Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the feasibility and statistical acceptability of aggregating standard occupational classification and standard industrial classification codes data that falls below publication thresholds to enable publication of sector level data for fields with high levels of self-employment, including crafts and visual arts.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not ask for, and therefore does not hold, self-employment standard occupational classification information.
HMRC publishes breakdowns by Standard Industrial Classification.
Table 3.9 of HMRC’s Personal Incomes Statistics provides information on the number of self-employment sources by self-employment income, classified according to the Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 2007 (SIC), including Arts, Entertainment and Recreation. [ 1 ]
The Personal Incomes Statistics series assigns income to an industry using the business text descriptions supplied on self-assessment form SA103. These descriptions are adapted into SIC codes through a long-established classification process. Where the description is missing or not sufficiently detailed to enable a reliable SIC assignment, the industry is recorded as unknown.
[ 1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/self-employment-income-assessable-to-tax-2010-to-2011
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report Designing Out Economic Abuse in the UK Banking Industry: A Call To Action, published by Northumbria University in November 2025.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the devasting impacts economic abuse can have on people’s financial independence. Tackling economic abuse is a priority for the Government as part of its mission to halve Violence Against Women and Girls within a decade.
Reflecting this, economic abuse was considered as a theme across the Government’s recently published Financial Inclusion Strategy, in recognition of the challenges victim-survivors can face in accessing financial products and services. The strategy sets out an ambitious programme of measures for Government and the financial services sector to improve financial inclusion. This includes supporting victim-survivors to regain financial independence through interventions to increase access to banking services and improving the impact of economic abuse on victim-survivors’ credit files.
The Government is committed to continuing to work closely with industry, civil society, and across government to deliver the strategy successfully and ensure interventions are informed by a range of expertise and perspectives. This includes engaging regularly with the banking sector on their continued response to economic abuse.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the challenges of applying (1) standard industrial classification, and (2) standard occupational classification, codes to sectors with high levels of self-employment, including crafts and visual arts.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not ask for, and therefore does not hold, self-employment standard occupational classification information.
HMRC publishes breakdowns by Standard Industrial Classification.
Table 3.9 of HMRC’s Personal Incomes Statistics provides information on the number of self-employment sources by self-employment income, classified according to the Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 2007 (SIC), including Arts, Entertainment and Recreation. [1]
The Personal Incomes Statistics series assigns income to an industry using the business text descriptions supplied on self-assessment form SA103. These descriptions are adapted into SIC codes through a long-established classification process. Where the description is missing or not sufficiently detailed to enable a reliable SIC assignment, the industry is recorded as unknown.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/self-employment-income-assessable-to-tax-2010-to-2011
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department is taking steps to help reduce the rate of Air Passenger Duty for (a) domestic flights and (b) flights to European destinations.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to securing the long-term future of the aviation sector in the UK and recognises the benefits of the connectivity it creates between the UK and the rest of the world.
The rate of Air Passenger Duty (APD) in part depends on destination. There are four destination bands, including a domestic band (for destinations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), and Band A (which includes all destinations in the EU and EEA and other European destinations). From 1 April 2026, the reduced rates for domestic and Band A flights will be £8 and £15 respectively. This compares with rates of £102 and £106 for Bands B and C respectively (which apply to destinations further away from London).
Following recent increases to APD rates to account for higher-than-expected levels of inflation, at Budget 2025, the government announced it will uprate APD rates in line with RPI from 1 April 2027 and round to the nearest penny. This constitutes a real terms freeze.
This will ensure that airlines continue to make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration is given within the business rates valuation methodology to the revenue-generating capacity and operating margins of community-focused leisure businesses, compared with warehousing, office space, and large-scale logistics operators.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Rateable values reflect the rental value of a property at a set valuation date.
The valuation methodology used depends on the type of property, and the evidence available. The Valuation Office Agency use recognised valuation methods approved by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). These have been clarified and confirmed by decisions from the courts over many years.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment HM Treasury has made of the potential impact of Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharges on additional properties on levels of long-term participation in the private rented sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings (HRAD) within Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) ensure that those looking to purchase a first property or move home have an advantage over second home buyers, landlords and companies purchasing residential property.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when her Department will asses the impact of changes to income tax and national insurance, monitored through information collected from tax receipts, as referenced in Income Tax: Maintaining the Personal Allowance and the basic rate limit for Income Tax, and equivalent National Insurance contributions thresholds until 5 April 2031, published on 26 November 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC monitor the receipts of all taxes monthly through the Tax receipt and National Insurance Contributions publication.
Revenue estimates from, and individuals impacted by, maintaining thresholds are set out by the Office for Budget Responsibility in their November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook, and the detailed forecast table of receipts:
Office for Budget Responsibility – Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2025
Office for Budget Responsibility - Economic and fiscal outlook detailed forecast tables: receipts
Asked by: Juliet Campbell (Labour - Broxtowe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the operational capacity of the National Insurance services team to tackle the number of A1 certificate applications; and when are processing times expected to return to the standard service level.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC recognises how important it is for customers to receive their A1 certificates promptly and is strengthening the service to support this. Additional National Insurance advisers are being trained to further increase capacity.
The service‑level agreement (SLA) for A1 certificates is to process 80% of online applications within 15 working days, and 80% of postal applications within 40 working days. HMRC has implemented a plan to stabilise performance and expects to meet its SLAs by the end of the tax year.
Customers are encouraged to apply online for A1 certificates, as online applications are quicker to deal with.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Treasury has considered aligning Capital Gains Tax relief with longer-term rental commitments in order to support the stability objectives of the Renters’ Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Tenant wellbeing is central to the Government’s recent Renters’ Rights Act, which will transform the experience of private renting, including by ending Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. The Act will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer.
Capital gains are taxed because they represent profits from the sale of capital assets, including second homes and buy-to-let properties, and it would be unfair to tax other sources of income but not capital gains.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is her policy to replace the business rates system.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has already started the work of reforming our business rates system by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £1 billion per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
The Government is also supporting small businesses to grow. At Budget, the Government announced the extension of Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) so that businesses opening second premises can retain their SBRR for three years, tripling the current allowance.
The Call for Evidence, published at Budget, focuses on how reform of the business rates system can be used to incentivise and secure more investment by Britain’s businesses. This Call for Evidence builds on the findings of the Transforming Business Rates: Discussion Paper and asks stakeholders for more detailed evidence on how the business rates system influences investment decisions.
Any reforms taken forward will be phased over the course of the Parliament.