The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy to change the rate of fuel duty applied to certain isolated and rural areas in response to changes in oil price.
Damian Hinds
The rural fuel duty rebate scheme offers a 5 pence per litre discount on fuel duty for fuel sold in qualifying areas. The rebate does not vary with the price of wholesale oil.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with waste operators on the effect of planned changes to the Landfill Communities Fund.
Damian Hinds
The government has received representations from a number of waste operators on this issue. We are taking views into consideration and our priority is to ensure that the LCF operates effectively and encourages money to be spent in the communities that need it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect on waste operators of planned changes to the Landfill Communities Fund.
Damian Hinds
The LCF is a tax credit scheme into which landfill operators contribute voluntarily. The impact of the changes to the LCF announced at Autumn Statement 2015 is set out in Reform and value of the Landfill Communities Fund. This document can be found here:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how he plans to assess the effectiveness of the implementation in the UK of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
Harriett Baldwin
The EU’s fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (‘the Directive’) was formally adopted in June 2015, and Member States now have until June 2017 to transpose its requirements into national law. The Government plans to publish a consultation on transposition of the Directive by early spring which will run for a full 12 weeks. We will consult on areas where the Directive gives us options or discretion on how we transpose its provisions as well as areas where we can improve the UK’s anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
Transposition of the Directive is just one element of the Government’s comprehensive Anti-Money Laundering regime. HM Treasury and Home Office are working closely on a forthcoming Action Plan to address the issues identified in the UK’s first National Risk Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, in order to increase the effectiveness of the AML/CFT regime. This work is overseen jointly by Home Office and Treasury Ministers.
Scrutinising all aspects of the UK’s AML/CFT regime, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Mutual Evaluation of the United Kingdom will be the ultimate test of effectiveness and will take place in the course of 2017 and 2018. The FATF Mutual Evaluation will judge both the technical compliance and effectiveness of the UK’s AML/CFT regime. But the implementation of the Directive will be key to achieving a successful evaluation, as the Directive will enact the FATF standards into UK domestic law.
By undertaking this work, we are further ensuring that our anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism regime is robust and sufficiently responsive to emerging threats.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the new electronic system of quarterly income tax reporting will allow small businesses to align their reporting with VAT returns.
Mr David Gauke
Making Tax Digital will simplify tax administration for small businesses. The Government believes VAT registered businesses should have the option to provide HMRC with one update to cover both VAT and their profits-based taxes. We will consult widely on the details of Making Tax Digital during 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) employees and (b) employers have taken advantage of savings to National Insurance contributions from salary sacrifice schemes for occupational pensions in each of the last five years.
Damian Hinds
Department for Work and Pensions has published estimates on salary sacrifice available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-pension-provision-survey-2013 Estimates are not available for the number of active members who take advantage of these schemes or the loss to the National Insurance Fund.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what Government capital projects (a) have been carried out in the last and (b) are planned over the next five years in Greater Manchester; and what the (i) cost and (ii) location was and will be for each such project.
Greg Hands
The government has supported a wide range of capital projects in Manchester. This includes: £533m committed to Greater Manchester through the Local Growth Fund, which will support projects such as the new Ashton town centre interchange; a £900m gainshare agreement as part of the Devolution Deal, which will support projects such as the Trafford Metrolink extension; £199m as part of the city deal over ten years for local major transport schemes; £78m for the Factory theatre and arts venue at Spending Review 2015; and £235m for the Sir Henry Royce Institute for advanced materials research at the 2014 Autumn Statement. Greater Manchester will also benefit from the North of England Rail Infrastructure programme, which is worth over £1bn.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the likely change in the number of projects being funded through the Landfill Communities Fund if the Contributory Third Party element is removed.
Damian Hinds
The Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) is a tax credit scheme into which landfill operators contribute voluntarily. Since its introduction in 1996, the LCF has contributed over £1.4bn to community projects in areas affected by a local landfill site. However, as the LCF is a tax credit scheme, it reduces the Government’s tax revenues. We therefore have an ongoing responsibility to seek value for money for the taxpayer.
Our reforms aim to encourage LCF money to get to communities more quickly and use the savings to address other significant issues like waste crime. The LCF will provide £39.3 million of additional funding in 2016-17 alone. We also hope more unspent funds, which this year totalled £118 million, will reach projects as soon as possible.
The impact of the changes to the LCF announced at Autumn Statement 2015 is set out in Reform and value of the Landfill Communities Fund. This document can be found here:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will publish the results of its consultation into the Reform of the Landfill Communities Fund; and if he will make a statement.
Damian Hinds
The government published a summary of responses to the consultation Reform of the Landfill Communities Fund alongside Autumn Statement 2015. This document can be found here:
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-01-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) all and (b) part of the funding for universal technology schools count as public sector borrowing for the purposes of calculating the national debt.
Greg Hands
The Department for Education provides capital funding to support the construction of new University Technical Colleges and allocates resource funding to support day to day running costs.
This funding impacts on public sector borrowing and public sector net debt in the same way as other central government spending.