Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of import consignments that require remedial action due to documentation or compliance errors.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
To address the dynamic nature of import risk, HMRC continually enhances its capabilities to identify errors and address non-compliance, ensuring that interventions are proportionate and targeted—rather than creating and relying on static estimates.
HMRC’s policies, processes, and systems are designed to facilitate legitimate access to the customs regime, promote strong compliance, and make it difficult to circumvent the rules. As a result, the vast majority of consignments move seamlessly in and out of the UK with minimal disruption.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the OBR Economic and fiscal outlook report of 26 November 2025, Table 3.9, what is her Department's estimate of the monetary annual value of the behavioural effects from the introduction of the council tax surcharge when implemented, and whether this includes lost revenue from (a) stamp duty transactions, (b) housebuilding and (c) taxation derived from home improvements.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Estimates of the direct behavioural effects are set out on page 78 of the Office for Budget Responsibilities Economic and Fiscal Outlook:https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_November_2025.pdf
A breakdown of the policy costing is available on page 51 of the Autumn Budget 2025 policy costing document: Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the April 2026 business rates revaluation on small and medium-sized enterprises operating from physical premises.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential impacts of the April revaluation on town centres.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether transitional relief arrangements will fully offset increases in business rates for small businesses following the April revaluation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of business rates liabilities on the number of business closures since the last revaluation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of commercial properties she estimates will see an increase in rateable value following the forthcoming revaluation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC plans to review the national standard mileage rate for business travel, and the basis on which that national standard is set.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government keeps the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) and self-employed simplified mileage rates under review and HMRC use a variety of information in estimating typical motoring costs per business mile. This includes information from the AA, the National Travel Survey, the Association of British Insurers, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
As with all taxes and rates, the Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at Budget in the context of public finances.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her Department’s latest forecasts are for the value of annual CPI inflation in (a) September 2026 and (b) September 2027.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not produce forecasts for the UK economy. Forecasting the economy is the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which published its latest forecast on 26 November 2025.
In their most recent Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR forecast CPI inflation to be 2.3% in Q3 2026 and 2.0% in Q3 2027.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the (a) introduction of pay-per-mile road tax for electric vehicles and (b) changes to fuel duty freezes on small and medium-sized businesses in the logistics sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that electric vehicles (EVs) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. The taxation of motoring is a critical source of funding for public services and investment in infrastructure.
All UK-registered electric and plug-in hybrid cars will pay eVED. Other vehicle types such as vans, buses, coaches, motorcycles and HGVs will be out of scope of the tax upon its introduction. This is because the transition to electric for these vehicle types is less advanced than for cars at this stage.
At Budget 2025, the Government also announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026. Rates will then gradually return to previous levels. The planned increase in line with inflation for 2026-27 will not take place, with the government increasing fuel duty rates in line with RPI from April 2027. This will save the average van driver £100 next year compared to previous plans, and the average HGV driver more than £800.