Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Budget 2026, page 32, paragraph 2.7, if he will publish a list of surplus assets for disposal identified by each department and included in the Strategic Asset Review as part of the Defence Investment Plan funding package.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government does not publish information on planned asset disposals due to commercial sensitivities.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total cost to the Exchequer since 2005 of support provided to self-catering holiday accommodation businesses in England through (a) Small Business Rates Relief, (b) other business rates reliefs and (c) Covid-19 business support schemes.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
HM Treasury does not hold data on the total support provided specifically to self-catering holiday accommodation businesses over this period.
However, historic data on business rates reliefs in England, including Small Business Rates Relief, are published here: National non-domestic rates collected by councils - GOV.UK
Information on COVID-19 business support schemes administered by local authorities is available here: Coronavirus grant funding: local authority payments to small and medium businesses - GOV.UK
Asked by: Baroness Spielman (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people over state pension age who will receive a Simple Assessment for an income tax liability of (1) less than £50, (2) £50 to £100, and (3) £100 to £200 in each tax year from 2027–28 to 2030–31.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold estimates of the number of people over State Pension Age who will be required to complete a Self Assessment tax return for future years. Producing these estimates would require forecasting individual yearly circumstances over several tax years and then forecasting customer channels ‘for the first time.’
The government has introduced the Pension Tax Allowance (PTA) to reduce the disproportionate administrative burden of paying small amounts of tax for those with income up to the value of the full new State Pension in this Parliament. Most pensioners already pay tax on their income, including their State Pension where applicable. Depending on individual circumstances, tax can be collected through PAYE, Self Assessment or Simple Assessment.
It is estimated that, in 2027 to 2028, the PTA will mean that over 200,000 pensioners will not receive a Simple Assessment bill that they would have otherwise received.
HMRC takes a proportionate approach to the reporting of small amounts of income and collection of tax on those amounts.
Asked by: Baroness Spielman (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people over state pension age who will receive a Simple Assessment for income tax in each tax year from 2027–28 to 2030–31; and how many of those people have not previously received a Simple Assessment.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold estimates of the number of people over State Pension Age who will be required to complete a Self Assessment tax return for future years. Producing these estimates would require forecasting individual yearly circumstances over several tax years and then forecasting customer channels ‘for the first time.’
The government has introduced the Pension Tax Allowance (PTA) to reduce the disproportionate administrative burden of paying small amounts of tax for those with income up to the value of the full new State Pension in this Parliament. Most pensioners already pay tax on their income, including their State Pension where applicable. Depending on individual circumstances, tax can be collected through PAYE, Self Assessment or Simple Assessment.
It is estimated that, in 2027 to 2028, the PTA will mean that over 200,000 pensioners will not receive a Simple Assessment bill that they would have otherwise received.
HMRC takes a proportionate approach to the reporting of small amounts of income and collection of tax on those amounts.
Asked by: Baroness Spielman (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people over state pension age who will be required to complete a Self Assessment tax return for the first time in each tax year from 2027–28 to 2030–31.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold estimates of the number of people over State Pension Age who will be required to complete a Self Assessment tax return for future years. Producing these estimates would require forecasting individual yearly circumstances over several tax years and then forecasting customer channels ‘for the first time.’
The government has introduced the Pension Tax Allowance (PTA) to reduce the disproportionate administrative burden of paying small amounts of tax for those with income up to the value of the full new State Pension in this Parliament. Most pensioners already pay tax on their income, including their State Pension where applicable. Depending on individual circumstances, tax can be collected through PAYE, Self Assessment or Simple Assessment.
It is estimated that, in 2027 to 2028, the PTA will mean that over 200,000 pensioners will not receive a Simple Assessment bill that they would have otherwise received.
HMRC takes a proportionate approach to the reporting of small amounts of income and collection of tax on those amounts.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will set out further details on the Data Centre Compact in the Budget.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
At Budget, Government published the Data Centre Covenant which establishes five tests: lowering electricity bills, investing to improve communities, meeting environmental standards, reindustrialising Britain, and strengthening UK sovereignty. All data centres are encouraged to meet these expectations, and strategically important projects seeking enhanced government support will be required to meet them.
In return for meeting these tests, the Government will establish a new Ministerial Control Centre to consider supportive action. It will be chaired by the Minister for AI, supported by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and relevant ministers from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and other departments. It will consider action to accelerate time to power and speed up the planning process for strategically important projects. The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade are developing a framework for assessing strategically important projects. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the total value of (a) Covid-19 business support grants and (b) Covid-related business rates reliefs provided to self-catering holiday accommodation businesses in England between March 2020 and March 2022.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
HM Treasury does not hold data on the total support provided specifically to self-catering holiday accommodation businesses over this period.
However, historic data on business rates reliefs in England, including Small Business Rates Relief, are published here: National non-domestic rates collected by councils - GOV.UK
Information on COVID-19 business support schemes administered by local authorities is available here: Coronavirus grant funding: local authority payments to small and medium businesses - GOV.UK
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date HM Treasury agreed the use of £54 million of Department for Energy Security and Net Zero underspends to fund the reduction in bus fares announced on 22 July 2026.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The department has set out a full plan for how it will meet savings associated with the Bus Fares cap and Defence Investment Plan – that includes a combination of cuts to some programmes and underspends.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 5.30 of the Budget Red Book 2026, published on 28 October 2026, whether the British Business Bank and the National Wealth Fund will require businesses receiving defence-related funding under measures announced in the Budget to exclude companies based in the People’s Republic of China from their supply chains.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The National Wealth Fund (NWF) and British Business Bank (BBB) are operationally independent and assess investment opportunities on a case-by-case basis in line with their investment criteria and due diligence processes. The NWF’s due diligence considers supply-chain exposure to Chinese suppliers and seeks alternatives where appropriate. The BBB operates in line with its Investment Strategy and Banking Strategy, published in its five-year plan in November 2025.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to introduce country specific default emissions values for cement under the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism before 2029.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
On 16 October, the Government published default values for 2027 and 2028. These are single product-level default values, based on a trade weighted approach with data from the EU excluded.
Alongside this, the Government published a Written Ministerial Statement in committing to introducing country-specific default values for the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism from 2029. This includes for cement. It is not feasible to introduce country-specific default emissions values before 2029.
That Written Ministerial Statement can be found here:
Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament