Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many outstanding cases involving individuals subject to the Loan Charge she expects to be resolved as a result of the recommendations of the McCann Review.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2024 the Government announced a new independent review of the loan charge. The purpose of the review was to bring the matter to a close for people who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The review identified affordability as a key barrier preventing those individuals from settling and made recommendations to remove this barrier.
The Government has gone further in supporting people on the lowest incomes by providing an additional £5,000 deduction for those in scope of the review. This entirely removes approximately 10,000 individuals from the charge. Most others will see their liabilities reduced by at least half.
Under the review recommendations, an individual earning £30,000 who used a disguised remuneration scheme for three years would have their liability reduced by 66 percent. Under the Government’s plans, they will instead see 89 percent written off. It represents the Government’s attempt to provide a fair route to resolution for those who have not settled with HMRC. In turn, those people need to come forward and engage with HMRC in good faith.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's statistics entitled Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation, published on 26 November 2025, for what reason the average Rateable Values of civil airports have increased by 295%.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The revaluation is required to be carried out in relation to the relevant valuation date, 01 April 2024 for the 2026 rating list.
The current rating list valuation is carried out in relation to the relevant valuation date, 01 April 2021 for the 2023 rating list.
The annual value at each valuation reflects the economic circumstances at each valuation date. The average Rateable Values of civil airports increase 295% reflects the different economic circumstances at each valuation date.
At the Budget, the Government published a Call for Evidence seeking further evidence on the role business rates and its reliefs play in investment. Through this Call for Evidence, the Government is considering options to provide greater predictability and stability in the business rates system for long-term, high-value investments. The Call for Evidence has recently closed, and a Government response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of raising the personal allowance in line with future increases in the State Pension on pensioners in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of the support available to them. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full new State Pension is currently projected to go up by around £2,100. This reflects the Government’s commitment to the Triple Lock for the duration of this Parliament. This will increase the basic and new State Pension by 4.8% next April, boosting pensioner incomes by up to £575 a year and strengthening retirement security.
The Chancellor has said that those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax over this Parliament. At the Budget, the Government announced that it will achieve this by easing the administrative burden for pensioners so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027/28. The Government will set out more details in due course.
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 of the potential merits of exempting the state pension from taxation.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Exempting the State Pension from income tax entirely would undermine the public services we all rely on, including the NHS.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department is taking to help prevent films that have had their audiovisual material created by generative AI applications from claiming the AVEC and IFTC tax credits.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Details on the eligibility criteria for the Audio Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) and Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC) can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-audio-visual-expenditure-credits-for-corporation-tax.
The Government continues to monitor the use of AI in film production and keeps the tax system under constant review.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether a film can qualify for the AVEC and IFTC tax credits if all other eligible criteria is met but all the images and audio were created by AI.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Details on the eligibility criteria for the Audio Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) and Independent Film Tax Credit (IFTC) can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-audio-visual-expenditure-credits-for-corporation-tax.
The Government continues to monitor the use of AI in film production and keeps the tax system under constant review.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Loan Charge and HMRC’s approach to dealing with so-called disguised remuneration schemes.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 February 2026 to UIN 109841.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans her Department has to improve access to finance for small and mid-sized quoted companies.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK’s capital markets play a key role in delivering on the government’s growth mission. We have already delivered an ambitious set of reforms to make it easier for firms to start, scale, list and stay on UK markets, and capital markets are a core pillar of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, launched at Mansion House.
The UK is also a hub for growth capital, with UK growth markets providing funding to growing companies from across the world. Over the last 10 years, over half of all capital raised on European growth markets was raised on AIM.
The government maintains a range of targeted tax reliefs for growth market shares, supporting capital raising for listed businesses, and investors in those shares. This supports growth in the broader UK economy.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the cumulative number of pensioners who will be liable for income tax between 2026 and 2031 as a result of the the Personal Allowance threshold being frozen; and what assessment she has made of the total additional tax revenue from those of pensionable age over this period.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts, linked below:
The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028 and this is reflected in the numbers.
The Chancellor has said that those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax over this Parliament. At the Budget, the Government announced that it will achieve this by easing the administrative burden for pensioners so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027/28. The Government will set out more details in due course.Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including the weight of the vehicle in the review of Vehicle Excise Duty.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Vehicle Excise Duty is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads. For certain vehicle classifications, VED liability is partially calculated in accordance with the vehicle’s weight, reflecting the greater road damage caused by heavier vehicles. For example, Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) VED rates are set based on a vehicle’s weight, suspension and trailer.
The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the public finances.