Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in Benefit-in-Kind rates for electric vehicles on consumer uptake; and whether her Department has considered the effect on adoption rates if Benefit-in-Kind rates exceed 10%.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced new Company Car Tax rates for the years 2028-29 and 2029-30, which increase for both electric vehicles (EVs) and petrol/diesel vehicles, while still maintaining generous incentives to support EV take-up.
The Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published alongside Budget set out the expected economic, equalities and other impacts, and highlighted that overall the measure was expected to encourage the take-up of zero emission vehicles.
The Government recognises that the Company Car Tax regime and the salary sacrifice exemption for ultra-low and zero emission vehicles continues to play an important role in the EV transition. The Government needs to balance these incentives against responsible management of public finances to ensure we have sufficient revenue to fund essential public services. A company car is a valuable benefit and therefore needs to be taxed appropriately.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of salary sacrifice schemes in supporting the uptake of electric vehicles.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced new Company Car Tax rates for the years 2028-29 and 2029-30, which increase for both electric vehicles (EVs) and petrol/diesel vehicles, while still maintaining generous incentives to support EV take-up.
The Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published alongside Budget set out the expected economic, equalities and other impacts, and highlighted that overall the measure was expected to encourage the take-up of zero emission vehicles.
The Government recognises that the Company Car Tax regime and the salary sacrifice exemption for ultra-low and zero emission vehicles continues to play an important role in the EV transition. The Government needs to balance these incentives against responsible management of public finances to ensure we have sufficient revenue to fund essential public services. A company car is a valuable benefit and therefore needs to be taxed appropriately.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook report of November 2025, Table A.5, what analysis her Department has done of the causes for the rise in estimated business rates receipts from £38.8 billion in 2028-29 to £41.9 billion in 2029-30.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Business rates receipts are forecast independently by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Information on changes to the Business Rates receipts can be found in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook report (paragraphs 4.38 to 4.40).
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the conclusions of the review of VAT for public bodies under Section 41 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under Section 41 of the VAT Act 1994 Government departments, NHS Trusts and some wider public bodies can claim VAT refunds on certain outsourced services. Their remaining irrecoverable VAT is funded through Departmental Expenditure Limits. The Government is exploring reforming this system into a ‘Full Refund Model’ which would enable Section 41 bodies to recover VAT on all goods and services incurred during the course of non-business activities.
To ensure the reform is fiscally neutral, the departmental budgets of Section 41 bodies must be adjusted by an amount corresponding to the additional VAT they will be refunded for. HM Treasury is currently analysing data provided by Section 41 bodies on their irrecoverable VAT and will set out the next steps to the reforms in due course.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) her Department check the office attendance of individual civil servants.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue and Customs and HM Treasury operate hybrid working arrangements in line with the Civil Service expectation on office attendance. Employees are expected to spend at least 60 per cent of their time in the office. Line managers are responsible for monitoring attendance and for addressing non‑compliance using appropriate informal and formal management processes. Office attendance is monitored using available building access data or network log‑on information.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that financial services provided through banking hubs and the Post Office are accessible and inclusive for blind and partially sighted people.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring high standards of financial inclusion across the financial services sector, including the accessibility of services for blind and partially sighted customers.
Financial services provided through banking hubs and the Post Office must comply with the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) rules, which require firms to provide a prompt, efficient and fair service to all customers, including those with disabilities. These services are also subject to the Equality Act 2010, which requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled people can access services on an equal basis.
The FCA’s Consumer Duty further requires firms to act in good faith, avoid foreseeable harm and support customers to pursue their financial objectives, including by ensuring that information and services are accessible.
Industry, including LINK and UK Finance, is working with accessibility charities such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to ensure that emerging shared banking services reflect the needs of blind and partially sighted people. This includes considering accessible design and tailored support within banking hubs.
The Government continues to monitor progress closely as part of its wider commitment to inclusive access to financial services.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the timescale for resolving outstanding cases involving individuals subject to the Loan Charge that will be settled following the conclusions of the independent review led by Ray McCann.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government recognised that concerns were raised about the Loan Charge under the previous government and that some felt strongly that it had not been handled appropriately.
The Government therefore commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to bring the matter to a close for those who had not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The Government accepted the review’s conclusion that the loan charge was an extraordinary piece of Government policy which necessitated an exceptional response, and is now legislating to give HMRC the power to administer a new settlement opportunity.
To encourage more people to settle, the Government will write off the first £5,000 of liabilities in addition to the proposals put forward by Ray McCann. As a result, most individuals could see reductions of at least 50% in their outstanding loan charge liabilities, and an estimated 30% of individuals could have these liabilities written off entirely.
HMRC began contacting taxpayers to notify them of their eligibility for the new settlement opportunity from January 2026. HMRC will begin contacting them again, from Spring, to explain the settlement opportunity in more detail. HMRC will contact taxpayers in stages and all taxpayers in scope will be invited to settle by the end of the 2027-28 tax year.
HMRC will encourage taxpayers who want to settle to contact their named HMRC caseworker proactively, and not to wait for a letter. Taxpayers that contact HMRC will be prioritised for settlement.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of National Insurance changes on the closure rate of charities.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN set out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
More widely, the UK tax regime for charities, including the exemption from paying business rates, is among the most generous of anywhere in the world. Tax reliefs for charities and their donors were worth over £6 billion for the tax year to April 2025, of which gift aid made up just over £2.5 billion and business rates relief over £2.7 billion.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of replacing the business rates system on businesses in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has already started the work of reforming our business rates system by introducing new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
The Government is also supporting small businesses to grow. At Budget, the Government announced the extension of Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) so that businesses opening second premises can retain their SBRR for three years, tripling the current allowance.
The Call for Evidence, published at Budget, built on the findings of the Transforming Business Rates: Discussion Paper and asked stakeholders for more detailed evidence on how the business rates system influences investment decisions. We are carefully considering representations we’ve received, and a Government response to the Call for Evidence will be published in due course.
Any reforms taken forward will be phased over the course of the Parliament.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of engagement and consultation with blind and partially sighted people in the design and delivery of interventions set out in the Financial Inclusion Strategy.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
In November, I published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy which sets out a range of ambitious measures for government and industry to improve financial inclusion for underserved groups across the UK.
As part of its focus on inclusive design, the Strategy recognises the work taken forward by The Royal National Institute of Blind People and UK Finance to introduce accessibility features for cards, so that those who are blind or partially sighted are better able to distinguish between card types and orientate them when using card readers. UK Finance is developing a Code of Practice for Accessible Cards which will ensure these features are consistent across participating firms.
The Strategy also includes a commitment for industry to work with the third sector to make it easier for individuals without standard identification documents to open a bank account, and the launch of an industry-led inclusive design working group to consider how to make products more accessible. UK Finance is currently open to submissions from consumer representative organisations about the accessibility challenges which this group should seek to address.
The Strategy was developed alongside a Committee of consumer and industry representatives, including engagement with frontline organisations and those with lived experience. The Government is committed to continuing to work collaboratively to ensure the delivery of interventions remains informed by a wide range of expertise and perspectives.