46. Stamp duty land tax (higher rates for additional dwellings etc)
(1) The Finance Act 2003 is amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (4).
(2) In section 55 (amount of tax chargeable: general) after subsection (4) insert—
“(4A) Schedule 4ZA (higher rates for additional dwellings and dwellings purchased by companies) modifies this section as it applies for the purpose of determining the amount of tax chargeable in respect of certain transactions involving major interests in dwellings.”
“Schedule 4ZA
Stamp Duty Land Tax: Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings and Dwellings Purchased by Companies
1 (1) In its application for the purpose of determining the amount of tax chargeable in respect of a chargeable transaction which is a higher rates transaction, section 55 (amount of tax chargeable: general) has effect with the modification in sub-paragraph (2).
(2) In subsection (1B) of section 55, for Table A substitute—
“Table A: Residential
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Part 2
Meaning of “Higher Rates Transaction”
Meaning of “higher rates transaction” etc
2 (1) This paragraph explains how to determine whether a chargeable transaction is a “higher rates transaction” for the purposes of paragraph 1.
(2) In the case of a transaction where there is only one purchaser, determine whether the transaction falls within any of paragraphs 3 to 7; if it does fall within any of those paragraphs it is a “higher rates transaction” (otherwise it is not).
(3) In the case of a transaction where there are two or more purchasers—
(a) take one of the purchasers and determine, having regard to that purchaser only, whether the transaction falls within any of paragraphs 3 to 7, and
(b) do the same with each of the other purchasers.
If the transaction falls within any of those paragraphs when having regard to any one of the purchasers it is a “higher rates transaction” (otherwise it is not).
(4) For the purposes of this Schedule any term of years absolute or leasehold estate is not a “major interest” if its term does not exceed 7 years on the date of its grant.
Single dwelling transactions
3 (1) A chargeable transaction falls within this paragraph if—
(a) the purchaser is an individual,
(b) the main subject-matter of the transaction consists of a major interest in a single dwelling (“the purchased dwelling”), and
(c) Conditions A to D are met.
(2) Condition A is that the chargeable consideration for the transaction is £40,000 or more.
(3) Condition B is that on the effective date of the transaction the purchased dwelling—
(a) is not subject to a lease upon which the main subject- matter of the transaction is reversionary, or
(b) is subject to such a lease but the lease has an unexpired term of no more than 21 years.
(4) Condition C is that at the end of the day that is the effective date of the transaction—
(a) the purchaser has a major interest in a dwelling other than the purchased dwelling,
(b) that interest has a market value of £40,000 or more, and
(c) that interest is not reversionary on a lease which has an unexpired term of more than 21 years.
(5) Condition D is that the purchased dwelling is not a replacement for the purchaser’s only or main residence.
(6) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (5) the purchased dwelling is a replacement for the purchaser’s only or main residence if—
(a) on the effective date of the transaction (“the transaction concerned”) the purchaser intends the purchased dwelling to be the purchaser’s only or main residence,
(b) in another land transaction (“the previous transaction”) whose effective date was during the period of three years ending with the effective date of the transaction concerned, the purchaser or the purchaser’s spouse or civil partner at the time disposed of a major interest in another dwelling (“the sold dwelling”),
(c) at any time during that period of three years the sold dwelling was the purchaser’s only or main residence, and
(d) at no time during the period beginning with the effective date of the previous transaction and ending with the effective date of the transaction concerned has the purchaser or the purchaser’s spouse or civil partner acquired a major interest in any other dwelling with the intention of it being the purchaser’s only or main residence.
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(7) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (5) the purchased dwelling may become a replacement for the purchaser’s only or main residence if—
(a) on the effective date of the transaction (“the transaction concerned”) the purchaser intended the purchased dwelling to be the purchaser’s only or main residence,
(b) in another land transaction whose effective date is during the period of three years beginning with the day after the effective date of the transaction concerned, the purchaser or the purchaser’s spouse or civil partner disposes of a major interest in another dwelling (“the sold dwelling”), and
(c) at any time during the period of three years ending with the effective date of the transaction concerned the sold dwelling was the purchaser’s only or main residence.
4 A chargeable transaction falls within this paragraph if—
(a) the purchaser is not an individual,
(b) the main subject-matter of the transaction consists of a major interest in a single dwelling, and
(c) Conditions A and B in paragraph 3 are met.
Multiple dwelling transactions
5 (1) A chargeable transaction falls within this paragraph if—
(a) the purchaser is an individual,
(b) the main subject-matter of the transaction consists of a major interest in two or more dwellings (“the purchased dwellings”), and
(c) Conditions A and B are met in respect of at least two of the 1 purchased dwellings.
(2) Condition A is that the portion of the chargeable consideration for the transaction which is attributable on a just and reasonable basis to the purchased dwelling is £40,000 or more.
(3) Condition B is that on the effective date of the transaction the purchased dwelling—
(a) is not subject to a lease upon which the main subject-matter of the transaction is reversionary, or
(b) is subject to such a lease but the lease has an unexpired term of no more than 21 years.
6 (1) A chargeable transaction falls within this paragraph if—
(a) the purchaser is an individual,
(b) the main subject-matter of the transaction consists of a major interest in two or more dwellings (“the purchased dwellings”),
(c) Conditions A and B in paragraph 5 are met in respect of one of the purchased dwellings,
(d) the purchased dwelling in respect of which those conditions are met is not a replacement for the purchaser’s only or main residence, and
(e) at the end of the day that is the effective date of the transaction—
(i) the purchaser has a major interest in a dwelling other than one of the purchased dwellings,
(ii) that interest has a market value of £40,000 or more, and
(iii) that interest is not reversionary on a lease which has an unexpired term of more than 21 years.
(2) Sub-paragraphs (6) and (7) of paragraph 3 apply for the purposes of sub-paragraph (l)(d) of this paragraph as they apply for the purposes of sub-paragraph (5) of that paragraph.
7 A chargeable transaction falls within this paragraph if—
(a) the purchaser is not an individual,
(b) the main subject-matter of the transaction consists of a major interest in two or more dwellings (“the purchased dwellings”), and
(c) Conditions A and B in paragraph 5 are met in respect of at least one of the purchased dwellings.
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Part 3
Supplementary Provisions
Further provision in connection with paragraph 3(6) and (7)
8 (1) This paragraph applies where by reason of paragraph 3(7) a chargeable transaction (“the transaction concerned”) ceases to be a higher rates transaction for the purposes of paragraph 1.
(2) The land transaction (“the subsequent transaction”) by reference to which the condition in paragraph 3(7)(b) was met may not be taken into account for the purposes of paragraph 3(6)(b) in determining whether any other chargeable transaction is a higher rates transaction.
(3) A land transaction return in respect of the transaction concerned may be amended, to take account of its ceasing to be a higher rates transaction, at any time within whichever of the following periods expires later—
(a) the period of 3 months beginning within the effective date of the subsequent transaction, and
(b) the period of 12 months beginning with the filing date for the return.
(4) Where a land transaction return in respect of the transaction concerned is amended to take account of its ceasing to be a higher rates transaction (and not for any other reason), paragraph 6(2A) of Schedule 10 (notice of amendment of return to be accompanied by the contract for the transaction etc) does not apply in relation to the amendment.
Spouses and civil partners purchasing alone
9 (1) Sub-paragraph (2) applies in relation to a chargeable transaction if—
(a) the purchaser (or one of them) is married or in a civil partnership on the effective date,
(b) the purchaser and the purchaser’s spouse or civil partner are living together on that date, and
(c) the purchaser’s spouse or civil partner is not a purchaser in relation to the transaction.
(2) The transaction is to be treated as being a higher rates transaction for the purposes of paragraph 1 if it would have been a higher rates transaction had the purchaser’s spouse or civil partner been a purchaser.
(3) Persons who are married to, or are civil partners of, each other are treated as living together for the purposes of this paragraph if they are so treated for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts (see section 1011 of the Income Tax Act 2007).
Settlements and bare trusts
10 (1) Sub-paragraph (3) applies in relation to a land transaction if-
(a) the main subject-matter of the transaction consists of a major interest in one or more dwellings,
(b) the purchaser (or one of them) is acting as trustee of a settlement, and
(c) under the terms of the settlement a beneficiary will be entitled to—
(i) occupy the dwelling or dwellings for life, or
(ii) income earned in respect of the dwelling or dwellings.
(2) Sub-paragraph (3) also applies in relation to a land transaction if—
(a) the main subject-matter of the transaction consists of a term of years absolute in a dwelling, and
(b) the purchaser (or one of them) is acting as a trustee of a bare trust.
(3) Where this sub-paragraph applies in relation to a land transaction the beneficiary of the settlement or bare trust (rather than the trustee) is to be treated for the purposes of this Schedule as the purchaser (or as one pf them).
(4) Paragraphs 3(3) and 4 of Schedule 16 (trustees to be treated as the purchaser) have effect subject to sub-paragraph (3).
11 (1) Sub-paragraph (3) applies where—
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(a) a person is a beneficiary under a settlement,
(b) a major interest in a dwelling forms part of the trust property, and
(c) under the terms of the settlement, the beneficiary is entitled to —
(i) occupy the dwelling for life, or
(ii) income earned in respect of the dwelling.
(2) Sub-paragraph (3) also applies where—
(a) a person is a beneficiary under a bare trust, and
(b) a term of years absolute in a dwelling forms part of the trust property.
(3) Where this sub-paragraph applies—
(a) the beneficiary is to be treated for the purposes of this Schedule as holding the interest in the dwelling, and
(b) if the trustee of the settlement or bare trust disposes of the interest, the beneficiary is to be treated for the purposes of this Schedule as having disposed of it.
12 (1) This paragraph applies where, by reason of paragraph 10 or 11 or
paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 16, the child of a person (“P”) would (but for this paragraph) be treated for the purposes of this Schedule as—
(a) being the purchaser in relation to a land transaction,
(b) holding an interest in a dwelling, or
(c) having disposed of an interest in a dwelling.
(2) Where this paragraph applies—
(a) P and any spouse or civil partner of P are to be treated for the purposes of this Schedule as being the purchaser, holding the interest or (as the case may be) having disposed of the interest, and
(b) the child is not to be so treated.
(3) But sub-paragraph (2) (a) does not apply in relation to a spouse or civil partner of P if the two of them are not living together.
(4) Sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph 9 applies for the purposes of this paragraph as it applies for the purposes of that paragraph.
(5) “Child” means a person under the age of 18.
13 (1) This paragraph applies in relation to a land transaction if—
(a) the main subject-matter of the transaction consists of a major interest in one or more dwellings,
(b) the purchaser (or one of them) is acting as trustee of a settlement,
(c) that purchaser is an individual, and
(d) under the terms of the settlement a beneficiary is not entitled to—
(i) occupy the dwelling or dwellings for life, or
(ii) income earned in respect of the dwelling or dwellings.
(2) In determining whether the transaction falls within paragraph 4 or paragraph 7—
(a) if the purchaser mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) is the only purchaser, ignore paragraph (a) of those paragraphs, and
(b) if that purchaser is not the only purchaser, ignore paragraph (a) of those paragraphs when having regard to that purchaser.
Partnerships
14 (1) Sub-paragraph (2) applies in relation to a chargeable transaction whose subject-matter consists of a major interest in one or more dwellings if—
(a) the purchaser (or one of them) is a partner in a partnership, but
(b) the purchaser does not enter into the transaction for the purposes of the partnership.
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(2) For the purposes of determining whether the transaction falls within paragraph 3 or 6 any major interest in any other dwelling that is held by or on behalf of the partnership for the purposes of a trade carried on by the partnership is not to be treated as held by or on behalf of the purchaser.
(3) Paragraph 2(1) (a) of Schedule 15 (chargeable interests held by partnerships treated as held by the partners) has effect subject to subparagraph (2).
Major interests in dwellings inherited jointly
15 (1) This paragraph applies whereby virtue of an inheritance—
(a) a person (“P”) becomes jointly entitled with one or more other persons to a major interest in a dwelling, and
(b) P’s beneficial share in the interest does not exceed 50% (see sub-paragraph (4)).
(2) P is not to be treated for the purposes of paragraph 3(4)(a) or 6(l)(e) as having the major interest at any time during the period of three years beginning with the date of the inheritance.
(3) But if at any time during that period of three years P becomes the only person beneficially entitled to the whole of the interest or P’s beneficial share in the interest exceeds 50% P is, from that time, to be treated as having the major interest for the purposes of paragraph 3(4)(a) and 6(l)(e) (subject to any disposal by P).
(4) P’s share in the interest exceeds 50% if—
(a) P is beneficially entitled as a tenant in common or coparcener to more than half the interest,
(b) P and P’s spouse or civil partner taken together are beneficially entitled as tenants in common or coparceners to more than half the interest, or
(c) P and P’s spouse or civil partner are beneficially entitled as joint tenants to the interest and there is no more than one other joint tenant who is so entitled.
(5) In this section “inheritance” means the acquisition of an interest in or towards satisfaction of an entitlement under or in relation to the will of a deceased person, or on the intestacy of a deceased person.
Dwellings outside England, Wales and Northern Ireland
16 (1) In the provisions of this Schedule specified in sub-paragraph (3), references to a “dwelling” include references to a dwelling situated in a country or territory outside England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
(2) In the application of those provision in relation to a dwelling situated in a country or territory outside England, Wales and Northern Ireland—
(a) references to a “major interest” in the dwelling are to an equivalent interest in the dwelling under the law of that country or territory,
(b) references to persons being beneficially entitled as joint tenants, tenants in common or coparceners to an interest in the dwelling are to persons having an equivalent entitlement to the interest in the dwelling under the law of that country or territory,
(c) references to a “land transaction” in relation to the dwelling are to the acquisition of an interest in the dwelling under the law of that country or territory,
(d) references to the “effective date” of a land transaction in relation to the dwelling are to the date on which the interest in the dwelling is acquired under the law of that country or territory,
(e) references to “inheritance” are to the acquisition of an interest from a deceased person’s estate in accordance with the laws of that country or territory concerning the inheritance of property.
(3) The provisions of this Schedule referred to in sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) are —
(a) paragraph 3(4), (6)(b), (c) and (d) and (7)(b) and (c),
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(4) Where the child of a person (P) has an interest in a dwelling which is situated in a country or territory outside England, Wales and Northern Ireland, P and any spouse or civil partner of P are to be treated for the purposes of this Schedule as having that interest.
(5) But sub-paragraph (4) does not apply in relation to a spouse or civil partner of P if the two of them are not living together.
(6) Sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph 9 applies for the purposes of subparagraph (5) of this paragraph as it applies for the purposes of that paragraph.
What counts as a dwelling
17 (1) This paragraph sets out rules for determining what counts as a dwelling for the purposes of this Schedule.
(2) A building or part of a building counts as a dwelling if—
(a) it is used or suitable for use as a single dwelling, or
(b) it is in the process of being constructed or adapted for such use.
(3) Land that is, or is to be, occupied or enjoyed with a dwelling as a garden or grounds (including any building or structure on that land) is taken to be part of that dwelling.
(4) Land that subsists, or is to subsist, for the benefit of a dwelling is taken to be part of that dwelling.
(5) The main subject-matter of a transaction is also taken to consist of or include an interest in a dwelling if—
(a) substantial performance of a contract constitutes the effective date of that transaction by virtue of a relevant deeming provision,
(b) the main subject-matter of the transaction consists of or includes an interest in a building, or a part of a building, that is to be constructed or adapted under the contract for use as a single dwelling, and
(c) construction or adaptation of the building, or part of a building, has not begun by the time the contract is substantially performed.
“contract” includes any agreement;
“relevant deeming provision” means any of sections 44 to 45A or paragraph 5(1) or (2) of Schedule 2A or paragraph 12A of Schedule 17A;
“substantially performed” has the same meaning as in section 44.
(7) A building or part of a building used for a purpose specified in section 116(2) or (3) is not used as a dwelling for the purposes of subparagraph (2) or (5).
(8) Where a building or part of a building is used for a purpose mentioned in sub-paragraph (7), no account is to be taken for the purposes of sub-paragraph (2) of its suitability for any other use.”
(4) In paragraph 5 of Schedule 6B (relief for transfers involving multiple dwellings) after sub-paragraph (6) insert—
“(6A) In the application of sub-paragraph (1), account is to be taken of paragraph 1 of Schedule 4ZA if the relevant transaction is a higher rates transaction for the purposes of that paragraph.”
(5) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect in relation to any land transaction of which the effective date is, or is after, 1 April 2016.
(6) But those amendments do not have effect in relation to a transaction—
(a) effected in pursuance of a contract entered into and substantially performed before 26 November 2015, or
(b) effected in pursuance of a contract entered into before that date and not excluded by paragraph (7).
(7) A transaction effected in pursuance of a contract entered into before 26 November 2015 is excluded by this paragraph if—
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(a) there is any variation of the contract, or assignment of rights under the contract, on or after 26 November 2015,
(b) the transaction is effected in consequence of the exercise on or after that date of any option, right of pre-emption or similar right, or
(c) on or after that date there is an assignment, subsale or other transaction relating to the whole or part of the subject-matter of the contract as a result of which a person other than the purchaser under the contract becomes entitled to call for a conveyance.
(8) Paragraph (9) applies in relation to a land transaction of which the effective date is or is before 26 November 2018.
(9) In its application for the purpose of determining whether a land transaction to which this paragraph applies is a higher rates transaction, paragraph 3(6) of Schedule 4ZA to the Finance Act 2003 has effect with the following modifications—
(a) in paragraph (b) for “during the period of three years ending with” substitute “the same as or before”,
(b) in paragraph (c) for “during that period of three years” substitute “before the effective date of the transaction concerned”.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
47. SDLT higher rate (land purchased for commercial use)
That—
(1) Schedule 4A to the Finance Act 2003 (SDLT: higher rate for certain transactions) is amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (4).
(i) after paragraph (a) insert—
“(aa) use as business premises for the purposes of a qualifying property rental business (other than one which gives rise to income consisting wholly or mainly of excluded rents);
(ab) use for the purposes of a relievable trade;”
(ii) for paragraph (b) substitute—
“(b) development or redevelopment and —
(i) resale in the course of a property development trade, or
(ii) exploitation falling within paragraph (a) or use falling within paragraph (aa) or (ab);”
(b) in sub-paragraph (2), for “the dwelling” substitute “a dwelling on the land”;
(c) in sub-paragraph (3), at the appropriate place insert—
““relievable trade” means a trade that is run on a commercial basis and with a view to profit.”
(3) In paragraph 5G, in sub-paragraph (3)(c) for “the dwelling” substitute “any dwelling on the land”.
(4) In paragraph 6D(3)(b), for “the dwelling” substitute “any dwelling on the land concerned”.
(5) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect in relation to any land transaction of which the effective date is on or after 1 April 2016.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
48. SDLT higher rate (acquisition under home reversion plan)
That—
(1) Schedule 4A to the Finance Act 2003 (SDLT: higher rate for certain transactions) is amended as follows.
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(2) After paragraph 5C insert—
“Acquisition under a regulated home reversion plan
5CA (1) Paragraph 3 does not apply to a chargeable transaction if (and so far as) the purchaser—
(a) is an authorised plan provider, and
(b) acquires the subject-matter of the chargeable transaction as a plan provider.
(2) For the purposes of this paragraph the purchaser acquires the subject-matter of the chargeable transaction “as a plan provider” so far as the purchaser acquires it under a regulated home reversion plan which the purchaser enters into as plan provider.
“authorised plan provider” means a person authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to carry on in the United Kingdom the regulated activity specified in article 63B(1) of the Regulated Activities Order (entering into regulated home reversion plan as plan provider);
“the Regulated Activities Order” means the Financial Services and Markets (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/544);
“regulated home reversion plan” means an arrangement which is a regulated home reversion plan for the purposes of Chapter 15A of Part 2 of the Regulated Activities Order.
(4) In this section references to entering into a regulated home reversion plan “as plan provider” are to be interpreted as if the references were in the Regulated Activities Order.”
(3) After paragraph 5I insert—
“5IA (1) This paragraph applies where relief under paragraph 5CA (acquisition under a regulated home reversion plan) has been allowed in respect of a higher threshold interest forming the whole or part of the subject-matter of a chargeable transaction.
(2) The relief is withdrawn if at any time in the period of three years beginning with the effective date of the chargeable transaction the purchaser holds the higher threshold interest otherwise than for the purposes of the regulated home reversion plan (as defined in paragraph 5CA).
(3) But sub-paragraph (2) does not apply if—
(a) after ceasing to hold the higher threshold interest for the purposes of the regulated home reversion plan, the purchaser sells the higher threshold interest without delay (except so far as delay is justified by commercial considerations or cannot be avoided), and
(b) at no time when the higher threshold interest is held by the purchaser as mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) is the dwelling (or any part of the dwelling) occupied by a non-qualifying individual.
“the dwelling” means the dwelling to which the relief under paragraph 5CA relates;
“non-qualifying individual” is to be interpreted in accordance with paragraph 5A.”
(4) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect in relation to any land transaction of which the effective date is on or after 1 April 2016.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
49. SDLT higher rate (properties occupied by certain employees)
That—
(1) Schedule 4A to the Finance Act 2003 (SDLT: higher rate for certain transactions) is amended as follows.
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(2) In paragraph 5D (dwellings for occupation by certain employees etc)—
(a) in sub-paragraph (1), for “trade” substitute “business”;
(b) in sub-paragraph (2)(b) for “trade” substitute “business”;
(c) for sub-paragraph (4) substitute —
“(4) “Relievable business” means a trade or property rental business that is run on a commercial basis and with a view to profit.”
(3) The heading before paragraph 5D becomes “Dwellings for occupation by certain employees etc of a relievable business”.
(4) After paragraph 5E insert—
“Acquisition by management company of flat for occupation by caretaker
5EA (1) Paragraph 3 does not apply to a chargeable transaction so far as its subject-matter consists of a higher threshold interest in or over a flat which—
(a) is one of at least three flats contained in the same premises, and
(b) is acquired by a tenants’ management company for the purpose of making the flat available for use as caretaker accommodation.
(2) For the purposes of this paragraph a tenants’ management company makes a flat available for use “as caretaker accommodation” if it makes it available to an individual for use as living accommodation in connection with the individual’s employment as caretaker of the premises.
(3) In relation to the acquisition of a flat, a company is a “tenants’ management company” if—
(a) the tenants of two or more other flats contained in the premises are members of the company, and
(b) the company owns, or it is intended that the company will acquire, the freehold of the premises;
but a company which carries on a relievable business is not a tenants’ management company.
(4) In this paragraph “premises” means premises constituting the whole or part of a building.”
(5) After paragraph 5J insert—
“5JA(1) This paragraph applies where relief under paragraph 5EA (acquisition by management company of flat for occupation by caretaker) has been allowed in respect of a higher threshold interest forming the whole or part of the subject-matter of a chargeable transaction.
(2) The relief is withdrawn if at any time in the period of three years beginning with the effective date of the chargeable transaction the purchaser holds the higher threshold interest otherwise than for the purpose of making the flat available for use as caretaker accommodation.
(3) For the purposes of this paragraph a tenants’ management company makes a flat available for use “as caretaker accommodation” if it makes it available to an individual for use as living accommodation in connection with the individual’s employment as caretaker of the premises.”
(6) In paragraph 5E (meaning of “qualifying partner”, “qualifying employee” etc)—
(a) in sub-paragraph (1) for “trade” substitute “business”;
(b) in sub-paragraph (2) for “qualifying trade” substitute “relievable business”;
(i) in the words before paragraph (a), for “trade” substitute “relievable business”;
(ii) in paragraph (a)(i), for “trade” substitute “relievable business”.
(7) In paragraph 5J (withdrawal of relief under paragraph 5D), in sub-paragraph (3)—
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(a) in paragraph (a), for the words from “trade” to the end substitute “relievable business”;
(b) in paragraph (c), for the words from “trade” to the end substitute “relievable business”.
(8) In paragraph 6G (withdrawal of relief under paragraph 5D in cases involving alternative finance arrangements), in sub-paragraph (4)—
(a) in paragraph (a), for “qualifying trade” substitute “relievable business”;
(b) in paragraph (c) for “trade” substitute “relievable business”.
(9) In paragraph 9 (interpretation), at the appropriate place insert—
““relievable business” has the meaning given by paragraph 5D(4).”
(10) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect in relation to any land transaction of which the effective date is on or after 1 April 2016.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
50. Stamp Duty land tax (co-ownership authorised contractual schemes)
That provision may be made in connection with the stamp duty land tax treatment of co-ownership authorised contractual schemes.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
51. ATED (home reversion plans)
That—
(1) Part 3 of the Finance Act 2013 (annual tax on enveloped dwellings) is amended as follows.
(2) After section 144 insert—“
144A Regulated home reversion plans
(1) A day in a chargeable period is relievable in relation to a single dwelling interest held by a person (“P”) who is an authorised plan provider if—
(a) P has, as plan provider, entered into a regulated home reversion plan relating to the single dwelling interest, and
(b) the occupation condition is met on that day.
(2) If no qualifying termination event has occurred, the “occupation condition” is that a person who was originally entitled to occupy the dwelling (or any part of it) under the regulated home reversion plan is still entitled to do so.(3) If a qualifying termination event has occurred, the “occupation condition” is that—
(a) the single dwelling interest is being held with the intention that it will be sold without delay (except so far as delay is justified by commercial considerations or cannot be avoided), and
(b) no non-qualifying individual is permitted to occupy the dwelling (or any part of it).
(4) In this section—
“authorised plan provider” means a person authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to carry on in the United Kingdom the regulated activity specified in article 63B(1) of the Regulated Activities Order (entering into regulated home reversion plan as plan provider);
“qualifying termination event” is to be interpreted in accordance with article 63B of the Regulated Activities Order;
“the Regulated Activities Order” means the Financial Services and Markets (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/544);
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“regulated home reversion plan” means an arrangement which is a regulated home reversion plan for the purposes of Chapter 15A of Part 2 of the Regulated Activities Order (but see also subsection (6)).
(5) In this section references to entering into a regulated home reversion plan “as plan provider” are to be interpreted as if the references were in the Regulated Activities Order (but see also subsection (6)).
(6) For the purposes of this section—(a) an arrangement which P entered into before 6 April 2007 is treated for the purposes of this section as a regulated home reversion plan entered into by P as plan provider if that arrangement would have been so treated for the purposes of article 63B(1) of the Regulated Activities Order had P entered into that arrangement on the day mentioned in subsection (1);(b) an arrangement in relation to which P acquired rights or obligations before 6 April 2007 is treated for the purposes of this section as a regulated home reversion plan entered into by P as plan provider if that arrangement would have been so treated for the purposes of article 63B(1) of the Regulated Activities Order had P acquired those rights or obligations on the day mentioned in subsection (1).(7) Section 136 (meaning of “non-qualifying individual”) applies in relation to this section as in relation to sections 133 and 135.”
(3) In section 116 (dwelling in grounds of another dwelling), in the list in subsection (6), at the appropriate place insert—
“section 144A (regulated home reversion plans);”.
(4) In section 117 (dwellings in the same building), in the list in subsection (5), at the appropriate place insert—
“section 144A (regulated home reversion plans);”.(5) In section 132 (effect of reliefs under sections 133 to 150), in the list in subsection (3), at the appropriate place insert—“section 144A (regulated home reversion plans);”.(6) In section 159A (relief declaration returns), in the table in subsection (9), at the appropriate place insert—
| “144A (regulated home reversion plans) | 5A” |
(7) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect for chargeable periods beginning on after 1 April 2016.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
52. ATED (properties occupied by certain employees)
That—
(1) Part 3 of the Finance Act 2013 (annual tax on enveloped dwellings) is amended as follows.
(2) Section 145 (occupation by certain employees or partners) is amended in accordance with paragraphs (3) to (5).
(3) In subsection (1)—
(a) in paragraph (b), after “qualifying trade” insert “or qualifying property rental business”;
(b) in paragraph (d) for “trade” substitute “qualifying trade or qualifying property rental business”.
(4) After subsection (4) insert—
“(5) For the meaning of “qualifying property rental business” see section 133(3).”
(5) The heading of that section becomes “Occupation by employees or partners of a qualifying trade or property rental business”.
(6) In section 146 (meaning of “qualifying employee” and “qualifying partner” in section 145)—
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1528
(a) in subsection (1), after “trade” insert “or property rental business”;
(i) in the words before paragraph (a), after “qualifying trade” insert “or qualifying property rental business”, and
(ii) in paragraph (a)(i), after “trade” insert “or (as the case may be) property rental business”.
(7) After section 147 insert—
“147A Caretaker flat owned by management company
(1) A day in a chargeable period is relievable in relation to a single dwelling interest if the dwelling in question is a flat in relation to which the conditions in subsection (2) are met.(2) The conditions are that on that day—
(a) a company (“the management company”) holds the single-dwelling interest for the purpose of making the flat available as caretaker accommodation,
(b) the flat is contained in premises which also contain two or more other flats,
(c) the tenants of at least two of the other flats in the premises are members of the management company,
(d) the management company owns the freehold of the premises, and
(e) the management company is not carrying on a trade or property rental business.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the management company makes a flat available “as caretaker accommodation” if it makes it available to an individual for use as living accommodation in connection with the individual’s employment as caretaker of the premises.
(4) In this section “premises” means premises constituting the whole or part of a building.”
(8) In section 116 (dwelling in grounds of another dwelling), in the list in subsection (6)—
(a) in the entry relating to section 145, for “certain employees or partners” substitute “employees or partners of a qualifying trade or property rental business”;
(b) at the appropriate place insert—
“section 147A (caretaker flat owned by management company);”.
(9) In section 117 (dwellings in the same building), in the list in subsection (5)—
(a) in the entry relating to section 145, for “certain employees or partners” substitute “employees or partners of a qualifying trade or property rental business”;
(b) at the appropriate place insert—
“section 147A (caretaker flat owned by management company);”,(10) In section 132 (effect of reliefs under sections 133 to 150), in the list in subsection (3)—
(a) in the entry relating to section 145, for “certain employees or partners” substitute “employees or partners of a qualifying trade or property rental business”;
(b) at the appropriate place insert—
“section 147A (caretaker flat owned by management company);”.(11) In section 159A (relief declaration returns), in the table in subsection (9), in the entry relating to section 145, for “(dwellings used for trade purposes: occupation by certain employees or partners)” substitute “or 147A (occupation by certain employees etc)”.(12) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect for chargeable periods beginning on after 1 April 2016.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1529
53. Stamp duty (certain transfers of securities)
That the following provisions shall have effect for the period beginning with 23 March 2016 and ending 31 days after the earliest of the dates mentioned in section 50(2) of the Finance Act 1973—
(1) Part 3 of the Finance Act 1986 (stamp duty) is amended as follows.
(2) In section 67 (depositary receipts)—
(a) in subsection (2), for the words from “1.5% of” to the end substitute “1.5% of—
(a) the amount or value of the consideration for the sale to which the instrument gives effect, or(b) where subsection (2A) applies—(i) the amount or value of the consideration for the sale to which the instrument gives effect, or(ii) if higher, the value of the securities at the date the instrument is executed.”,(b) after subsection (2) insert—
“(2A) This subsection applies where the instrument transferring the securities is executed pursuant to—
(a) the exercise of an option to buy or to sell the securities, and
(i) a term of the option which provides for the securities to be transferred to the person falling within subsection (6), (7) or (8), or
(ii) a direction, given by or on behalf of the person entitled or bound to acquire the securities pursuant to the exercise “of the option, for the securities to be so transferred.”, and
(c) in subsection (3), for “In any other case” substitute “If stamp duty is not chargeable on the instrument under Part 1 of Schedule 13 to the Finance Act 1999 (transfer on sale)”.
(3) In section 69 (depositary receipts: supplementary), in subsection (4), for “section 67(3)” substitute “section 67(2)(b)(ii) and (3)”.
(4) In section 70 (clearance services)—
(a) in subsection (2), for the words from “1.5% of” to the end substitute “1.5% of—
(a) the amount or value of the consideration for the sale to which the instrument gives effect, or
(b) where subsection (2A) applies—
(i) the amount or value of the consideration for the sale to which the instrument gives effect, or
(ii) if higher, the value of the securities at the date the instrument is executed.”,
(b) after subsection (2) insert—
“(2A) This subsection applies where the instrument transferring the securities is executed pursuant to—
(a) the exercise of an option to buy or to sell the securities, and
(i) a term of the option which provides for the securities to be transferred to the person falling within subsection (6), (7) or (8), or
(ii) a direction, given by or on behalf of the person entitled or bound to acquire the securities pursuant to the exercise of the option, for the securities to be so transferred.”, and
(c) in subsection (3), for “In any other case” substitute “If stamp duty is not chargeable on the instrument under Part 1 of Schedule 13 to the Finance Act 1999 (transfer on sale)”.
(5) In section 72 (clearance services: supplementary), in subsection (2), for “section 70(3)” substitute “section 70(2)(b)(ii) and (3)”.
(6) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect in relation to an instrument which transfers securities pursuant to the exercise of an option where—
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1530
(a) the option was granted on or after 25 November 2015, and
(b) the option was exercised on or after 23 March 2016.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of section 50 of the Finance Act 1973.
54. Stamp duty reserve tax (certain transfers of securities)
That—
(1) Part 4 of the Finance Act 1986 (stamp duty reserve tax) is amended as follows.
(2) In section 93 (depositary receipts)—
(a) in subsection (4)(b), for the words from “worth,” to the end substitute “worth—
(i) the amount or value of the consideration, or
(ii) where subsection (4A) applies, the amount or value of the consideration or, if higher, the value of the securities;”, and
(b) after subsection (4) insert—
“(4A) This subsection applies where the transfer of the securities is pursuant to—
(a) the exercise of an option to buy or to sell the securities, and
(i) a term of the option which provides for the securities to be transferred to the person falling within subsection (2) or (3), or
(ii) a direction, given by or on behalf of the person entitled or bound to acquire the securities pursuant to the exercise of the option, for the securities to be so transferred.”
(3) In section 94 (depositary receipts: supplementary), in subsection (4), for “section 93(4)(c)” substitute “section 93(4)(b)(ii) and (c)”.
(4) In section 96 (clearance services)—
(a) in subsection (2)(b), for the words from “worth,” to the end substitute “worth—
(i) the amount or value of the consideration, or
(ii) where subsection (2A) applies, the amount or value of the consideration or, if higher, the value of the securities;”,
(b) after subsection (2) insert—
“(2A) This subsection applies where the transfer of the securities is pursuant to—
(a) the exercise of an option to buy or to sell the securities, and
(i) a term of the option which provides for the securities to be transferred to A or (as the case may be) to the person whose business is or includes holding chargeable securities as nominee for A, or
(ii) a direction, given by or on behalf of the person entitled or bound to acquire the securities pursuant to the exercise of the option, for the securities to be so transferred.”, and
(c) in subsection (10), for “subsection (2)(c)” substitute “subsection (2)(b)(ii) and (c)”.
(5) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect in relation to a transfer pursuant to the exercise of an option where—
(a) the option was granted on or after 25 November 2015, and
(b) the option was exercised on or after 23 March 2016.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
55. Reduction in rate of petroleum revenue tax
That—
(1) In section 1(2) of the Oil Taxation Act 1975 (rate of petroleum revenue tax) for “35” substitute “0”.
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1531
(2) In paragraph 17 of Schedule 2 to that Act (cap on interest on repayments of tax), in sub-paragraph (5)(b) omit the words from “if that” to the end.
(3) In paragraph 2 of Schedule 19 to the Finance Act 1982 (duty to pay instalments based on amount of tax payable in previous chargeable period), after subparagraph (4) insert—
“(4A) In sub-paragraph (1) the reference to any chargeable period for an oil field ending on or after 30th June 1983 does not include a chargeable period ending on 31st December 2015.”
(4) The amendment made by paragraph (1) has effect with respect to chargeable periods ending after 31 December 2015.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
56. INSURANCE PREMIUM TAX (STANDARD RATE)
That—
(1) In section 51(2)(b) of the Finance Act 1994 (standard rate of insurance premium tax), for “9.5 per cent” substitute “10 per cent”.
(2) The amendment made by paragraph (1) has effect in relation to a premium falling to be regarded for the purposes of Part 3 of the Finance Act 1994 as received under a taxable insurance contract by an insurer on or after 1 October 2016.
(3) The amendment made by paragraph (1) does not have effect in relation to a premium which —
(a) is in respect of a contract made before 1 October 2016, and
(b) falls to be regarded for the purposes of Part 3 of the Finance Act 1994 as received under the contract by the insurer before 1 February 2017 by virtue of regulations under section 68 of that Act (special accounting schemes). (3) The amendment made by paragraph (1) does not have effect in relation to a premium which —
(4) Paragraph (3) does not apply in relation to a premium which —
(a) is an additional premium under a contract,
(b) falls to be regarded for the purposes of Part 3 of the Finance Act 1994 as received under the contract by the insurer on or after 1 October 2016 by virtue of regulations under section 68 of that Act, and
(c) is in respect of a risk which was not covered by the contract before that date.
(5) In the application of sections 67A to 67C of the Finance Act 1994 (announced increase in rate) in relation to the increase made by this Resolution—
(a) the announcement for the purposes of sections 67A(1) and 67B(1) is to be taken to have been made on 16 March 2016,
(b) the date of the change is 1 October 2016, and
(c) the concessionary date is 1 February 2017.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
The House divided:
Ayes 307, Noes 62.
Division No. 224]
[
7.24 pm
AYES
Adams, Nigel
Afriyie, Adam
Aldous, Peter
Allan, Lucy
Allen, Heidi
Amess, Sir David
Andrew, Stuart
Ansell, Caroline
Argar, Edward
Atkins, Victoria
Bacon, Mr Richard
Baker, Mr Steve
Baldwin, Harriett
Barclay, Stephen
Baron, Mr John
Barwell, Gavin
Bebb, Guto
Bellingham, Sir Henry
Benyon, Richard
Beresford, Sir Paul
Berry, Jake
Bingham, Andrew
Blackman, Bob
Blunt, Crispin
Boles, Nick
Bone, Mr Peter
Borwick, Victoria
Bottomley, Sir Peter
Bradley, Karen
Brady, Mr Graham
Brazier, Mr Julian
Bridgen, Andrew
Brine, Steve
Brokenshire, rh James
Bruce, Fiona
Buckland, Robert
Burns, Conor
Burns, rh Sir Simon
Burrowes, Mr David
Burt, rh Alistair
Cairns, Alun
Campbell, Mr Gregory
Carmichael, Neil
Cartlidge, James
Cash, Sir William
Caulfield, Maria
Chalk, Alex
Chishti, Rehman
Chope, Mr Christopher
Churchill, Jo
Clark, rh Greg
Clarke, rh Mr Kenneth
Cleverly, James
Clifton-Brown, Geoffrey
Coffey, Dr Thérèse
Collins, Damian
Colvile, Oliver
Costa, Alberto
Cox, Mr Geoffrey
Crabb, rh Stephen
Davies, Byron
Davies, Chris
Davies, David T. C.
Davies, Glyn
Davies, Dr James
Davies, Mims
Davies, Philip
Dinenage, Caroline
Djanogly, Mr Jonathan
Dodds, rh Mr Nigel
Donaldson, rh Mr Jeffrey M.
Double, Steve
Dowden, Oliver
Doyle-Price, Jackie
Drax, Richard
Drummond, Mrs Flick
Duddridge, James
Duncan, rh Sir Alan
Duncan Smith, rh Mr Iain
Dunne, Mr Philip
Ellis, Michael
Ellison, Jane
Ellwood, Mr Tobias
Elphicke, Charlie
Eustice, George
Evans, Graham
Evennett, rh Mr David
Fabricant, Michael
Fallon, rh Michael
Fernandes, Suella
Field, rh Mark
Foster, Kevin
Frazer, Lucy
Freeman, George
Freer, Mike
Fuller, Richard
Fysh, Marcus
Gale, Sir Roger
Garnier, rh Sir Edward
Garnier, Mark
Gauke, Mr David
Ghani, Nusrat
Gibb, Mr Nick
Gillan, rh Mrs Cheryl
Glen, John
Goodwill, Mr Robert
Gove, rh Michael
Graham, Richard
Grant, Mrs Helen
Gray, Mr James
Grayling, rh Chris
Green, Chris
Green, rh Damian
Greening, rh Justine
Grieve, rh Mr Dominic
Griffiths, Andrew
Gummer, Ben
Gyimah, Mr Sam
Halfon, rh Robert
Hall, Luke
Hammond, Stephen
Hancock, rh Matthew
Hands, rh Greg
Harper, rh Mr Mark
Harrington, Richard
Harris, Rebecca
Haselhurst, rh Sir Alan
Hayes, rh Mr John
Heald, Sir Oliver
Heappey, James
Heaton-Harris, Chris
Heaton-Jones, Peter
Henderson, Gordon
Herbert, rh Nick
Hermon, Lady
Hinds, Damian
Hoare, Simon
Hollingbery, George
Hollinrake, Kevin
Hollobone, Mr Philip
Holloway, Mr Adam
Hopkins, Kris
Howarth, Sir Gerald
Howell, John
Howlett, Ben
Huddleston, Nigel
Hunt, rh Mr Jeremy
Jackson, Mr Stewart
James, Margot
Javid, rh Sajid
Jayawardena, Mr Ranil
Jenkin, Mr Bernard
Jenkyns, Andrea
Jenrick, Robert
Johnson, Boris
Johnson, Gareth
Johnson, Joseph
Jones, Andrew
Jones, rh Mr David
Jones, Mr Marcus
Kawczynski, Daniel
Kennedy, Seema
Knight, rh Sir Greg
Knight, Julian
Kwarteng, Kwasi
Lancaster, Mark
Latham, Pauline
Lee, Dr Phillip
Lefroy, Jeremy
Leigh, Sir Edward
Leslie, Charlotte
Letwin, rh Mr Oliver
Lewis, Brandon
Lewis, rh Dr Julian
Lidington, rh Mr David
Lilley, rh Mr Peter
Loughton, Tim
Lumley, Karen
Mackinlay, Craig
Mackintosh, David
Main, Mrs Anne
Malthouse, Kit
Mann, Scott
Maynard, Paul
McCartney, Jason
McCartney, Karl
McLoughlin, rh Mr Patrick
McPartland, Stephen
Menzies, Mark
Mercer, Johnny
Merriman, Huw
Metcalfe, Stephen
Miller, rh Mrs Maria
Milling, Amanda
Mills, Nigel
Milton, rh Anne
Mitchell, rh Mr Andrew
Mordaunt, Penny
Morgan, rh Nicky
Morris, Anne Marie
Morris, David
Morris, James
Morton, Wendy
Mowat, David
Mundell, rh David
Murray, Mrs Sheryll
Murrison, Dr Andrew
Neill, Robert
Nokes, Caroline
Norman, Jesse
Nuttall, Mr David
Offord, Dr Matthew
Opperman, Guy
Osborne, rh Mr George
Paisley, Ian
Parish, Neil
Patel, rh Priti
Paterson, rh Mr Owen
Pawsey, Mark
Penning, rh Mike
Penrose, John
Perry, Claire
Phillips, Stephen
Philp, Chris
Pickles, rh Sir Eric
Pincher, Christopher
Poulter, Dr Daniel
Pow, Rebecca
Prentis, Victoria
Prisk, Mr Mark
Pursglove, Tom
Quin, Jeremy
Quince, Will
Raab, Mr Dominic
Redwood, rh John
Rees-Mogg, Mr Jacob
Robertson, Mr Laurence
Robinson, Gavin
Robinson, Mary
Rosindell, Andrew
Rudd, rh Amber
Rutley, David
Sandbach, Antoinette
Scully, Paul
Selous, Andrew
Shannon, Jim
Shapps, rh Grant
Sharma, Alok
Simpson, rh Mr Keith
Smith, Chloe
Smith, Henry
Smith, Julian
Smith, Royston
Soames, rh Sir Nicholas
Solloway, Amanda
Soubry, rh Anna
Spelman, rh Mrs Caroline
Spencer, Mark
Stephenson, Andrew
Stevenson, John
Stewart, Iain
Stewart, Rory
Streeter, Mr Gary
Stride, Mel
Sturdy, Julian
Sunak, Rishi
Swayne, rh Mr Desmond
Swire, rh Mr Hugo
Syms, Mr Robert
Thomas, Derek
Throup, Maggie
Timpson, Edward
Tolhurst, Kelly
Tomlinson, Justin
Tomlinson, Michael
Tracey, Craig
Tredinnick, David
Trevelyan, Mrs Anne-Marie
Truss, rh Elizabeth
Tugendhat, Tom
Turner, Mr Andrew
Tyrie, rh Mr Andrew
Vaizey, Mr Edward
Vara, Mr Shailesh
Vickers, Martin
Villiers, rh Mrs Theresa
Walker, Mr Charles
Walker, Mr Robin
Wallace, Mr Ben
Warburton, David
Warman, Matt
Watkinson, Dame Angela
Wharton, James
Whately, Helen
White, Chris
Whittaker, Craig
Whittingdale, rh Mr John
Wiggin, Bill
Williams, Craig
Williamson, rh Gavin
Wilson, Mr Rob
Wilson, Sammy
Wollaston, Dr Sarah
Wood, Mike
Wragg, William
Wright, rh Jeremy
Zahawi, Nadhim
Tellers for the Ayes:
Sarah Newton
and
Simon Kirby
NOES
Ahmed-Sheikh, Ms Tasmina
Arkless, Richard
Bardell, Hannah
Black, Mhairi
Blackford, Ian
Blackman, Kirsty
Boswell, Philip
Brock, Deidre
Brown, Alan
Cameron, Dr Lisa
Chapman, Douglas
Cherry, Joanna
Cowan, Ronnie
Crawley, Angela
Day, Martyn
Docherty-Hughes, Martin
Donaldson, Stuart Blair
Durkan, Mark
Elliott, Tom
Ferrier, Margaret
Gethins, Stephen
Gibson, Patricia
Grady, Patrick
Grant, Peter
Gray, Neil
Hendry, Drew
Hosie, Stewart
Kerevan, George
Kerr, Calum
Kinahan, Danny
Law, Chris
Lucas, Caroline
MacNeil, Mr Angus Brendan
Mc Nally, John
McCaig, Callum
McDonald, Stewart Malcolm
McDonald, Stuart C.
McDonnell, Dr Alasdair
McGarry, Natalie
McLaughlin, Anne
Monaghan, Carol
Monaghan, Dr Paul
Mullin, Roger
Newlands, Gavin
Nicolson, John
O'Hara, Brendan
Oswald, Kirsten
Paterson, Steven
Ritchie, Ms Margaret
Robertson, rh Angus
Salmond, rh Alex
Saville Roberts, Liz
Sheppard, Tommy
Stephens, Chris
Thewliss, Alison
Thomson, Michelle
Weir, Mike
Whiteford, Dr Eilidh
Whitford, Dr Philippa
Williams, Hywel
Wilson, Corri
Wishart, Pete
Tellers for the Noes:
Marion Fellows
and
Owen Thompson
Question accordingly agreed to.
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1532
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1533
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1534
57. Landfill tax (rates)
That provision may be made about the rates of landfill tax.
58. Climate change levy
That provision may be made about climate change levy.
59. Air passenger duty (rates of duty from 1 April 2016)
That—
(1) In section 30 of the Finance Act 1994 (air passenger duty: rates of duty) in subsection (4A) (long haul rates of duty)—
(a) in paragraph (a), for “£71” substitute “£73”, and
(b) in paragraph (b), for “£142” substitute “£146”.
(2) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect in relation to the carriage of passengers beginning on or after 1 April 2016.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1535
60. Vehicle excise duty (rates for light passenger vehicles etc)
That—
(1) Schedule 1 to the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (annual rates of duty) is amended as follows.
(2) In paragraph 1(2) (vehicle not covered elsewhere in Schedule with engine cylinder capacity exceeding l,549cc), for “£230” substitute “£235”.
(3) In paragraph 1B (graduated rates of duty for light passenger vehicles)—
(a) for the tables substitute—
“Table 1
Rates Payable on First Vehicle Licence for Vehicle
Table 2
Rates Payable on any other Vehicle Licence for Vehicle
(b) in the sentence immediately following the tables, for paragraphs (a) and (b) substitute—
“(a) in column (3), in the last two rows, “285” were
substituted for “490” and “505”, and
(b) in column (4), in the last two rows, “295” were substituted for “500” and “515”.”
(4) In paragraph 1J (VED rates for light goods vehicles), in paragraph (a), for “£225” substitute “£230”.
(5) In paragraph 2(1) (VED rates for motorcycles)—
(a) in paragraph (b), for “£38” substitute “£39”,
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1536
(b) in paragraph (c), for “£59” substitute “£60”, and
(c) in paragraph (d), for “£81” substitute “£82”.
(6) The amendments made by this Resolution have effect in relation to licences taken out on or after 1 April 2016.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
61. Fuel duty (aqua methanol)
That provision may be made for and in connection with the charging of excise duty on liquid fuel consisting of a mixture of methanol and water.
62. Tobacco products duty (rates)
Resolved,
That—
(1) For the table in Schedule 1 to the Tobacco Products Duty Act 1979 substitute—
“Table
(2) The amendment made by this Resolution comes into force at 6pm on 16 March 2016.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
63. Alcoholic liquor duties (rates)
That—
(1) The Alcoholic, Liquor Duties Act 1979 is amended as follows.(2) In section 62(lA)(a) (rate of duty on sparkling cider of a strength exceeding 5.5%) for “£264.61” substitute “£268.99”.(3) For Part 1 of the table in Schedule 1 substitute—”
“Part 1
Wine or Made-Wine of a Strength Not Exceeding 22%
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1537
| Sparkling wine or sparkling made-wine of a strength of at least 8.5% but not exceeding 15% | £355.87 |
| Wine or made-wine of a strength exceeding 15% but not exceeding 22% | £370.41” |
(4) The amendments made by this Resolution come into force on 21 March 2016.
And it is declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution should have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act 1968.
64. General anti-abuse rule
That provision may be made for and in connection with amending Part 5 of the Finance Act 2013.
65. Serial tax avoidance (restriction of reliefs)
That provision may be made restricting reliefs in cases where arrangements relating to tax have been defeated.
66. Time limit for self assessments
Resolved,
That provision may be made imposing a time limit for making and delivering a self assessment in a return under section 8 or 8A of the Taxes Management Act 1970.
67. Claims for tax advantages constituting state aid
Resolved,
That provision may be made about information to be given when making a claim for a relief or other tax advantage constituting state aid.
68. Bodies carrying on insurance-related activities
Resolved,
That provision may be made for and in connection with the treatment for taxation purposes of—
(a) bodies carrying on activities relating to insurance,
(b) investors in such bodies, and
(c) transactions involving such bodies.
69. Relief from tax (incidental and consequential charges)
That it is expedient to authorise any incidental or consequential charges to any duty or tax (including charges having retrospective effect) that may arise from provisions designed in general to afford relief from taxation.
Procedure (Future Taxation)
That, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the practice of the House relating to the matters that may be included in Finance Bills, any Finance Bill of the present Session may contain the following provisions taking effect in a future year—
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1538
(a) provision about the basic rate limit for the purposes of income tax,
(b) provision about personal allowances for the purposes of income tax,
(c) provision restructuring income tax rates,
(d) provision about taxable benefits in respect of cars,
(e) provision about the tax treatment of payments from sporting testimonials which recognise the service of individuals who are or have been employed as professional sportspeople,
(f) provision about the standard lifetime allowance under Part 4 of the Finance Act 2004,
(g) provision for the purposes of income tax about finance-related expenses in connection with property businesses,
(h) provision for corporation tax to be charged for the financial year 2017,
(i) provision about the rate of corporation tax for the financial year 2020,
(j) provision for and in connection with the abolition of relief under Chapter 7 of Part 13 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009,
(k) provision for a relief, in the form of a lower rate of capital gains tax, in respect of disposals of certain ordinary shares in unlisted companies,
(l) provision about inheritance tax,
(m) provision for and in connection with the imposition of a new tax in respect of payments of earnings to or for the benefit of employed earners,
(n) provision about climate change levy, and
(o) provision amending the description of vehicles which are exempt vehicles for the purposes of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994.
The House divided:
Ayes 297, Noes 62.
Division No. 225]
[
7.38 pm
AYES
Afriyie, Adam
Aldous, Peter
Allen, Heidi
Amess, Sir David
Andrew, Stuart
Ansell, Caroline
Argar, Edward
Atkins, Victoria
Bacon, Mr Richard
Baker, Mr Steve
Baldwin, Harriett
Barclay, Stephen
Baron, Mr John
Barwell, Gavin
Bebb, Guto
Bellingham, Sir Henry
Benyon, Richard
Beresford, Sir Paul
Berry, Jake
Bingham, Andrew
Blackman, Bob
Blunt, Crispin
Boles, Nick
Bone, Mr Peter
Borwick, Victoria
Bottomley, Sir Peter
Bradley, Karen
Brady, Mr Graham
Brazier, Mr Julian
Bridgen, Andrew
Brine, Steve
Brokenshire, rh James
Bruce, Fiona
Buckland, Robert
Burns, Conor
Burns, rh Sir Simon
Burrowes, Mr David
Burt, rh Alistair
Cairns, Alun
Campbell, Mr Gregory
Carmichael, Neil
Cartlidge, James
Cash, Sir William
Caulfield, Maria
Chalk, Alex
Chishti, Rehman
Chope, Mr Christopher
Churchill, Jo
Clark, rh Greg
Clarke, rh Mr Kenneth
Cleverly, James
Clifton-Brown, Geoffrey
Coffey, Dr Thérèse
Collins, Damian
Colvile, Oliver
Costa, Alberto
Crabb, rh Stephen
Davies, Byron
Davies, Chris
Davies, David T. C.
Davies, Glyn
Davies, Dr James
Davies, Mims
Dinenage, Caroline
Djanogly, Mr Jonathan
Dodds, rh Mr Nigel
Donaldson, rh Mr Jeffrey M.
Double, Steve
Dowden, Oliver
Doyle-Price, Jackie
Drax, Richard
Drummond, Mrs Flick
Duddridge, James
Duncan, rh Sir Alan
Duncan Smith, rh Mr Iain
Dunne, Mr Philip
Ellis, Michael
Ellison, Jane
Ellwood, Mr Tobias
Elphicke, Charlie
Eustice, George
Evans, Graham
Evennett, rh Mr David
Fabricant, Michael
Fallon, rh Michael
Fernandes, Suella
Field, rh Mark
Foster, Kevin
Frazer, Lucy
Freeman, George
Freer, Mike
Fuller, Richard
Fysh, Marcus
Gale, Sir Roger
Garnier, rh Sir Edward
Garnier, Mark
Gauke, Mr David
Ghani, Nusrat
Gibb, Mr Nick
Gillan, rh Mrs Cheryl
Glen, John
Goodwill, Mr Robert
Gove, rh Michael
Graham, Richard
Grant, Mrs Helen
Gray, Mr James
Grayling, rh Chris
Green, Chris
Green, rh Damian
Greening, rh Justine
Grieve, rh Mr Dominic
Griffiths, Andrew
Gummer, Ben
Gyimah, Mr Sam
Halfon, rh Robert
Hall, Luke
Hammond, Stephen
Hancock, rh Matthew
Hands, rh Greg
Harper, rh Mr Mark
Harrington, Richard
Harris, Rebecca
Haselhurst, rh Sir Alan
Hayes, rh Mr John
Heald, Sir Oliver
Heappey, James
Heaton-Harris, Chris
Heaton-Jones, Peter
Henderson, Gordon
Herbert, rh Nick
Hermon, Lady
Hinds, Damian
Hoare, Simon
Hollingbery, George
Hollinrake, Kevin
Hollobone, Mr Philip
Hopkins, Kris
Howarth, Sir Gerald
Howell, John
Howlett, Ben
Huddleston, Nigel
Hunt, rh Mr Jeremy
James, Margot
Javid, rh Sajid
Jayawardena, Mr Ranil
Jenkin, Mr Bernard
Jenkyns, Andrea
Jenrick, Robert
Johnson, Gareth
Johnson, Joseph
Jones, Andrew
Jones, rh Mr David
Jones, Mr Marcus
Kawczynski, Daniel
Kennedy, Seema
Knight, rh Sir Greg
Knight, Julian
Kwarteng, Kwasi
Lancaster, Mark
Latham, Pauline
Lee, Dr Phillip
Lefroy, Jeremy
Leigh, Sir Edward
Leslie, Charlotte
Letwin, rh Mr Oliver
Lewis, Brandon
Lewis, rh Dr Julian
Lidington, rh Mr David
Lilley, rh Mr Peter
Loughton, Tim
Lumley, Karen
Mackinlay, Craig
Mackintosh, David
Malthouse, Kit
Mann, Scott
Maynard, Paul
McCartney, Jason
McCartney, Karl
McLoughlin, rh Mr Patrick
McPartland, Stephen
Menzies, Mark
Mercer, Johnny
Merriman, Huw
Metcalfe, Stephen
Miller, rh Mrs Maria
Milling, Amanda
Mills, Nigel
Milton, rh Anne
Mitchell, rh Mr Andrew
Mordaunt, Penny
Morgan, rh Nicky
Morris, Anne Marie
Morris, David
Morris, James
Morton, Wendy
Mowat, David
Mundell, rh David
Murray, Mrs Sheryll
Murrison, Dr Andrew
Neill, Robert
Nokes, Caroline
Norman, Jesse
Nuttall, Mr David
Offord, Dr Matthew
Opperman, Guy
Osborne, rh Mr George
Paisley, Ian
Parish, Neil
Patel, rh Priti
Paterson, rh Mr Owen
Pawsey, Mark
Penning, rh Mike
Penrose, John
Perry, Claire
Phillips, Stephen
Philp, Chris
Pickles, rh Sir Eric
Pincher, Christopher
Poulter, Dr Daniel
Pow, Rebecca
Prentis, Victoria
Prisk, Mr Mark
Pursglove, Tom
Quin, Jeremy
Quince, Will
Raab, Mr Dominic
Rees-Mogg, Mr Jacob
Robertson, Mr Laurence
Robinson, Gavin
Robinson, Mary
Rudd, rh Amber
Rutley, David
Sandbach, Antoinette
Scully, Paul
Selous, Andrew
Shannon, Jim
Shapps, rh Grant
Sharma, Alok
Simpson, rh Mr Keith
Smith, Chloe
Smith, Henry
Smith, Julian
Smith, Royston
Soames, rh Sir Nicholas
Solloway, Amanda
Soubry, rh Anna
Spelman, rh Mrs Caroline
Spencer, Mark
Stephenson, Andrew
Stevenson, John
Stewart, Iain
Stewart, Rory
Streeter, Mr Gary
Stride, Mel
Sturdy, Julian
Sunak, Rishi
Swayne, rh Mr Desmond
Swire, rh Mr Hugo
Syms, Mr Robert
Thomas, Derek
Throup, Maggie
Timpson, Edward
Tolhurst, Kelly
Tomlinson, Justin
Tomlinson, Michael
Tracey, Craig
Tredinnick, David
Trevelyan, Mrs Anne-Marie
Truss, rh Elizabeth
Tugendhat, Tom
Turner, Mr Andrew
Tyrie, rh Mr Andrew
Vaizey, Mr Edward
Vara, Mr Shailesh
Vickers, Martin
Villiers, rh Mrs Theresa
Walker, Mr Charles
Walker, Mr Robin
Wallace, Mr Ben
Warburton, David
Warman, Matt
Watkinson, Dame Angela
Wharton, James
Whately, Helen
White, Chris
Whittaker, Craig
Whittingdale, rh Mr John
Wiggin, Bill
Williams, Craig
Williamson, rh Gavin
Wilson, Mr Rob
Wilson, Sammy
Wollaston, Dr Sarah
Wood, Mike
Wragg, William
Wright, rh Jeremy
Zahawi, Nadhim
Tellers for the Ayes:
Sarah Newton
and
Simon Kirby
NOES
Ahmed-Sheikh, Ms Tasmina
Arkless, Richard
Bardell, Hannah
Black, Mhairi
Blackford, Ian
Blackman, Kirsty
Boswell, Philip
Brock, Deidre
Brown, Alan
Cameron, Dr Lisa
Chapman, Douglas
Cherry, Joanna
Cowan, Ronnie
Crawley, Angela
Day, Martyn
Docherty-Hughes, Martin
Donaldson, Stuart Blair
Durkan, Mark
Elliott, Tom
Ferrier, Margaret
Gethins, Stephen
Gibson, Patricia
Grady, Patrick
Grant, Peter
Gray, Neil
Hendry, Drew
Hosie, Stewart
Kerevan, George
Kerr, Calum
Kinahan, Danny
Law, Chris
Lucas, Caroline
MacNeil, Mr Angus Brendan
Mc Nally, John
McCaig, Callum
McDonald, Stewart Malcolm
McDonald, Stuart C.
McDonnell, Dr Alasdair
McGarry, Natalie
McLaughlin, Anne
Monaghan, Carol
Monaghan, Dr Paul
Mullin, Roger
Newlands, Gavin
Nicolson, John
O'Hara, Brendan
Oswald, Kirsten
Paterson, Steven
Pugh, John
Ritchie, Ms Margaret
Robertson, rh Angus
Saville Roberts, Liz
Sheppard, Tommy
Stephens, Chris
Thewliss, Alison
Weir, Mike
Whiteford, Dr Eilidh
Whitford, Dr Philippa
Williams, Hywel
Williams, Mr Mark
Wilson, Corri
Wishart, Pete
Tellers for the Noes:
Marion Fellows
and
Owen Thompson
Question accordingly agreed to.
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22 Mar 2016 : Column 1540
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1541
Procedure (Future Taxation)
That, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the practice of the House relating to the matters that may be included in Finance Bills, any Finance Bill of the present Session may contain provision about the rates of landfill tax effect in a future year.
Procedure (Orchestra Tax Credits)
That, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the practice of the House relating to the matters that may be included in Finance Bills, any Finance Bill of the present Session may contain provision for tax credits to be paid to orchestral concert production companies in respect of expenditure on orchestral concert production activities.
Procedure (Social Security Contributions)
That, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the practice of the House relating to the matters that may be included in Finance Bills, any Finance Bill of the present Session may contain provision for the purpose of protecting public revenues against losses in connection with the use of arrangements relating to social security contributions.
Procedure (Measures Relating to Large Businesses)
That, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the practice of the House relating to the matters that may be included in Finance Bills, any Finance Bill of the present Session may include —
(a) provision requiring publication of tax strategies by bodies which are or are part of a large business, and
(b) provision for imposing special measures on such bodies where there has been persistent unco-operative behaviour in relation to tax matters.
Procedure (Raw Tobacco Approval Scheme)
That, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the practice of the House relating to the matters that may be included in Finance Bills, any Finance Bill of the present Session may make provision for the approval of persons carrying on certain activities in relation to raw tobacco.
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1542
Procedure (Information Powers in Connection with Tax Advantages Constituting State Aid)
That, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the practice of the House relating to the matters that may be included in Finance Bills, any Finance Bill of the present Session may make provision conferring on HMRC powers enabling them to acquire, disclose or publish information connected with the grant of reliefs or other tax advantages constituting state aid.
finance (Money)
Queen’s recommendation signified.
That, for the purposes of any Act of the present Session relating to finance, it is expedient to authorise the payment out of money provided by Parliament of expenditure incurred by the Treasury in connection with the expenses of, or payments to members of, the Office of Tax Simplification.
Mr Peter Lilley (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con): On a point of order, Mr Speaker. You, above all, will be aware that the power of this House historically derives from its right to levy taxation, a right in respect of value added tax that it handed over to others 40 years ago. Can you confirm that although the Government have not contested two amendments altering rates of VAT, those changes will be nugatory, despite having the unanimous support of this House, unless all 28 member states agree, as the Government hope they will, to accord to this House the rare privilege of being able to determine two rates of VAT on important, but tiny, items? Can you therefore advise whether the House should be enormously grateful for the possibility that we will regain this small power to affect some taxation? Or should we make it a rule of the House that should we ever want to exercise powers of taxation in future, we announce a referendum before each Finance Bill?
Mr Speaker: I am extremely grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his point of order. I know, or at least I feel confident, that he will not take it amiss if I suggest, on the basis both of the content of his point of order and of the manner of its delivery, that he was more interested in what he had to say to me than in anything that I might have to say to him. What I would say to the right hon. Gentleman, who is very deeply versed in these matters, is that I can comment on the matter of fact, which is that the House has agreed to the two amendments, a point not in dispute between or us or a matter of any doubt in the Chamber, but I do not feel able to comment upon effect—what it will or will not be. However, I have a sense that his point of order was something of a warm-up, and I have a feeling that to this matter he, and doubtless others, will soon, possibly at greater length, return—[Interruption.] Some mischievous soul says, “Hope not.” I think the hope is in vain.
That a Bill be brought in upon the foregoing Resolutions;
That the Chairman of Ways and Means, the Prime Minister, Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary Sajid Javid, Secretary Nicky Morgan, Secretary Greg Clark, Greg Hands, Damian Hinds, Harriet Baldwin and Mr David Gauke bring in the Bill.
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1543
Finance (No.2) Bill
Presentation and First Reading
Mr David Gauke accordingly presented a Bill to grant certain duties, to alter other duties, and to amend the law relating to the National Debt and the Public Revenue, and to make further provision in connection with finance.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time tomorrow, and to be printed (Bill 155) with explanatory notes (Bill 155-EN).
Business without Debate
Delegated Legislation
Mr Speaker: With the leave of the House, we shall take motions 3 to 7 together.
Motion made, and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)),
Family Law
That the draft Child Support (Deduction of Orders and Fees) (Amendment and Modification) Regulations 2016, which were laid before this House on 8 February, be approved.
Pensions
That the draft Automatic Enrolment (Earnings Trigger and Qualifying Earnings Band) Order 2016, which was laid before this House on 1 February, be approved.
Companies
That the draft Companies (Address of Registered Office) Regulations 2016, which were laid before this House on 8 February, be approved.
That the draft Registrar of Companies and Applications for Striking Off (Amendment) Regulations 2016. which were laid before this House on 8 February, be approved.
Insolvency
That the draft Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (Consequential Amendments) (Bankruptcy) and the Small Business. Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2016, which were laid before this House on 22 February, be approved.—(Julian Smith.)
Business of the House
That, at the sitting on Tuesday 12 April—
(1) notwithstanding sub-paragraph (2)(c), as applied by paragraph (4), of Standing Order No. 14 (Arrangement of public business), the backbench business set down for consideration may be entered upon at any hour, may be proceeded with, though opposed, for three hours, and shall then lapse if not previously disposed of; and
(2) notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order No. 20 {Time for taking private business), the private business set down by the Chairman of Ways and Means may be entered upon at any hour (whether before, at or after 4.00pm) and may then be proceeded with, though opposed, for three hours, after which the Speaker shall interrupt the business.—(Julian Smith.)
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1544
high Speed Rail (london – west midlands) bill
That, at the sitting on Wednesday 23rd March, the following provisions shall apply to proceedings on the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill:
1. (1) Proceedings on Consideration shall be taken in the order shown in the first column of the following Table.
(2) The proceedings shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at the times specified in the second column of the Table.
Table
(3) Proceedings on Third Reading and proceedings on the Motion in the name of Secretary Patrick McLoughlin relating to carry-over (No. 3) shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion three hours after the commencement of proceedings on Consideration.
2. (1) This paragraph applies for the purpose of bringing proceedings to a conclusion in accordance with paragraph 1.
(2) In relation to proceedings on Consideration and Third Reading, the Speaker shall put the following Questions in the same order as they would fall to be put if this Order did not apply—
(a) any Question already proposed from the Chair;
(b) any Question necessary to bring to a decision a Question so proposed;
(c) any Question on any amendment, new clause or new schedule selected by the Speaker for separate decision;
(d) the Question on any amendment moved or Motion made by a Minister of the Crown;
(e) any other Question necessary for the disposal of the business to be concluded.
(3) On a motion made for a new clause or a new schedule, the Speaker shall put only the Question that the clause or schedule be added to the Bill.
(4) In relation to proceedings on the Motion mentioned in paragraph 1(3), the Speaker shall put forthwith the Questions necessary to dispose of the proceedings.
3. Standing Order No. 15(1) (Exempted business) shall apply so far as necessary to proceedings to which this Order applies.
4. Standing Order No. 41A (Deferred divisions) shall not apply in relation to proceedings on the Motion mentioned in paragraph 1(3).—(Julian Smith.)
Mr Speaker: Just before I call the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Jake Berry), I appeal to Members who are leaving the Chamber, perhaps unaccountably, to do so quickly and quietly so that the hon. Gentleman can make his case and be afforded a decent hearing.
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Breast Ironing
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—(Julian Smith.)
8.2 pm
Jake Berry (Rossendale and Darwen) (Con): I will start with three letters: FGM. Thanks to the tireless campaigning of charities such as Daughters of Eve and Dahlia, we now know that those letters are an abbreviation for: the abhorrent practice of female genital mutilation. For any colleague who still struggles to understand FGM, I cannot put it in clearer or more stark terms than those used by my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Dr Mathias) in her excellent contribution to the recent International Women’s Day debate, that
“the equivalent of female genital mutilation in a man would be the removal of the head of the penis and of a third of the shaft.” —[Official Report, 8 March 2016; Vol. 607, c. 233.]
FGM was hidden from us for many years, and while this practice did not originate in Britain, we have come to know and tackle it here in the UK. FGM was first legislated on by the UK Government in 1985, at which point the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985 made the practice of FGM illegal. In 2003, it became an offence to take a girl abroad for the purpose of FGM. Finally, the Serious Crime Act 2015 took further measures to create a robust legal framework to deal with this abhorrent practice. Thanks to a 30-year journey of revealing and legislating on this barbaric practice, it is now widely recognised. I am ashamed to say, however, that in that 30-year journey, there has not been a single prosecution here in the UK.
It is against the perspective of this lengthy struggle that I wish to raise the issue of breast ironing. It is perhaps unsurprising that so few people have heard of it. Breast ironing—or breast flattening, as it is often referred to—is believed to have originated in Cameroon but is also found in Nigeria, the Republic of Guinea, South Africa, Chad, Togo, Benin, Birmingham and London. It is the practice of pounding the developing breasts of young girls with objects heated over coals or on a stove, and it tends to be performed on girls from about the age of 10 up until the end of puberty. Hot stones, hammers and spatulas are used twice a day for several weeks or months to stop or delay, and in some cases permanently destroy, the natural development of the breast.
Girls subjected to this abuse are told by the perpetrators that it is necessary to continue with this abhorrent practice until it no longer hurts. This gives us some idea of the unimaginable pain and suffering they are subjected to. Breast ironing exposes girls to numerous health issues, such as cancer, abscesses, itching, discharge of milk, infection and dissymmetry of the breasts. Girls who undergo breast ironing can expect to experience an increased prevalence of breast cysts, breast infections, severe fever, tissue damage and even the complete disappearance of one or both breasts.
Mr Deputy Speaker, you are probably sat there, like many other right hon. and hon. Members, thinking, “Why would anyone do this to a young woman or girl?” Breast flattening, or ironing, is carried out by the perpetrators in the belief that it makes girls less sexually attractive to men; in the certainty that mutilation of the breasts will protect young girls from sexual harassment,
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rape or early forced marriage; and with the confidence that the breasts of young girls can develop only if they think about sex, if a man touches their breasts, if a girl watches pornography or even if a girl visits a night club.
Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP): Is it not also the case that some parents believe they can prevent puberty from happening altogether by carrying out breast ironing?
Jake Berry: That is the point, but it is a mistaken belief, and one that has no place in any society, let alone ours here in Britain.
The words “culture”, “tradition” or “religion” come up when people try to explain this absurdly harmful practice, but as in the case of FGM, these words are just a thinly veiled excuse for a ritualised form of child abuse.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP): The hon. Gentleman brought this issue to the House on International Women’s Day. That evening I sponsored an event on domestic violence that was attended by more than 100 people. I had not heard about breast ironing until that day, but FGM and breast ironing, and their prevalence in our society, including here in London, were raised that night. Does he agree that we need zero tolerance when it comes to this practice?
Jake Berry: I will come to that. I hope that the Minister will say what steps we can take to send the message out loud and clear from this House of Commons that the practice is completely unacceptable, whether it happens in London, Birmingham or any other city, or whether young girls are being taken to Cameroon, Nigeria or elsewhere for it to be done over the school holidays. No one should think that they can get away with it in this country without fear of prosecution.
Kit Malthouse (North West Hampshire) (Con): I applaud what my hon. Friend says. I was responsible for bringing in the first ever anti-violence against women and girls strategy in London, which looked at some of these issues. The police did something like a cultural cringe when dealing with some of these problems until I highlighted to the commissioner that if little boys were appearing across London on a systematic basis with their little finger missing, we would be doing something about it. I pointed out that because this involved girls, was possibly invisible and had this cultural overlay, the police felt that they should stand off from it. Pleasingly, that is no longer the case, but I hope that my hon. Friend agrees that we could do much more to make the unacceptability of these practices widespread.
Jake Berry: I agree absolutely. This idea that puberty, the natural development of a woman’s adult body and the natural journey to maturity can be violated as part of some mistaken or bizarre belief system has no place in our society.
As with FGM, the practice of breast ironing is hidden because it is most often carried out by a family member. A recent UN report revealed that 58% of the perpetrators of breast ironing are the girl’s own mother. Although awareness of FGM is probably at an all-time high, the practice of breast ironing will remain hidden unless we
22 Mar 2016 : Column 1547
in this House speak out about it wherever we can. Breast ironing has been identified by the UN as one of the five most under-reported crimes relating to gender-based violence. That is why this debate is so important
I said that this practice of breast ironing has been found in Birmingham and London. However, because of the hidden nature of this abuse, it is hard to prove the extent of its prevalence in the UK. In the words of Margaret Nyuydzewira, founder of the UK-based pressure group, CAME:
“Breast ironing is a practice that happens in the privacy of women’s homes, it’s hard to see who is doing it, and people are not willing to talk about it. It’s like female genital mutilation: you know it’s happening but you are not going to see it”.
Despite the secrecy around breast ironing, the anti-FGM campaigner and co-founder of Daughters of Eve, Leyla Hussein, recently revealed she had met a woman in the UK who had undergone breast ironing. Recent press coverage has said that it is endemic and experts believe that the custom is being practised among the several thousand Cameroonians now living in the UK.
CAME has estimated that up to 1,000 girls in the UK have been subjected to breast ironing and that an unknown number have been subjected to it abroad. It highlighted to me one case reported to the police in Birmingham where no further action was taken, as it was put down as being part of someone’s culture rather than a crime.
Hannah Bardell (Livingston) (SNP): Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Jake Berry: I am sorry, but I will not, because I must make some progress.
The Mayor of London’s harmful practices taskforce, on which my hon. Friend the Member for North West Hampshire (Kit Malthouse) served, described breast ironing as an emerging issue here in the UK. It is precisely the lack of hard facts and figures that has led me to seek this debate on breast ironing and the Government’s response.
It has also led me to do something else. I wrote to every police force in the UK and every local authority in the UK to ask what they were doing about this issue. The police forces that wrote back to me showed real concern. They know that this is a worrying crime and they have a worrying lack of knowledge of it. Some 72% of the police forces that responded either failed to answer a question about breast ironing or admitted that they had never heard of it, while 38% said they wanted more guidance. This demonstrates a lack of understanding among our police forces about breast ironing and the signs that reveal that it is happening. Although some police forces, including West Mercia, Merseyside, Thames Valley and Hertfordshire, are taking encouraging steps to raise awareness, I hope that the Minister will consider issuing guidance from the Department to ensure that this best practice is spread and that those who do not have the information on breast ironing can be enlightened.
I also wrote to representatives of all the local authority children’s services departments. Of those who responded, 23% volunteered the information that they had never undertaken any training in this area, and 65% said that they would like more guidance. Departments in Greater Manchester, Leicester and the City of London are
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already taking action, but, like the police forces, all the children’s departments in our local authorities want more information. On their own admission, the police and local authorities need further training in dealing with this practice and bringing criminals to prosecution. If we fail to give them the tools that they require to identify and understand the victims of this crime, they will never be able to tackle it.
I understand that there is currently no stand-alone crime of breast ironing in the United Kingdom, and that police and prosecutors have to rely on the existing pool of criminal offences that are available to them. I believe that, as with female genital mutilation, that is not an adequate protection for young women and girls in our country. I pay tribute to the Minister for her work on the Bill that became the Serious Crime Act 2015, which, among other things, provided anonymity for victims of FGM, created a new civil protection order, created a new offence of failing to protect a girl from FGM, provided for statutory guidance, and imposed a duty to report on public sector professionals such as teachers, social workers and doctors. I believe that all those protections should be considered in relation to the crime of breast ironing. I hope that the Minister will consider the creation of a stand-alone offence, and will also extend the protections in the 2015 Act to breast ironing.
As I hope I have demonstrated, this crime is not given the recognition that it needs to be given in our communities here in the United Kingdom. One of the main barriers that I have been able to cite this evening is a lack of awareness among all Government agencies, including police, local authorities and schools. The very people who should be keeping these girls safe do not know what to look for, and, more important, do not know where to look. I ask the Minister to undertake to ensure that the Department gives guidance to those Government agencies on how to spot the girls who are at risk. I also ask her to request the Department to make a thorough study of the prevalence of breast ironing in the UK. If we are to tackle this crime, we must find out where it is taking place and how many people are victims of it.
Yesterday, a colleague asked me why I, as a man, had chosen to speak about breast ironing. The answer is simple. If we in the House of Commons fail to act, if we fail to speak out about this horrendous and abhorrent crime, it is we who are letting young girls and women down here in our country. Unless we speak out and raise the profile of breast ironing, the hidden suffering of young teenage girls will always remain hidden.
8.18 pm
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Karen Bradley): I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Jake Berry) on securing a debate about an important issue on which he has previously been campaigning. He should be assured that the fact that the subject is on the Order Paper has really made people sit up and listen today. I had to explain to a number of colleagues what this evening’s Adjournment debate was about, and the utter horror on each and every face when they understood is testimony to the importance of the debate and the fact that my hon. Friend has secured it.
One of my hon. Friend’s final points related to men raising these matters. These are not just women’s issues. This is violence against women and girls—some of it is
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perpetrated by men and some by women—but we need men to speak out and make it clear that these practices are unacceptable. The excuse given for FGM, breast ironing and other so-called honour-based violence is that men require it, and that it has to happen to women so that men will accept them. That is simply not true, and men need to speak out and make it clear that that is not the case. I congratulate my hon. Friend and the other men who have spoken in the debate, as well as the women who have contributed. It is important that we all speak on this matter.
I want to make it absolutely clear that breast ironing is not just an abhorrent practice; it is illegal. It is child abuse, and no political or cultural sensitivities should ever be used as an excuse for us to stop tackling it. As my hon. Friend has noted, there are parallels between breast ironing and other harmful practices such as FGM. One such parallel is the fact that these practices are often hidden crimes, which makes it difficult for us to estimate their prevalence. We want to find the victims of these crimes and we want to stop the crimes happening, but we will be able to do that only if people and communities are brave enough to speak out and say that the practice is unacceptable. It is also the responsibility of the police proactively to look for these crimes and to devise and implement measures to increase the confidence of victims to report them and to give evidence.
Dr Whitford: As this practice is predominantly carried out during puberty when the girls are at school, should we not be educating them about it within the school system in the United Kingdom? Would that not encourage them to come forward?
Karen Bradley: The hon. Lady is absolutely right. I work closely with Ministers in the Department for Education to ensure that guidance material is available to enable schools to teach people about this. I will say more about that shortly. However, I know that certain professionals might feel reticent about the subject. They might feel that cultural sensitivities are involved or that there are political reasons why they should not go there. That is simply not the case, however, and we need to give those professionals the confidence to know that this is something they should be looking for, to know what the signs are and to take action. That is what we all need to do.
Kit Malthouse: I completely agree with the Minister. I wonder whether her Department, or indeed the police, might look at the French experience, which has involved a significant number of prosecutions and convictions, particularly for FGM but also for other harmful cultural practices. My hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Jake Berry) made the point that one of the difficulties that the police sometimes face from a cultural point of view is that the perpetrator is often a family member. So we may well be prosecuting granny and putting her in prison, but even that is no excuse, and we need to lock some of these people up, if only to send a signal.
Karen Bradley:
Let me address the point about convictions. My hon. Friend makes the point that France and other countries have had successful prosecutions resulting in convictions, but we have to accept that there are different legal systems involved. It is also worth
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making the point that although FGM was first made a crime in 1985, the Crown Prosecution Service did not receive a single referral of a case that it might have been able to take to prosecution before 2010. That is why the organisations and community groups that work on this are very important, and we have to work with them at a community level. What my hon. Friend says is true: victims of FGM might have to give evidence in court against a family member.
We are sometimes asked why we cannot just go ahead and get a conviction, if we know that a crime has happened. Well, there are plenty of unsolved murders. There might be a body, and we might know that someone has been murdered, but we cannot necessarily get the evidence we need. This is about equipping the police, law enforcement agencies and other professionals with the tools that they need to gather the necessary evidence, information and intelligence. Like my hon. Friend, I want to see a conviction for this. We have had a successful conviction for forced marriage, and I want to see a conviction for FGM, but we all have to acknowledge and respect the difficulties involved in getting such a conviction.
It is important to remember that a conviction is in many ways a failure—a crime has happened. The more that we can do to prevent the crime from happening in the first place and to make it clear that the practice is illegal and therefore should not happen, the better the result will be. Where this crime does occur, we want to ensure that the law enforcement response is as robust as possible.
I want to discuss with my hon. Friend his thoughts about legislation, but let me be clear that breast ironing is against the law today. Although there are no specific offences, the police have a range of other offences at their disposal to deal with any cases that they encounter, including common assault, actual bodily harm or grievous bodily harm, child cruelty and causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm. The Crown Prosecution Service takes seriously the effective prosecution of all forms of honour-based violence. In 2014-15, 225 defendants were prosecuted in cases flagged as having an honour-based violence component, a rise from 206 in the previous year, with 129 convictions—the highest ever recorded. However, it is true that we want more convictions. This debate can send a message to law enforcement and the CPS that we want the offence to get more attention.
In December, Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary published its review into the police response to honour-based violence. The review found some areas of good practice, but also raised serious concerns about the police’s handling of such issues. I stress again that honour-based violence is a crime. The so-called honour-based context—there is no honour in any of these crimes—does not prevent it from being a crime. HMIC’s report showed that the police were not using some offences, such as domestic abuse or child abuse. We are working closely with HMIC, considering the report’s findings, and working with police forces, the national policing lead and the College of Policing to ensure that we get the right guidance. That means further work and training to help to increase the understanding of crimes such as breast ironing.
On mandatory reporting, my hon. Friend talked about the measures that we introduced in the Serious Crime Act 2015 regarding FGM, which we know are working.
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I had an email from my county council in Staffordshire only today saying that an FGM protection order had been put on a baby. It is absolutely fantastic that the orders are being used in practice and preventing this dreadful crime from taking place. We placed a mandatory reporting duty on professionals who are aware of FGM cases involving girls aged under 18. We are also committed to consulting on a mandatory reporting duty for all child abuse and that consultation will start shortly. The consultation is broad and wide ranging. We are looking at various measures, including a mandatory duty to report all forms of child abuse. We will consider all responses, and I encourage anybody who is listening to this debate to make sure that they feed into that consultation.
Before I wrap up, let me mention the work that we are doing internationally. We know that cases of breast ironing have been documented in Cameroon and other parts of Africa. In Cameroon, the British High Commission has been working closely with the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family in co-ordination with local religious leaders on campaigns to raise awareness and to support a community-led change to end breast ironing.
My hon. Friend will know that last year the Prime Minister appointed my noble friend Baroness Verma as ministerial champion for tackling violence against women
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and girls overseas. I work closely with her to ensure that we are doing all that we can not only in this country, but in countries where we know that there is a high prevalence, or a higher prevalence, of such practice. We need to tackle harmful practice overseas. I have met some fantastic charities that work with communities and stand up and say that this practice is wrong. They also try to get villages and tribes to say that it is wrong, because if they do that, the next village will follow. Fantastic work is being done.
There is always more that we can do. I am conscious of time, so I will finish by thanking my hon. Friend for securing this debate and commending the work that is being done by many organisations, particularly CAME women and Girls Development Organisation, to bring hidden practices, such as breast ironing, to the forefront.
My hon. Friend has done a great service. He has raised awareness of this practice in a way that one is able to do in this Chamber. Sometimes we underestimate the power an Adjournment debate in this place to raise awareness of an issue. Let me reiterate that what we are talking about is illegal. It is a crime and it is not acceptable. I want to assure the House that the Government fully understand that and are absolutely committed to putting a stop to it.