Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to ensure that UK steel producers are not subject to additional decarbonisation-related charges that could impact their competitiveness relative to overseas producers.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The government is committed to supporting the UK steel sector and we will publish our strategy for the sector in 2026. This will articulate what is needed to create a competitive environment and to secure UK steelmaking capability.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what place based funding allocations has the Government confirmed for each area in the UK for the current spending review period.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The government is investing billions in city regions, towns and communities across the UK as a commitment to driving growth everywhere.

This includes, for example, the historic £15.6 billion investment in transport infrastructure in major city regions outside London; £410 million for a Local Innovation Partnerships Fund to support local leaders to drive innovation excellence in key sectors across the UK; at least £13 billion of funding via Integrated Settlements from 2026-27 to 2029-30 for seven Mayoral Strategic Authorities; and a Local Transport Grant providing £2.3 billion to enable local authorities to deliver transport improvements.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she is taking steps to ensure that people affected by interest rate hedging products are compensated.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the impact that the historic mis‑selling of interest rate hedging products (IRHPs) has had on many SMEs, and we acknowledge the distress this caused.

Responsibility for regulating the sale of these products, and for ensuring appropriate redress, rests with the independent Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA required the major banks to carry out a comprehensive review of past IRHP sales. This led to around 14,000 businesses receiving a total of £2.2 billion in redress.

The Government believes this industry‑wide redress scheme broadly met its objectives in delivering compensation to businesses that were mis‑sold these products. The Government has always been clear that mis‑selling of financial products is completely unacceptable. That is why we supported both the FCA’s redress scheme and its decision to commission an independent ‘lessons‑learned’ review of its supervisory interventions in relation to IRHPs. The FCA accepted the majority of the recommendations from that review, and, in light of the review’s findings, it also carefully considered whether further steps should be taken to facilitate access to redress for customers who had initially been excluded.

More generally, the Government continues to keep the financial services regulatory framework under review, working closely with the FCA to help ensure that consumers and businesses are protected and have clear, effective routes to compensation where misconduct occurs.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much insurance premium tax was collected from each type of insurance product in the latest year for which data is available.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC publishes annual statistics on IPT receipts and liabilities within the publication titled “Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) Bulletin” which can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/insurance-premium-tax-ipt-bulletin

However HMRC does not hold the information requested as to how much insurance premium tax was collected from each type of insurance product.

This is because Insurance Premium Tax returns do not include a breakdown of the tax due on different types of products, as this may impose an excessive administrative burden on customers.

HMRC does however include the split between the standard rate and higher rate of insurance premium tax as part of our published annual statistics on IPT receipts and liabilities.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she plans to take to help ensure the UK is an attractive destination for cryptoasset capital.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government recognises the transformative potential of digital assets and blockchain technologies to drive economic growth in the UK and increase efficiencies across financial markets.

That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets.

This will support growth in the UK by giving cryptoasset firms the regulatory certainty needed to invest here, and to help drive innovation in our financial services sector.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility that business investment may decline in 2026.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including assessments of the impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR publishes its forecast in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO is available here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-november-2025/

Our economic strategy to deliver growth is investment across the public and private sectors, and in every part of the country. Our modern Industrial Strategy is making a difference. We have taken bold action by tearing up red tape with plans to reduce business regulatory costs, delivering the biggest planning reforms in a generation and reducing electricity bills for over 7000 businesses.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether relief for pensioners will be considered as part of the consultation on the high value council tax surcharge.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government will consult on options for support for those who may struggle to pay the High Value Council Tax Surcharge early in 2026. This will consider a range of options, to make sure any scheme is targeted and easy to access.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the report by the Office for Budget Responsibility, Economic and fiscal outlook, published on 26 November, what assessment they have made of the risks of elevated global equity valuations driven in part by AI technology stocks to the economy.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government does not comment on individual market moves.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the government's official forecaster responsible for assessing the UK economic and fiscal outlook, including the macroeconomic impacts of policy and the risks to the UK outlook. In its November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR assessed the potential impacts of a shock to global equity prices. The OBR presented two scenarios with a potential peak impact on UK real GDP of 0.5%-0.6% relative to its central forecast.

HM Treasury maintains a comprehensive framework for assessing and managing risks to the economic and fiscal outlook. This includes systematic monitoring through internal risk processes and risk governance forums, and collaboration with other government departments. HM Treasury also works closely with the UK financial regulators to assess risks relating to financial markets.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure (i) people can access Disabled Person’s Trust accounts from high street banks and (ii) public bodies are using powers to ensure access for families of disabled people to those accounts.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone can access appropriate financial services and products, which is vital for financial resilience and wellbeing and ensuring that individuals are able to fully participate in the economy.

The provision of services such as trust accounts is a commercial decision for individual banks and building societies, and the Government does not intervene in these decisions.

Under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Duty, firms must consider the impact of withdrawing a product and take steps to mitigate harm. However, the FCA cannot compel firms to offer specific products.

The FCA is currently engaging with industry and stakeholders to explore issues around the provision of trust accounts for disabled people, and the Government supports this work.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of introducing clearer regulatory and tax frameworks for cryptoasset investment on a) high-skilled job creation and b) assets under management.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government recognises the transformative potential for digital assets and blockchain technologies to drive economic growth in the UK and increase efficiencies across financial markets.

That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets. This will support growth in the UK by giving cryptoasset firms the regulatory certainty needed to invest here, and to help drive innovation in our financial services sector.

The government also keeps the tax framework for cryptoassets under review.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of simplifying tax-compliant investment structures for cryptoassets in innovative finance ISAs to include all cryptoassets; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on levels of involuntary non-compliance among retail investors.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government recognises the transformative potential for digital assets and blockchain technologies to drive economic growth in the UK and increase efficiencies across financial markets. That is why the government is bringing in legislation to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets. This will support growth in the UK by giving cryptoasset firms the regulatory certainty needed to invest here, and to help drive innovation in our financial services sector.

A draft consultation on legislation that enables the inclusion of cETNs in the IFISA is out now and will come int force in April 2026. While there are currently no plans to include all cryptoassets in IFISAs, any future consideration would take account of market maturity, stability, and the suitability of providing targeted tax reliefs alongside the new regulatory regime.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the time taken by UK firms to complete export documentation compared with firms in other OECD countries.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Estimates of the administrative burden of import and export declarations for trade between Great Britain and the European Union are published at the following link: Estimating the customs administrative burden of 2022 declarations - GOV.UK.

No direct comparisons are available with other OECD countries due to the limited amount of information published.

HMRC is committed to making customs processes as simple as possible while ensuring effective checks are in place at the border, and we continue to work closely with the border industry to streamline processes and support the flow of legitimate goods.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her department is taking to harmonise customs processes between the UK and EU.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to remove the VAT exemption for vehicles adapted for use by disabled people.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government has no plans to remove the VAT relief for vehicles designed for, or substantially and permanently adapted for, wheelchair or stretcher users.

At Budget 2025 the government announced tax changes to the Motability scheme. These changes will only impact new leases, and VAT reliefs within the scheme for weekly lease costs and vehicle resale will remain in place.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she plans to take to enable the Northern Ireland Executive to retain monies received from identifying benefit fraud; and whether there is any blockage to this happening.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Benefit payments in Northern Ireland are a devolved matter.

To make sure support goes to those who truly need it, the UK Government will work with the Northern Ireland Executive over the coming months on ways to tackle welfare fraud and error in Northern Ireland and on different funding options, including the potential to share a portion of resulting savings with the Executive.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the salary sacrifice policy announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 on individual pension savings.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) sets out that there is not expected to be a material impact on labour supply from this measure. The OBR also do not expect a material impact on savings behaviour as a result of Budget 2025 tax changes.

The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the salary sacrifice cap policy announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 on employee hours worked in (a) the private sector and (b) the public sector.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) sets out that there is not expected to be a material impact on labour supply from this measure. The OBR also do not expect a material impact on savings behaviour as a result of Budget 2025 tax changes.

The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the salary sacrifice policy announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 on pensions and hours worked by (a) sex, (b) age and (c) NUTS region.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) sets out that there is not expected to be a material impact on labour supply from this measure. The OBR also do not expect a material impact on savings behaviour as a result of Budget 2025 tax changes.

The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the salary sacrifice policy announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 on hours worked by people near tax cliff edges.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) sets out that there is not expected to be a material impact on labour supply from this measure. The OBR also do not expect a material impact on savings behaviour as a result of Budget 2025 tax changes.

The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the salary sacrifice policy announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 on overall hours withdrawn by employees.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) sets out that there is not expected to be a material impact on labour supply from this measure. The OBR also do not expect a material impact on savings behaviour as a result of Budget 2025 tax changes.

The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria will guide decisions on whether an overnight stay levy is “modest” and appropriate for local areas; and will there be a cap.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

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

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 spent. Giving this power to local leaders who best understand their region enables them to tailor it to growing their local economies

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 consultation seeks views on whether there should be a cap on the rate.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether religious-based properties will be exempt from the new tax announced in the Budget on properties valued at £2 million and over.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) is a new charge on owners of residential property in England worth £2 million or more in 2026, taking effect in April 2028. Owners, not residents, will pay the surcharge. The government will consult on potential exemptions and reliefs in the spring.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the policy document entitled Motability Scheme: reforming tax reliefs’ policy, published on 26 November, if she will publish the calculations used for the conclusion that the proposed changes are not expected to have any macroeconomic impacts.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The information set out in the macroeconomic impacts section of all Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) corresponds to the assessments contained in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The OBR, as the Government's official forecaster, is responsible for judging the impact of policy decisions on its forecasts, including any underlying calculations.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to review the sugar content of powdered milk based drinks and include those products within the scope of the soft drinks industry levy.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced her intention to review the Soft Drinks Industry levy (SDIL) to drive further product reformulation, whilst maintaining the fundamental design of the levy as a tax on pre-packaged soft drinks with added sugar.

Following this review, between April and July 2025 the government consulted on proposed reforms to the SDIL. The outcomes of this consultation were confirmed at Budget 2025.

As part of the consultation, the government considered responses on dissolvable powders. It also considered the significant redesign of the levy necessary to include them as beyond the remit of the SDIL review, as set out by the Chancellor at Autumn Budget 2024.

More information on the outcome of the Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy consultation can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/strengthening-the-soft-drinks-industry-levy/outcome/strengthening-the-soft-drinks-industry-levy-summary-of-responses

The government will not make any further changes to the design of the SDIL.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of extending the freeze on Income Tax thresholds on working people in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.

This government is making fair and necessary choices on tax so it can deliver on the public's priorities, including by maintaining personal tax thresholds until April 2031. Everyone is being asked to contribute to support these goals, but the government is keeping the contribution as low as possible by pursuing a programme of reform to fix longstanding issues in the tax system - modernising it, and addressing unequal and unfair treatment, while ensuring the wealthiest contribute more.

The government has published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) setting out the impact of maintaining income Tax and equivalent National Insurance contributions thresholds.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate has been made of the number of people paying (a) basic rate, (b) higher rate, and (c) additional rate of Income Tax between 2020 and 2025.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The number of individuals in each of the three main Income Tax rate bands from 2020 to 2025 is published in Table 2.1 of HMRC’s Accredited official statistics. Updated forecasts are published in Table 3.19 of the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook, linked below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/685a6be4454906840a44d5bb/Table_2.1_Number_of_individual_Income_Tax_Payers.ods

https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1765817494

The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the projected financial impact of the new 12% premium insurance rate for Motability leases on (a) Motability users and (b) the car industry.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Budget 2025, the government announced tax changes to the Motability scheme, which will save over £1 billion over the next five years.

The VAT relief for top-up payments made to lease more expensive vehicles will be removed for new leases from 1 July 2026, and Insurance Premium Tax will apply at the standard rate to new insurance contracts on the Scheme from 1 July 2026. The tax changes will not apply to vehicles designed, or substantially and permanently adapted, for wheelchair or stretcher users.

These tax changes ensure Motability can continue to deliver for its customers, for example through the continued provision of a broad range of vehicle models available without any top-up payments. Further detail on the impacts of the tax changes can be found in the Tax Impact and Information Note here:

Motability Scheme: reforming tax reliefs - GOV.UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support entrepreneurs in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government took steps at Budget 2025 to support founders and high-growth companies across the UK, as set out in the Entrepreneurship Prospectus, including on tax incentives, the procurement regime, R&D funding and expanding the role of the British Business Bank (BBB).

This follows the BBB’s work to date supporting SMEs with its Start Up Loans programme. Between the scheme’s inception in 2012 and June 2025, 105 businesses in Surrey Heath have received loans, totaling £1,249,215 of funding.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in her Department are permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours; and what proportion of overall working time are they permitted to spend on such network activity.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether Transitional Relief for pubs only applies to the portion of increase directly attributable to Rateable Value change after the effect of new multipliers.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is introducing permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. To sustainably fund these lower RHL multipliers, the Government is also introducing a higher rate on the top one per cent of most expensive properties.

To protect businesses from large bill increases at the 2026 revaluation the government has introduced a generous support package worth £4.3 billion over the next 3 years, including support to help ratepayers to transition to their new bill.

For properties losing their RHL relief, the caps apply to their current bill, including the 40% relief, before changes in other reliefs and local supplements.

This means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

Without this support, the pub sector as a whole would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support the Government has put in place this falls to just 4%.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of expanding the Treasury bill market on refinancing risk exposure.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Treasury bills represent a core component of the government’s stock of marketable debt, alongside gilts.

The government will be launching a consultation in January 2026 on the potential expansion and deepening of the UK Treasury bill market, including how this might be facilitated by HM Treasury and the UK Debt Management Office.

As well as reflecting feedback from the public, including market participants, and the most recent market and demand conditions, any changes following the consultation will reflect an assessment of cost and risk in accordance with the government’s debt management and cash management objectives. This includes implications for the government’s refinancing risk exposure.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings, including those produced as part of another financial service or activity, will be regulated consistently by the FCA, to ensure that investors receive transparent and high-quality ESG ratings.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has introduced regulations to bring the provision of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings into the FCA’s regulatory responsibility. This will strengthen market integrity and boost investor confidence.

Recognising that ESG ratings are provided by a range of different persons, the scope of the regulated activity is designed to be proportionate to the risk of harm, and to avoid dual regulation. In line with this approach, where firms are providing ESG ratings solely as part of another activity for which they are already regulated, they are excluded from the ESG ratings regulations.

The FCA is consulting on draft rules for ESG ratings providers. As part of this process, the FCA will carefully assess whether existing frameworks for regulated products and services adequately address risks of harm where ESG ratings are provided as part of those activities. If the FCA identifies significant gaps, they will consult on changes to enhance those regimes. This approach is designed to minimise burdens on firms whilst consistently addressing risks of harm from all providers, regardless of their business model or regulatory status.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that environmental, social and governance (ESG) ratings are regulated consistently, regardless of the business model or regulatory status of the provider.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has introduced regulations to bring the provision of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings into the FCA’s regulatory responsibility. This will strengthen market integrity and boost investor confidence.

Recognising that ESG ratings are provided by a range of different persons, the scope of the regulated activity is designed to be proportionate to the risk of harm, and to avoid dual regulation. In line with this approach, where firms are providing ESG ratings solely as part of another activity for which they are already regulated, they are excluded from the ESG ratings regulations.

The FCA is consulting on draft rules for ESG ratings providers. As part of this process, the FCA will carefully assess whether existing frameworks for regulated products and services adequately address risks of harm where ESG ratings are provided as part of those activities. If the FCA identifies significant gaps, they will consult on changes to enhance those regimes. This approach is designed to minimise burdens on firms whilst consistently addressing risks of harm from all providers, regardless of their business model or regulatory status.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on working people, particularly those earning below the higher-rate threshold, of removing the National Insurance exemption on salary-sacrificed pension contributions above £2,000; and what modelling they have conducted on the distributional impacts across income deciles.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As set out in the TIIN, of the estimated 7.7 million employees who currently use salary sacrifice to make pension contributions, 3.3 million sacrifice more than £2,000 of salary or bonuses. This means 44% would be impacted by this measure, while 56% - around 4.3 million people - are fully protected by the £2,000 threshold. Of those with salary sacrifice contributions in excess of the cap, the average additional employee NICs liability is estimated to be £84 for the tax year 2029/30.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) set out the estimated yield for this measure. Their assumption on passthrough is in line with assumptions for previous changes to employer NICs and is also reflected in the Government’s published costing note.

This change applies to all employers who use salary sacrifice for pensions, regardless of whether they are public sector or private sector. Many public sector employers are prohibited from using salary sacrifice for pensions under the rules of "Managing Public Money."

The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.

This is the fairest way to support pensions saving whilst ensuring relief is targeted at those who need it most.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the OBR’s assumption that, following the decision to apply National Insurance to salary-sacrificed pension contributions above £2,000, employers will pass 76 per cent of the additional cost to employees.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As set out in the TIIN, of the estimated 7.7 million employees who currently use salary sacrifice to make pension contributions, 3.3 million sacrifice more than £2,000 of salary or bonuses. This means 44% would be impacted by this measure, while 56% - around 4.3 million people - are fully protected by the £2,000 threshold. Of those with salary sacrifice contributions in excess of the cap, the average additional employee NICs liability is estimated to be £84 for the tax year 2029/30.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) set out the estimated yield for this measure. Their assumption on passthrough is in line with assumptions for previous changes to employer NICs and is also reflected in the Government’s published costing note.

This change applies to all employers who use salary sacrifice for pensions, regardless of whether they are public sector or private sector. Many public sector employers are prohibited from using salary sacrifice for pensions under the rules of "Managing Public Money."

The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.

This is the fairest way to support pensions saving whilst ensuring relief is targeted at those who need it most.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on public and private-sector pension disparities of the policy to apply National Insurance to salary-sacrificed pension contributions above £2,000.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As set out in the TIIN, of the estimated 7.7 million employees who currently use salary sacrifice to make pension contributions, 3.3 million sacrifice more than £2,000 of salary or bonuses. This means 44% would be impacted by this measure, while 56% - around 4.3 million people - are fully protected by the £2,000 threshold. Of those with salary sacrifice contributions in excess of the cap, the average additional employee NICs liability is estimated to be £84 for the tax year 2029/30.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) set out the estimated yield for this measure. Their assumption on passthrough is in line with assumptions for previous changes to employer NICs and is also reflected in the Government’s published costing note.

This change applies to all employers who use salary sacrifice for pensions, regardless of whether they are public sector or private sector. Many public sector employers are prohibited from using salary sacrifice for pensions under the rules of "Managing Public Money."

The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.

This is the fairest way to support pensions saving whilst ensuring relief is targeted at those who need it most.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on long-term pension adequacy of removing the NICs exemption on salary-sacrificed pension contributions above £2,000.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As set out in the TIIN, of the estimated 7.7 million employees who currently use salary sacrifice to make pension contributions, 3.3 million sacrifice more than £2,000 of salary or bonuses. This means 44% would be impacted by this measure, while 56% - around 4.3 million people - are fully protected by the £2,000 threshold. Of those with salary sacrifice contributions in excess of the cap, the average additional employee NICs liability is estimated to be £84 for the tax year 2029/30.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) set out the estimated yield for this measure. Their assumption on passthrough is in line with assumptions for previous changes to employer NICs and is also reflected in the Government’s published costing note.

This change applies to all employers who use salary sacrifice for pensions, regardless of whether they are public sector or private sector. Many public sector employers are prohibited from using salary sacrifice for pensions under the rules of "Managing Public Money."

The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.

This is the fairest way to support pensions saving whilst ensuring relief is targeted at those who need it most.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the economy in Northern Ireland of increasing air passenger duty.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is committed to securing the long-term future of the aviation sector in the UK and recognises the benefits of the connectivity it creates between the UK and the rest of the world.

Following previous increases to Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates to account for below inflation rates, the government will uprate APD rates in line with RPI from 1 April 2027 and rounded to the nearest penny. This constitutes a real terms freeze.

In 2012, the UK government devolved the power to set direct long-haul APD rates to the Northern Ireland Executive, and the Executive subsequently set these at zero. The UK government continues to set APD rates for short-haul international and domestic flights from Northern Ireland.

Reforms to APD took effect in April 2023, including the introduction of a new band for domestic flights, initially set at half the rate for short-haul international flights. The domestic rate applies to all flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland and is currently set at £7 for economy passengers until 31 March 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what data they collect on the annual sales of handmade cigars.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Clearance figures for tobacco products, including cigar products, can be found in HMRCs tobacco bulletin, which is available on GOV.UK.

However, HMRC does not collect sales data specifically on handmade cigars.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increasing taxes on (1) dividend income, (2) savings income, and (3) salary sacrifice pension contributions on (a) tax receipts, and (b) the number of taxpayers in each tax band.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

In 2029-30 changes to taxation of dividend income are expected to raise £1.3bn, and changes to taxation of savings income are expected to raise £0.5bn. In 2029-30 changes to salary sacrifice pension contributions are expected to raise £4.8bn.

The exchequer impact of the tax changes outlined can be found in Table 4.1, rows 50 to 52, of the Budget 2025 document available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2025-document

Impacts on taxpayers can be found in the corresponding Tax Information and Impacts Note available at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-changes-to-tax-rates-for-property-savings-and-dividend-income/income-tax-changes-to-tax-rates-for-property-savings-and-dividend-income

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/salary-sacrifice-reform-for-pension-contributions-effective-from-6-april-2029

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received from small businesses in Wales concerning the impact of their legislative programme and budget proposals.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury engages regularly with businesses and representative organisations in Wales. HMT also runs a stakeholder representations process ahead of fiscal events where the public and businesses can submit their representations. This allows us to consider the views of a wide range of small businesses and their representative organisations. We continue to encourage businesses in Wales to engage with this process at future fiscal events to help inform policy.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the number of additional people in Northern Ireland who will pay income tax due to the personal allowance threshold being frozen until 2031, and (2) the anticipated additional tax revenue for HM Treasury.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial 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 (EFO). This data reflects the decision made by the previous Government to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.

3.19 Effect of personal tax threshold freezes on the number of taxpayers in each threshold (millions) [1]

The latest yield of personal tax measures can be found in Table 3.18 in the OBR’s November 2025 EFO. As above, this data reflects the decision made by the previous Government to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.

3.18 Latest yield of personal tax measures(£billions) [2]

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

[2] 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, if she will introduce legislation to allow cooperatives to issue capital instruments to raise finance which don’t lead to demutualisation.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is keen to ensure that the law governing co-operatives and community benefit societies supports their growth. That is why we are funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.

The Law Commission’s independent review is considering ways to update and modernise the legislation for co-operatives and community benefit societies, ensuring that it fits the nature and needs of these societies as well as ensuring that regulation is proportionate and effective. The Law Commission is considering methods of raising capital, including society shares, as part of its review.

The Law Commission will publish its final recommendations in 2026. Once this is published, the government will carefully consider the Law Commission’s recommendations to understand whether reform of the legislation is needed to ensure these businesses are supported to grow and succeed into the future.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 94583 on Public Bodies: Fines, whether her Department plans to ringfence fines against NHS trusts for health-related spending.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Income from fines, whether imposed by the courts or regulators, is in the most part returned to the Consolidated Fund and this income is not disaggregated by source.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will consider changing air passenger duty on all passengers so that higher duty is levied on those who fly more frequently.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The distance-band structure of Air Passenger Duty (APD) already ensures that those who fly furthest, in the greatest comfort, pay the most. Similarly, given APD is charged on all UK-departing flights, those who fly most often pay more.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential impact of the salary sacrifice pension scheme changes announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 on the value of occupational pension funds.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) set out in their November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook that they do not expect a material impact on savings behaviour as a result of Budget 2025 tax changes.

The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her fiscal policies on low income households in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

HM Treasury’s ‘Impact on households’ publication, produced alongside the Budget 2025, shows that the impacts of this Government’s tax, welfare and public spending decisions from Autumn Budget 2024 onwards are progressive and benefit households in the lowest income deciles the most, on average.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to include indirect emissions in the scope of the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism before 2029.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The inclusion of indirect emissions within scope of the CBAM will be delayed until 2029 at the earliest. This is to reflect continued support for the Energy Intensive Industries Compensation Scheme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including heat batteries for central heating on the list of Energy Saving Materials.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent.

The Government assesses whether to add ESMs to this relief by evaluating them against the following tests: the primary purpose of the technology must be to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions; relieving the technology of VAT must be a cost effective lever for encouraging installations; and it must be practical for business to operate and for HMRC to administer.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential economic merits of UK access to the Security Action for Europe fund.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

We will only sign agreements that are in the national interest and provide value for money for the UK taxpayer.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the Freedom of Information Act disclosure with reference Internal Review response to FOI252626.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury does not recognise the Freedom of Information case reference FOI252626.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) people with mental health difficulties, (b) caring responsibilities, (c) financial hardship and (d) other vulnerable consumers are not disproportionately affected during the motor finance redress process.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

It is vital that consumers have access to motor finance to enable them to spread the cost of a vehicle in a way that is manageable and affordable. We want to see this issue resolved in an efficient and orderly way that provides certainty for consumers and firms.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as independent regulator, has set out its proposals for a motor finance redress scheme. In its consultation, the FCA has set out how it expects consumers to be appropriately redressed. The FCA also sets out proposals on how firms should support vulnerable consumers, and address any gaps in their records, and what controls should be in place to ensure they operate the scheme in a fair and transparent way.

Throughout the consultation period which closed on December 12, the government has encouraged all stakeholders to fully engage with the process so that their views can be considered by the FCA. The FCA has indicated it will finalise the rules of the scheme in February or March 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) incomplete and (b) missing lender records dating back to 2007 on the ability of consumers to be (i) identified and (ii) compensated under the car finance redress scheme.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

It is vital that consumers have access to motor finance to enable them to spread the cost of a vehicle in a way that is manageable and affordable. We want to see this issue resolved in an efficient and orderly way that provides certainty for consumers and firms.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as independent regulator, has set out its proposals for a motor finance redress scheme. In its consultation, the FCA has set out how it expects consumers to be appropriately redressed. The FCA also sets out proposals on how firms should support vulnerable consumers, and address any gaps in their records, and what controls should be in place to ensure they operate the scheme in a fair and transparent way.

Throughout the consultation period which closed on December 12, the government has encouraged all stakeholders to fully engage with the process so that their views can be considered by the FCA. The FCA has indicated it will finalise the rules of the scheme in February or March 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what sanctions are currently available to the Financial Conduct Authority if lenders fail to meet their obligations under the motor finance redress scheme; and whether the Treasury plans to review the adequacy of those sanctions.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

It is vital that consumers have access to motor finance to enable them to spread the cost of a vehicle in a way that is manageable and affordable. We want to see this issue resolved in an efficient and orderly way that provides certainty for consumers and firms.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as independent regulator, has set out its proposals for a motor finance redress scheme. In its consultation, the FCA has set out how it expects consumers to be appropriately redressed. The FCA also sets out proposals on how firms should support vulnerable consumers, and address any gaps in their records, and what controls should be in place to ensure they operate the scheme in a fair and transparent way.

Throughout the consultation period which closed on December 12, the government has encouraged all stakeholders to fully engage with the process so that their views can be considered by the FCA. The FCA has indicated it will finalise the rules of the scheme in February or March 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential challenges of a motor finance redress scheme which does not fully reflect consumers’ actual financial losses.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

It is vital that consumers have access to motor finance to enable them to spread the cost of a vehicle in a way that is manageable and affordable. We want to see this issue resolved in an efficient and orderly way that provides certainty for consumers and firms.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as independent regulator, has set out its proposals for a motor finance redress scheme. In its consultation, the FCA has set out how it expects consumers to be appropriately redressed. The FCA also sets out proposals on how firms should support vulnerable consumers, and address any gaps in their records, and what controls should be in place to ensure they operate the scheme in a fair and transparent way.

Throughout the consultation period which closed on December 12, the government has encouraged all stakeholders to fully engage with the process so that their views can be considered by the FCA. The FCA has indicated it will finalise the rules of the scheme in February or March 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 to Question 95762 on Income Tax: Wales, what estimate her Department has made of the number of taxpayers residing in Wales that will (a) begin paying income tax, (b) enter the higher rate band and (c) enter the additional rate band due to the threshold freeze in each year until 2030-31.

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

The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the estimated impact of the proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism on the competitiveness of UK steel exports.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

From 1 January 2027, the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will apply to specific goods imported from the aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, and iron & steel sectors.

The UK CBAM is designed to address the risk of carbon leakage and to ensure that CBAM goods which are imported from overseas face a comparable carbon price to what is paid by manufacturers producing the same goods in the UK.

The UK CBAM does not apply to UK exports. Therefore, the UK CBAM is not expected to have an impact on the competitiveness of UK steel exports.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the tax rises for landlords in the Budget 2025 on (1) the supply of property in the private rented sector, and (2) rent levels.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility does not expect that the reform to property income tax will have a significant impact on rental prices.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) pubs, (b) hotels, (c) restaurants, (d) indoor leisure facilities and (e) night clubs that will have their business rates bill (i) increase, (ii) remain the same, and (iii) decrease from April 2026 as a result of the measures announced in the Autumn Budget 2025.

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 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. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties, including pubs, hotels, restaurants, indoor leisure facilities, and nightclubs.

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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance her Department has issued to UK Businesses on the potential impact of the (a) removal of business rates relief and (b) business rates revaluation on high street businesses.

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 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. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties, including pubs, hotels, restaurants, indoor leisure facilities, and nightclubs.

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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her department has made of the potential impact of the removal of business rates relief and the business rates revaluation on high street businesses.

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 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. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties, including pubs, hotels, restaurants, indoor leisure facilities, and nightclubs.

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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2025. what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed change to (a) rateable value and (b) business rates relief on (i) vacancy rates, (ii) job losses, (iii) business closures and (iv) price levels on local high streets.

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 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. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties, including pubs, hotels, restaurants, indoor leisure facilities, and nightclubs.

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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) the combined effect of higher rateable values and (b) reduced business rates relief on the number of (i) hospitality closures and (ii) empty units on high streets over the next three years.

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 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. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties, including pubs, hotels, restaurants, indoor leisure facilities, and nightclubs.

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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will carry out a public consultation on removing (a) racehorse training yards and (b) racecourses from the Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure business rate relief scheme.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000.

On 16 October 2025, the Government published legislation and accompanying guidance detailing the eligibility criteria for the new multipliers. To ensure the new tax rates are appropriately targeted, only properties that are wholly or mainly used for providing RHL activity (as defined in legislation) to visiting members of the public are eligible for the new multipliers. This is in line with the eligibility criteria for the current RHL business rates relief, and includes racecourses and racehorse training grounds with retable values below £500,000 that are open to members of the public. Further details on what is meant by “visiting members of the public” can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/business-rates-multipliers-qualifying-retail-hospitality-or-leisure.

As the Government has not removed racehorse training yards and racecourses from being eligible for RHL business rates support, the Government does not intend to public a consultation on this.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the number of houses in Sutton Coldfield constituency which will incur council tax surcharges from 2028.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

I refer the member to the answer given to UIN 94638 on 26 November 2025.

The Government has not estimated the number of homes in Sutton Coldfield that will be liable for the new HVCTS.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to involve organisations working to tackle youth homelessness in their review of value for money of homelessness services; and what is the timeline of that review.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Building on the recommendations of the Office for Value for Money, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will lead a process with Secretaries of State to review how to improve value for money across homelessness services. The review will commence in 2026, with the outputs considered as part of the Spending Review 2027.

To drive meaningful change, the review will be a collaborative effort across government departments and we will consider where and how external expertise can be utilised as part of this to ensure a comprehensive assessment.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the written answer of 9 December 25 to question 96953 on Child Benefit, how many of the 23,500 compliance enquiries (i) were confirmed to be eligible, (ii) were found to have been incorrectly receiving the benefit and (iii) are yet to receive an outcome.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC has now completed its review of Child Benefit compliance cases where a PAYE check had not been undertaken. As of 30 November 2025, out of the 23,794 cases opened between August and October 2025, 14,994 Child Benefit customers have been confirmed to be eligible to Child Benefit. Of the remaining 8,800 cases, 1,019, have been determined to have been incorrectly receiving Child Benefit, and 7,781 enquiries remain open as the customer has not yet provided evidence to enable a final determination of residency.

The data from the 23,794 cases is not comparable with the pilot. Recognising the issues with the implementation of the expansion, HMRC put in place an expediated process for customers that varied from the way it applied checks in the pilot. The information from the pilot remains HMRC’s best assessment of the effectiveness of the activity using international travel data to reduce error and fraud.

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Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish his Department’s business case on new private finance in the NHS.

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

The Department has no plans to publish the Neighbourhood Health Centre (NHC) Public Private Partnership (PPP) Feasibility Programme Business Case. Publication is not standard practice for business cases outside of the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio. This was a strategic outline business case, the purpose of which was to scope and identify the preferred way forward for a new potential PPP model in line with the HM Treasury five case model.

The Department and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) will continue to work with the market to further develop the new PPP model for NHCs, with further engagement next year. The final design and development of this new PPP model for NHCs will be led by NISTA and will be co-designed by the Department.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many firms have ceased being legal aid providers since 23 April 2025.

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

This data breach was the result of serious criminal activity but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last Conservative Government. Upon taking office, I was shocked to see how fragile our legal aid systems were. The previous Government knew about the vulnerabilities of the Legal Aid Agency digital systems, but failed to invest. By contrast, since taking office, this Government has prioritised work to rebuild the LAA digital systems. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services as we build back better in response to this attack. We are now in a position where all providers have online access to our civil legal aid services currently available via SiLAS, alongside our criminal legal aid services, which were restored in September.

This is an evolving situation but to date the total operational and digital costs of the incident are forecast to be £22 million for this financial year.

All providers have been able to access payment for work carried out whilst systems have been offline.

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, or where the value of their outstanding work varies from this, to apply for a specific payment to meet the cost of that work. Payments are made on a weekly basis. The weekly average payment is based on previous payments made to that provider over the 3 month period preceding the cyber incident.  Some providers have not opted in to receive payment in this way and wait for the restoration of the systems, but payments are there should they need it. We are unable to quantify the number of legal aid providers who have not opted in to receive an average payment in each of the weeks it has been available.

Providers are obligated to act in the best interests of their clients both by their own SRA regulatory requirements and by their LAA Contracts. In circumstances where a legal aid provider is unable to continue providing representation in an ongoing case, for whatever reason, they have a professional and contractual obligation toward their client to assist them in finding alternative representation.

We have not seen any evidence of legal aid providers leaving the market directly as a result of the cyber-attack. Since April 2023 there has been a net increase in the number of providers contracted to deliver legal aid services.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the costs incurred by Department as a result of the Legal Aid Agency data breach on 23 April 2025.

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

This data breach was the result of serious criminal activity but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last Conservative Government. Upon taking office, I was shocked to see how fragile our legal aid systems were. The previous Government knew about the vulnerabilities of the Legal Aid Agency digital systems, but failed to invest. By contrast, since taking office, this Government has prioritised work to rebuild the LAA digital systems. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services as we build back better in response to this attack. We are now in a position where all providers have online access to our civil legal aid services currently available via SiLAS, alongside our criminal legal aid services, which were restored in September.

This is an evolving situation but to date the total operational and digital costs of the incident are forecast to be £22 million for this financial year.

All providers have been able to access payment for work carried out whilst systems have been offline.

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, or where the value of their outstanding work varies from this, to apply for a specific payment to meet the cost of that work. Payments are made on a weekly basis. The weekly average payment is based on previous payments made to that provider over the 3 month period preceding the cyber incident.  Some providers have not opted in to receive payment in this way and wait for the restoration of the systems, but payments are there should they need it. We are unable to quantify the number of legal aid providers who have not opted in to receive an average payment in each of the weeks it has been available.

Providers are obligated to act in the best interests of their clients both by their own SRA regulatory requirements and by their LAA Contracts. In circumstances where a legal aid provider is unable to continue providing representation in an ongoing case, for whatever reason, they have a professional and contractual obligation toward their client to assist them in finding alternative representation.

We have not seen any evidence of legal aid providers leaving the market directly as a result of the cyber-attack. Since April 2023 there has been a net increase in the number of providers contracted to deliver legal aid services.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) barristers, and (b) solicitors have not been paid by the Legal Aid Agency since the data breach of 23 April 2025.

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

This data breach was the result of serious criminal activity but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last Conservative Government. Upon taking office, I was shocked to see how fragile our legal aid systems were. The previous Government knew about the vulnerabilities of the Legal Aid Agency digital systems, but failed to invest. By contrast, since taking office, this Government has prioritised work to rebuild the LAA digital systems. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services as we build back better in response to this attack. We are now in a position where all providers have online access to our civil legal aid services currently available via SiLAS, alongside our criminal legal aid services, which were restored in September.

This is an evolving situation but to date the total operational and digital costs of the incident are forecast to be £22 million for this financial year.

All providers have been able to access payment for work carried out whilst systems have been offline.

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, or where the value of their outstanding work varies from this, to apply for a specific payment to meet the cost of that work. Payments are made on a weekly basis. The weekly average payment is based on previous payments made to that provider over the 3 month period preceding the cyber incident.  Some providers have not opted in to receive payment in this way and wait for the restoration of the systems, but payments are there should they need it. We are unable to quantify the number of legal aid providers who have not opted in to receive an average payment in each of the weeks it has been available.

Providers are obligated to act in the best interests of their clients both by their own SRA regulatory requirements and by their LAA Contracts. In circumstances where a legal aid provider is unable to continue providing representation in an ongoing case, for whatever reason, they have a professional and contractual obligation toward their client to assist them in finding alternative representation.

We have not seen any evidence of legal aid providers leaving the market directly as a result of the cyber-attack. Since April 2023 there has been a net increase in the number of providers contracted to deliver legal aid services.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many legal aid cases have been dropped since 23 April 2025.

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

This data breach was the result of serious criminal activity but it was enabled by the fragility of the LAA’s IT systems as a result of the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last Conservative Government. Upon taking office, I was shocked to see how fragile our legal aid systems were. The previous Government knew about the vulnerabilities of the Legal Aid Agency digital systems, but failed to invest. By contrast, since taking office, this Government has prioritised work to rebuild the LAA digital systems. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services as we build back better in response to this attack. We are now in a position where all providers have online access to our civil legal aid services currently available via SiLAS, alongside our criminal legal aid services, which were restored in September.

This is an evolving situation but to date the total operational and digital costs of the incident are forecast to be £22 million for this financial year.

All providers have been able to access payment for work carried out whilst systems have been offline.

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, or where the value of their outstanding work varies from this, to apply for a specific payment to meet the cost of that work. Payments are made on a weekly basis. The weekly average payment is based on previous payments made to that provider over the 3 month period preceding the cyber incident.  Some providers have not opted in to receive payment in this way and wait for the restoration of the systems, but payments are there should they need it. We are unable to quantify the number of legal aid providers who have not opted in to receive an average payment in each of the weeks it has been available.

Providers are obligated to act in the best interests of their clients both by their own SRA regulatory requirements and by their LAA Contracts. In circumstances where a legal aid provider is unable to continue providing representation in an ongoing case, for whatever reason, they have a professional and contractual obligation toward their client to assist them in finding alternative representation.

We have not seen any evidence of legal aid providers leaving the market directly as a result of the cyber-attack. Since April 2023 there has been a net increase in the number of providers contracted to deliver legal aid services.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and financial regulators on implementation of the financial services chapter of the UK–Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Engagement between the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and the Chancellor of the Exchequer has focused on key aims for the UK-Republic of Korea FTA. HM Treasury officials, who negotiated financial services provisions, have engaged regularly with UK financial regulators throughout.

The Department for Business and Trade will lead on implementing the agreement, with input from HMT officials on financial services provisions. The Financial Services chapter contains consultation provisions which provide a formal mechanism for the UK Government – including, where appropriate, representatives from its financial regulators - to discuss implementation of these commitments with the Republic of Korea.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what formal mechanisms exist for engagement with financial services firms on the operation of the UK–Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Both DBT and HM Treasury conduct routine engagement with Financial Services firms and representative bodies. HMT’s Working Group discusses the negotiation and operation of UK trade agreements, including the UK-Republic of Korea FTA. DBT conducts engagement with Financial Services firms and representative bodies as part of its broader services engagement programme. This includes bilateral conversations and fora to collate interests in UK trade agreements, including the UK-Republic of Korea FTA, and assess business sentiment regarding their negotiation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure capital investment in NHS estate and infrastructure supports improvements in climate resilience.

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

We recognise the importance of increasing the climate resilience of the National Health Service estate and infrastructure. NHS trusts are responsible for maintaining their estate, including adapting premises to reduce the risks associated with climate change, as set out in the NHS Standard Contract.

The Department is supporting the improvement of NHS sites by investing £30 billion over the next five years in day-to-day maintenance and repair, with £5 billion allocated specifically to address the most critical building issues. NHS trusts will be able to direct some of this funding towards improving the climate resilience of their estate where this is locally appropriate. Additionally, the Department is making sure all new hospitals are fit for the future. The Department’s New Hospital Programme requires schemes to achieve a minimum rating of BREEAM ‘Excellent’ for new builds, and ‘Very Good’ for refurbishments. All NHS investments in new buildings and upgrades to existing facilities that are subject to HM Treasury business case approval process must align with the NHS Net Zero Building Standard, which includes a focus on overheating risks.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to raise the maximum reimbursement Student Finance England can provide for incorrect advice above £500.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Student Finance England is a service provided by the Student Loans Company (SLC).

The SLC is a non-departmental public body and therefore is issued its own delegated authority letter by the department. However, its delegated authority limits cannot exceed those delegated to the department by His Majesty’s Treasury (HMT). For consolatory payments (ex-gratia payments) to individuals, the limit is £500.

HMT are reviewing delegated authority limits for all government departments, as set out in the Office for Value for Money’s document ‘Reforming the spending control and accountability framework’, published on 26 October alongside the Budget. HMT and the department will consider any implications for the SLC’s delegations, in light of any changes which may be made to department’s delegations following this review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has recently proposed measures to ensure that fines against NHS trusts are ringfenced for spending on health matters.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (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.

Any fixed penalty paid to the CQC is not retained but must be 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 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 Department has not recently proposed any measures to change this.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his timeline is for launching the proposed framework to scrutinise additional costs and levies on consumer energy bills.

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

At the budget, the Chancellor agreed to subject any additional costs, including new levies, to enhanced scrutiny under a new framework to ensure they are affordable, represent value for money and do not impose unnecessary costs on households and businesses. The development of this new framework is underway with HM Treasury and we will provide an update in due course.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 132 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, published on 23 October 2025, for what reason his Department retained £90 million of dividends and returned £71 million of dividends to HM Treasury from the Crown Commercial Service.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In the spending review 2021, HM Treasury agreed that dividends received from Crown Commercial Service were to be returned to HMT and would be compensated with an annual reserve claim of up to £71 million.

In the Autumn Budget 2024, HMT approved that in 2024-25, in addition to the annual reserve claim, the Cabinet Office may retain up to £196 million in income from dividends from the Crown Commercial Service.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Welsh Government will receive Barnett consequentials from the Warm Homes Plan.

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

Calculating Barnett consequentials of the Government's spending commitments is the responsibility of HM Treasury.

At almost £15 billion, the Warm Homes Plan is the single biggest public investment programme in energy efficiency in UK history. The Treasury has not yet confirmed the total Barnett consequential nor the specific appointment for Wales. More details on the Warm Homes Plan will be published soon.

As issues of energy efficiency, fuel poverty and heat are largely devolved Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have specific Net Zero strategies. We work closely with our counterparts in the Devolved Governments to ensure our strategies align.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish an Equality Impact Assessment for changes to the Motability scheme.

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

The Motability Scheme is a lifeline for many disabled people and families, supporting their independence by enabling them to lease a car, wheelchair accessible vehicle, scooter or powered wheelchair in exchange for an eligible disability benefit allowance.

The government announced a package of reforms to the Motability Scheme at Autumn Budget 2025, which will ensure the scheme delivers value for money for the taxpayer, while continuing to support disabled people.

An Equality Impact Assessment was undertaken and published by HMT as part of the Autumn Budget and can be found here: Motability Scheme: reforming tax reliefs - GOV.UK

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 3 December 2025 to Question 94583 on Public Bodies: Fines, how much revenue has been generated for (a) the consolidated fund and (b) enforcing bodies due to 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.

No fines as a result of CQC enforcement activity are retained by the CQC. Any fixed penalty paid to the CQC is not retained but must be 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 of Health and Social Care on a quarterly basis.  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.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the oral Answer of 20 November 2025, Official Report, Column 834, on Motorists, and further to the point of order of 25 November 2025, Official report, Column 261, on what date was she first aware of the proposal to introduce a national pay-per-mile Electric Vehicle Excise Duty scheme in the Budget 2025.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with HM Treasury ministers about a range of topics, but final tax decisions are for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to make and are announced at the Budget.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to establish metrics to monitor the effectiveness of the Government’s scale-up interventions.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Monitoring and evaluation are an important way of identifying lessons that can be learnt to improve both the design and delivery of future interventions. Consistent with HMT guidance, we will establish metrics and proportionate monitoring and evaluation provisions for DBT’s scale-up interventions.

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