Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter from Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 3 November about the removal of the lower rate of landfill tax, what types of inert construction waste they plan to be reused elsewhere.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

At the Budget in November 2025, the Government set out its decisions in response to the consultation on reform to Landfill Tax which ran earlier this year. The Government has listened to the arguments made by businesses, particularly in the construction sector, and has decided that now is not the right time to converge to a single rate of tax. Instead, the Government has announced a plan to prevent the gap between the two rates getting any wider over the coming years which ensures that businesses will not face significant additional costs. In addition, the tax exemption for backfilling quarries will be retained to ensure that businesses continue to have access to a low-cost alternative to landfill.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there will be a Spring Statement in 2026 to accompany the OBR's Spring Forecast 2026; and whether the OBR's Spring Forecast 2026 will include the scoring of new measures announced since Autumn Budget 2025.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Chancellor will set out her plans for the Spring forecast in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she will take to increase levels of investment into community finance organisations such as credit unions.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is taking concrete steps to increase investment into community finance organisations. In November 2024, the British Business Bank launched the Community ENABLE Funding (CEF) Programme. This will channel £150 million over the next two years to not-for-profit lenders, including Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs), to widen access to affordable credit for underserved consumers and businesses.

The Government also recognises the important role of credit unions in providing savings and affordable loans to their members and in supporting local communities throughout the country. It is therefore taking action to support credit unions to grow and scale into the future, including a package of growth‑focussed reforms to the credit union common bond.

These reforms were announced in the Financial Inclusion Strategy, published last month, which also outlines a number of measures aimed at improving access to affordable credit — including a Credit Union Transformation Fund to support the sector in England to scale. The Government will work closely with stakeholders to deliver on these interventions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she will take to measure the impact of the Financial Inclusion Strategy in supporting the credit union sector.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the value that credit unions bring to their members and their key role in supporting financial inclusion, particularly through the provision of savings products and affordable credit.

I published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy last month which sets out a range of ambitious measures to improve financial inclusion and resilience across the UK. This includes interventions to support the credit union sector scale and serve its members more effectively, through the launch of a new £30 million transformation fund for credit unions in England and growth-focused reforms to the common bond to support the growth of credit unions in Great Britain.

We have engaged closely with a range of stakeholders, including credit union sector representatives, to develop the Strategy, and will continue to do so to ensure it has a meaningful impact. The Strategy’s implementation will be reviewed in two years’ time to provide an update on progress and relevant outcomes-based metrics.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to question 95185, what the updated average annual change in the Welsh Government’s capital budget is between 2025-26 and 2029-30; and whether that budget will increase.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Welsh Government will receive an additional £185m CDEL through the operation of the Barnett formula on top of the record settlement provided at Spending Review 2025. This will ensure the Welsh Government are funded above their independently assessed level of need in all years of the Spending Review 2025 period.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has been made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the annual subscription limit of ISA savings for under-65s on the range of building society lending products.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

This government’s number one priority is growth, putting more money in people’s pockets and creating an economy that both works for and rewards working people.

A key part of this is people’s savings, which are not working hard enough for them or the economy because hundreds of millions of pounds are sitting in low-interest earning accounts.

We want to get more people investing so they can also benefit from the growth of the FTSE which has grown by 50% in the last 5 years.

Investing generates better returns over the long term, and this is about getting the balance right cash savings and investment. If you invested £1,000 a year in an average stocks and shares ISA every year from 1999, you would be £50,000 better off compared to having saved the same amount in a cash ISA

This policy will affect those aged under 65 from April 2027, but the overall ISA limit will remain at £20,000 for all savers when the annual Cash ISA limit is set at £12,000. It will not affect existing cash ISA savings.

The government regularly engages with the building societies sector to understand how best to support its growth.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling Credit Unions to offer Help to Save accounts.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Help to Save scheme supports financial resilience for working people on low incomes by encouraging consistent, long-term saving and helping them build a financial buffer to plan and prepare for the future. The scheme is currently available to working individuals in receipt of Universal Credit, ensuring it remains targeted at its intended population.

As announced at Autumn Budget 2025, the government will make the Help to Save scheme permanent and, from April 2028, will expand eligibility to include all Universal Credit claimants who receive the child element, the caring element or both.

The government has recently consulted on reforms to the future delivery of Help to Save and has engaged with a range of third-party financial institutions, including credit unions, as part of this process. While a decision on the future delivery model has not yet been made, the government will continue working with credit unions and other interested financial institutions as these proposals are developed further.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date the National Wealth Fund Board was informed of the Government’s intention to allocate £200 million to Grangemouth community; and whether the Board formally approved any such commitment in accordance with its statutory governance and investment processes.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Government made a major intervention to ensure the long-term future of the Grangemouth site. As part of that, £200 million has been made available from the National Wealth Fund’s existing capitalisation for investible projects at Grangemouth.

The National Wealth Fund will be responsible for approval of specific investments, in line with its regular governance and investment processes, including Board approval where appropriate.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme on the number of first-time buyers.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

95% loan-to-value mortgage products can be beneficial for first-time buyers who may struggle to raise larger deposits, and the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme aims to support this segment of the UK mortgage market.

The new Mortgage Guarantee Scheme recently launched in July 2025 and remains permanently available to lenders who wish to participate in the scheme. The Treasury will be collecting data about the scheme over its lifespan, including data on first-time buyers taking out mortgages under the scheme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she collects data on the number and proportion of first-time buyers using the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

95% loan-to-value mortgage products can be beneficial for first-time buyers who may struggle to raise larger deposits, and the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme aims to support this segment of the UK mortgage market.

The new Mortgage Guarantee Scheme recently launched in July 2025 and remains permanently available to lenders who wish to participate in the scheme. The Treasury will be collecting data about the scheme over its lifespan, including data on first-time buyers taking out mortgages under the scheme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the £14.5 million for Grangemouth announced at the Budget relates to the previous commitment from the Prime Minister that £200 million from the National Wealth Fund would support the transition of the Grangemouth site; and whether the £14.5 million announced at the Budget is additional to the previous £200 million commitment.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The £14.5 million of investment to support industrial projects in Grangemouth announced at Autumn Budget 2025 is in addition to the National Wealth Fund commitment.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate the Valuation Office Agency has made of the number of hereditaments that will pay the high-value multiplier by (a) sector type and (b) Special Category Code in 2026-27 based on the new Rating List.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Statistics by sector type and special category code (Scat) as a result of the 2026 Revaluation and publication of the draft 2026 Rating List are published here: Change in rateable value of rating lists, 2026 Revaluation (CSV)

The government has also, on Budget Day, published information on the effects of the business rates retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers, and the high value multiplier.

A rise in rateable value (RV) may not result in a similar rise in bills. Local councils calculate business rates bills by taking the rateable value and multiplying this by a value known as a multiplier and then applying any reliefs. Confirmation of the Budget package and the Non-Domestic Rating Multipliers for 2026/2027 is also published on gov.uk.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to require HMRC to review 2010 mileage rates to reflect 2025 costs.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates are used by employers to reimburse an employee's expenses, tax free, for business mileage in their private vehicle. These rates are also used by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage (when using simplified motoring expenses), and can be used by organisations to reimburse volunteers who use their own vehicle for voluntary purposes.

Employees can claim up to 45p/mile for the first 10,000 miles annually, followed by up to 25p/mile thereafter. An additional 5p/mile can be claimed for each passenger transported.

The AMAP rates are not mandatory, and employers can choose to pay more or less than the AMAP rate. It is therefore ultimately up to employers to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees.

The Government keeps the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) rate under review and HMRC use a variety of information in estimating typical motoring costs per business mile. This includes information from the AA, the National Travel Survey, the Association of British Insurers, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the new council tax surcharge bands on property prices at the thresholds of each band.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Various factors affect the sale price of residential properties. In its recent Economic and Fiscal outlook, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that house prices will rise every year, growing by ‘just under 3 per cent in 2025 and average 2 ½ percent annual growth from 2026’.

The policy costing for the surcharge assumes an average price impact on affected properties of 2.5% with greater effects around the band thresholds.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to remove any financial incentive to commit suicide before April 2026 for elderly farmers, or farmers in poor health, arising from the inheritance tax provisions in the Budget.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.

As announced at the Budget in November 2025, any unused £1 million allowance for the 100% rate of agricultural property relief and business property relief will be transferable between spouses and civil partners, including if the first death was before 6 April 2026.

The Government encourages anyone who is concerned about their own mental health, or the mental health of those around them, to seek support. The Government takes mental health support for farmers very seriously. For example, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs supports farming welfare organisations through funding the Farmer Welfare Grant. The fund, which supports projects in England, is designed to offer tailored support to farmers and their families as well as prevent further cases of poor mental health by helping to build resilience within farming communities.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Farmer's Union of Wales regarding the likely impact of changes to inheritance tax on farming in Wales.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Ministers from several Government departments have met with organisations including NFU Cymru and the Farmers’ Union of Wales.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still ensure those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.

As announced at Budget 2025, any unused £1 million allowance for the 100% rate of agricultural property relief and business property relief will be transferable between spouses and civil partners, including if the first death was before 6 April 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government who will be responsible for collecting the new ‘tourist tax’ on overnight stays in England and how revenue through the tax will be distributed.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The power is for Mayors, and potentially other local leaders, to introduce a visitor levy to raise revenue to drive growth and invest in their areas. The precise design and scope of the power is still under development. The Government has published a consultation which will run until 18 February 2026, to ensure that the public, businesses, and local government can shape the design of the power, including the administration process.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the economic cost of the outages of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure in October.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government monitors systemic risks to UK critical national infrastructure, including resilience measures and contingency planning, including cloud providers. The Government recognises the importance of robust protections for the services essential to our society and economy. That is why we introduced the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill on 12 November. The Bill will make sure more types of essential and digital services adhere to robust cyber security practices.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on Monday 1 December (HC Deb col 666), what discussions the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury has had with special advisers about leaks or premature media reporting relating to the Budget 2025.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As the Chief Secretary to the Treasury said to the House of Commons on the 1 and 3 December, the Treasury puts the utmost weight on Budget security.

The Permanent Secretary engages with special advisers and Ministers throughout the Budget process.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of rising input costs, labour costs and taxes on small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government set out its overall approach for supporting SMEs in the Small Business Strategy published in July 2025 and built on this with targeted reforms to support small businesses at the Budget in November 2025.

Through our changes to Employer National Insurance Contributions, the threshold at which business start paying Employer NICs has doubled to £10,500.

We are providing support for small businesses in a number of other areas. We are introducing the toughest late payment laws in the G7. We are changing the rules to fully fund SME apprenticeships training costs for eligible people under the age of 25, providing the skills that both workers and businesses need. Through the new Business Growth Service, small businesses will be able to access support with skills training, recruitment, or accessing Start Up Loans and Export Finance.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of feedback from businesses that use the Trader Support Service.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

In 2024, the TSS had a customer satisfaction score of 89%. Traders score on information, ease of use, whether they would recommend the service and overall satisfaction. This feedback is used to make improvements to the TSS portal, communications and education materials.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the cost of running the Trader Support Service for each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The costs of the Trader Support Service by financial year are set out below.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have budgeted for the operation of the Trader Support Service for the current financial year.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The total budget for the current financial year (25/26) for operating the Trader Support Service is £76.99 million.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the publication of the draft Rating List of 26 November 2025, if he will publish the changes in average Rateable Values for each Special Category Code, compared to the previous Rating List, according to information held by the Valuation Office Agency.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Statistics on changes in the rateable value of non-domestic properties as a result of the 2026 Revaluation and publication of the draft 2026 Rating List are published here: Change in rateable value of rating lists, 2026 Revaluation

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether telephone bookmakers will be subject to the increase to Remote Gaming Duty to 40% from 1 April 2026.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Telephone bookmakers will be subject to the new General Betting Duty rate of 25% for remote bets from 1 April 2027. This rate will not include telephone bets placed on UK horseracing, pool bets or spread bets.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what further steps she will take to make the cost of business loans more transparent.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government receives representations from a range of stakeholders about matters across financial services and the economy. Disputes are a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service rather than the Government.

I would refer my honourable friend to the answers I provided on the topic of SME lending on 24 November, 26 November and 27 November, including in relation to the rates for short-term lending to small and medium sized businesses in the UK.

As set out in my previous response, interest rates, including those offered by individual providers, are a commercial matter decided by the lender concerned, reflecting the base rate, the risk of the applicant, and a margin to make the loan commercially viable given the cost of underwriting and broader funding costs. The Government does not intervene in commercial offerings, and SMEs should shop around to find the product that best suits their needs when choosing finance, which in turn helps drive competition, improves choice, and may support pricing.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has received representations on the cost of lending required by (a) Maxcap business loans, (b) Capify business loans and (c) Funding Circle’s Flexipay product.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government receives representations from a range of stakeholders about matters across financial services and the economy. Disputes are a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service rather than the Government.

I would refer my honourable friend to the answers I provided on the topic of SME lending on 24 November, 26 November and 27 November, including in relation to the rates for short-term lending to small and medium sized businesses in the UK.

As set out in my previous response, interest rates, including those offered by individual providers, are a commercial matter decided by the lender concerned, reflecting the base rate, the risk of the applicant, and a margin to make the loan commercially viable given the cost of underwriting and broader funding costs. The Government does not intervene in commercial offerings, and SMEs should shop around to find the product that best suits their needs when choosing finance, which in turn helps drive competition, improves choice, and may support pricing.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of of small business finance applications rejected by (a) high street banks and (b) all banks in (i) total and (ii) just for non asset backed lending applications in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government, and specifically the Treasury, is responsible for the legislative framework for financial services, and does not collect significant volumes of market data. External bodies including the British Business Bank, Bank of England, UK Finance, and other such parties, produce certain information on the SME lending market, some of which may offer insights of this nature.

However, HM Treasury publishes statistics on the use of the Government’s Bank Referral Scheme on an annual basis, which is a Scheme designed to help match loan applicants rejected for finance with potential alternatives. The latest release covers statistics up until Q3 2024 and can be found on the Government’s website. This data represents businesses that have been rejected by designated banks under the Scheme and can be used to understand some of the rejection rate trends in the market.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment in her Department.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury makes information on its direct ministerial appointments available in line with Cabinet Office guidance on transparency. This information is available on GOV.UK and kept under review to ensure it is up to date.

The arrangements for each appointment are outlined in their terms of reference published on GOV.UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when her Department will host the planned roundtable between Post Office and the major banks to discuss the opportunity of expanding in-person banking services at post offices.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the importance of access to cash and banking services for businesses and individuals, including those who may be in vulnerable groups or require assistance and is supportive of industry initiatives that improve access to these vital services.

The Post Office plays a key role in supporting access to banking services. Under the Banking Framework, a commercial agreement between the Post Office and 30 banking firms, personal and business customers can withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK. The specific services provided under the Framework are subject to commercial negotiations between individual banks and the Post Office, and the Government has no role in deciding what these arrangements are.

The Government would welcome continued collaboration between Post Office and the banking sector, on a commercial basis and will look to host joint discussions with Post Office and the banking sector in the coming months.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to question 95016, whether the hon. Member for (a) Wolverhampton North East, (b) Leeds South West, (c) Bournemouth East, (d) Luton North, (e) Bassetlaw, (f) Blyth and Ashington, (g) Mansfield, (h) Llanelli, (i) Banbury, (j) Edinburgh South West, (k) Eltham and Chislehurst, (l) Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, (m) Leigh and Atherton, (n) Kensington and Bayswater, (o) Na-h Eileanan an Iar, (p) Whitehaven and Workington, (q) Camborne and Redruth and (r) Milton Keynes Central submitted their representations through the stakeholder representation portal.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury did not receive written submissions via the stakeholder representation portal from those Members of Parliament. Ministers politically engage with their parliamentary colleagues on an ongoing basis without the need of an online portal.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, of the firms reported to HM Revenue and Customs for furlough fraud, how many (a) have been investigated and (b) remain to be investigated.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC’s Fraud Reporting Gateway receives Human Intelligence reports on a variety of topics, including COVID-19 error and fraud, that are of interest to HMRC. This Fraud Reporting Gateway has resulted in 23,000 intelligence reports relating to the COVID schemes to assess, and a further 900 reports received from the Public Sector Fraud Authority.

Due to firewalls in place to protect human sources of information, the recipients of the intelligence do not know its origin. Therefore, once the intelligence is circulated, we are unable to directly identify and attribute yield generated from the Fraud Reporting Gateway contacts, or why an investigation was or was not started.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish a list of businesses that have committed furlough fraud but have not yet repaid the money.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC has a “Publishing Details of Deliberate Tax Defaulters” programme which publishes details of deliberate tax defaulters on Gov.uk for a period of 12 months. Since HMRC began compliance on the COVID-19 support schemes, details of 195 people have been published for deliberately overclaiming CJRS and/or Eat Out to Help Out.

The latest publication was in November 2025: Details of deliberate tax defaulters - GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that when errors in earnings submissions to HMRC are self-identified and corrected, those corrections are communicated promptly and accurately to the Department for Work and Pensions, so that claimants are not adversely or unfairly affected by inaccurate income data.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Where an error has been identified, employers can submit revised information to HMRC through standard reporting processes.

HMRC transmits payroll data to the Department for Work and Pensions on a daily basis.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how long has the HMRC helpline number 0300 200 3822 been out of service.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Debt management Self Assessment (SA) payment helpline, 0300 200 3822, was retired at the end of July 2025.

From March to July 2025, an announcement was played to all customers phoning the Debt management SA payment helpline advising them that the number had closed and providing the relevant HMRC helpline number to call.

Customers with SA debt or payment enquiries are still able to speak to an adviser by calling the phone number stated on the letter which they have received from HMRC.

Customers can also find further support and guidance on GOV.UK – including how to manage payments.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the EV mileage charge on the (a) rental and (b) leasing motor vehicle sector, including the implications for (i) fleet turnover and (ii) the supply of nearly-new EVs to the second-hand market.

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, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that EVs contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty.

The Government has set out the expected impacts, including Exchequer impacts and behavioural changes, from eVED and other Budget measures in the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document at GOV.UK, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-documents-for-budget-2025

The rate of eVED paid by electric vehicle drivers will be half the fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol/diesel driver, ensuring that it will still be cheaper to own and run an EV for the majority of EV drivers. The Government is also providing generous additional support to incentivise the use of EVs.

The Government will continue to engage with impacted sectors and welcomes views on the design and implementation of eVED through the associated consultation.

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 EV mileage charge on (a) electric vehicle residual values and (b) the cost of new electric vehicle finance agreements.

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, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that EVs contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty.

The Government has set out the expected impacts, including Exchequer impacts and behavioural changes, from eVED and other Budget measures in the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document at GOV.UK, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-documents-for-budget-2025

The rate of eVED paid by electric vehicle drivers will be half the fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol/diesel driver, ensuring that it will still be cheaper to own and run an EV for the majority of EV drivers. The Government is also providing generous additional support to incentivise the use of EVs.

The Government will continue to engage with impacted sectors and welcomes views on the design and implementation of eVED through the associated consultation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what behavioural changes have been assumed in modelling revenue projections for the proposed EV mileage charge scheme.

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, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that EVs contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty.

The Government has set out the expected impacts, including Exchequer impacts and behavioural changes, from eVED and other Budget measures in the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document at GOV.UK, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-documents-for-budget-2025

The rate of eVED paid by electric vehicle drivers will be half the fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol/diesel driver, ensuring that it will still be cheaper to own and run an EV for the majority of EV drivers. The Government is also providing generous additional support to incentivise the use of EVs.

The Government will continue to engage with impacted sectors and welcomes views on the design and implementation of eVED through the associated consultation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the emigration of (a) 18-25, (b) 26-35, (c) 36-49, and (d) 50+ years old on (i) the levels of revenue raised through taxation and (ii) the sustainability of the public finances.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the government's official forecaster and is responsible for assessing the UK’s economic and fiscal outlook.

The OBR assesses the fiscal implications of migration as part of its Economic and Fiscal Outlook and long-term fiscal projections.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when film studio relief on business rates will be applied in relation to the high-value supplement in 2026-27.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The creative industries play a key role in driving economic growth, contributing £124.6 billion to the economy in 2022, and supporting over 2 million jobs.

At Budget 2025, the Government announced that it is maintaining the 40 per cent relief for eligible film studios in England on their gross business rates bills until March 2034. This is backdated to 1 April 2024, providing stability and support for the creative industries.

Business rates bills are calculated by applying the relevant multiplier first and so film studios will receive 40 per cent relief on their gross bill.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an estimate of the (a) value of and (b) tax lost from the black economy in (i) England, (ii) Greater Manchester and (iii) Oldham.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC estimates the size of the tax gap, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. The tax gap statistics are published annually and are available at: Measuring tax gaps - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Within the tax gap, HMRC publishes an illustrative breakdown by behaviour. For the 2023 to 2024 tax year, the estimated value of the hidden economy was £2.6 billion.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, approximately how many people have become tax payers since the £12,570 personal allowance was frozen in 2022.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts, linked below:

https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1764165511

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she will bring forward plans to make car insurance more affordable in general and particularly for those living in areas of deprivation.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Insurers make commercial decisions about pricing and the terms of cover they offer based on their assessment on the likelihood of a claim being made and the cost of those claims. The government does not generally intervene in these pricing decisions by insurance companies.

However, the government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value, meaning the price paid by consumers should be reasonable compared to the overall benefits received.

The Government launched a cross-government Motor Insurance Taskforce in October 2024 to address the rising costs of motor insurance, identifying short and long-term actions aimed at stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover. The government plans to publish the final report of the Taskforce shortly. As part of the taskforce’s work to understand how the cost of motor insurance impacts on particular groups of customers, the FCA is conducting statistical analysis to evaluate the impacts on different age groups and consumers living in areas with a higher proportion of minority ethnic residents. The FCA will publish its findings later this year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that people experiencing financial difficulty are aware of and able to access appropriate (a) financial support and (b) advice during winter months.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government recognises the challenges many households face during the winter months and is committed to ensuring that people experiencing financial difficulty are aware of and able to access the support available.

At Budget 2025, we announced a comprehensive package of measures to ease cost of living pressures. This includes taking an average of £150 off household energy bills from April 2026, expanding the £150 Warm Home Discount to 6 million lower income households, and freezing rail fares and NHS prescription fees for one-year. We are lifting around 550,000 children out of poverty by removing the two child limit, alongside other measures announced this year such as expanding free school meals. The Household Support Fund in England will also continue to help households facing the greatest hardship with the cost of essentials such as food, energy and water.

To ensure people can access support with their finances whenever they need it, the Government also funds the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) which supports consumers with free, impartial guidance for every stage of their financial lives. Its MoneyHelper services – available online, via webchat and over the phone – operate year-round and offer information on a wide range of financial topics, along with easy-to-use tools and calculators to support people in managing their finances. In addition to this, MaPS delivers a range of national and community-based debt advice services across England to provide specialist support to those in problem debt. The UK Government also provides funding for debt advice in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with responsibility for debt advice services resting with respective devolved governments.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps her department is taking to minimise barriers for international firms to invest in the UK.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Restoring sustainable, long-term economic growth remains the number one priority of this government. This is the foundation for the prosperity that families throughout the UK expect, and it is essential to creating the conditions that attract investment across sectors such advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and digital technologies.

The UK continues to champion free trade and global investment. We are supported by over 70 international trade agreements and have more than doubled the government’s budget headroom, strengthening our resilience and capacity to respond to future challenges. Our stable fiscal framework and pro‑investment tax system give international firms the confidence to invest. Consistent with the commitments set out in the 2024 Corporate Tax Roadmap, the government is maintaining the elements of the UK’s corporate tax offer that matter most for new investment:

• a main rate of Corporation Tax at 25% – the lowest in the G7;
• a flexible and competitive regime for intangible assets;
• the Patent Box; and
• one of the most generous and competitive capital allowances regimes in the world.

The UK is also an attractive location for groups to locate their headquarters or holding companies, offering broad exemptions for gains on disposals of substantial shareholdings and a broad exemption for dividends paid to UK companies. There are also limited withholding taxes on outbound payments such as dividends, interest and royalties.

These measures are delivering results. We are set to be the second fastest growing economy in the G7 this year; PWC last year named the UK as the second most attractive country for investment in the world among CEOs, behind only the US and since coming into government we have seen companies from across the globe commit over £325bn worth of private investment into the UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to reduce inflation in the prices of food.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced a Food Inflation Gateway to assess and monitor regulation that could add to food prices. This will improve coordination and give food businesses a clear line of sight on upcoming regulatory changes, helping to keep costs down

The Government is also negotiating an agri-food agreement with the EU to reduce trade frictions, which is expected to save businesses up to £200 per fresh food shipment, helping to limit cost pressures across supply chains.

In addition, supermarkets will see a reduction in their total business rates bills in 2026/27 compared with 2025/26, and this will be kept under review at the next revaluation. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) does not expect changes in business rates to have a material impact on food inflation.

Overall, the OBR’s forecast shows government policy will reduce CPI inflation by 0.4 percentage points in 2026/27. This is the biggest near-term reduction in inflation due to government policy ever forecast by the OBR at a single fiscal event, outside of a crisis.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the UK’s independent forecaster and the Government is fully committed to the OBR’s independence and its vital role as a core part of our fiscal framework. That is why one of the first Acts of this Parliament introduced the fiscal lock so that the OBR could never be sidelined.

On 26 November 2025, the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook was accessed prematurely ahead of the Budget. The OBR’s investigation into this incident was published on 1 December. HM Treasury will work closely with the OBR to ensure robust security arrangements are in place for all future forecasts.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she considered including an assessment of the potential impact of paragraph 4.167 State Pension and Simple Assessment of the Budget 2025, published in November 2025, on costs to the public purse within the Budget 2025 document.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

As the Chancellor has said, over this Parliament those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax.

As announced at the Budget, the government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Section 4.167 of the Autumn Budget 2025, when her Department plans to publish the solution ensuring that pensioners who only receive the state pension will not (a) have to fill out a tax return and (b) pay income tax.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

As the Chancellor has said, over this Parliament those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax.

As announced at the Budget, the government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 4.167 State Pension and Simple Assessment of the Budget 2025, published in November 2025, when her Department began consulting on this policy.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

As the Chancellor has said, over this Parliament those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax.

As announced at the Budget, the government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, wow many employees in the United Kingdom take part in a salary sacrifice scheme in the (a) public and (b) private sectors.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Salary sacrifice arrangement can cover multiple non-cash benefits, including cars, pensions, bicycles and workplace nurseries.

HMRC does not hold administrative data on the number of employers offering and employees using salary sacrifice schemes. However, estimates based on other information are held.

Pension contributions

HMRC analysis of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) suggests that around 7.7 million employees made salary sacrifice pension contributions in 2024.

Cycle to Work scheme

HMRC’s non-structural tax relief statistics publication sets out the estimated number of participants in the cycle to work scheme (link below).

Non-structural tax reliefs - GOV.UK

It is assumed that most would use the scheme via salary sacrifice given the tax savings.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Section 4.167 (State Pension and Simple Assessment) of the Budget 2025, if she will publish the cost impact of this policy.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

As the Chancellor has said, over this Parliament those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax.

As announced at the Budget, the government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the publication of the draft Rating List of 26 November 2025, if she will publish the changes in average Rateable Values by (a) local authority and (b) region, compared to the previous Rating List, according to information held by the Valuation Office Agency.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to reduce Government borrowing.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

We need to address the UK’s borrowing and debt, so we spend less on debt interest and more on the priorities of working people.

The government has a credible consolidation plan that ensures borrowing is falling in every year of the forecast. Borrowing this year is set to be the lowest for 6 years.

The government is reducing borrowing while protecting investment, and is maintaining an increase of over £120 billion departmental capital spending over the Parliament.

From 2025 to 2030, the UK is reducing government borrowing more than any other G7 country.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of Benefit-in-Kind rates for zero-emission company cars.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government publishes annual statistics on HMRC’s taxable benefits in kind for company cars and company car fuel. These reports document the number of benefit in kind recipients, the CO2 emissions of company cars and their total taxable value. The latest statistics for the tax year 2023-24 were published in June 2025, and are accessible here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefits-in-kind-statistics-june-2025/benefit-in-kind-statistics-commentary-june-2025(opens in a new tab)

The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the public finances.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 95420 on Defence: Finance, whether she has a timetable for spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

We are set to spend 2.6 percent of GDP on defence spending in 2027, with an ambition to spend 3 percent of GDP on defence next Parliament when economic and fiscal conditions allow.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what percentage of GDP will be spent on the MOD budget in the financial year that NATO declared defence spending will increase to 3 per cent of GDP.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

We are set to spend 2.6 percent of GDP on defence spending in 2027, with an ambition to spend 3 percent of GDP on defence next Parliament when economic and fiscal conditions allow.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the written statement of 25 November 2025, HCWS1097, on Devolution and Growth, and further to the Visitor levy policy paper published on 26 November 2025, whether the levy measure will be classed by the Government as a tax; and whether there is a Tax Information Notice to accompany the measure.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The precise design and scope of a devolved power for Mayors to introduce an overnight visitor levy if they so choose is under development. The Government has published a consultation running until 18 February 2026, so that the public, businesses, and local government can inform and help shape the design of the devolved power.

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) has not been published. TIINs usually accompany legislation for tax measures administered by central government.

The impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals.

Following consultation, we expect Mayors would publish a summary of the consultation results and their response, including a final prospectus, and an impact assessment, informed by the consultation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to Question 93370, if she will commission from HMRC an analysis of the tax contribution of the British nationals the ONS estimates have left the UK since July 2024.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not hold data on all income sources of all individuals that have left the UK, and incomes of individuals vary each year. Individuals who have chosen to leave the UK may still be liable to pay tax in the UK.

HMRC published analysis on Income Tax Liabilities and Statistics annually. Income Tax statistics and distributions - GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate has been made of the value of the tourism levy by mayoral combined authority area.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy if they so choose is still under development.

The Government has published a consultation running until 18 February 2026, so that the public, businesses, and local government can shape the design of the power to introduce a levy that will be devolved to local leaders.

The impacts of the levy, including how much it will raise, will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear their concerns. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is raised. Giving this power to local leaders who best understand their region enables them to tailor it to growing their local economies.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to paragraph 1.28 of the OBR, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2025, CP1439, 26 November 2025, how the Government intends to finance the cost of the estimated £14 billion of local authority SEND deficits; and what proportion of accrued deficits will remain with local authorities from 2028-29.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information her Department holds on the proportion of text redacted in statements provided to hon. Members from opposition parties in advance of the Chancellor’s statement on each Budget day since 1997.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Redactions to documents shared in confidence are made for reasons of market sensitivity. The full Budget documentation and the Chancellor’s speech are shared with all MPs as soon as the Chancellor finishes delivering the Budget speech.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish copies of the redacted statements provided to opposition MPs each budget day in advance of the Chancellor’s statement to the House of Commons in each year since 1997.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Redactions to documents shared in confidence are made for reasons of market sensitivity. The full Budget documentation and the Chancellor’s speech are shared with all MPs as soon as the Chancellor finishes delivering the Budget speech.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has had discussions on further fiscal devolution with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Department of Finance during this current Stormont mandate.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

HM Treasury and Northern Ireland Executive Ministers have regular discussions.

The Northern Ireland Executive’s Interim Fiscal Framework published in May 2024 stated that a full Fiscal Framework would consider the principles of fiscal devolution.

The scope and scale of the full Fiscal Framework will be subject to agreement between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Northern Ireland Department of Finance Minister has submitted fiscal devolution plans to her Department in this current Stormont mandate.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

HM Treasury and Northern Ireland Executive Ministers have regular discussions.

The Northern Ireland Executive’s Interim Fiscal Framework published in May 2024 stated that a full Fiscal Framework would consider the principles of fiscal devolution.

The scope and scale of the full Fiscal Framework will be subject to agreement between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had recent discussions with Anas Sarwar MSP on the higher rate of the Energy Profits Levy since 30 October 2024.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned £4.9 billion in efficiencies and savings in 2030–31 on devolved governments’ budgets.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Welsh Government will receive an additional £320 million RDEL and £185m CDEL through the operation of the Barnett formula on top of the record settlement provided at Spending Review 2025. This means that the Welsh Government’s settlement continues to grow in real terms between 2024-25 and 2028-29.

The Welsh Government are free to allocate Barnett consequentials as they see fit across their devolved priorities

Where policy changes will take effect in years beyond the existing Spending Review 2025 period, the Barnett formula will apply when departmental budgets change at the next Spending Review.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of higher-than-forecast inflation and pay growth on devolved governments’ capacity to fund public sector pay settlements.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Public sector pay is a devolved responsibility. This means it is for the devolved governments to decide how to allocate the funding they receive across their areas of responsibility, including public sector pay.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to provide additional support to devolved governments for public sector pay costs.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Public sector pay is a devolved responsibility. This means it is for the devolved governments to decide how to allocate the funding they receive across their areas of responsibility, including public sector pay.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of planned reductions in departmental spending after 2028 on the Welsh block grant during the next Senedd term.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Welsh Government will receive an additional £320 million RDEL and £185m CDEL through the operation of the Barnett formula on top of the record settlement provided at Spending Review 2025. This means that the Welsh Government’s settlement continues to grow in real terms between 2024-25 and 2028-29.

The Welsh Government are free to allocate Barnett consequentials as they see fit across their devolved priorities

Where policy changes will take effect in years beyond the existing Spending Review 2025 period, the Barnett formula will apply when departmental budgets change at the next Spending Review.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of front-loaded Barnett consequentials on the Welsh Government’s medium-term financial planning.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Welsh Government will receive an additional £320 million RDEL and £185m CDEL through the operation of the Barnett formula on top of the record settlement provided at Spending Review 2025. This means that the Welsh Government’s settlement continues to grow in real terms between 2024-25 and 2028-29.

The Welsh Government are free to allocate Barnett consequentials as they see fit across their devolved priorities

Where policy changes will take effect in years beyond the existing Spending Review 2025 period, the Barnett formula will apply when departmental budgets change at the next Spending Review.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to publish a breakdown of the spending decisions in England that generated the £508 million of Barnett consequentials for Wales at the 2025 Autumn Budget.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Welsh Government will receive an additional £320 million RDEL and £185m CDEL through the operation of the Barnett formula on top of the record settlement provided at Spending Review 2025. This means that the Welsh Government’s settlement continues to grow in real terms between 2024-25 and 2028-29.

The Welsh Government are free to allocate Barnett consequentials as they see fit across their devolved priorities

Where policy changes will take effect in years beyond the existing Spending Review 2025 period, the Barnett formula will apply when departmental budgets change at the next Spending Review.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has she made of the impact of treating 50% of the gain in disposal to trustees of an Employee Ownership Trust as the disposers' chargeable gain for CGT purposes.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Budget 2025, the Chancellor announced that the relief from Capital Gains Tax available on qualifying disposals to Employee Ownership Trusts will be reduced from 100% to 50%. This will retain a strong incentive for employee ownership, whilst ensuring that business owners pay their fair share of tax. The relief remains more generous than alternative reliefs that individuals might use when disposing of their companies, such as Business Asset Disposal Relief.

An assessment of the impacts can be found in the Tax and Information Note for this measure, here: Capital Gains Tax — Employee Ownership Trusts - GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the Treasury’s analysis of how far the uplifts to Welsh Government borrowing and reserve limits restore the real-terms value of those limits since they were set a decade ago.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As announced at Autumn Budget 2025 there will be a 10% increase to annual and cumulative capital borrowing limits and the Wales Reserve overall and annual drawdown limits in 2026-27 which will increase the real value of the Welsh Government’s budget management tools.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many new enquiries were opened into child benefit claims which were suspended from claimants as a result of data-sharing between HMRC and the Home Office in the period 1st to 30th November 2025.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

There were no new Child Benefit compliance enquiries opened using Home Office international travel data in the period 1st to 30th November 2025. This is because our focus during that time was on reviewing the c. 23,500 already opened.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the proposed high-value property surcharge in England will generate Barnett-related consequentials for devolved administrations.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

There were no changes to UK Government DEL budgets as a result of the High Value Council Tax Surcharge so this policy did not result in Barnett consequentials.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the high value council tax surcharge will be valued by the Valuation Office Agency by the same assumptions and methodology as current council tax, other than the valuation date.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Valuation Office Agency are developing their approach to the targeted revaluation and will set out more details in due course, following the outcome of the Government's consultation.

In general, when valuing domestic properties, the VOA uses modern technology and industry standard techniques combined with freely available information including sales data, property attribute details and government records.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which properties will be subject to revaluation by the Valuation Office following the implementation of a High Value Council Tax Surcharge.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

As announced in the Autumn Budget, the high value council tax surcharge will be a new tax on domestic properties in England which have a value of £2m or above in 2026.

The Valuation Office Agency are developing their approach to the targeted valuation and will set out more details in due course, following the outcome of the Government's consultation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate has the Valuation Office Agency made of the number of appeals that will be made against the high value council tax surcharge.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

We recognise the importance of the right to appeal, and the Government will consult on the details of this in the new year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help lower energy bills.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Energy bills are too high. The previous Government left Britain dependent on the roller coaster of gas prices and left families paying around £1.7 billion on their bills for their failed energy efficiency ‘ECO’ scheme

This is why we are scrapping ECO and taking some of the expensive legacy levies off bills – saving households an average £150 from April.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help lower energy bills.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Energy bills are too high. The previous Government left Britain dependent on the roller coaster of gas prices and left families paying around £1.7 billion on their bills for their failed energy efficiency ‘ECO’ scheme

This is why we are scrapping ECO and taking some of the expensive legacy levies off bills – saving households an average £150 from April.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to National Insurance contributions on economic growth.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government made fair and necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to help fix the public finances and fund public services.

The Government of course carefully considers the impacts of all policies, including the changes to employer National Insurance.

An assessment of the changes announced at Autumn Budget 2024 on Employer National Insurance Contributions was published by HMRC in their Tax Information and Impact Note

Further, the OBR’s October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook sets out the expected macroeconomic impact of the changes to employer National Insurance contributions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 26 June to Question 61930, how many P85 forms have been submitted in each month from May 2025 to date.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The table below shows the number of P85 forms submitted to HMRC electronically from May 2025 to September 2025.

Figures rounded to 100

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 3 December 2025, Official Report, column 991, what she held discussions with the Independent Advisor on Ministerial Standards before announcing the investigation.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

A leak inquiry is now under way and the government does not comment on the details of leak inquiries.

The Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards has written to the leader of Reform UK and does not intend to investigate this matter.

The Chief Executive Officer of the FCA has written to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee and the FCA have not launched an enforcement investigation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 3 December 2025, Official Report, column 991, whether the Financial Conduct Authority be involved in the investigation.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

A leak inquiry is now under way and the government does not comment on the details of leak inquiries.

The Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards has written to the leader of Reform UK and does not intend to investigate this matter.

The Chief Executive Officer of the FCA has written to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee and the FCA have not launched an enforcement investigation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 3 December 2025, Official Report, column 991, what the terms of reference are for the investigation.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

A leak inquiry is now under way and the government does not comment on the details of leak inquiries.

The Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards has written to the leader of Reform UK and does not intend to investigate this matter.

The Chief Executive Officer of the FCA has written to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee and the FCA have not launched an enforcement investigation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 3 December 2025, Official Report, column 991, what the planned timetable is for the inquiry.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

A leak inquiry is now under way and the government does not comment on the details of leak inquiries.

The Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards has written to the leader of Reform UK and does not intend to investigate this matter.

The Chief Executive Officer of the FCA has written to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee and the FCA have not launched an enforcement investigation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 3 December 2025, Official Report, column 991, how much funding her Department plans to provide for the leak inquiry.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

A leak inquiry is now under way and the government does not comment on the details of leak inquiries.

The Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards has written to the leader of Reform UK and does not intend to investigate this matter.

The Chief Executive Officer of the FCA has written to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee and the FCA have not launched an enforcement investigation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the lower rate of business rates retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers, revaluation, and transition arrangements on pubs, bars and restaurants.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties, including those in the hospitality sector as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto.

The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including pubs. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.

The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury relating to the Committee’s recommendations of its

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Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 87411 on NHS England: Redundancy, what proportion of the £860 million will be spent in each financial year.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The £860 million figure reflects funding brought forward from the Department’s 2025 Spending Review settlement. It will be brought forward to earlier years to bring NHS England into the Department, resulting in one organisation, and significantly reducing integrated care board running costs. This investment now will deliver savings of at least £1 billion per year by the end of this Parliament. This reprofiling was agreed following detailed discussions with HM Treasury and was announced at the Budget in November 2025.

The cost estimates to support this reprofiling were calculated jointly by the Department and NHS England’s finance teams, with input from subject matter experts. The calculations remain subject to ongoing policy development and refinement as part of wider transformation planning and prioritisation. Relevant material financial information will be published in due course in line with transparency obligations.

The profile by financial year has been published by HM Treasury within table 4.1, page 90, line 38 of the 2025 Budget policy paper, a copy of which is attached. It should be noted that these figures represent United Kingdom-wide allocations informed by the Barnett formula, rather than the England-only value referenced in the question.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to question 87411, if he will publish the calculations for the figure of £860 million.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The £860 million figure reflects funding brought forward from the Department’s 2025 Spending Review settlement. It will be brought forward to earlier years to bring NHS England into the Department, resulting in one organisation, and significantly reducing integrated care board running costs. This investment now will deliver savings of at least £1 billion per year by the end of this Parliament. This reprofiling was agreed following detailed discussions with HM Treasury and was announced at the Budget in November 2025.

The cost estimates to support this reprofiling were calculated jointly by the Department and NHS England’s finance teams, with input from subject matter experts. The calculations remain subject to ongoing policy development and refinement as part of wider transformation planning and prioritisation. Relevant material financial information will be published in due course in line with transparency obligations.

The profile by financial year has been published by HM Treasury within table 4.1, page 90, line 38 of the 2025 Budget policy paper, a copy of which is attached. It should be noted that these figures represent United Kingdom-wide allocations informed by the Barnett formula, rather than the England-only value referenced in the question.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of recent changes to the Motability scheme, including the removal of certain vehicle brands, the introduction of VAT on advance payments and Insurance Premium Tax on scheme insurance, and operational changes to breakdown cover and mileage allowances, on disabled people’s access to suitable vehicles; and if he will publish the estimated cost savings arising from each change, the criteria used to determine which vehicle categories were removed, and which Ministers approved these decisions.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are protecting the taxpayer through changes to the Motability scheme, ensuring it supports disabled people whilst delivering efficient use of taxpayers’ money. This includes the removal of some luxury vehicles from the leasing scheme while maintaining a range of vehicles to support disabled people. Tax changes will not impact vehicles substantially adapted for wheelchair users, or existing leases, and Motability will continue to provide vehicles at no additional cost to the value of eligible disability benefits.

Decisions on tax were made in the usual way by HM Treasury ministers, in close consultation with DWP Ministers and based on extensive advice with due consideration of equalities impacts. Estimated cost savings were published in the budget documentation: Motability Scheme: reforming tax reliefs - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with HM Treasury on the potential merits of ringfencing funding received from fines levied on tech platforms by Ofcom under the Online Safety Act to fund specialist violence against women and girls support services, specifically for ‘by and for’ led services.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Under the Online Safety Act, any fines collected by Ofcom must be paid into the Consolidated Fund and any subsequent allocation of funds would then be a matter for HM Treasury. It is worth noting that fine income is inherently unpredictable and therefore may not be an appropriate or sustainable way to directly fund initiatives.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the policy papers entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025, and Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, what their Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be in each year of the Spending Review period; how much capital funding has been allocated to each of their Department’s programmes; and how much and what proportion of the capital DEL allocation remains unallocated in each year.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

The Departments capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) over the Spending Review is shown below:

The Department does not have any capital programmes. The capital DEL is to cover the purchase of office equipment.

*The 2025-26 Capital DEL includes £0.450m for a change in valuation of the Departments building leases resulting from a technical accounting adjustment in line with HM Treasury Consolidated Budgeting guidance.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to the policy papers entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025, and Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, what their Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be in each year of the Spending Review period; how much capital funding has been allocated to each of their Department’s programmes; and how much and what proportion of the capital DEL allocation remains unallocated in each year.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

The Wales Office Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) over the Spending Review is shown below:

The Department does not have capital programmes. The capital DEL is to cover the purchase of office equipment.

*The 2025-26 Capital DEL includes £0.945m for a change in valuation of the Departments building leases resulting from a technical accounting adjustment to comply with HM Treasury Consolidated Budgeting guidance.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the cyber-attack on the Legal Aid Agency’s digital systems on the finances of legal aid firms; how many providers have received (a) partial and (b) emergency contingency payments since that incident; and what additional financial support he plans to provide to firms undertaking legal aid work without payment.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We acknowledge and appreciate the constructive way that providers have worked with us following the serious criminal attack on the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) digital systems. They have continued to do vital work in challenging circumstances.

From the outset the LAA has consulted with providers and provider representative bodies to understand their concerns. These consultations confirmed that maintaining cash flow was a key priority and we immediately took steps to ensure that providers had the cash flow that they needed.

For some types of legal aid this meant adjusting the way in which providers submitted their claim for payment to the LAA. From 19 May, providers have been able to claim their usual payments for Legal Help, Crime Lower & Mediation work via a contingency process. Due to previous investment, the criminal legal aid systems were more modern, and internal access was restored more quickly. This enabled the LAA to resume paying Crown Court bills from early June.

It was necessary to agree a payment contingency for Civil Representation work with HM Treasury. This led to the implementation of the Average Payment Scheme on 27 May. The Average Payment Scheme enables providers to opt in to receive a temporary average payment for Civil Representation work that would otherwise be due. Payments are made on a weekly basis. The weekly average payment is based on previous payments made to that provider over the preceding 3-month period.  Some providers have not opted in to receive payment, but it is there should they need it.

As of 30 November, 2,045 advocates, and 1,206 legal aid provider offices have received payment through the Average Payment Scheme. As payments are calculated as a weekly average there is no scope or need to make a ‘partial’ or ‘emergency’ payment. However, there is, in addition, a simple escalation process in place to enable providers to request a payment in excess of the average amount offered to meet specific expenditure.

We are satisfied that providers have been able to access payment for work carried out whilst systems have been offline.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 60158 on Victim Support Schemes: Domestic Abuse and Sexual Offences, whether the funding announced for the 2025-26 financial year to help prevent such crimes is ringfenced.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG), including domestic abuse and sexual violence, is a top priority for this Government with a manifesto mission to halve VAWG in a decade. We will deliver a cross-government transformative approach, underpinned by a new strategy which we aim to publish as soon as possible.

Ringfences are an important tool in supporting specific policy priorities. However, the use of ringfences must be balanced against the need for departments to retain sufficient flexibility to allocate funding within their settlements and respond effectively to emerging issues, ensuring the best use of public resources.

Home Office funding announced for VAWG in the financial year 2025-26 was not ring-fenced by HMT as part of phase one of the 2025 Spending Review settlement, and the Home Secretary retained discretion over budget allocations for VAWG funding.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he Department has made of the potential merits of Ofgem’s pay flexibility business case.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Ofgem is a non-Ministerial Government Department, not an agency or office of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, so DESNZ Ministers do not determine Ofgem’s pay flexibility business case.

However, the Secretary of State has given his consent to the business case being sent to the Cabinet Office and HMT Treasury, who are currently considering whether it is consistent with Civil Service pay policies, is value for money, and affordable.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the amount the Exchequer has received from fines against NHS trusts since 2020.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has criminal enforcement powers to fine a health or social care provider where they identify a breach of regulations. The CQC can directly serve a fixed penalty notice to a provider, or a fine may be issued by the court following prosecution brought by the CQC.

The size of the fine following prosecutions brought by the CQC is a decision made by the court and is informed by sentencing guidelines. The CQC does not have influence over this decision. The money raised by court fines is paid to HM Treasury. The following table shows the fines served by the court following prosecution brought by the CQC against National Health Service trusts since 2020:

Note: where an NHS trust is fined more than once in a given fiscal year, the fines relate to individual cases.

Any fixed penalty paid to the CQC is passed on by the CQC to My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The CQC transfers the penalties received to the Department on a quarterly basis. The following table shows the fixed penalty notices served by the CQC to NHS trusts since 2020:

Note: where an NHS Trust is served a fixed penalty notice more than once in a given fiscal year, this could be due to multiple breaches of regulations.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for a coordination service to assist new international investors; and what steps they are taking to deliver this.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

The Government has established the service described. It is the Office for Investment (OfI), a joint unit of HM Treasury, the Department for Business and Trade, and Number 10 Downing Street. The OfI was launched in its current form in June 2025, with a remit to source and secure transformational investment that drives economic growth, job creation, and increased productivity across the UK. The OfI operates as a central government function, working across departments and with external partners to attract and land high-value, strategic investments into the UK.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to replicating the Office for Investment: Financial Services model for other key strategic sectors identified in the Science and Technology Framework.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

The OfI: Financial Services is a bespoke concierge service partnership involving HM Treasury, the OfI, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority, and the City of London Corporation. It was created to address the particular investment-related needs of the FS sector but was deliberately branded as the OfI to reflect its commonality with the OfI’s remit of sourcing and securing transformational investment. Whilst the Government will always consider the optimum approach to attracting investment, the OfI remains the single front door investment delivery body for the UK. The OfI works closely with DSIT to maximise investment in the Tech sector.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Cycle to Work scheme supports equitable access for employees, including (a) those with disabilities who require specially adapted bicycles, (b) individuals undertaking longer or rural commutes, and (c) older employees who may benefit from electric bicycles.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Cycle to Work Scheme has helped millions of people choose a healthier, greener way to travel while boosting local economies and supporting jobs.

It is for employers to decide whether and how to provide cycles for their workforce under the Cycle to Work Scheme. Any scheme must operate within rules set by HM Revenue and Customs, HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority.

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