Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to monitor the proposed involvement of UK listed firms in a takeover of Eurasian Resources Group to ensure no benefit to sanctioned Russian entities.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Russia regulations prohibit the making available of funds or economic resources to a designated person without a licence. They also prohibit the provision of certain services to designated persons and persons connected with Russia.
UK financial sanctions apply to all persons within the territory and territorial sea of the UK and to all UK persons, wherever they are in the world.
OFSI assesses every instance of reported non-compliance and takes action in all cases where we conclude a breach has occurred.
For serious breaches, OFSI may impose a civil monetary penalty. OFSI may also refer suspected criminal activities to law enforcement partners for investigation.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2026 to Question 111691 on Valuation Office Agency: Conference, what the cost was of Valuation Office Agency attendance at each of those international conferences.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA attends a small number of overseas conferences which are an important part of sharing expertise, innovation and best practice.
The cost of Valuation Office Agency attendance at the five international conferences is set out in the table below. This includes the cost of tickets, flights, accommodation and other travel expenses.
Event | Number of attendees | Total |
Aug 2024 IAAO Conference, Denver | 3 | £7,655 |
Oct 2024 COVA Conference, Dublin | 25 | £25,329 |
Dec 2024, International Research Symposium, IAAO, Amsterdam | 2 | £1,402 |
Mar 2025, IAAO GIS Valuation Technologies Conference, Columbus, Ohio | 1 | £425 |
Sep 2025 IPTI Halifax, Nova Scotia | 10 | £11,743 |
Asked by: Jo White (Labour - Bassetlaw)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether sovereign-linked biodiversity and carbon certificates are an investable environmental asset class within the Green Financing Framework.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Green Financing Framework, published in June 2021 and updated in November 2025, governs the UK Green Financing Programme. The Programme raises funds through the issuance of green gilts and NS&I’s retail Green Savings Bonds to finance public expenditure that can demonstrate a direct and positive climate or environmental impact.
The Framework defines the categories of expenditure that are eligible for green financing. Eligible expenditures are drawn from departments’ confirmed settlements through the Spending Review process and are assessed on the basis of their contribution to the government’s climate and wider environmental objectives.
The Framework governs the raising of financing for green public spending where biodiversity and credit certificates are not in scope.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2026 to Question 109300 on Individual Savings Accounts, whether existing Lifetime ISA holders will be permitted to transfer their savings without penalty into the new product that will be offered in place of the Lifetime ISA.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government announced that it will consult in early 2026 on introducing a new, simpler ISA product for first time buyers. The new ISA product will be offered in place of the Lifetime ISA.
The consultation will consider how existing Lifetime ISA holders should be treated, including any potential transitional arrangements or transfer options.
It will remain possible to open a Lifetime ISA until the new product becomes available and for account holders to continue to save into their Lifetime ISA in line with the existing rules indefinitely.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of fintech lending platforms to improving access to working capital for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK is a world leader in Fintech, and attracted $3.6 billion of investment in 2025, second only to the US. The Government is committed to making the UK the world’s most technologically advanced global financial centre, and remaining a leading jurisdiction for fintech firms to start-up, scale and list.
Fintechs and specialist banks are an essential part of the UK's credit landscape, including access to working capital. The share of total nominal gross bank lending to SMEs by challenger and specialist banks in 2024 was 60 per cent.
Business models and financial technology have also evolved substantially, with more competition both for business banking and credit provision, increasing the options available to small and medium-sized enterprises to invest in and grow their businesses.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for employment law, taxation and consumer protection of workers being paid in stablecoins or other digital assets.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Income Tax, National Insurance Contributions and PAYE rules for non-money earnings apply to stablecoins and other cryptoassets in the same way as other assets. HMRC has set out guidance explaining how tax rules apply to employment earnings in the form of cryptoassets.
As the market for cryptoassets evolves, the Government will continue to keep the tax framework under review.
The Government has also introduced a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets which will raise standards, strengthen consumer protection, and address market abuse.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms on consumers in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
On Monday 16 March, the government published a response to its consultation on reforming the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), confirming that the government will legislate to stop the FOS acting as a quasi-regulator and provide greater coherence with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The reforms will return the FOS to its original role as a simple, impartial dispute resolution service which will enable it to focus on its core purpose of dealing with individual complaints against financial services firms quickly and effectively. The introduction of an absolute time limit and changes to the handling of mass redress events will reduce the number of cases the FOS considers and ensure that complex cross-cutting or historic issues are dealt with appropriately. Together, these reforms should improve complaint resolution times for cases handled by the FOS.
The reforms will benefit both consumers and firms by improving the consistency and predictability of FOS determinations and providing greater certainty for consumers and financial services firms.
This is expected to particularly support small financial services firms who have complaints against them referred to the FOS. The new thematic reports being introduced will make it easier for firms to draw relevant lessons from FOS determinations, which should support improved complaint handling and result in fewer complaints being referred to the FOS. And the new absolute time limit from bringing complaints to the FOS will benefit by being better able to assess potential historic liabilities. Some smaller financial services firms may also be eligible to bring complaints to the FOS themselves, and would also benefit as a complainant.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed reforms to the Financial Ombudsman Service on complaint resolution times.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
On Monday 16 March, the government published a response to its consultation on reforming the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), confirming that the government will legislate to stop the FOS acting as a quasi-regulator and provide greater coherence with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The reforms will return the FOS to its original role as a simple, impartial dispute resolution service which will enable it to focus on its core purpose of dealing with individual complaints against financial services firms quickly and effectively. The introduction of an absolute time limit and changes to the handling of mass redress events will reduce the number of cases the FOS considers and ensure that complex cross-cutting or historic issues are dealt with appropriately. Together, these reforms should improve complaint resolution times for cases handled by the FOS.
The reforms will benefit both consumers and firms by improving the consistency and predictability of FOS determinations and providing greater certainty for consumers and financial services firms.
This is expected to particularly support small financial services firms who have complaints against them referred to the FOS. The new thematic reports being introduced will make it easier for firms to draw relevant lessons from FOS determinations, which should support improved complaint handling and result in fewer complaints being referred to the FOS. And the new absolute time limit from bringing complaints to the FOS will benefit by being better able to assess potential historic liabilities. Some smaller financial services firms may also be eligible to bring complaints to the FOS themselves, and would also benefit as a complainant.
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 impact of proposed reforms to the Financial Ombudsman Service on small financial firms.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
On Monday 16 March, the government published a response to its consultation on reforming the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), confirming that the government will legislate to stop the FOS acting as a quasi-regulator and provide greater coherence with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The reforms will return the FOS to its original role as a simple, impartial dispute resolution service which will enable it to focus on its core purpose of dealing with individual complaints against financial services firms quickly and effectively. The introduction of an absolute time limit and changes to the handling of mass redress events will reduce the number of cases the FOS considers and ensure that complex cross-cutting or historic issues are dealt with appropriately. Together, these reforms should improve complaint resolution times for cases handled by the FOS.
The reforms will benefit both consumers and firms by improving the consistency and predictability of FOS determinations and providing greater certainty for consumers and financial services firms.
This is expected to particularly support small financial services firms who have complaints against them referred to the FOS. The new thematic reports being introduced will make it easier for firms to draw relevant lessons from FOS determinations, which should support improved complaint handling and result in fewer complaints being referred to the FOS. And the new absolute time limit from bringing complaints to the FOS will benefit by being better able to assess potential historic liabilities. Some smaller financial services firms may also be eligible to bring complaints to the FOS themselves, and would also benefit as a complainant.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the level of international competitiveness of the Video Games Expenditure Credit; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the (a) tax credit and (b) cap of total core expenditure to 100%.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of the creative industries, including the contribution made by the UK’s video games sector to growth and innovation. We support the sector through the tax system and through funding, and this is a very competitive offer internationally.
Video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC), which provides a generous tax credit of 34 per cent on UK video games development costs. Some countries offering higher refundable rates but with tighter caps or narrower qualifying expenditure, while the UK’s approach provides a predictable and scalable form of support across a broad base of development costs.
Tax support sits alongside the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s new £30 million Games Growth package, designed to back the next generation of start‑up studios and talent and attract further inward investment.
The Government keeps the whole tax system under review to ensure it remains effective, targeted and delivers value for money.