Oral Answers to Questions — Treasury – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 3 November 2009.
Ken Purchase
Labour, Wolverhampton North East
2:30,
3 November 2009
What recent assessment he has made of the effect on small businesses of the time-to-pay arrangements operated by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
Stephen Timms
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) (Digital Britain) (also HM Treasury), Financial Secretary (HM Treasury) (also in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills)
The Business Payment Support Service was introduced last November. Since then, more than 220,000 time-to-pay arrangements have been agreed with 150,000 businesses-employing between them some 600,000 people-enabling them to spread tax payments of almost £4 billion.
Ken Purchase
Labour, Wolverhampton North East
These arrangements are very welcome in my Constituency, where people have struggled, but does the Minister accept that these and other measures that have been introduced are really a cover-up for the catastrophic failure of profit-maximising finance capitalists who have failed our small businesses? Is it not now time to look for more responsible banking, to remutualise those organisations that have gone to the free market, and to reject the idea that "competition, competition" is anything other than a mantra?
Stephen Timms
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) (Digital Britain) (also HM Treasury), Financial Secretary (HM Treasury) (also in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills)
We are certainly looking for changes in banking, as my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the exchequer will be setting out in a few moments' time. However, I would not agree with my hon. Friend in characterising this scheme as a cover-up, because it has given a lifeline to thousands of businesses in constituencies such as his. One of the most impressive things about it is the very good record of repayment. More than 90 per cent. of the repayments due come in on time once an agreement has been made. It is a very good model for the future.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
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