Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential a) merits of extending the R&D Expenditure Credit to include capital expenditure and the b) impact of that measure on allowing start-ups and pre-profit companies to invest and scale in the UK.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government made a number of commitments on R&D tax reliefs as part of the Corporate Tax Roadmap to provide the stability and certainty that help support investment decisions. The Government committed to maintaining the generosity of the rates in both the merged R&D Expenditure Credit (RDEC) scheme and the Enhanced R&D Intensive Support (ERIS). This, combined with the commitment to cap the headline rate of Corporation Tax, means that companies doing qualifying R&D will continue to receive between £15 to £27 for every £100 spent on R&D.
The RDEC rate of 20 per cent represents the joint highest uncapped headline rate of R&D tax relief in the G7 for large companies, and the ERIS scheme will provide around £1.3 billion per year to eligible R&D-intensive, loss-making SMEs. Overall, R&D reliefs will support an estimated £56 billion of business R&D expenditure in 2029/30, roughly a 20 per cent increase from £47 billion in 2022/23.
Companies are not currently able to claim R&D reliefs on capital expenditure, but the Government keeps the whole tax system under review.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her department has made on the potential impact of the changes to umbrella company regulations on non-profit umbrella providers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 6 April 2026, recruitment agencies are responsible for ensuring that Pay As You Earn and National Insurance contributions obligations are met when they choose to use an umbrella company to engage a worker. Where these obligations are not met, HMRC will recover underpayments from the recruitment agency. If there is no recruitment agency involved in an arrangement with an umbrella company, this responsibility will fall to the end client business.
These rules apply to all umbrella companies, regardless of corporate structure. They do not change the amount that umbrella companies, including not-for-profit umbrella companies, have to account for under Pay As You Earn when they pay their employees. The government keeps tax policies under review. However, there are no plans to change the treatment of not-for-profit umbrella companies within these rules.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her department has any plans to formally recognise not-for-profit umbrella models within the new regulations.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 6 April 2026, recruitment agencies are responsible for ensuring that Pay As You Earn and National Insurance contributions obligations are met when they choose to use an umbrella company to engage a worker. Where these obligations are not met, HMRC will recover underpayments from the recruitment agency. If there is no recruitment agency involved in an arrangement with an umbrella company, this responsibility will fall to the end client business.
These rules apply to all umbrella companies, regardless of corporate structure. They do not change the amount that umbrella companies, including not-for-profit umbrella companies, have to account for under Pay As You Earn when they pay their employees. The government keeps tax policies under review. However, there are no plans to change the treatment of not-for-profit umbrella companies within these rules.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of VAT penalties issued in the 2024-25 financial year were subsequently (a) overturned or (b) cancelled on appeal.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information you have requested can be found here: 2024-25 HMRC Annual Reports and Accounts and here: 2024-25 Tax Assurance Commissioners Report
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned an impact assessment on the potential effects of introducing an overnight visitor levy on the hospitality and tourism industry.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth, including through support for the local visitor economy.
At Budget, the Government published a consultation so that the public, businesses, and local government could shape the design of these powers, including options to minimise the burden on businesses and communities. This consultation closed on the 18th of February and the Government will publish a response in due course.
The precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development, and the impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear any concerns. Following consultation, we expect Mayors to publish a summary of the consultation results and their response, including a final prospectus, and an impact assessment.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has undertaken research on the social and economic value of the hospitality and tourism industry for communities; and the potential impact of a visitor levy on communities.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth, including through support for the local visitor economy.
At Budget, the Government published a consultation so that the public, businesses, and local government could shape the design of these powers, including options to minimise the burden on businesses and communities. This consultation closed on the 18th of February and the Government will publish a response in due course.
The precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development, and the impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear any concerns. Following consultation, we expect Mayors to publish a summary of the consultation results and their response, including a final prospectus, and an impact assessment.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made on the cost of removing VAT on the renovation of unoccupied properties.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of reusing existing housing stock to deliver new homes. To support this, residential renovations are subject to a reduced rate of VAT of five per cent if they meet certain conditions. These include the renovation of properties that have been empty for two or more years.
HMRC publishes estimates of the costs of tax reliefs where possible in its annual tax reliefs publication. The latest tax relief statistics publication and further information about how HMRC estimate the cost of tax reliefs can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-reliefs/tax-relief-statistics-january-2026.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HMRC is taking to improve information-sharing between its fraud investigation and customer service functions in cases involving compromised taxpayer accounts.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC is establishing the Fraud Prevention Centre (FPC), a multifunctional capability led by HMRC’s Security directorate, to improve coordination between customer service, fraud investigation and security teams when taxpayer accounts are compromised. Through the FPC, HMRC is improving customer reporting routes, strengthening incident management processes across teams, and deploying targeted technical enhancements to support more joined-up handling of cases and enhanced support for affected customers.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of whether the current Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates remain sufficient for volunteer drivers in rural areas, including those providing community transport to NHS appointments; and whether she will review those rates in light of increased motoring costs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee's expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. These rates are also used by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage (simplified motoring expenses) and can be used by organisations to reimburse volunteers who use their own vehicle for voluntary purposes.
Voluntary organisations reimbursing volunteers can either use the AMAP rates, or they can reimburse the actual cost incurred where the volunteer drivers can evidence such costs, without a tax liability arising. Any reimbursement above the AMAP rates would be subject to Income Tax unless the driver can show evidence of the expenditure. It is ultimately up to the voluntary organisation to determine the amount they reimburse to volunteers.
Individuals can claim up to 45p/mile for the first 10,000 miles annually, followed by 25p/mile thereafter. An additional 5p/mile can be claimed for each passenger transported.
The government recognises that while AMAP rates have not changed since 2011, the motoring landscape has evolved significantly and it is an important issue for many people who claim motoring expenses. As the Chancellor announced last month, the government will review this issue and will consider this matter further as part of a future fiscal event.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding her Department has provided for management apprenticeships for its own staff in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury has spent the following on management apprenticeships:
2023-24 – £195,103
2024-25 - £749,375
2025-26 - £615,591
HMRC has spent the following on management apprenticeships:
2023-24 – £113,343
2024-25 - £95,811
2025-26 - £118,859
HM Treasury is reviewing its approach to apprenticeships and is looking to offer staff more opportunities in areas such as AI and digital.