Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the business rates special category code (SCAT) the Valuation Office Agency uses for (a) coffee shops, (b) wine bars and (c) cafes is.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Information on SCAT codes is available at this link [SCat code list]
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the letter from the Leader of the House of Commons of 15 January 2026, reference AC/MP1190, on what date her Department plans to respond to hon. Member for St Albans.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I will write to you as soon as practicably possible.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the Valuation Office Agency’s budget is for developing the Automated Valuation Model for council tax in England.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA is not developing an automated valuation model for council tax in England.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of tokenised deposits and smart contracts on the mortgage market, including use in conveyancing, remortgaging and the reduction of intermediaries and transaction delays.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Decisions on the use of tokenised deposits and smart contracts in the mortgage market are independent commercial matters for lenders and property firms, within the regulatory framework overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority, including the Consumer Duty and relevant mortgage conduct rules. However, the Government is regularly in contact with mortgage lenders on all aspects of their business, including the evolution and integration of new technologies and their potential impact on the industry.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is currently undertaking a review of home buying and selling, which will consider how digital tools and emerging technologies could be used to improve property transaction processes. The Government has made clear its objectives that reform should support faster, more reliable transactions and reduced fall throughs and risks.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many value estimates will be produced by the Valuation Office Agency for the council tax surcharge valuations.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Fewer than 1% of properties are expected to be above the £2 million threshold. The Valuation Office Agency is developing its approach and will set out more information alongside the government’s consultation.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for regulatory oversight of fintech innovation arising from developments in blockchain-based programmable deposit tokenisation in UK banks.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
New forms of digital money and payments present potential benefits for both users and providers of payment services, offering faster, cheaper payments with better functionalities and greater security.
The government, alongside regulators, is considering the innovation opportunities that blockchain-based payments instruments, including tokenised deposits, could present the UK financial services sector.
We are working with regulators and industry to design the next generation of retail payments infrastructure, overseen by the Payments Vision Delivery Committee.
Steps have already been taken to set up the right regulatory conditions for firms to safely innovate and experiment with this technology, specifically through the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) work on the Digital Securities Sandbox.
Furthermore, the government recently laid legislation to regulate cryptoassets and stablecoins. This regime will raise standards, strengthen consumer protection, help tackle market abuse, and support the responsible growth of the UK’s cryptoasset sector by providing clear and consistent rules.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the reporting of the value of frozen assets from Daesh was stopped; and whether they plan to resume that reporting.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, has released the value of frozen funds from its Annual Frozen Asset Review exercise in each OFSI Annual Review since 2017.
OFSI published in its 2024-2025 Annual Review that £19.3 million in assets across multiple sanctions regimes have been reported as frozen as of September 2024.
This is an aggregated total of all entities and individuals listed on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets under non specified regimes including the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida regime.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for (1) consumer protection, and (2) financial stability, of emerging customer-facing trials of agentic AI systems in the UK banking sector.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government’s ambition is to make the UK a global leader in AI, leveraging our dual strength in financial services and AI to drive growth, productivity, and consumer benefits. Encouraging safe adoption is an essential part of realising that ambition.
The treatment of customers by UK banks and building societies is governed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), whose independent regulatory powers ensure consumer protection in the financial services sector. The FCA’s Principles for Businesses require firms to provide prompt, efficient, and fair service to all their customers. The FCA’s Consumer Duty requires firms to act in good faith, prevent foreseeable harm, and act in the best interests of consumers.
UK banks are required to comply with relevant laws and regulations that are fundamental to consumer protection, including in any use of customer-facing agentic AI. In April 2024, the FCA published an update on its regulatory approach to AI, making it clear that where firms use AI as part of their business operations, they remain responsible for meeting FCA rules. Firms remain fully accountable for outcomes delivered by AI systems.
The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is responsible for identifying and monitoring risks to UK financial stability. In their April 2025 Financial Stability in Focus publication, they set out the potential benefits and risks to financial stability that could result from AI use in the financial system, including in relation to agentic AI. HM Treasury continues to work closely with the FPC and UK financial regulators to assess risks to financial stability.
The Government will continue to work with regulators and industry to ensure innovation proceeds safely and responsibly.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Stamp Duty on primary residences on (a) labour mobility, (b) housing supply and (c) house prices.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is an important source of government revenue, raising around £12 billion each year to help pay for essential public services. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) sets out some of the interactions between SDLT, house prices and the volume of transactions as part of its Housing Market Forecasts, available on the OBR website.
https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/the-economy-forecast/housing-market/
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she has taken to support businesses with the movement of small parcels between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring the smooth flow of goods within the UK internal market. On 1 May, the Government introduced important new arrangements for freight and parcels movements to ensure that goods can continue to move smoothly from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and ahead of these new arrangements, HMRC had an extensive readiness programme to support businesses.
These new arrangements ensure that parcels sent to or from consumers will not be subject to customs declarations or duty.
Guidance for businesses sending parcels from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is available at: www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-send-parcels-from-a-business-in-great-britain-to-a-private-individual-or-a-business-in-northern-ireland
Parcels that move from Northern Ireland to Great Britain continue to be able to benefit from unfettered access.