theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of issuing the Peltor ComTac XP/XPI to service personnel as standard. \p Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 March 2025 to his Question 34362.

As advised, there is no ‘standard’ hearing protection therefore no assessment has been made regarding issuing the Peltor ComTac XP/XPI to Service personnel as standard.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of an increase in defence spending on investment in Fylde constituency. \p Maria Eagle: The increase in defence spending will fund critical investments in areas like autonomous systems, AI, cyber, rebuilding stockpiles and munition reserves, and therefore will support the security and resilience of the whole of the UK, including Fylde. The full details will be set out in the Strategic Defence Review.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports that pension funds have chosen not to categorise investments in defence companies as ethical. \p Maria Eagle: We are rightly proud of our world-leading defence industry and recognise the vital role it will play in rising to the challenge of our more dangerous and contested world. The Defence Industrial Strategy Statement of Intent, published in December last year, identified the ‘crowding-in’ of private sector investment as critical to the Government’s agenda to grow our economy and strengthen our nation’s defences. We continue to explore how we can create the conditions needed for the private sector to invest more, and proactively, in Defence, consulting with a wide range of defence and financial services stakeholders.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2025 to Question 33946 on Ministry of Defence: Public Appointments, when he plans to advertise for the National Armaments Director. \p Maria Eagle: The National Armaments Director will have significant experience in leading and transforming large organisations, and the ability to build strong, influential partnerships across the globe. We have therefore benchmarked the salary against Defence industry best practice and standards to offer a competitive remuneration package to attract the right candidate with the right skills.

The recruitment process for the role has begun, with a search for candidates underway. The application window for the post will open imminently, and the salary will be published alongside the advert.
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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department is taking steps to support British businesses that lawfully traded with now-sanctioned Russian (a) businesses and (b) people to help them to recover funds lawfully owed to them. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: Our sanctions are designed to minimise impact on the UK and avoid unintended consequences. The Department for Business and Trade has sought to minimise the impact on businesses through implementing appropriate exceptions, specific licences where appropriate, and wind-down periods when some sanctions are introduced. We have also published impact assessments alongside all Russia sanctions legislation.

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has also issued General Licences to address a range of issues affecting stakeholders, including permitting activities related to recovering funds, under specific circumstances and conditions.
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Sorcha Eastwood:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what his expected timeline is for (a) receiving and (b) responding to the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry. \p Gareth Thomas: Sir Wyn Williams is committed to progressing matters as swiftly as he can. Now that the final Phase of gathering oral evidence is complete, Sir Wyn will look to deliver his report on what happened, what went wrong and why. He said in December 2024 that publication would take “many months”. Once the report is published, the Government will respond in due course.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on free trade negotiations with that country. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The Business and Trade Secretary travelled to New Delhi in February where he engaged closely with his counterpart, Minister Goyal, to relaunch and progress negotiations towards a deal that delivers on our mutual interests of economic growth.

Following from this they are continuing to work together closely to direct negotiating teams, capitalise on the positive momentum, and secure a deal that strengthens our trade and investment relationship.
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Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will take steps with Companies House to create a database to enable consumers to check whether builders have previously liquidated their companies and opened new businesses under a new name. \p Justin Madders: Companies House does not have any plans to build a specific database for the purpose outlined.

Companies House is taking action to improve the quality of the information on the Register of Companies using powers made available by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

The Act also provides for the compulsory identity verification of directors, persons with significant control and those acting on behalf of companies. This will ensure that consumers are able to more easily trace the previous appointments of company directors. The systems needed to enable the deployment of identity verification are currently being implemented.
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Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans his Department has to introduce a licensing scheme for builders undertaking domestic building works. \p Sarah Jones: This Government is working to ensure we have a high-quality and professional construction industry, with consumer protection at the heart of this. TrustMark, sponsored by the Department and licenced by the Government, is the Government Endorsed Quality Scheme that covers work a consumer chooses to have carried out in or around their home. In addition, the Building Safety Act 2022 has introduced competence requirements for both individuals and businesses working in the built environment.

Any action that the Government takes on licensing to protect customers and standards needs to be robust, proportionate and evidence based.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans he has to negotiate any new state-level trade agreements with the United States. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The UK is exploring various avenues to strengthen UK-U.S. trade ties and support economic growth, in tandem with development of the Industrial and Trade Strategies. The UK continues to deliver against commitments in signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with individual U.S. states, to help UK businesses deepen their commercial links and facilitate trade.

The UK most recently signed an MoU concerning co-operation on economic relations, trade and investment with the State of Colorado on 27 January 2025
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Alex Sobel:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to (a) advise and (b) safeguard British-based (i) businesses and (ii) people operating in Hong Kong. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The Department provides a range of services and advice to assist companies doing business in Hong Kong, through our extensive network, both in the UK and at our Consulate. Additionally, the Overseas Business Risk (OBR) service provides information on the political, economic and security risks to support and guide businesses when trading overseas.

FCDO Travel Advice provides information to help British nationals make informed decisions about foreign travel. Travel Advice for Hong Kong remains under regular review to ensure it reflects the latest assessment of risks to British nationals.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support high street businesses in Fylde. \p Gareth Thomas: Revitalising our high streets is a priority for this government. We are delivering across government to create better conditions for high street businesses to thrive. The new Crime and Policing Bill will give better protection for businesses and retail workers, including those in Fylde, against assault and theft. We have introduced High Street Rental Auction powers for local authorities and before Christmas we opened the 100th Banking Hub – providing essential banking services for businesses and high street users. At the Budget the Chancellor announced plans to work with industry to design a new business rates system.

Our Small Business Strategy, to be published later this year, will set out this Government’s plan for further supporting small businesses across key areas, including on the high street.

Within Fylde constituency, Kirkham is benefitting from £6.29m from the Future High Street Fund and £3.27m from High Street Heritage Action Zone funding. This will help Kirkham become a more vibrant destination through town centre regeneration, bringing benefits to businesses and residents in Fylde.
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Grahame Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 31822 on Public Holidays, if he will make an estimate of the (a) cost of introducing an additional annual bank holiday on a permanent basis and (b) financial impact on each sector of the economy. \p Justin Madders: Under the Better Regulation Framework, the Department would be expected to produce an Impact Assessment estimating the costs of an additional, permanent bank holiday if the Government proposed one. However, since the current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established and widely accepted, the Government has no such plans.

The best available indication at present is from the impact assessment undertaken by the previous Government in 2022, estimating the cost of the one-off Platinum Jubilee bank holiday.
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Ms Stella Creasy:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the use of fire and rehire practices in higher education in England; and what steps he plans to take to address it. \p Justin Madders: The Government has published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill including an impact assessment of the Bill’s measure to end the unscrupulous use of fire and rehire. The evidence on the prevalence of the practice of fire and rehire is limited, however. Department for Business and Trade analysis suggests that <1% of employers might engage in the practice each year.

We are strengthening the law in this area to make it clear that the unscrupulous use of fire and rehire and fire and replace are not acceptable and will be an automatically unfair dismissal.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the end of the US tariff rate quota on UK steel and aluminium exports from 12 March 2025 on (a) economic growth and (b) levels of exports in quarter (i) one and (ii) two of 2025. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: My Department continues to engage closely with the industries affected by the US’ termination of its tariff rate quotas on steel and aluminium and to assess the potential impact on UK exports. We are resolute in our support for the UK steel and aluminium industry, which is vital to the UK economy. We have committed up to £2.5 billion to rebuild the steel sector. Our upcoming Steel Strategy will be published in the Spring. We will continue to make the case for a UK exemption to these tariffs.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Hospitality Sector Council on informing wider government policy towards Pubs and the Hospitality Sector. \p Gareth Thomas: The Hospitality Sector Council is designed as a collaboration between government and the sector. The Council has several working groups led by business which work through specific issues and recommend policy initiatives as appropriate.

Through this collaboration, we are addressing strategic issues related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity. This includes expanding the Hospitality Sector-Based Work Academy Program - addressing high vacancy rates by providing jobseekers with bespoke training, work placements, and guaranteed interviews so that they are job ready. The program when piloted was highly successful with 80% of those who completed the course securing employment in the hospitality sector.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the implementation of the US reciprocal tariffs proposal on UK steel and aluminium exports from 12 March 2025 on (a) economic growth and (b) levels of exports. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: My Department continues to engage closely with the industries affected by the implementation of the US’ reciprocal tariffs proposal. We are resolute in our support for the UK steel and aluminium industry, which is vital to the UK economy. We have committed up to £2.5 billion to rebuild the steel sector and our upcoming Steel Strategy will be published in the Spring. We will continue to make a strong case for a UK exemption to these tariffs.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what representations he has made to the (a) US Department of Commerce and (b) Office of the US Trade Representative on (i) digital services tax, (ii) value added tax and (iii) other regulatory issues relevant to the US proposals for reciprocal tariffs. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The Secretary of State has been having regular, constructive conversations with the US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, to make the case for stronger UK-US trade that benefits both our countries.

We will continue to work with the US and highlight the importance of free and open trade, and we will always do what is in the national interest for our economy, businesses and the British people.
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Gareth Snell:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of opening the Energy Intensive Industry Exemption scheme to all ceramics manufacturers. \p Sarah Jones: Eligibility for relief through the British Energy Supercharger scheme is based on an assessment of the electricity and trade intensity of an individual sector and how exposed it is to the risk of carbon leakage.

The list of eligible sectors is set out in legislation, meaning we are unable to add to it without a full public consultation. The Government plans to review eligibility of sectors in 2026 and my officials will keep interested stakeholders updated on developments.
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Liam Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by how much funding allocations for breakfast clubs in schools will increase in each (a) local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency in (i) Birmingham and (ii) Solihull in each year for which data is available. \p Stephen Morgan: The government is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils. The Autumn Budget 2024 confirmed over £30 million of funding for breakfast clubs for the 2025/26 financial year. This funding will enable us to fund up to 750 early adopters of the new breakfast clubs. Decisions about future funding for breakfast clubs will be taken as part of the next phase of the spending review.

All schools will receive £500 to cover initial set up costs and a lump sum of at least £1,000 per term, regardless of how many pupils are in attendance.

Schools will then receive a payment in arrears each term based on the number of pupils who accessed the club and the characteristics of pupils.

For the summer term this means there will be two payments. An initial fixed payment will be made to schools at the end of April 2025 for local authority maintained schools and at the beginning of May 2025 for academies. This will include the initial set up and lump sum payment. An arrears payment will be made to schools between October and December 2025, to cover the costs of running the breakfast club in the summer term 2025 (58 days).
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to support technical colleges to provide specialist support for dyslexic students in (a) Somerset and (b) the South West. \p Janet Daby: We are the department for opportunity. As part of this we are committed to help every learner to achieve and thrive, through excellent teaching and high standards. This includes a focus on children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The SEND Code of Practice is clear that all children and young people with SEND should be prepared for adulthood.

Preparation for adulthood means higher education and/or employment, independent living, participation in society and being as healthy as possible in adult life.

All local authorities must set out the support available to help children and young people with SEND move into adulthood as part of their local offer.

All education and training providers, including Technical Colleges, and other related service providers, have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, so they are not disadvantaged compared to non-disabled students. This includes people with a learning difficulty. This duty is set out under section 20 of the Equality Act 2010, which is available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/20.

There is a range of support on offer for dyslexic students. Students should discuss their needs with the college or education provider before the course begins. They will assess needs by consulting the student, their previous school and (if appropriate, and with permission) parents. Over the age of 16, the student should be fully involved in the discussions around special educational needs support.

The college must explain what support they will provide to meet the person’s individual learning needs. They should regularly review this support, keep records of the student’s progress and discuss this with them.

Support can include the use of additional time for tasks and exams, assistive technology, specialist tuition, note-takers and one-to-one or small group learning support.

The British Dyslexia Association offers advice and guidance on how students should be supported, which is available at: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/educators.

Disability Rights UK have information available which describes how reasonable adjustments can be provided for students with disabilities. This can be accessed at: https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/resources/adjustments-disabled-students-and-apprentices.
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Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment she has made of rates of school absence in academic year 2023-24 in England relative to the other home nations. \p Stephen Morgan: The department does not publish statistics on the other home nations besides England. The rates of school absence on the other home nations have been aggregated from the individual nations’ government websites.
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Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to help increase access to (a) technical and (b) vocational pathways for (i) training and (ii) employment in the chemical sciences sector. \p Janet Daby: I refer the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire to the answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 30787.
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Connor Naismith:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government takes to help ensure that apprentices are well-supported by their employers. \p Janet Daby: Apprenticeships deliver great outcomes for young people and adults, and apprentice and employer satisfaction is high.

High quality training is crucial and apprentices' success hinges on the commitment and collaboration of an employer, apprentice, and training provider.

The department has published a range of guidance on GOV.UK to help employers support their apprentices to make the most of their apprenticeship. This includes tips on how to support apprentices with mentoring, networking opportunities and wellbeing. On behalf of the department, the Learning and Work Institute has also produced a number of guides to support apprentices’ on-programme experience, including a Line Manger Guide to apprenticeships.

The Apprenticeship Service gives employers and learners the opportunity to provide feedback on their experiences which we use to improve the apprenticeship experience. To support effective partnerships between employers and providers, employers can also see online reviews of training providers from other employers and apprentices before they choose a training provider to deliver their training.

In addition, the department’s Apprenticeship Ambassador Network of 1,700 volunteer employers and providers enables sharing of best practice from apprenticeship experts. Our ambassadors are supporting 3,000 small employers taking their first steps on their own apprenticeship journey.

Apprentices who complete see the best outcomes from their experiences. The department’s focus on driving up quality is resulting in year on year increases in achievement rates and will continue to drive up standards to ensure every learner gets the greatest benefit from their apprenticeship.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to extend the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund beyond 31 March 2025. \p Janet Daby: I refer the hon. Member for South Suffolk to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26025.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the current number of school-age children not in school. \p Stephen Morgan: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department publishes data on compulsory school-aged children in elective home education, and children missing education (children not registered at school or otherwise receiving suitable education). In autumn 2024/25, local authorities reported 111,700 children in elective home education and 39,200 children missing education. The latest figures are available at https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education and https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-missing-education.
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Matt Bishop:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that funding for early years services meets the financial needs of providers. \p Stephen Morgan: The department has been clear in our commitment to the early years as our number one priority. It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, improving the life chances for every child and the work choices for every parent. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver the entitlements and high-quality early years provision going forward.

That is why, despite tough decisions to get our public finances back on track, the department is continuing to prioritise and invest, supporting early education and childcare providers with the costs they face.

In the 2025/26 financial year alone, this government plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements and we announced the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45%, compared to 2024/25 financial year, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year. On top of this we are providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant to support the sector as they prepare to deliver the final phase of expanded childcare entitlements from September 2025, recognising the significant level of expansion needed and the effort and planning this will require.

We are also providing £25 million through the forthcoming National Insurance contributions grant for public sector employers in the early years.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the cost of (a) girls' and (b) boys' school uniforms. \p Catherine McKinnell: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department published its latest research on the cost of school uniforms in September 2024, which surveyed parents and carers of children aged 4 to 16 attending state-funded schools in England. It is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms-survey-2023.

The research found that for secondary pupils, the average total costs of uniforms (including both daywear and PE kit) were broadly similar for boys and girls, with the average expenditure for girls being £4.80 greater. For primary pupils, the average total costs for both daywear and PE were £23.56 greater for girls. In general, daywear for girls is more expensive, whilst for boys, PE kit incurs a greater cost.

Too many families still tell us that the cost of school uniforms remain a financial burden. That is why the department is legislating to limit the number of expensive branded items of uniform and PE kit that schools can require.
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Jen Craft:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the statutory framework for home-to-school transport for post-16 learners with SEND. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer my hon. Friend for Thurrock to the answer of 11 September 2024 to Question 4162.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of SEND places in schools in Devon. \p Catherine McKinnell: Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Devon County Council is being allocated over £125 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £8.9 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is a 7.7% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 NFF allocation.

Additionally, we have announced £740 million of capital for high needs funding in 2025/26. This can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings. It can also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings. We will confirm allocations for the £740 million funding later in the spring.

Regarding special school places, in 2023 the department for the first time collected data from local authorities on capacity in special schools, SEND units and resourced provision in mainstream schools. This data is published at local authority level in the annual school capacity publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity. The latest available data shows that, as at 1 May 2023, there were approximately 1,830 special school places and 86 SEN Unit and resourced provision places in mainstream schools in Devon.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils SEND, sits with local authorities. The department supports local authorities to provide suitable school places for children and young people with SEND through annual high needs capital funding.
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Steve Barclay:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish her Department's advice issued to Cambridgeshire County Council in relation to plans to expand the number of places at Meadowgate Academy in Wisbech. \p Catherine McKinnell: In February 2021, the department approved the expansion of Meadowgate Academy by 60 places. The department has not provided advice to Cambridgeshire County Council on plans to expand the number of places.
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Patrick Spencer:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to introduce leniency provisions for private schools through the initial implementation of VAT. \p James Murray: Since 1 January, all education services and vocational training provided by private schools in the UK for a charge have been subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. This also applies to boarding services provided by private schools.

Since the announcement on 29 July, HMRC has taken action to support private schools through the change: providing detailed guidance, creating a bespoke mailbox for technical queries, running webinars, and allocating additional resource to process VAT registration applications.

HMRC guidance on VAT penalties and interest is available here: VAT penalties and interest - GOV.UK. This includes guidance that a penalty may be cancelled or amended if the taxpayer has a reasonable excuse. It also explains that the late submission penalty rules do not apply to your first VAT return if you are newly VAT registered.
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Patrick Spencer:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if HMRC will extend the 30-day challenge period for instances where they disallow VAT. \p James Murray: Taxpayers can challenge certain decisions from HMRC.

For indirect tax, including VAT, HMRC will offer the taxpayer a review in the decision letter. They will have 30 days from the date of the offer to either accept the offer of a review or appeal to the tax tribunal. This is explained in HMRC guidance, available here: Disagree with a tax decision or penalty: Disagree with a tax decision - GOV.UK.

If taxpayers miss the deadline to accept the offer of a review, they will need to provide a reasonable excuse. Further information on what may count as a reasonable excuse is available here: Disagree with a tax decision or penalty: Reasonable excuses - GOV.UK.

If taxpayers want a review but need more time (for example, to gather information to give to the review officer), they can ask HMRC to extend the deadline. They must ask within 30 days of the offer date. Taxpayers cannot get an extension on the deadline to appeal to the tax tribunal.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

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Patrick Spencer:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the forecasts for input VAT reclaimable by private schools are in line with Revenue and Customs Brief 16 (2016) being issued. \p James Murray: Revenue and Customs Brief 16 (2016) clarified that VAT incurred prior to registration can be recovered as input tax, subject to the normal rules. The approach taken to VAT recovery by private schools, including projection of taxable use, is in line with the policy as clarified in the brief.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_135

Ann Davies:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the press notice entitled Major investment to boost growth and cement Britain’s place as cultural powerhouse, published on 20 February 2025, what consequential funding through the Barnett formula will be provided to Wales. \p Darren Jones: The Barnett formula is applied when departmental budgets change – not when departments announce how they are spending their budgets. The Barnett formula was applied in the usual way, as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy, when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s budget changed at Phase 1 of the Spending Review 2025.

The Welsh Government’s Phase 1 Spending Review 2025 settlement for 2025-26 is the largest in real terms of any Welsh Government settlement since devolution.  The Welsh Government is receiving at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in England. That translates into over £4 billion more in 2025-26.

The published Block Grant Transparency document provides a detailed breakdown of how the block grants are calculated and the next iteration will be published in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_136

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28664, whether it is her Department’s policy to ask retail banks to keep High Street branches open during their discussions with them. \p Emma Reynolds: Banking has changed significantly in recent years with many customers benefitting from the ease and convenience of remote banking. While branch closures are commercial decisions for banks, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidance expects firms to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and put in place alternatives where reasonable. This seeks to ensure that branch closures are implemented in a way that treats customers fairly.

Where firms fall short of expectations, the FCA may ask for closures to be paused or other options to be put in place. Where alternative services have been recommended, a branch cannot close until any recommended services are in place.

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 granted the FCA the responsibility and powers to seek to ensure the reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. Under the FCA’s regime, LINK, the operator of the UK’s ATM network, is responsible for undertaking access to cash assessments. When a cash service such as a bank branch closes, or if LINK receives a request directly from a community, LINK assesses a community’s access to cash needs and can recommend a new service, such as a banking hub.

The Government has no powers to intervene in decisions to open new banking hubs, and the criteria for access to cash assessments is a matter for LINK, the financial services sector and the FCA. The FCA is required by law to keep its access to cash rules under review and is monitoring the impact of these rules on an ongoing basis to ensure they deliver the right outcomes for businesses and consumers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_137

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department’s news story entitled, Lights, Camera, Action! 40% business rates relief for film studios rolled out, published on 16 February 2025, whether her announcement on film business rates of 16 February 2025 is in addition to fiscal measures outlined in Autumn Budget 2024. \p James Murray: At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced that it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties, including film studios, with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above.

The Government has announced that it is proceeding with 40 per cent relief for eligible film studios in England on their gross business rates bills until March 2034. The costing was published at Spring Budget 2024.

Business rates bills are calculated by applying the relevant multiplier first and so film studios will receive 40 per cent relief on their total liability.

The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_138

Wendy Morton:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing a phased reduction in employer National Insurance contributions for businesses with fewer than 50 employees. \p James Murray: The Government has taken a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability after the situation we inherited from the previous administration.

One of the toughest decisions we took was to raise the rate of employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) from 13.8% to 15%, whilst reducing the per-employee threshold at which employers start to pay National Insurance (the Secondary Threshold) from £9,100 to £5,000.

The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that next year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change. It means employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage without paying a penny of employer NICs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

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Neil O'Brien:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the new VAT legislation for private schools led to HMRC amending or redefining the scope of input tax recovery for business who made exempt supplies prior to registration. \p James Murray: VAT incurred prior to registration is not input tax. However, HMRC has discretion under the provisions of Regulation 111 of the VAT Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/2518) to allow such VAT to be treated as input tax, subject to the normal rules. There was therefore no need to amend or redefine the scope of input tax recovery following the introduction of VAT on private school fees.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_140

Neil O'Brien:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether independent schools under the new interpretation of VAT entities following the Autumn Budget 2024 are their own class of business. \p James Murray: Taxpayers who are required to register for VAT can usually do so online.

The ‘Business activity’ section of the VAT registration form requires a full description of all the taxpayer’s business activities, including the type of goods and/or services that they supply. HMRC guidance is for private schools to enter ‘Private Education Provider’ in this section.

When registering for VAT, taxpayers are also required to provide Standard Industry Classification (SIC) codes that best describe their business activities. These will depend on their individual circumstances.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_141

Neil O'Brien:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of changes to VAT legislation with the principal of fiscal neutrality. \p James Murray: Fiscal neutrality is a key feature of the VAT system, and helps to ensure market distortions are minimised by equalising the tax treatment of supplies which are identical or sufficiently similar from the point of view of the consumer.

When changing VAT legislation the Government considers issues of fiscal neutrality as part of the policy making process.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

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Kanishka Narayan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the suitability of the current asset and employee number eligibility caps for the Enterprise Management Incentive in supporting the fastest-growing tech startups in the UK. \p James Murray: The Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) scheme is a tax-advantaged share scheme, which allows SMEs to attract and retain high productivity workers that they otherwise would not be able to recruit due to insufficient cashflow compared to larger, more established companies. The asset and employee number eligibility caps ensure the scheme is targeted at those small companies most affected by this issue.

At Spring Budget 2022, a review of EMI concluded that the scheme and its limits remain “effective and appropriately targeted.” Following this evaluation, Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) was expanded from April 2023 in order to support companies as they grow beyond the scope of EMI.

The Government keeps all tax reliefs under review, to ensure they continue to meet their policy objectives in a way that is fair and effective.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_143

Neil O'Brien:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the publication of new VAT guidance in October 2024 was following the Budget. \p James Murray: Since 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by private schools in the UK for a charge have been subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent.

Since the announcement of this policy, HMRC has taken action to support private schools through the change.

On 10 October 2024, HMRC published bespoke guidance for private schools, which can be found here: Registering for VAT and Charging and Reclaiming VAT. HMRC published initial guidance ahead of the Budget to maximise the amount of time private schools had to prepare for this policy taking effect. This guidance was updated on 30 October 2024 to reflect the final policy design. Details of guidance updates are available on GOV.UK.

As with all guidance, HMRC is keeping the guidance for private schools under review. HMRC continues to engage with private schools and the organisations that represent them.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-13 conversation_144

Steve Darling:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the policy paper entitled Simplification update – January 2024, published 16 January 2024, when she plans to implement changes to National Insurance credits for parents who did not claim Child Benefit. \p James Murray: I can confirm that the new National Insurance (NI) credit for parents who did not claim child benefit due to the High-Income Child Benefit Charge will be implemented as planned from April 2026 to ensure that affected parents and carers do not miss out on building entitlement to the State Pension.