Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to extend business rates relief to independent gyms and fitness centres.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Pubs rents in business rates valuations are analysed differently to some other sectors. While most hospitality and leisure properties are valued by comparing the size of the property, pubs are valued by comparing their turnover potential. Industry bodies have highlighted concerns with how costs are accounted for in this methodology, particularly during periods of high inflation. The Government agrees this needs to be looked at and is therefore launching a review which will explore how pubs are valued for business rates. In the meantime, pubs are being provided with additional support.
Independent gyms and fitness centres will continue to benefit from the wider £4.3 billion support package announced at Budget, which protects against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.
The Government has also introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and benefit over 750,000 properties, including gyms and fitness centres.
As a result, over half of ratepayers see no bill increases this year, including 23 per cent whose bills go down. Most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15 per cent or less this year, or £800 for the smallest properties.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of larger housing transaction volumes arising from changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax for residential property traders, particularly the Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings, on fiscal receipts.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government increased the higher rates of SDLT by two percentage points and set out the impacts of this change. This information can be found here on page 130: Autumn Budget 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has issued guidance on whether the provision of advice on tax matters by an employer in relation to matters not connected to employment is a benefit in kind.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The general rules for employment-related benefits are set out in HMRC’s guidance at: www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim20020
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Q13 of the oral evidence given by the Prime Minister to the Liaison Committee on 23 March 2026, HC 1770, if she will set out a funding plan to spend 3% of GDP on defence before the next Parliament.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government has set an ambition to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence next Parliament, when economic and fiscal conditions allow. Departmental budgets have been set for the Spending Review period, and will be reviewed at Spending Review 2027.
Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to bring back into use the vacant Duke of Bridgewater pub on the Crown Estate in Stoke-on-Trent North constituency.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
This property is subject to escheat, meaning it is effectively ownerless. The only action that the Crown Estate may take in relation to such property is to dispose of it to an appropriate person or body.
The Crown Estate is currently in touch with Stoke-on-Trent City Council regarding proposed future disposals of the property.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Decisive action to break influence of gas on electricity prices, published on 21 April 2026, what assessment her has made of the potential impact of the (a) increase of the rate and (b) the duration of the Electricity Generator Levy on household bills.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government does not expect the increase in the Electricity Generator Levy (EGL) rate from 1 July to increase bills for consumers. The EGL applies only to existing, older renewable generators when wholesale prices are above a benchmark price of £82.61 per MWh. These generators receive larger revenues when wholesale prices rise with gas prices, without commensurate increased costs.
Increasing the EGL will ensure a proportion of any exceptional revenue that generators receive because of the conflict in the Middle East is available to Government to support businesses and households with their cost of living.
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 20 March 2026 to Question 119948 on Cryptocurrencies, whether her Department holds information on whether the Tether cryptocurrency is being used to make political donations into the UK from abroad.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMT Treasury does not collect or hold information on the use of specific cryptoassets in political donations. Oversight of political donations rests with the Electoral Commission.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of income tax payers in tax year ending April 2026 with taxable income of a) between £90,000 and £99,999 b) £100,000-£109,999 and c) £110,000 to £119,999.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publish the distribution of total income before tax in Table 3.3 of the Personal Incomes Statistics, linked below.
Personal Incomes Statistics for the tax year 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the volume of private capital that could be unlocked through partnerships with venture capital firms in the defence sector.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government recognises the important role that venture capital and other private investors play in backing innovation across the economy. The forthcoming Defence Finance Investment Strategy will be the Government’s blueprint for how we increase the capital available to improve warfighting readiness while also driving UK growth.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the regulations governing financial institutions handling Tether cryptocurrency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government legislated in February of this year to establish a financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, requiring firms to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority for providing relevant cryptoasset services in or to the UK. This built on previous regulatory interventions on cryptoasset money laundering and financial promotions. The Government’s approach is ensuring cryptoasset users are protected against detriment, whilst giving firms the certainty needed to invest and grow in the UK.