Jesse Norman
MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire · Conservative · United Kingdom
“In view of the new Prime Minister’s spending priorities, it now seems highly unlikely that the ruinously expensive current plans will be put to the House before the end of this year. Seven months have already passed with no action.”
“10 North have real spending powers of its own? If the answer is yes, then this will be a new kind of cross-departmental Ministry—perhaps a territorial Ministry, like a regional Government but with no defined scope or mandate. We will need to see the legal instruments delegating Treasury authority and functions to it.”
“I rather fear that, given our longevity and at least the level of banter on the Government side of the Dispatch Box, we will be seen over time as the Morecambe and Wise, or perhaps the two Ronnies, of British politics.”
“The past few weeks have brought news of the deaths of Dolly Parton, Tim Curry and Wendell Berry. I am sure that many colleagues will share my sense of shock and sadness at the loss of those extraordinary figures, but also give great thanks for their lives. Truly, we live in a world of change.”
“10 North will not have spending power of its own, then ultimately the Treasury and the Chancellor will continue to sign off on its public spending and on any taxing matters. Decentralisation is really important, but No. 10 North will not be a means of decentralisation in this scenario; it will be just another layer of Government.”
“But we are not going to cast nasturtiums, in the words of a friend of mine, on any of this nonsense—not even on Baroness Lloyd and the hopeless Building Digital UK, who have entirely failed to address the issue of fibre broadband in neglected parts of my constituency and simply repeated the same language of incompetence and failure to me…”
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“She recommends Ghanaian principles of public finance, but I am not sure I can follow her in that direction.”
“She raised another irrelevant issue about public spending. She asked me about my own link. I assure her that I had nothing to do with the awarding of any contracts. As my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Anthony Browne) pointed out, this is true for Ministers across the Government, according to the NAO. The hon. Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier), who chairs the Public Accounts Committee, made a speech, wonderfully—and I thank her for it—on the Bill. I am very grateful. She asked whether the Bill is rushed through. The answer to that question is no, it is not. It is important to do it, we think, before the beginning of the new financial year. The same Bill was put through in March last year, and so it is here. She asked about Treasury controls. We fully, strongly believe in them.”
“Members that the Contingencies Fund is not a tool—some hon. Members have made this point—that Ministers can choose to use; it is not discretionary. It is managed entirely by the Treasury, and the accounting officer must ensure that advances are given in line with strict rules agreed between Parliament, the NAO and the Treasury. These rules are set out clearly in the published estimates manual. Every Department makes an application outlining the urgency of their case and how they plan to meet the listed requirement. It is worth mentioning that the NAO also audits the Contingencies Fund accounts, and that includes a full list of advances. Let me turn to a couple of the points raised by Members in the debate. I did ask for questions on the Bill, but the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen) somehow found that difficult.”
“Transparency arrangements for ministerial directions—where they are sought under the requirements of the doctrine of “Managing Public Money”—will also continue in the usual way. Accounting officers are already required to publish any direction that they receive as soon as possible, unless there is a broader public interest in keeping it confidential. Thirdly, the House has seen throughout 2021 that Departments must notify Parliament by way of a ministerial statement agreed with the Treasury where a commitment will be or has been entered into in advance of supply. I would like to make it clear that the mandatory WMS wording agreed with Parliament and the NAO already distinguishes whether this advance is a new service, new expenditure or simply a cash requirement ahead of a supply estimate. I remind hon.”
“First, the Contingencies Fund is about ensuring cash flow, restricting it to urgent services in anticipation of parliamentary provision becoming available and temporary funds required for necessary working balances. It is not additional spending; it is simply a cash advance to be repaid. It does not in any way preclude the scrutiny by Parliament of additional provision sought by a Department through the supply estimates, nor does it preclude the Comptroller and Auditor General from expressing his view on the regularity of departmental expenditure. Secondly, each and every departmental accounting officer remains fully accountable for expenditure; and, of course, that expenditure will be audited by the NAO in the usual way as part of the annual reports and accounts of each Department.”
“As you will be aware, Mr Evans, clause 1 provides for an increase in capital for the Contingencies Fund. It raises the limit from the standard 2% to 12%, providing a sum of approximately £105 billion for the financial year 2021-22 only. We are all agreed across the House on the central importance of accountability to Parliament, but it is the Government’s very firm view that new clause 1 is not needed in order to achieve accountability. It is important to say again that supply processes continue to be used in the usual way with expenditure still subject to parliamentary scrutiny and a vote. This Bill simply permits an advance on expenditure that will be included in the main or supply estimates. Let me set out four points that make this quite clear.”
“Once in every Parliament, the National Infrastructure Commission publishes a national infrastructure assessment. The first assessment was launched in July 2018, and the commission operates UK-wide.”
“I thank the hon. Member for his question. Of course, he will be aware that the benefits of HS2 are not, by any means, just restricted to the cities that are on its route; it is a national project of significance. More widely, Wales has done very well in the last Budget, if I might remind him more generally, with accelerated funding for the Swansea bay, north Wales and mid-Wales city growth deals, money for the hydrogen hub and, of course, £30 million towards the global centre of rail excellence in Neath Port Talbot. What I would say, though, is that of course we do now have a UK infrastructure bank, which will be looking at issues of infrastructure across the country, including in the devolved Administrations.”
“Improving transport connectivity across the UK is central to the Government’s levelling-up agenda, and local residents across the UK will benefit from upgrades to infrastructure that improve everyday life as a result of the launch of the £4.8 billion levelling up fund. The Government have also maintained their commitment to already announced transport investment through the transforming cities fund and the roads investment strategy, and Budget 2021 confirmed capacity funding allocations for the £4.2 billion of intra-city transport settlements, so that the city regions receiving settlements can develop investment-ready transport plans to deliver on local priorities.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his question. He has been a vociferous supporter of this scheme and I can happily confirm that the Government remain committed to upgrading the A57 so as to improve connectivity between Manchester and Sheffield. The development consent order is on track to be submitted shortly and construction is expected to start in early 2023.”
“My hon. Friend will be aware that the strategic outline business case for the Kent and East Sussex coastal connectivity scheme includes proposals to extend HS1 services from Ashford International to Hastings and Rye. It is currently being taken forward by Network Rail and is due to be submitted to the Department for Transport in April 2021. It will then be reviewed by the Department and by stakeholders in Kent and East Sussex County Councils.”
“The Treasury is committed to consulting on aviation tax reform. As part of that, we will consider the APD treatment of domestic flights. Unfortunately, the consultation has been delayed in recognition of the rather challenging circumstances that the aviation industry is currently facing, but we will update the House on this in due course.”
“It is no secret that bus services are close to the Prime Minister’s heart. The Government have committed to improving bus services and since the start of the pandemic have supported operators with more than £1 billion of funding, as well as with £120 million at the spending review for the delivery of new zero emission buses. The national bus strategy is due to be published soon and will start to set out this wider ambition. I am also pleased to note that Budget 2020 allocated £166 million to the Sheffield city region from the transforming cities fund to support local transport investment, including bus infrastructure.”
“I do not recognise the figures the hon. Lady has used at all. The facts are that this Government published the “National Infrastructure Strategy” in November, which set out plans for £300 billion-worth of public investment over the next few years, as well as supporting £300 billion of private investment. Since then, the Chancellor has announced the new UK infrastructure bank, which will further support the development of infrastructure and levelling up, and the development of our green infrastructure across the UK.”
“The Government have announced that the self-employment income support scheme will continue until September, with a fourth and a fifth grant. This provides certainty to business as the economy reopens and it means that the self-employment income support scheme continues to be one of the most generous covid-19 support schemes for self-employment income around the world.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Of course, we have put in place £407 billion-worth of support throughout the whole of the pandemic, which is an astonishing level of support for a very wide range of businesses and people across the country. In relation to the self-employed, he may not be aware of this, but I have bent over backwards to engage with different groups of the self-employed. Repeatedly, across different meetings, we have looked with the greatest care at the proposals that they have put forward to bring in people who may not be able to qualify at the moment. As the Chancellor mentioned, 600,000 people previously ineligible may now be eligible, including those newly self-employed in 2019-20.”
“In mentioning Bolton, the hon. Lady somehow neglected to mention the £22.9 million-worth of towns funding that Bolton has recently received. I thought that she might kick off with that. The answer that I gave was perfectly clear about the matter: we are bending over backwards to support people. We have leant into this issue as hard as we can and we will continue to do so.”
“What a fantastically niche question from my hon. Friend, and how delighted I am to be able to answer it. He will know that scoring is a matter for the OBR. As the Budget policy costings in the Budget 2021 document set out, the costing for corporation tax has been adjusted to reflect behavioural responses to an increase in the rate of corporation tax. It is important to be clear that dynamic scoring can include a number of potential behavioural responses, such as adjustments to reflect the impact on the incentive to incorporate, on profit shifting, and on investment. If he is so minded, he can find further detail on page 196 of the OBR’s “Economic and fiscal outlook”.”
“That is not a fact we can ignore, and it is a fact that it is incumbent on us, across the House and in this Government, to address. Ordered, That the debate be now adjourned. —(Tom Pursglove.) Debate to be resumed on Monday 8 March .”
“I am very pleased that, in that regard at least, we have been able to deliver for him in a way that we have delivered for many other places across the country that historically have been ignored. Let me end by thanking hon. Members for their comments. We are trying to do something big here. We are trying to respond to the big issues that the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde rightly flagged. He is wrong about what he claims are cliff edges. There is, in each of the cases I have described, a tapering effect in the major reliefs, which is designed to return us to something akin to normality if we can follow the road map and get out of the position we are in. The fact of the matter is that, as the Resolution Foundation pointed out, we are in the worst crisis, the deepest downturn, for 300 years.”
“Friend the Member for Thurrock on that. I greatly respected the hon. Member for Croydon Central (Sarah Jones) as she sang the glories of Croydon. That was a beautiful moment in our debate. I very much liked the possibility that you, Madam Deputy Speaker, might, as my hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Dean Russell) invited you, teach the world to sing. I look forward to that very much. Perhaps in a future debate we can be treated to a yodelling intro in the style of the late New Seekers—or am I betraying my age? My hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Tom Hunt) was absolutely right. He pointed to the town deal that existed for Ipswich. He pointed to Freeport East, and said, or implied—I am sure he would say—that this is a Government who do what they say.”
“I think it strikes a chord with many people across the House and in the wider public. My hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Jane Hunt) pointed out the importance of skills—absolutely right. My hon. Friend the Member for Sedgefield (Paul Howell) pointed out the value of the super-deduction plan. Again, I thoroughly agree with him. It was nice to hear my great friend, my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jackie Doyle-Price), talk about the importance of her Thames freeport. That is right. I was surprised that the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Paula Barker) did not welcome the Liverpool city region freeport, which I think will be a tremendous boost to that area. I think she was wrong. I think it will be widely welcomed, particularly as it gets up and running. I share the view of my hon.”
“Friend the Member for Bolsover (Mark Fletcher), who pointed out the importance of the start-up grants that will support beauty and personal care businesses. He was absolutely right about that. He mentioned the town deal and the east midlands freeport, and rightly so. I agree with the hon. Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton), who said he was pro our UK infrastructure bank being located in Leeds. He was right to say that. That was not by any means the picture taken by the hon. Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon), who also spoke, but I think that the hon. Member for Leeds North East was right in saying that. The point that my hon. Friend the Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Mohindra) made in praising the Chancellor’s honesty and directness when engaging with us struck a chord with me.”
“Friend the Member for Wokingham (John Redwood), but when he said, “Go for growth,” he was absolutely right to emphasise the growth aspects of the Budget. My hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Simon Jupp) pointed out, rightly, that the Budget delivered for Devon. He was absolutely spot on about that. I disagreed with my hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Sir Christopher Chope) about corporation tax. He needs to understand, if I may say so, that the rise in corporation tax was the result of many aspects of things. What is noticeable about it, though, is that it did not trigger an enormous increase in business investment. That is one of the reasons why we have adopted this slightly different approach. I agree very much with the words of my hon.”
“It will be in the lifting of expectations, the career opportunities, and the possibility of framing a new narrative based on different assumptions about how the world works from just those to be found in London. That is profoundly exciting and important. Of course, we are talking also about the levelling-up fund, Help to Grow, and a very important development on future breakthrough. I love the fact that we will support not just levelling up but our green investment through the UK infrastructure bank. That will be a very important part of the picture. Let me turn to some of the comments made by colleagues, because they were very well taken. There are many areas where I am not sure that I always agree with my right hon.”
“That is not a trivial amount of money, and placing it in Leeds could not be a more emphatic demonstration of the Government’s commitment to levelling up, as the move by not just the Treasury but other Government Departments—the Department for International Trade, BEIS and the MHCLG—to join in a new campus in Darlington has been. As my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Peter Gibson) said, that will transform that town, but it also sends a much wider signal: “By their fruits shall ye know them.” It is all very well talking about these things. Those towns and areas could have been supported by the Labour party over decades and they were not. This Government are stepping forward to make that difference. Of course, the difference will not be just in the investment—the pounds, shillings and pence that are spent there.”
“It may succeed, it may fail, but it is a very worthwhile attempt to kick-start that business investment that will be foundational, not just to recovery from the pandemic but to our long-term prosperity. Of course we have taken a variety of other measures to support the public finances and then to build the future economy. The suggestion was made by some colleagues across this Chamber that the Budget was a piecemeal effort; that could not be further from the truth. There are 45 new town deals, the £150 million community ownership fund, the freeports in England. The infrastructure bank. I have been very closely involved with the infrastructure bank, and I can tell the House that it will potentially be a very significant institution. It has, of course, its starting capital, but it also has firepower of up to £40 billion.”
“That is one component of this Budget, but of course, as the Chancellor has rightly emphasised, we must engage with the work of fixing the public finances, and that is why we are asking the largest and most profitable firms to pay more in two years’ time by increasing corporation tax. But of course we are giving at the same time, in the shorter run, a super-deduction. I think that is a very thoughtful policy. What that essentially says to those businesses—something like £100 billion is held on corporate balance sheets at the moment in the UK—is that we need to get away from the patterns of underinvestment by business, and this is a way of attempting to move corporate Britain in that direction.”
“It would be the further grants we have made to the self-employed: the restart grants, a new set of grants designed to help the retail, hospitality, leisure and personal care businesses—I emphasise personal care businesses, such is the very important role they play in our economy—to get going again. The business rates holiday has been extended for three months before tapering for another nine months. We are extending the VAT cut to 5% for a further six months before tapering it for another six, continuing our stamp duty cut, and extending universal credit and working tax credits by six months. We are providing more money for apprenticeships, new recovery loans. and a large package for the arts, culture and sports.”
“There are three great themes to the Budget. The first is the need to support people and businesses through this crisis; the second is the need to begin to fix the public finances; and the third is the need to lay the foundations of our future economy. Those are all big issues. As the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde rightly pointed out, those are big matters which we are grappling with, and gripping, from the Dispatch Box and from the Chancellor’s own Budget. Let us just touch on those. Supporting businesses and people—that would be extending furlough to the end of September.”
“It rightly sought to boost the recovery before turning to fix the public finances, in both cases with a large (potentially too large) focus on Britain’s firms.” That, I think, is pretty clear. It also said: “Continuing furlough to September will reduce the rise in unemployment ahead, with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expecting it to peak at just 6.5 per cent (down from 7.5 per cent). If realised, this would be”— I am quoting— “by far the lowest unemployment peak in any recent recession, despite this being the deepest downturn for 300 years.” That would include the Labour recession of 2008. So we can only hope and pray that these measures may have something like that effect, but to suggest that they are short of ambition is quite wrong. If I may, let me just remind the House of the scale of what we are attempting.”
“The hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Jonathan Reynolds) was absolutely right to highlight the second day of a Budget debate as a moment when we can discuss these bigger issues. I join him in thanking nearly 50 colleagues for their contributions, but I am afraid I disagree with him on some of his diagnosis; perhaps, in the course of my remarks, I can explain why. The hon. Gentleman claimed that the Budget had no ambition. You do not have to listen to me or the Chancellor, Madam Deputy Speaker, if you want to know whether the Chancellor’s Budget had ambition; you can simply listen to the Resolution Foundation, which said: “This was a big, policy focused, budget.”
“I am sure that these regulations and the objective they serve will enjoy cross-party support. I hope colleagues will therefore join me in supporting these regulations, which I commend to the House.”
“If I may, I will turn to the details of the regulations. An exemption from UK income tax will apply to non-resident players, officials and certain other UEFA-accredited individuals in respect of income arising in connection with the UK-hosted matches of the final tournament. The exemption will apply to income arising from duties and services performed in the UK between 1 June and 13 July. That allows for 10 days before the event commences, so that the exemption can cover any duties performed in connection with the matches held in the UK, such as advance planning or training camps. The income tax exemption for the 2021 Euros supports our commitment to make the UK a global leader for world-class major sporting events and demonstrates what we can achieve across the breadth of the UK.”
“As the UK continues to be at the forefront of hosting world-class events, I would like to emphasise that the policy conditions, as they are described in the Treasury, for providing a tax exemption are the same as those that have been applied for previous events. Mr Deputy Speaker, you will be aware that a tax exemption is reserved only for the most exceptional events, with consideration on an event-by-event basis. In order to be considered for a tax exemption, an event must satisfy three conditions: it must demonstrate the highest level of world sport; it must be internationally mobile; and the granting of the exemption must be a necessary condition of a bid to host the event. I am positive that the House will agree that the UEFA Euros final tournament falls well within those criteria.”
“Following the success of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic games, which showcased the UK’s ability to host major events, statutory tax exemptions have been provided for other world-class events, including the 2013 and 2017 UEFA Champions League finals, the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth games and the 2017 World Athletics championships. I am confident that Members across the House will agree that it is in keeping with Government policy to provide a similar exemption for this exceptional event. The draft regulations make use of the powers introduced in the Finance Act 2014 that enable the Treasury to make regulations providing for an income tax exemption in relation to a major sporting event.”
“From 11 June this year, the world’s attention will focus on this tournament, which will be held across 12 European cities as part of the celebration of the tournament’s 60th anniversary. In particular, there will be matches hosted at Wembley stadium in London and Hampden Park in Glasgow, as 24 nations compete to be the champions of Europe. I am sure that hon. and right hon. Members will be aware of the Government’s commitment to making the UK an attractive location—perhaps the most attractive location for football—in which to host world-class events. Successive Governments have provided income tax exemptions for major sporting events of this kind.”
“I beg to move, That the draft Major Sporting Events (Income Tax Exemption) Regulations 2021, which were laid before this House on 11 January, be approved. The draft regulations before us provide an income tax exemption for accredited non-resident individuals who perform duties or services in the UK in relation to the rescheduled UEFA Euro 2020 final tournament. The exemption will apply to any income that an individual receives for duties and services performed in connection with the UK-hosted matches of the final tournament between specific dates in June and July 2021. The Euros 2020 final tournament ranks second only to the World cup in prestige in the world of football.”
“It is a great sadness to me personally that it is unlikely that the England team will feature any members of the Hereford FC team, now making their way triumphantly towards the finals—I hope, in due course—of the FA trophy, but I can say that Members of this House will, I hope, have the joy of seeing players of the quality of a Kane, a Rashford, a Mount, a Calvert-Lewin and a McTominay. With that, I hope that we can all have a fantastic tournament, ably supported by our tax system. Question put and agreed to.”
“It is testimony to the unifying quality of football as a game that we can have such a unanimity of view across the different nations of this country. I thank the hon. Member for Ealing North (James Murray) for the Opposition’s support. I also thank the hon. Member for Glenrothes (Peter Grant) for his and his party’s support; I am not going to comment on the relative order in the finals between England and Scotland, but we shall see. I thank very much the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), who asks if we will consider a few more days of relief. I thank him for his question. He has put it on the record here in Parliament, and we will of course give it consideration.”
“The instrument also makes a minor technical modification to the 2018 Act that provides the legal basis for applying the tariffs set out in the continuity trade agreements, which may in some cases be higher than the UKGT rate. The modification allows traders to choose the UKGT rate if it is more beneficial to them. The UK global tariff is a simpler, easier-to-use and generally lower tariff regime than the common external tariff that it replaces. It is a regime that has been specifically tailored to the UK economy, and will provide a stable basis for our global trade. I commend the statutory instruments to the Committee.”
“Finally, the Taxation Cross-border Trade (Special Procedures Supplementary and General Provision etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 set out continued simplified arrangements for imported goods that are subject to “special customs procedures”, such as cases where the good is imported for a processing operation or is imported on a temporary basis. That also allows those goods to be released from those procedures without the need for a further declaration or duty payment. That category includes pallets, containers and railway carriages imported under the temporary admission procedure, as well as equipment imported under the same procedure for military exercises in the UK.”
“The other statutory instruments under consideration are more technical in nature. The Customs Tariff (Establishment and Suspension of Import Duty) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 were introduced after the initial package of tariff legislation was laid. The technical modifications in that statutory instrument relate to discrepancies found within the trade remedies regime. A disparity existed for a very limited number of goods between what was being put into practice at the border and what was in the legislation laid on 16 December. That has now been corrected. Given the nature of the disparity, it was deemed appropriate to bring the changes into force as soon as possible.”
“Beyond that, we have already secured trade agreements with 64 non-EU countries, worth £216 billion of trade in 2019. That accounts for 97% of the value of trade with non-EU countries that we set out to secure agreements with at the start of the trade continuity programme. No other country has ever negotiated so many trade deals simultaneously. The effect of that, combined with other trade agreements and other trade measures, is that the UKGT ensures that 91% of trade has been coming into the UK tariff free, on World Trade Organisation terms or through preferential access, from January this year. I have highlighted that the UKGT tariffs that we have implemented are specifically designed to suit UK interests and will provide a stable basis for our global trade going forward.”
“That supports the UK’s ambition to reach net zero by 2050, and flags the Government’s willingness to use trade policy in order to help us deliver on environmental and climate change objectives. Overall, the UKGT almost doubles the number of tariff lines that have zero import tariffs relative to the EU’s common external tariff, with a little under 50% of tariffs now set at 0% compared with 27%, as was previously the case. Crucially, the tariff rates above 0% in the UKGT apply only to those countries with which we do not have preferential trading arrangements. As right hon. and hon. Members will be aware, we have agreed a trade and co-operation agreement with the EU—the first zero-tariff, zero-quota trade agreement that the EU has ever reached. That discharges a Government manifesto commitment.”
“Many inputs to production have been liberalised in order to support UK manufacturing by keeping costs down. Many products that have low or non-existent levels of UK production have been liberalised, such as pistachios—of which the UK does not, as far as I am aware, have a substantial crop—from 1.6% to 0%, and cotton yarn, from 4% to 0%. Simply put, now that the UK is no longer part of the European Union, there is no reason to keep tariffs on things that it does not produce unless we, as a Government, have our own grounds for doing so. Around 100 environmental goods have been liberalised in order to promote the deployment of renewable energy generation and energy efficiency, carbon capture and a circular economy through recycling and reducing single-use plastics.”
“The UKGT duly came into force at 11 pm on 31 December. It is the UK’s first independent tariff schedule since 1973. Importantly, the UK global tariff was created in consultation with a wide range of individuals, charities, businesses, business representative organisations and public organisations. Many factors were considered in setting the tariff, including the interests of domestic consumers and producers, the desirability of external trade and productivity, and existing levels of competition. The UKGT strikes a balance between those, tailoring the schedule to the UK economy. It is a simpler, more liberal tariff schedule than the one we previously applied, and it is in pounds, not euros. Nuisance tariffs of less than 2% have been removed, and a banding structure has been put in place to round tariffs down into set bands.”
“Under section 8 of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018, it is the Treasury’s responsibility to set the tariff of the United Kingdom. To that end, the Customs Tariff (Establishment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 have two main functions. First, they set the specific tariff rates that will apply to each good imported into the UK from countries with which we do not have a preferential trading arrangement. Secondly, they establish a system to ensure that goods that arrive in the UK are properly classified by a commodity code, both to identify what the good is and to enable the correct rate of tariff to be charged. The Government announced on 19 May 2020 that those tariffs—called the UK global tariff, or UKGT—would replace the EU’s common external tariff at the end of the transition period.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hollobone. The Customs Tariff (Establishment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 were laid before the House on 16 December as part of a package of tariff legislation that came into force at the end of the transition period, and ensured that the UK had a fully functioning customs regime at the beginning of the year. The Customs Tariff (Establishment and Suspension of Import Duty) (EU Exit) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 were laid on 21 January and came into force the following day, as I will explain. The Taxation Cross-border Trade (Special Procedures Supplementary and General Provision etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 were also laid on 16 December last year, and came into force at the end of the transition period.”
“Gentleman will be aware, these instruments have been introduced on the basis that I described in my speech: the first SI under the made affirmative procedure, and the second and third as described in the explanatory memoranda. However, if he wants any further discussion on that, I am happy to write to him.”