Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what Barnett consequentials will be generated for the Scottish government by (a) grants awarded to local authorities in England to address SEND deficits announced in the written statement entitled Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 to 2028-29, published on 9 February 2026, HCWS1315, and (b) additional funding for SEND announced in the Spring Statement.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Spring Forecast 2026 it was confirmed that the Scottish Government will receive £533 million Barnett consequentials in 2026-27, through the application of the Barnett formula to the grants for Local Authorities to address SEND deficits in England.
The Barnett formula applies mechanically to new funding for the Department for Education in 2028-29, to support reforms of the SEND system. This results in an additional £362 million for the Scottish Government in 2028-29.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the fiscal implications of joint defence financing arrangements with Finland and the Netherlands.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Last week the Chancellor announced that the UK is exploring a new defence mechanism for financing driving joint demand by 2027 with the Netherlands and Finland and other EU and NATO partners.
This is still in development with partners and will follow best international practice and relevant HM Government Guidance, including Managing Public Money.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what measures are in place to ensure value for money in joint defence financing arrangements with Finland and the Netherlands.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Last week the Chancellor announced that the UK is exploring a new defence mechanism for financing driving joint demand by 2027 with the Netherlands and Finland and other EU and NATO partners.
This is still in development with partners and will follow best international practice and relevant HM Government Guidance, including Managing Public Money.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Chancellor and Energy Secretary meet with fuel bosses in No11 as government order crackdown on pump prices, published on 13 March 2026, what analysis her Department has undertaken of the time taken by fuel retailers to pass on increases in wholesale fuel costs to motorists.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Budget, the Chancellor confirmed the new FuelFinder service, which is now operational and will give consumers clear, real-time information so that they can find the cheapest fuel available.
The Chancellor has written to Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, expressing support for the CMA’s work to ensure customers are not affected by undue price rises, including for road fuel. See the letter here: Letter to the CMA on vigilance for unjustifiable price increases.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average staffing complement is for a ministerial private office within their Department; what grades those staff are appointed at; what the typical remuneration and contracted working hours are for those posts; and what the staff turnover rate is.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMT ministerial private offices hire an average 6.5 FTE per office. Staff are appointed at grades: AO, EO, HEO, SEO, G7, G6 and Deputy Director. Contracted working hours for these staff members are 37 hours per week.
Staff salaries for the appointed grades are typically between £26,200 - £117,800. Designated posts may also benefit from Private Office Allowance.
The average staff turnover over the last 3 years was between 20-30%, which can include staff on loans to HMT returning to their home departments, or individuals leaving to other government departments, including on promotion.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at what domestic conferences the Valuation Office Agency has made presentations since July 2024.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Staff members are supported to speak at, learn from and contribute to various conferences and meetings of valuation professionals here in the UK. We do not keep a central log of all these domestic activities.
Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on additional funding for extending the UK Supercharger Scheme.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chancellor has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on a range of topics.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2026, what fiscal headroom the Government is forecast to have against its fiscal rules in each year of the forecast period; what sensitivity analysis has been undertaken by the Office for Budget Responsibility regarding changes in growth, interest rates or inflation; and what assessment she has made of the level of risks to the Government’s ability to meet its fiscal targets.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In line with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)'s mandate, the OBR did not provide a formal assessment of performance against the fiscal rules at the Spring forecast on 3 March. The fiscal rules will be formally assessed alongside the Budget.
As the Chancellor said in her speech to the House, the forecast shows headroom against the stability rule has increased since the Budget from £21.7bn at the Budget to £23.6bn in 2029-30, which is the target year, meaning greater resilience against shocks and stability in the economy. Headroom against the investment rule is also higher at £27.1bn in 2029-30.
As an independent body, the OBR has full discretion over its forecast methodology and the judgements underpinning its forecasts. As is standard, the March 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlooks included sensitivity analysis around key economic variables and highlighted upside and downside risks to its central forecast
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rules on tax relief on touring costs in Europe.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, and supports the sector through a range of tax reliefs which are among the most generous in the world, providing over £2.4 billion of support in 2023–24.
The reliefs support the sector with the cost of touring. Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) provides a generous rate of 45 per cent tax relief on orchestral production costs – including the cost of domestic touring, such as transport and accommodation – and provided £50 million of support in 2023-24. There is currently no other country in the world which offers such a tax relief for orchestras. Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR), provide a 40% rate of relief to non-touring productions but offer higher rates of relief (at 45%) for touring productions.
The Government carefully considers the design of the creative sector tax reliefs to ensure they are well targeted, effective in achieving their policy objectives, and represent value for money for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to change cultural tax reliefs to account for the cost of touring.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, and supports the sector through a range of tax reliefs which are among the most generous in the world, providing over £2.4 billion of support in 2023–24.
The reliefs support the sector with the cost of touring. Orchestra Tax Relief (OTR) provides a generous rate of 45 per cent tax relief on orchestral production costs – including the cost of domestic touring, such as transport and accommodation – and provided £50 million of support in 2023-24. There is currently no other country in the world which offers such a tax relief for orchestras. Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) and Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR), provide a 40% rate of relief to non-touring productions but offer higher rates of relief (at 45%) for touring productions.
The Government carefully considers the design of the creative sector tax reliefs to ensure they are well targeted, effective in achieving their policy objectives, and represent value for money for the taxpayer.