% up to a maximum of £3,000.

    Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with (a) his ministerial colleagues and (b) external organisations on the future of the mortgage guarantee scheme of the Help to Buy policy; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government is committed to addressing the affordability of housing and making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. At Budget 2014, the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme was extended to 2020 and the Government also intends to support younger buyers through delivering 200,000 Starter Homes by 2020, to be sold at a 20% discount for first time buyers under 40. These measures will also be supported by the launch of a Help to Buy: ISA through which the Government will top up mortgage deposit savings for first time buyers by 25% up to a maximum of £3,000.

    Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

  • Colleen Fletcher – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Colleen Fletcher – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of auto-renewals on competition in the private motor insurance market.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government.

    The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what budget reductions he plans to the fire and rescue service.

    Greg Hands

    Funding for fire and rescue authorities, national resilience and other central programmes will be determined as part of the Spending Review.

  • Ian Murray – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Murray – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Part 2 of the Scotland Bill 2015, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the planned transfer of income tax powers on the operation of Gift Aid in Scotland.

    Damian Hinds

    The effective operation of Gift Aid, which enables charitable donations to be made free from tax, is a vitally important issue for Government, charities and their donors in all parts of the United Kingdom. The UK Government works closely with the charity sector to ensure that Gift Aid works effectively for charities and their donors.

    We consulted the charity sector fully in advance of agreeing the arrangements for the continued operation of Gift Aid under the Scottish Rate of Income Tax, which will come into effect in April 2016. Under the agreed arrangements Gift Aid will continue to operate at UK-wide rates, a solution that means no extra complexity, uncertainty or administrative burden for the charity sector or donors.

    Similarly, we are fully committed to consulting the charity sector – in Scotland and the rest of the UK – to fully understand the impact of the devolution of income tax powers as proposed by Part 2 of the Scotland Bill 2015 ahead of agreeing arrangements for the continued operation of Gift Aid.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what provision his Department has made for (a) payment of the national living wage by public sector employers and (b) the 3.4 per cent increase in Secondary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from 2016-17 following the abolition of Contracted Out NICs.

    Greg Hands

    The impact of the new National Living Wage and the end of the contracting out of National Insurance Contributionswill be considered during the Spending Review as part of an overall assessment of spending priorities and pressures across the public sector. The Spending Review will conclude on 25th November 2015.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities he expects to lose 7.5 per cent of their business rate revenue after the introduction of his business rate reforms.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. We have confirmed that as part of the new system there will continue to be redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities and protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme.

    Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact will be on individual areas or authorities, but before the start of the financial year, local authorities in the North-East estimated that the total business rates income for 2015-16 would be £854.58 million.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much was raised by business rates in the Newcastle upon Tyne local authority area in the last year for which figures are available.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    In 2013-14, the total business rates income raised in Newcastle upon Tyne was £128.5 million. Based on their own estimates, the total business rates income in 2015-16 is expected to be £154.1 million

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of his proposed changes to business rates on (a) the North East, (b) the North East Combined Authority area and (c) Newcastle upon Tyne local authority area.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. We have confirmed that as part of the new system there will continue to be redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities and protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme.

    Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact will be on individual areas or authorities, but before the start of the financial year, local authorities in the North-East estimated that the total business rates income for 2015-16 would be £854.58 million.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to tax credits on family incomes.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government provided an overall assessment of the impact of Summer Budget policies in Impact on households: Distributional analysis to accompany Summer Budget 2015 available here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443229/PU1822_Distributional_Analysis.pdf

    The government provided an additional impact assessment on request of the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. This can be found on the Committee’s web site at

    http://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/Secondary-Legislation-Scrutiny-Committee/DraftTaxCreditsRegs2015-ImpactAssessment.pdf