John Glen: The ONS produce regular estimates of unpaid household labour. This data is currently up to date until 2016, when the total value of unpaid household service work was £1.24 trillion, equivalent to 63.1% of gross domestic product. Estimates for 2017 to 2021 are due to be released in Q4 2022. The Government has provided the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with an additional £25 million...
John Glen: The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, assesses all reported breaches of financial sanctions regulations. Regulations prohibit any person intentionally acting to circumvent prohibitions, or enabling and facilitating breaches of financial sanctions. Financial institutions and estate agents are considered relevant firms under the regulations and therefore...
John Glen: Credit rating agencies have an important role in rating the investment risk of sovereigns. This allows lenders to assess risk and therefore supports the functioning and development of financial markets. The Credit Rating Agencies Regulation requires the ratings agencies to publish the methodologies used as well as the factors they have considered in producing the rating.
John Glen: On 29 September Pay.UK and fifteen of the UK’s banks and building societies announced their decision that Paym, the mobile payments service, will close permanently on 7 March 2023. Pay.UK have observed that payment volumes through Paym have diminished over the past three years as fewer people sign up to use the service. As an independent company limited by guarantee, Pay.UK has discretion...
John Glen: The Edinburgh Reforms, launched by the Chancellor on 9 December, take forward the government’s ambition for the UK to be the world’s most innovative and competitive global financial centre. We are committed to an open, sustainable, and technologically advanced financial services sector that is globally competitive and acts in the interests of communities and citizens across all four...
John Glen: The £1000 per household figure is derived from dividing the total cost of an 11% increase in pay for all public sector workers in the UK in 2023/24 (£28bn) by the ONS’ latest estimate of the number of households in the UK (28.1m). The use of an 11.1% increase in pay for all public sector workers as a total cost figure is in line with the calls of many unions for inflation-matching awards...
John Glen: The Government is committed to public service pensions which are fair to public sector workers. In 2015 (2014 for local government workers in England and Wales), reforms were made to Public Service Pension Schemes in England and Wales to provide workers with fairer pensions arrangements and to make the pension schemes more sustainable and affordable for the longer term. These reforms followed...
John Glen: The Government recognises that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and especially to the most vulnerable members of society, such as disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, like sickle cell disease. That is why the Government is taking decisive action to support households while ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible...
John Glen: Public sector bodies, including the NHS, have benefitted from a discount on wholesale gas and electricity through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) over the winter period. The outcome of a HMT-led review to determine support for UK non-domestic energy consumers after March 2023 will be published by the end of 2022. The Autumn Statement confirmed additional funding for the NHS of £3.3bn...
John Glen: Over the past 12 months the government has acted decisively and compassionately to support the people of Ukraine and Afghanistan to escape oppression and conflict and find refuge in the UK. The government is providing additional resources of £1 billion in 2022-24 and £1.5 billion in 2023-24 to help meet the significant and unanticipated costs which have been incurred. These additional...
John Glen: The government has committed to keep devolution of the Aggregates Levy to Wales under review. This is with the intention of devolving it in future, subject to the agreement of both governments and legislatures. Devolution would be subject to cross border impacts being worked through in full, to ensure the best outcome for businesses and consumers on both sides of the border.
John Glen: Tackling violence against women and girls is a Government priority. We have made significant progress since publishing the cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy and the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan in 2021 and 2022 respectively, which committed £230 million across-Government to tackling this heinous crime. In future years, it will be for those departments that...
John Glen: At the Autumn Statement, the government set out a plan to support economic stability. The government is taking a responsible and disciplined approach to spending, while prioritising vital public services. Ahead of the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor considered a broad range of spending options across public services. The government recognises the important role that further education...
John Glen: The Government acknowledges that for unfunded Public Service Pension Schemes, outward transfers are limited under the Pensions Act 2015 to schemes where members cannot avail themselves of pension draw down flexibilities introduced by that Act. This is because draw down would increase the upfront cost of these unfunded schemes to taxpayers. Where members move on from their public service...
John Glen: HM Treasury and the Department for Education work closely together on all childcare policy, including Tax-Free Childcare. Take-up of Tax-Free Childcare is on a steady upward trajectory: at the end of June 2022 (the most recent data) an estimated 391,000 families used Tax-Free Childcare for 468,000 children.
John Glen: In 2022-23, the government is helping all domestic electricity customers with the impact of rising energy prices, with £400 off their bills through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will cap the unit price households pay for electricity and gas saving the typical household around £900 this winter. The government is providing a £150 non-repayable Council...
John Glen: The Welsh Government is well-funded to deliver public services in Wales. The 2021 Spending Review set the largest annual block grants, in real terms, of any spending review settlement since the devolution Acts. This provided £18 billion per year for the Welsh Government. This settlement is still growing in real terms this year, and over the three-year spending review period, despite...
John Glen: The UK recognises the significant debt vulnerabilities faced by many low-income countries and that high debt service levels may impact efforts to invest in and respond to climate change, as well as other development goals. We are fully committed to helping the most vulnerable countries address the challenges they face. At COP27, the UK announced that UK Export Finance will become the first...
John Glen: As a result of the decisions taken at Autumn Statement 2022, the Northern Ireland Executive’s funding is increasing by around £650m over 2023-24 and 2024-25. The Block Grant Transparency publication will set out a full breakdown of funding for the Northern Ireland Executive in due course.
John Glen: The Government recognises that the rising cost of living has presented additional financial challenges to many people, and especially to the most vulnerable members of society, such as disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. That is why the Government is taking decisive action to support households while ensuring we act in a fiscally responsible way. If individuals have...