Tag: Tom Blenkinsop

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-04-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the proposed role for National Savings and Investment (NS&I) offering pensioner savings bonds with NS&I’s objective of reducing the cost to the taxpayer of Government borrowing.

Nicky Morgan

NS&I’s purpose is to provide cost effective financing for the Government that balances the interest of savers, taxpayers and the wider markets.

Given that the NS&I fixed-rate savings bond for people aged 65 or over are a Budget measure designed to offer targeted support to a particular group of savers, the costs of raising funding through these bonds, rather than gilts, was represented in Table 2.1 of the Budget 2014 document.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-04-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what impact assessment he has made of the effect of pensioners savings bonds on the private sector investment market.

Nicky Morgan

The Budget set an upper limit of £10 billion for the level of inflows that National Savings and Investments (NS&I) should attract into the fixed-rate savings bonds for people aged 65 or over. This is less than 1% of the total UK retail savings market.

The NS&I savings bonds announced at Budget should therefore not stop other institutions from attracting deposits or increasing lending. Furthermore, the introduction of New ISAs with an annual subscription limit of £15,000 will provide additional opportunities for banks and building societies to attract retail deposits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-03-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 12W, on individual savings accounts and with reference to HM Revenue and Custom’s policy paper published on the new ISA and changes to Junior ISA and the Child Trust Fund, what assessment he has made of the consequences for (a) the economy, (b) capital markets and (c) business of a shift in savings portfolio composition away from securities towards cash.

Mr David Gauke

HM TREASURY

Tom Blenkinsop MP

MIDDLESBOROUGH SOUTH & CLEVELAND EAST

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 12W, on individual savings accounts and with reference to HM Revenue and Custom’s policy paper published on the new ISA and changes to Junior ISA and the Child Trust Fund, what assessment he has made of the consequences for (a) the economy, (b) capital markets and (c) business of a shift in savings portfolio composition away from securities towards cash. 193987

DAVID GAUKE

From 1 July 2014 the overall annual New ISA subscription limit will be increased to £15,000 and can be used for either cash or stocks and shares investments, or any combination of the two, up to this limit. At the same time the annual Junior ISA and Child Trust Fund subscription limits will be increased to £4,000.

These measures were part of a wider Budget packaged aimed at supporting savers. These ISA measures will reduce income tax on savings for people constrained by the current limits, improving incentives to save and increasing real household disposable incomes. Over 6 million people each year are expected to benefit from these increases, including over 5 million adults currently constrained by the cash ISA limit, three quarters of whom are basic rate taxpayers and a third are pensioners.

As HMRC’s published Tax Information and Impact Note explains, the increase to real household disposable incomes resulting from the New ISA changes might feed through to higher consumption or savings in the household sector. There may also be a shift in the savings portfolio composition towards cash deposits. At the same time there may be an overall increase in savings invested in securities.

Stocks and shares, and cash offer very different risk and expected return profiles, and the tax treatment will be just one factor affecting investors’ choice between them. In 2012-13, the FTSE All-Share Index grew by 5.6 per cent (excluding dividend yield). In contrast bank and building society deposit returns averaged 1.95 per cent.

For individuals who prefer to hold their savings portfolio in stocks and shares rather than cash, the New ISA will provide a significant increase to the amount that can be invested and held within the tax-advantaged ISA wrapper for 2014-15, from £11,880 to £15,000.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-03-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the availability of books to prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright

There have been no changes in the availability of books in prisons Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access. Up to 12 books may be held by prisoners in their cell at any one time and additional volumes may be stored locally at the prison.

The National Offender Management Service works closely with schemes such as the Shannon Trust Reading Network,which includes peer mentoring.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-03-26.

To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 40W, how many offences charged under section 14(1) and 22 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 reached a first hearing in magistrates’ court in each year since 2008.

Oliver Heald

The number of offences charged under section 14(1) and 22 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 that reached a first hearing in magistrates’ courts in each year since 2008 are:

	Make a counterfeit of a protected coin with intent	Make a counterfeit of a currency note with intent	Total
2008	2	22	24
2009	0	4	4
2010	0	4	4
2011	3	17	20
2012	2	12	14
2013	2	13	15
Total	9	72	81