Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average length of time taken to issue A1 forms to touring musicians was in each year since 2021.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of touring to the UK’s world‑leading music sector and continues to work closely with industry to support musicians performing in the European Union.
A1 Forms
HMRC has not made an estimate, jointly or separately with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), of any additional costs incurred by musicians as a result of delays in the issuance of A1 forms since 2021.
While musicians may use the CA3837 A1 application form, this form is also used by many other self‑employed individuals. HMRC does not record applicants’ occupations within the A1 process, and the systems used do not capture or store any information that would allow us to identify touring musicians as a distinct group. It is therefore not possible to provide data on processing times or outstanding applications specifically for musicians for any of the years requested.
HMRC recognises how important it is for customers to receive their A1 certificates promptly and is strengthening the service to support this.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many A1 form applications from touring musicians were outstanding at the end of each year since 2021.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of touring to the UK’s world‑leading music sector and continues to work closely with industry to support musicians performing in the European Union.
A1 Forms
HMRC has not made an estimate, jointly or separately with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), of any additional costs incurred by musicians as a result of delays in the issuance of A1 forms since 2021.
While musicians may use the CA3837 A1 application form, this form is also used by many other self‑employed individuals. HMRC does not record applicants’ occupations within the A1 process, and the systems used do not capture or store any information that would allow us to identify touring musicians as a distinct group. It is therefore not possible to provide data on processing times or outstanding applications specifically for musicians for any of the years requested.
HMRC recognises how important it is for customers to receive their A1 certificates promptly and is strengthening the service to support this.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2026 to Question 109216, what estimate she has made of the annual amount of UK Emissions Trading Scheme revenue generated from domestic maritime emissions allocated to maritime decarbonisation projects by programme.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Domestic maritime emissions will be subject to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) from July this year. The OBR’s November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook states that the UK ETS overall raised £3.4bn in 2024-25. Revenues from the scheme are not hypothecated but accrue to the consolidated fund, and support spending on government priorities, which includes maritime decarbonisation.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment she has made of the potential impact of alcohol duty policy on on-trade venues such as pubs, with off-trade alcohol sales in supermarkets.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The importance of the 'on-trade' is recognised in the alcohol duty system via Draught Relief, which ensures eligible products served on draught pay less duty than their packaged equivalents. The Chancellor significantly increased the generosity of this relief at Autumn Budget 2024, taking a penny of duty off a typical strength pint and reducing overall duty receipts by £85m. Draught beer and cider now pay 13.9% less in tax than their packaged equivalents – a 50% increase on the draught discount under the previous government (9.2%).
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Chancellor confirmed that alcohol duty would be uprated on 1 February 2026 to maintain its real-terms value. The government does not expect this to have any significant impact on competition between the on- and off-trades.
An assessment of the impacts of the inflation-linked uprating at the most recent Budget is published within the Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-duty-rates-change/alcohol-duty-uprating#summary-of-impacts.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to remove VAT from refurbished building work.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
Residential renovations are subject to a reduced rate of VAT of five per cent if they meet certain conditions. These include conversions of buildings from one residential use to another, conversions from commercial to residential use, and the renovation of properties that have been empty for two or more years.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s assessment of the impact of tobacco prices on CPI inflation in December 2025 on her (a) plan to apply an uprating of RPI+2% and a one-off tobacco duty increase on 1 October 2026 and (b) other tobacco duty policies.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government renewed the commitment to a tobacco duty escalator, which increases duty by 2 per cent above RPI inflation at each Budget, until the end of the current Parliament. Budget 2025 announced tobacco duty will rise in line with the escalator as well as an additional one-off increase alongside the introduction of Vaping Duty on 1 October 2026. This is to preserve the price differential between vaping and tobacco products to maintain the incentive to choose vaping over smoking.
A Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the expected impacts was published at Budget and can be found here:
Changes to tobacco duty rates from 26 November 2025 and 1 October 2026 - GOV.UK
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are responsible for estimating the impact of Government policies on inflation. The OBR did not include an assessment of the contribution of tobacco excise duty to inflation in the November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of applying only one of the (a) RPI-linked uprating and (b) one-off tobacco duty increase scheduled to take effect from 1 October 2026 on inflation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government renewed the commitment to a tobacco duty escalator, which increases duty by 2 per cent above RPI inflation at each Budget, until the end of the current Parliament. Budget 2025 announced tobacco duty will rise in line with the escalator as well as an additional one-off increase alongside the introduction of Vaping Duty on 1 October 2026. This is to preserve the price differential between vaping and tobacco products to maintain the incentive to choose vaping over smoking.
A Tax Information and Impact Note setting out the expected impacts was published at Budget and can be found here:
Changes to tobacco duty rates from 26 November 2025 and 1 October 2026 - GOV.UK
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are responsible for estimating the impact of Government policies on inflation. The OBR did not include an assessment of the contribution of tobacco excise duty to inflation in the November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
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 merits of making thatching existing properties zero-rated for VAT.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Outside of a limited number of VAT reliefs aimed at stimulating the property market, the standard VAT rate of 20 per cent applies to most construction work. This includes thatching.
Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
One of the key considerations when assessing a new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates. In some cases, reliefs do not represent good value for money, as there is no guarantee that savings will be passed on to consumers.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has conducted a comparative assessment of Air Passenger Duty rates in the UK with aviation passenger taxes and equivalent charges in other European countries; and whether such analysis is used to inform decisions on Air Passenger Duty policy.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Air Passenger Duty (APD) applies to airlines, not individual passengers, and is the principal tax on the aviation sector. It is expected to raise £4.7 billion in 2025-26.
The Government is clear that APD is an appropriate tax that ensures airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty. Other countries also have different forms of aviation taxes.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the proposed High Value Council Tax Surcharge will be levied on the property owner of the dwelling.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The High Value Council Tax Surcharge is intended to address aspects of unfairness in the current Council Tax system. Owners of properties worth £10 million should not be paying less tax than those renting an ordinary family home.