Tag: Treasury

The press release issued by the Treasury on 4 October 2022.

UK Government Investments: Andrew Ballheimer, Kalpana Desair and Mahnaz Safa appointed to the Board of UK Government Investments as Non-Executive Directors.

UK Government Investments Ltd (UKGI), the government’s centre of excellence in corporate governance and corporate finance, announces the appointments of Andrew Ballheimer, Kalpana Desai and Mahnaz Safa to the UKGI Board, for three-year terms until 21 September 2025.

Andrew Ballheimer

From 2016 until the end of his term in April 2020, Andrew Ballheimer was the Global Managing Partner of Allen & Overy LLP where he shaped and delivered strategy whilst driving forward the performance of the business, including on diversity and inclusion initiatives. Andrew has more than 35 years of legal experience advising multinational corporations and global financial institutions, including in other senior leadership positions at Allen & Overy, as Global Co-Head of Corporate and UK Managing Partner of Corporate. Following his retirement from A&O (at the end of 2020), Andrew joined the board of Factor Law Inc. and the M&A Global Advisory Board at AON PLC. He has been a trustee of Moorfields Eye Charity since 2011, as well as a member of the U.K. Trade and Business Commission, and he is also a Senior Advisor at Teneo Strategy Limited.

Kalpana Desai

Kalpana Desai is currently a Non-Executive Director of Janus Henderson plc, in addition to being a Founding Trustee of the Future is Bright Charitable Trust. Previously, Kalpana was a member of the Takeovers and Mergers Panel of the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong from 2007 to 2014, and was a Non-Executive Director at Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. from 2015-2019. Kalpana has over 30 years of international advisory and investment banking experience. Until 2013, she was Chief Executive of Macquarie Capital Asia, the investment banking division of Macquarie Group Limited. Prior to this, she was Head of the Asia-Pacific Mergers & Acquisitions Group and a Managing Director from 2001 in the Investment Banking Division of Bank of America Merrill Lynch based in Hong Kong. Kalpana qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in London in 1991, and graduated with a BSc Economics from the London School of Economics.

Mahnaz Safa

Mahnaz Safa has extensive commercial and regulatory experience from across the private and public sectors. With 30 years in finance, Mahnaz has advised boards on restructuring, capital raising, financing, strategy, board succession and crisis management; in sectors including retail, energy, infrastructure, technology and asset management. Mahnaz has been a senior executive at UBS, Citi and ANZ. As an executive Mahnaz has led and transformed large scale complex financial businesses and whilst at UBS and Citi, she co-chaired their respective women’s leadership executive committees. Mahnaz currently serves on the board of Jefferies International Limited as a Non-Executive Director and is member of the Council at Imperial College where she is the Champion for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. She has previously served as a senior independent director on the board of Alternative Credit Investments FTSE 250. Mahnaz holds a PhD in computer aided technology from Imperial College.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Andrew Griffith said:

I am delighted to welcome Andrew Ballheimer, Kalpana Desai and Mahnaz Safa as new non-executive directors of UK Government Investments.

Their extensive background and experience will be an invaluable asset to the UKGI board as it supports the government in delivering more growth, jobs, and investment across the UK.

I look forward to working with them and the rest of the UKGI board in the months ahead.

Vindi Banga, UKGI Chairman, said

I am delighted that three such high-calibre appointees will be joining the UKGI Board. Each have a variety of skills and experience in different sectors which will prove invaluable for the Board in ensuring UKGI delivers against its strategy and its objectives.

I very much look forward to working closely with each of them over the coming years.

These appointments are regulated by the Commissioner for Public appointments (OCPA) and are made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments published by the Cabinet Office. These appointments are made on merit and political activity played no part in the decision process. In accordance with the code, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any declared) to be made public. Andrew Ballheimer, Kalpana Desai and Mahnaz Safa did not declare any political activity.

The press release issued by the Treasury on 3 October 2022.

• The £324 Cost of Living Payment, which follows on from a £326 payment made from July, is part of £1,200 support package for millions this year
• The £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment was provided in September, with a £300 additional pensioner payment to come in the Winter

Millions of households across the UK will receive a £324 cost of living cash boost by the 23 of November.

The government has today announced that households receiving DWP benefits will receive the second part of the £650 Cost of Living Payment from 8 November and continuing through to the 23 November.

Over 8 million families have already received the first Cost of Living Payment, worth £326, which was sent out from 14 July this year.

The second payment will automatically be paid into the bank accounts of those eligible in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who receive a qualifying benefit, meaning they will not need to do anything to receive the money.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Chloe Smith said:

Millions of families will soon see a £324 cash boost as part of our extensive £1,200 support package, helping to raise incomes and manage the rising cost of living.

We understand that people are struggling which is why and we’re committed to supporting the most vulnerable households. That’s also why we are focused on driving growth and delivering quality public services so we can continue to support those in need through these challenging times while boosting opportunity for all.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng added:

We know that people have been worried about their bills ahead of this winter, which is why we’ve taken decisive action to hold down energy bills, saving the average household around £1,000 a year, and provided £1,200 of targeted support to the most vulnerable.

Without our intervention, analysts were predicting that the average annual energy bill could have reached £6,500 next year. We were never going to let this happen.

Our Growth Plan will also leave more money in people’s pockets and, over the longer term, help drive economic growth – the only way to permanently boost everyone’s living standards.

The DWP will pay a small number of payments on the 8 November, with numbers increasing significantly from the 9 November. Even if you are not on a qualifying DWP benefit you may still be eligible for the £324 payment as HMRC are also making payments to those who receive tax credits and no other eligible benefits. These will be paid shortly after DWP payments and customers do not need to contact the government or apply for the payment at any stage.

This payment comes on top of extensive government support with the cost of living this winter, including around 6 million disabled people having been paid a separate £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment, whilst over 8 million pensioner households will receive an extra one-off £300 Winter Fuel Payment this year. This is in addition to an extension to the Household Support Fund, which is providing an extra £421 million for use between October and March to help vulnerable people with the essentials.

As well as this, a £150 Council Tax rebate was sent earlier this year to those in Council Tax bands A to D in England, creating a total of at least £1,200 in direct support for millions. A £400 reduction on energy bills is also being given to all domestic electricity customers over the coming months, and a new ‘Energy Price Guarantee’, which means from 1 October the average UK household will save at least £1,000 a year based on current energy prices.

The press release issued by the Treasury on 30 September 2022.

• This morning the Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng met with the OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee, including the Chair Richard Hughes, at No10 Downing Street.
• They discussed the process for the upcoming economic and fiscal forecast, which will be published on 23 November, and the economic and fiscal outlook.
• They agreed, as is usual, to work closely together throughout the forecast process and beyond.
• The Prime Minister and Chancellor reaffirmed their commitment to the independent OBR and made clear that they value its scrutiny.

The press release issued by the Treasury on 28 September 2022.

The press release issued by the Treasury on 26 September 2022.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 26 September 2022.

The press release issued by the Treasury on 23 September 2022.

Together with the Bank of England, HMT is today providing further details of the £40 billion Energy Markets Financing Scheme, to address extraordinary liquidity requirements faced by energy firms from high and volatile energy prices.

The Energy Markets Financing Scheme will improve resilience in energy markets, and the economy. To deliver the scheme, there will be a 100% guarantee to commercial banks covering additional lending extended to firms. The scheme will open to applications on 17th October. The scheme will provide short term financial support and will be designed to be used as a last resort, with pricing and conditions reflecting this.

The scheme will ensure that energy firms can continue to operate and manage risk in a cost-effective way in the face of unprecedented volatility. This helps to reduce the eventual cost that businesses and consumers face.

The EMFS will only be available to firms who are able to meet eligibility requirements, for example that they are otherwise in sound financial health and make a material contribution to the liquidity of UK energy markets. Firms will need to undergo solvency checks.

HMT will convene an advisory committee as part of standing up a robust assessment process.

The press release issued by the Treasury on 23 September 2022.

The Chancellor announced on 23 September as part of the fiscal event that the Office of Tax Simplification will be closed.

The Chancellor’s statement is part of The Growth Plan 2022. As the Office of Tax Simplification is a statutory body, this closure will take effect when the next Finance Bill receives Royal Assent.

The Office expects to publish its report on the taxation of Property Income in October. The Office will continue to gather evidence on its Hybrid and distance working review.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 22 September 2022.

• April’s National Insurance increase to be reversed from November – delivering on key PM pledge to cut tax burden and promote economic growth
• Health and Social Care Levy will be cancelled through Bill introduced today – Chancellor has confirmed funding for health and social care services will be protected and will remain at the same level as if the Levy were in place
• Almost 28 million people will keep an extra £330 of their money on average next year, whilst 920,000 businesses are set to save almost £10,000 on average next year thanks to the change

Delivering on the Prime Minister’s pledge to slash taxes to help drive growth, scrapping the rise will reduce tax for 920,000 businesses by nearly £10,000 on average next year as they will no longer pay a higher level of employer National Insurance and can now invest the money as they choose.

The government will also cancel the planned Health and Social Care Levy – a separate tax which was coming into force in April 2023 to replace this year’s National Insurance rise. This will help almost 28 million people across the UK keep more of what they earn, worth an extra £330 on average in 2023-24, with an additional saving of around £135 on average this year.

The Health and Social Care Levy (Repeal) Bill, legislating for the tax change, has been introduced into the House today. As part of the cancellation of the Levy, The Chancellor is also set to confirm that the increases to dividend tax rates will be scrapped from April 2023 in his Growth Plan tomorrow. The increased dividend tax was introduced in April 2022 to ensure those who gained income from dividends contributed the same amount to help fund health and social care.

The Levy was expected to raise around £13 billion a year to fund health and social care. The Chancellor confirmed today that the funding for health and social care services will be maintained at the same level as if the Levy was in place, protecting the NHS through the winter and ensuring long-term investment in social care.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng said:

Taxing our way to prosperity has never worked. To raise living standards for all, we need to be unapologetic about growing our economy.

Cutting tax is crucial to this – and whether businesses reinvest freed-up cash into new machinery, lower prices on shop floors or increased staff wages, the reversal of the Levy will help them grow, whilst also allowing the British public to keep more of what they earn.

The previous government decided to raise National Insurance by 1.25 percentage points in April 2022 to fund health and social care. The rate was due to return to 2021-22 levels in April 2023, when a separate new 1.25% Health and Social Care Levy was due to take effect. Today’s legislation reverses the rise from earlier this year and cancels next year’s introduction of the Levy.

This is part of the government’s pro-growth agenda, backing business to invest, innovate and create jobs and helping raise living standards for everyone across the UK.

920,000 businesses will see a cut in National Insurance bills, with 20,000 taken out of paying National Insurance entirely due to the Employment Allowance, which rose in April 2022 from £4,000 to £5,000.

In particular, many small and medium businesses (SMEs) – who employ over 13 million people in the UK – will see a cut to their National Insurance bills. Next year this will be worth £4,200 on average for small businesses and £21,700 for medium sized firms who pay National Insurance. In total 905,000 micro, small and medium businesses will benefit from 2023-24.

National Insurance thresholds increased in July 2022 to lift 2.2 million of the poorest people in the UK out of paying the tax. The Chancellor has committed to retaining the level of these thresholds to support families. Taken together, the higher thresholds and the Levy reversal mean that almost 30 million people will be better off by an average of over £500 in 2023-24.

With immediate action pledged by the Prime Minister to maximise the cash benefit for people and businesses this year, the government is implementing the changes as soon as possible. Most employees will receive a cut to their National Insurance directly via payroll in their November pay, with some receiving it in December or January, depending on the complexity of their employer’s payroll software.

In addition, the Chancellor is expected to announce in his fiscal event tomorrow that the 1.25 percentage point increase to income tax on dividends announced alongside the Levy, and introduced in April 2022, will be reversed from April 2023. Those who pay tax on dividends will save an average of £345 next year. The reversal of the ‘dividend tax’ rise signals renewed support for entrepreneurs and investors as part of the government’s drive to grow the economy and improve the standard of life for families across the UK.

Overall funding for health and social care services will be maintained at the same level as if the Levy were in place, and the government will be doing this without a tax increase. The additional funding used to replace the expected revenue from the Levy will come from general taxation. The Chancellor is committed to reducing debt-to-GDP ratio over the medium-term and boosting growth, which will help sustainably fund public services.

The press release issued by the Treasury on 8 September 2022.