§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action his Department has taken to introduce tax relief for employers who invest in training of their work force; and what proposals he has in this area. [55045]
§ Dawn PrimaroloExpenditure of employers on the training of their employees is already likely to attract tax relief. When calculating business profits for tax purposes, a deduction is allowed for revenue expenditure incurred wholly and exclusively for business purposes. Expenditure an employer incurs on training employees would generally satisfy this business expenses tax rule and qualify for a tax deduction.
§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action his Department(a) has taken and (b) proposes to introduce (i) grants and (ii) tax relief for workers on training courses. [55047]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe current position is that individuals can claim Vocational Training Tax Relief (VTR) on the cost of certain training courses. VTR is not restricted to those in work and benefits non-taxpayers as well as taxpayers. Where an employee's expenditure on job-related external training is not eligible for VTR, it may still qualify for tax relief under an Inland Revenue extra-statutory concession (A64) if the conditions are satisfied.
The current scope of tax relief for individuals' training expenses is being reviewed in relation to individual learning accounts. Our recent consultation paper on the Learning Age (CM 3790) indicated that we are considering targeted public support, which could take the form of grants or tax relief, to encourage people to open individual learning accounts. Officials from the Inland Revenue, Department for Education and Employment and the Treasury are currently exploring options.