Asked by: Baroness Penn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the breakdown is of the uptake of neonatal care leave and pay by (1) mothers, and (2) fathers, since 6 April 2025.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Parents cannot receive more than one statutory payment at the same time, meaning Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (SNCP) is often taken at the end of Statutory Maternity Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay. As mothers can receive up to 39 weeks of maternity pay, and SNCP was introduced from April last year, many eligible mothers will have been in receipt of maternity pay at the point the data was extracted and may not yet have claimed SNCP.
SNCP Claims in Tax Year 2025-26 | |
Gender | Cases |
Female | 200 |
Male | 1600 |
Notes:
1) Data collected using HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and extracted in December 2025. RTI is subject to revision or updates.
2) Cases have been rounded to nearest 100.
3) Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 18 March (HL15247), when they expect to reach a conclusion in their review of VAT for public bodies under section 41 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury is currently analysing data provided by Section 41 bodies on their irrecoverable VAT and will set out the next steps to the reforms in due course.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of investment‑market volatility on retirees using income drawdown arrangements; and if she will conduct a review of (a) pension provider fee structures, particularly charging full management fees during periods of negative fund performance and (b) the adequacy of safeguards for retirees who are reliant on drawdown income.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Individuals do face both investment and longevity risk in today’s Defined Contribution pension landscape, That can include investment risk during retirement. The government is acting to help savers manage these risk, including via the introduction of default pensions through the Pension Schemes Bill. This will ensure that savers in workplace defined contribution schemes have a default solution in place for retirement, helping secure a sustainable income in later life. Trustees and providers will need to consider how the solution they put in place help protect individuals from investment and longevity risks.
FCA rules already require drawdown providers to provide annual statements to consumers which contain enough information for them to review their position. This ensures that consumers can make choices regarding their drawdown arrangements on an informed basis.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she intends to publish an answer to Question 113817, tabled on 20 February 2026, on Public Houses: Business Rates.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN113817 on 1 April 2026.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 102817 on Public Houses: Business Rates, if he will provide a hyperlink to the requested information cross-referenced by each individual billing authority in England.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN102817 on 13 January 2026 which provides a link to the published data available.Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to align the UK’s regulatory framework for (i) digital assets and (ii) stablecoins with key international partners to support global market access for UK firms.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is maintaining close engagement with the UK’s international partners on digital asset and stablecoin market access opportunities.
The government is committed to making the UK a leading global destination for digital assets.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure the UK remains internationally competitive in (i) sustainable finance and (ii) transition finance.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy set out the government’s vision for the UK’s sustainable finance regulatory framework, which prioritises championing the UK’s world leading sustainable finance sector to innovate and adapt to upcoming developments.
The government published the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards for voluntary use on 25 February. These aim to support long-term, sustainable decision-making by the business and investment community by providing high-quality and comparable information about the sustainability-related risks and opportunities that businesses face. These standards are closely aligned with the standards from the International Sustainability Standards Board and will support both companies and investors working across jurisdictional boundaries. The Financial Conduct Authority has also consulted on potential updates to its rules for listed companies.
The UK is also taking decisive action to ensure its financial services sector in supporting the global transition and is well placed to capture the opportunity of transition finance. The government has been working closely with the Transition Finance Council, which the Chancellor co-launched with the City of London Corporation in February 2025. It has also consulted on potential implementation options to take forward transition planning in a way that supports the market’s need for credible and decision-useful information, while encouraging action in line with the UK’s climate commitments and supporting economic growth. The government will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential for greater regulatory interoperability between the UK and Japan to reduce barriers to financial services exports.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the value of deepening relationships with international partners, such as Japan, to support global financial stability, a cohesive regulatory landscape, and growth and investment in the UK.
Financial regulatory dialogues, including the Japan-UK Financial Regulatory Forum (FRF), are important in supporting cross-border trade in financial services and form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July.
The most recent Japan-UK FRF was on 18 March 2026 in Tokyo, alongside joint sessions with the seventh meeting of the Financial Dialogue. The Forum provided an opportunity for a deep and meaningful exchange across a broad set of economic, fiscal and financial regulatory issues, including alignment on international sustainability reporting standards, digital finance and international banking. Further details of the discussions can be found in the Joint Statement.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not pay for followers on any social media platforms.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential combined impact of the 2025 Budget announcement introducing pay per mile charges on electric vehicles, particularly its effect on consumer demand for EVs, and the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate on manufacturers; and what steps her Department is taking to balancing these measures to support businesses in the automotive supply chain.
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, to create a fair tax system whilst also taking steps to ensure that driving an electric vehicle (EV) remains an attractive choice for consumers.
The rate of eVED for EVs will be half of the equivalent fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol/diesel driver, ensuring that EVs are cheaper to own and run for the majority of EV drivers.
Alongside eVED, the Government also announced at Budget 2025 generous additional support to incentivise the use of electric vehicles, including £1.3 billion of additional funding for the Electric Car Grant (ECG), £200 million for chargepoint rollout, and increasing the VED Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) threshold to £50,000 for EVs. To support manufacturers and the automotive sector supply chain, the Government announced an extension of funding for the Drive 35 (Driving Research & Investment in Vehicle Electrification) programme and a delay to proposed changes to Employee Car Ownership Schemes (ECOS) alongside transitional arrangements.
As set out by the OBR, the estimated net impact of eVED and other Budget measures, including the ECG and ECS, is 120,000 fewer new EV sales across the forecast period. This is against a baseline which assumes EV sales more than triple from 2025-26 levels by 2030-31, which means the net impact of eVED represents only 2% of total new EV sales in the period.
The Government has set out expected impacts from eVED and other Budget measures in the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document at GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/692872fd2a37784b16ecf676/Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf