Jane Ellison: Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) is a tax on the insurer, and there is no obligation to pass the increase on to the customer. All tax policy is kept under review, however, it would be challenging to implement an exemption for insurance purchased by any specific group. Any such legislation would be very difficult for insurers to implement since this would require them to differentiate between...
Jane Ellison: The contract between HM Revenue and Customs and Concentrix ended in November 2016 and all financial matters, including sanctions, were settled at that time.
Jane Ellison: There are currently no plans to alter the VAT treatment of hot sandwiches that are made to takeaway.
Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs are not able to disaggregate statistics on tax accruals down to lower level trade sector such as flight schools.
Jane Ellison: The Government is committed to improving air quality, and will consult on a detailed draft plan later this year which will set out how we will achieve our air quality goals. Alongside this, the Government will continue to explore the appropriate tax treatment for diesel vehicles, and will continue to engage with stakeholders.
Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Government Digital Service are working with Government departments to help them find suitable solutions beyond March 2018, when the current version of the Government Gateway will be commissioned. GOV.UK Verify will be the single identification service for individuals. The authentication service that HMRC is developing to replace the Government Gateway will...
Jane Ellison: We certainly have covered a lot of ground in today’s debate; indeed, we have strayed internationally, as well as covering an awful lot of domestic policy. Before I address some of the key themes, I wish to stress again the central point made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he opened the debate. Our ability to provide public services...
Jane Ellison: I disagree with the hon. Lady about prevention. We can do a lot on prevention, particularly with older people. With this new money, we can have more care packages. For example, falls prevention, which is delivered in the community or at home, is one of the most valuable ways to keep people out of accident and emergency. But we are not in any way downplaying the challenges of dealing with...
Jane Ellison: No, I am not going to take another intervention—I will take the same time that the hon. Lady took. The list is very long. Labour said in its 1997 manifesto that it would tackle this issue; there was a royal commission in 1999, a Green Paper in 2005 and the Wanless review; it was said that the issue would be resolved by the 2007 comprehensive spending review, and there was another Green...
Jane Ellison: No, we have said that it is 20% of the fund, but the vast majority of the national insurance fund pays towards the state pension, which, as has been made clear, is now available to the employed and the self-employed. That is part of an important and necessary step to level up what benefits people get. It is also important and necessary to level the playing field when it comes to what people...
Jane Ellison: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. They don’t like it up ’em! I realise that the Labour Front Benchers rotate with dizzying speed, but I suggest that Labour Members look at the self-employment commission that they launched only last November. The majority of people who are affected by the change will be better off from the combined changes to national insurance contributions. Only someone...
Jane Ellison: The Government is fully committed to automatic enrolment and has always been clear that the Lifetime ISA is a complement to pension saving, not a replacement. The impact assessment of the Savings (Government Contributions) Act 2017, based on the independent OBR certified costing note, is clear that we do not assume anybody opts out of their automatically enrolled pension to save into a...
Jane Ellison: The number of tax avoidance litigation cases is published by HM Revenue and Customs in the Tax Assurance Commissioner’s annual report at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/how-we-resolve-tax-dispute s
Jane Ellison: The British Beer and Pub Association have published estimates of the annual change in beer prices in “The story of beer duty: 2008 to 2016”. This can be found at: http://s3.amazonaws.com/bbpa-prod/attachments/documents/uplo ads/24356/original/BBPA%20Duty%20Impact%20Report%202016.pdf? 1477316467
Jane Ellison: The Government keeps all taxes under review, including alcohol duties, and is always willing to consider any evidence in relation to alcohol taxation policy. Any changes to beer duty need to take account of a wide range of factors, including the Exchequer impact, the impact on businesses and consumers, and on public health.
Jane Ellison: I thank colleagues from all parties in the House for what has been a typically vivid and enthusiastic debate. It has been wonderful to hear so many fantastic pubs and breweries— both large and small—getting a name-check today in the House, which they deserve. I will not repeat them all, because there were so many mentions of people’s local star businesses, but I pay tribute to all of...
Jane Ellison: The hon. Gentleman brings me to the next section of my speech, which is about business rates. I am not surprised that colleagues across the House have raised that issue. We recognise that business rates can represent a high fixed cost for some businesses. I will not rehearse all the facts about the 2017 revaluation. I think we all acknowledge that there was a long gap between revaluations,...
Jane Ellison: I suspect that is a debate for another time. It is certainly a debate in which I took part in my previous role. If the hon. Lady will forgive me, I will stick to the topic of the debate, lest we get drawn into minimum unit pricing, as it is a complex issue. My hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Helen Whately) spoke about the long history of the brewing industry in her...
Jane Ellison: Again, that is perhaps for a wider debate, but, as I recollect from my time as Public Health Minister, the industry was rightly praised for the extent to which it stepped up to address issues with certain products. A lot of alcopop products have been phased out by some producers who decided to change their portfolio. One or two speakers referred to the bigger chains and the fact that they...
Jane Ellison: Very briefly.
