AAT public affairs and public policy activities: October 2020

Every month AAT summarises some of the key Public Affairs & Public Policy activities undertaken on behalf of our members. Below you will find some highlights for September 2020.

If you would like any further information about any of these issues, please contact Phil Hall, AAT Head of Public Affairs & Public Policy via twitter or via email.

Political parties set out views on skills for AAT Comment

Writing for AAT Comment, Skills and Apprenticeships Minister Gillian Keegan MP explained what the Government is doing to ensure everyone, irrespective of age or background, can get the skills they need.

In contrast, Labour Shadow Exchequer to the Treasury, Wes Streeting MP, made the case for Government to do much more to ensure training is at the heart of its Coronavirus response.

The Liberal Democrats education spokesperson, Daisy Cooper MP, also contributed to the debate on AAT Comment by explaining how the Liberal Democrats would end the vocational/academic divide in Further Education.

Latest on late payments

Further to last months’ survey on late payments, BEIS launched a consultation on widening and increasing the scope of powers for the Small Business Commissioner. AAT promptly responded to the consultation, spoke to both the previous and current Small Business Commissioner about the proposals and participated in a roundtable event organised by Lord Mendelsohn on the same.

On 29 October, Labour Peer, Lord Stevenson, mentioned AAT in the context of late payments during a House of Lords debate on Covid-19 and small businesses.

Find out more about this issue on AAT Comment.

Ethnicity Pay Reporting

Following a briefing from AAT, Labour and SNP MPs asked the Government questions about the fact it has not yet published any response to the 2018 ethnicity pay gap consultation.

Shadow Secretary of State for Women & Equalities, Labour’s Marsha de Cordova MP, asked when a response would be published and was told “in due course” the same response given for the past two years.

SNP MP Martyn Day asked the Secretary of State for Business if the Government will make ethnicity pay gap reporting compulsory and was similarly told that the Government is still deciding what to do and will respond in due course.

AAT will continue to press for action in this important area. If you’d like to, you can read our 2018 response to the Government consultation on Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting.

How to pay for a problem like Coronavirus?

AAT recently submitted a range of suggestions as to how Government could pay for the unprecedented economic costs wrought by Coronavirus. We urged the Government to scrap various exemptions and tax reliefs and to resist populist measures like windfall and wealth taxes.

Full details can be found here.

Parliamentary engagement

Engagement with 15 Parliamentarians in October centred on subjects including Bounce Back Business Loans, ethnicity pay reporting and prompt payment.

Non-Parliamentary engagement

Engagement with almost 50 external stakeholders took place in October. These included the likes of Dun & Bradstreet (late payments) Transparency International (Companies House reform) Fair Tax Mark (Coronavirus & Tax) the National Cyber Security Centre (cyber security) and the Office for Tax Simplification (regulating the profession).

AAT consultations calls for evidence & inquiry responses

Consultation responses on a wide range of topics were submitted in October.

These included a response to the BEIS call for evidence on the regulation of the professions, widening and increasing the powers of Small Business Commissioner and a submission to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry into Bounce Back Loans.

Each of these responses can be viewed on the AAT Policy page.

Other events, meetings and engagement

• Adam Harper participated in the HMRC Representative Bodies Steering Group meeting, discussing MTD and the Government’s Job Support Scheme among other issues.
• Adam also took part in the regular HMRC Issues Overview Group (IoG) meeting for professional bodies.
• I participated in an online CBI Government Affairs Network with YouGov and Hill & Knowlton.
• Took part in the quarterly Companies House meeting for the accountancy sector, highlighting our support for Companies House reforms but concerns about some missed opportunities.
• Attended a CIOT & IFS debate with Treasury Minister Jesse Norman MP regarding tax after Coronavirus.
• Contributed to a TaxPayers' Alliance & Institute of Economic Affairs teams meeting with Steve Baker MP and Matthew Lynn (Telegraph)  examining whether or not big tax rises are really needed to fund the economic impact of Coronavirus.
• Participated in an Institute for Government webinar on the use of evidence in the policy making process.
• Took part in the monthly HMRC Virtual Communications Group meeting where we discussed job support schemes, deferring VAT payments, paperless interaction with HMRC and Brexit preparedness communications.
• Attended the Government’s External Affairs Profession Stakeholder Reception.
• Participated in the AAPG on Responsible Business webinar on the future of skills and training.
• Joined the OTS webinar on Claims & Elections in response to their recent consultation on the subject.
• Attended the APPG on Apprenticeships, which discussed how apprenticeships can support career progression.
• Contributed to the Responsible Tax APPG debate on the FinCen files.