Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what analysis she has commissioned from HMRC of the tax contribution made by the 257,000 British nationals who the ONS estimates left the UK in 2024.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Chancellor has not commissioned any analysis from HMRC on the tax contribution of the ONS estimate of 257,000 British nationals who left the UK in 2024.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education on reforming Child Benefit rules to better support children experiencing mental-health crises who cannot attend school.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Child Benefit remains in payment until 31 August following a child’s 16th birthday. This applies without any conditions on education, so there is no impact on children of this age if they are unable to attend school for any reason.

For young people who are over 16 and under 20, Child Benefit remains payable if they continue in full-time non-advanced education or training. Legislation allows for Child Benefit to continue being paid when this education is interrupted. This can be for a period of up to six months, or for as long as is reasonable if it is attributable to the illness or disability of mind or body. Child Benefit can also still be paid in respect of young people who cannot attend education for an average of more than 12 hours per week due to an illness or disability.

The Government does not hold data on the number of families where Child Benefit has stopped because a young person over 16 has not been able to attend education due to mental ill health.

Where a young person is unable to return to education because of mental ill-health or trauma, disability benefits may provide a more suitable form of long-term support.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has conducted an equality impact assessment on the effect of school-attendance-linked Child Benefit rules on children with mental-health-related disabilities.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Child Benefit remains in payment until 31 August following a child’s 16th birthday. This applies without any conditions on education, so there is no impact on children of this age if they are unable to attend school for any reason.

For young people who are over 16 and under 20, Child Benefit remains payable if they continue in full-time non-advanced education or training. Legislation allows for Child Benefit to continue being paid when this education is interrupted. This can be for a period of up to six months, or for as long as is reasonable if it is attributable to the illness or disability of mind or body. Child Benefit can also still be paid in respect of young people who cannot attend education for an average of more than 12 hours per week due to an illness or disability.

The Government does not hold data on the number of families where Child Benefit has stopped because a young person over 16 has not been able to attend education due to mental ill health.

Where a young person is unable to return to education because of mental ill-health or trauma, disability benefits may provide a more suitable form of long-term support.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of Child Benefit cessation on families where a child or young person is unable to attend school as a result of clinically evidenced mental-health conditions or trauma.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Child Benefit remains in payment until 31 August following a child’s 16th birthday. This applies without any conditions on education, so there is no impact on children of this age if they are unable to attend school for any reason.

For young people who are over 16 and under 20, Child Benefit remains payable if they continue in full-time non-advanced education or training. Legislation allows for Child Benefit to continue being paid when this education is interrupted. This can be for a period of up to six months, or for as long as is reasonable if it is attributable to the illness or disability of mind or body. Child Benefit can also still be paid in respect of young people who cannot attend education for an average of more than 12 hours per week due to an illness or disability.

The Government does not hold data on the number of families where Child Benefit has stopped because a young person over 16 has not been able to attend education due to mental ill health.

Where a young person is unable to return to education because of mental ill-health or trauma, disability benefits may provide a more suitable form of long-term support.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of families who have had Child Benefit reduced or withdrawn because a child or young person has been unable to attend school due to mental ill-health.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Child Benefit remains in payment until 31 August following a child’s 16th birthday. This applies without any conditions on education, so there is no impact on children of this age if they are unable to attend school for any reason.

For young people who are over 16 and under 20, Child Benefit remains payable if they continue in full-time non-advanced education or training. Legislation allows for Child Benefit to continue being paid when this education is interrupted. This can be for a period of up to six months, or for as long as is reasonable if it is attributable to the illness or disability of mind or body. Child Benefit can also still be paid in respect of young people who cannot attend education for an average of more than 12 hours per week due to an illness or disability.

The Government does not hold data on the number of families where Child Benefit has stopped because a young person over 16 has not been able to attend education due to mental ill health.

Where a young person is unable to return to education because of mental ill-health or trauma, disability benefits may provide a more suitable form of long-term support.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to review Child Benefit eligibility rules linked to school attendance in relation to absence caused by severe mental ill-health or trauma.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Child Benefit remains in payment until 31 August following a child’s 16th birthday. This applies without any conditions on education, so there is no impact on children of this age if they are unable to attend school for any reason.

For young people who are over 16 and under 20, Child Benefit remains payable if they continue in full-time non-advanced education or training. Legislation allows for Child Benefit to continue being paid when this education is interrupted. This can be for a period of up to six months, or for as long as is reasonable if it is attributable to the illness or disability of mind or body. Child Benefit can also still be paid in respect of young people who cannot attend education for an average of more than 12 hours per week due to an illness or disability.

The Government does not hold data on the number of families where Child Benefit has stopped because a young person over 16 has not been able to attend education due to mental ill health.

Where a young person is unable to return to education because of mental ill-health or trauma, disability benefits may provide a more suitable form of long-term support.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether a second homes council tax premium has been paid for her Ministerial residence since 1 April 2025.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

All council tax due on the Chancellor’s Ministerial residence has been paid in full.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87814, what proportion of mileage claims are made using a). HMRC Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates and b). employers own assessment by 1). employees and 2). the self-employed.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The research report can be found here: Research with employers on Benefits in Kind and expenses - GOV.UK

Self-employed people are able to choose whether to use the simplified mileage rates or claim actual expenses and capital allowances for a vehicle. HMRC published research carried out in 2023 which showed that 29% of self-employed people who use vehicles in their business use the simplified mileage rates.

The research report was published on 28 May 2025 and can be found here: HMRC Mileage Rates Research - GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the UK Internal Market System, how many unclosed supplementary declarations were there on 1 October 2025.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

There are several facilitations available to businesses moving goods within the UK Internal Market System. Businesses can choose to make use of Simplified Customs Declaration Processes (SCDP), such as the Entry in Declarants Records (EIDR) process when moving goods into Northern Ireland. This allows businesses to have up until the 10th calendar day of the month following the goods entering Northern Ireland to submit a supplementary declaration. HMRC cannot provide the number of unclosed supplementary declarations as HMRC does not have direct access to all traders’ records that make use of EIDR. HMRC continues to support businesses to comply with their legal obligations.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have taken to boost cross-border economic growth between England and Wales.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Economic growth is the central mission of the government. We work closely with the Welsh Government to ensure that Wales, like all parts of the United Kingdom, plays a full part in this mission and benefits from our modern Industrial Strategy, with higher living standards delivered across the country.

As part of this mission, the government is investing in projects that will drive growth across Wales. Alongside rail commitments announced at the last Spending Review, we have recently announced that Anglesey in North Wales will pioneer the UK’s first small modular reactors at Wylfa, with £2.5 billion of UK Government funding. This represents the most significant industrial investment in North Wales in a generation. The project is expected to support up to 3,000 jobs at peak construction and provide power for up to three million homes. Alongside this announcement, we have designated a new AI Growth Zone at the Anglesey Freeport, as well as another in South Wales.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make changes to tax and National insurance reliefs for salary sacrifice pension arrangements; and if so, what estimate they have made of the cost to employers, in particular in regard to the cost of changing payroll processes and renegotiating employment contracts.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process. The Chancellor will announce any changes to the tax system at fiscal events in the usual way.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the cost of business loans offered by IWOCA.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

I refer my honourable friend to the answers I provided on the topic of SME lending on 23 October, and more recently in relation to the rate of short-term lending to small and medium sized businesses in the UK.

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

More widely, case complaints are a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service rather than the Government, where the Treasury receives correspondence across a wide variety of subjects including financial services. While we are not able to measure the number of complaints the department receives in relation to high-cost credit for business loans (or in relation to an individual provider), the volume of correspondence on the cost of credit in relation to business loans, is generally low.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints her Department has received on the cost of loans offered by IWOCA to small and medium sized businesses.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

I refer my honourable friend to the answers I provided on the topic of SME lending on 23 October, and more recently in relation to the rate of short-term lending to small and medium sized businesses in the UK.

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

More widely, case complaints are a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service rather than the Government, where the Treasury receives correspondence across a wide variety of subjects including financial services. While we are not able to measure the number of complaints the department receives in relation to high-cost credit for business loans (or in relation to an individual provider), the volume of correspondence on the cost of credit in relation to business loans, is generally low.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data her Department holds on the (a) number of claims and (b) value of payments made for statutory paternity leave and shared parental leave each year by economic sector and industry.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not collect data on statutory paternity leave or shared parental leave. HMRC does collect data on statutory paternity pay and shared parental pay which may closely approximate leave in both cases.

HMRC also holds data on economic sector, but to match the two together would be a significant analytical task and so the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will meet with representatives of the UK chemical industry to discuss an estimate of the potential cost of being out of the Single Market.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Government Ministers regularly meet with businesses and business representation organisations from a range of sectors, including the chemical sector. They remain open to further engagement with the sector including on ways to bolster growth, trade and investment.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 89705 on Child Benefit, whether HMRC plans to publish a report on a) the circumstances of the error and b) lessons learned from the review into suspended Child Benefit claims, including methodology, criteria for suspension, and the results of PAYE checks.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC’s Chief Executive wrote to the Treasury Select Committee on 14 November 2025 about this matter including the corrective action that HMRC is taking. This letter was subsequently published by the Committee on 18 November 2025. There are no plans to publish a report.

In the response to the Treasury Select Committee, HMRC provided figures for those customers subsequently confirmed as eligible through a PAYE check or customer contact up to and including 31 October 2025. This time period reflects that figures are only validated after the month end.

Where there was evidence that customers had continued UK employment, HMRC reinstated payments automatically without any need for customer contact and those payments have been backdated. By the end of November 2025, HMRC will have written to all customers who have not yet contacted them to provide a further 4 weeks in which to make contact.

HMRC holds information by postal address although HMRC would be unable to release to such a granular level due to the risk of breaching taxpayer confidentiality.

HMRC’s pilot last year using international travel data prevented around £17m in incorrect payments. This led to a wider rollout and investment in an additional 180 counter-fraud staff, announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, which is expected to save around £350 million over the next five years.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 89705 on Child Benefit, what steps HMRC will take to ensure that customers affected by the suspension of Child Benefit payments are formally notified of the apology issued and compensated for any financial hardship caused.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC’s Chief Executive wrote to the Treasury Select Committee on 14 November 2025 about this matter including the corrective action that HMRC is taking. This letter was subsequently published by the Committee on 18 November 2025. There are no plans to publish a report.

In the response to the Treasury Select Committee, HMRC provided figures for those customers subsequently confirmed as eligible through a PAYE check or customer contact up to and including 31 October 2025. This time period reflects that figures are only validated after the month end.

Where there was evidence that customers had continued UK employment, HMRC reinstated payments automatically without any need for customer contact and those payments have been backdated. By the end of November 2025, HMRC will have written to all customers who have not yet contacted them to provide a further 4 weeks in which to make contact.

HMRC holds information by postal address although HMRC would be unable to release to such a granular level due to the risk of breaching taxpayer confidentiality.

HMRC’s pilot last year using international travel data prevented around £17m in incorrect payments. This led to a wider rollout and investment in an additional 180 counter-fraud staff, announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, which is expected to save around £350 million over the next five years.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 89703 on Child Benefit, if she can advise what is the most localised level for which data is available.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC’s Chief Executive wrote to the Treasury Select Committee on 14 November 2025 about this matter including the corrective action that HMRC is taking. This letter was subsequently published by the Committee on 18 November 2025. There are no plans to publish a report.

In the response to the Treasury Select Committee, HMRC provided figures for those customers subsequently confirmed as eligible through a PAYE check or customer contact up to and including 31 October 2025. This time period reflects that figures are only validated after the month end.

Where there was evidence that customers had continued UK employment, HMRC reinstated payments automatically without any need for customer contact and those payments have been backdated. By the end of November 2025, HMRC will have written to all customers who have not yet contacted them to provide a further 4 weeks in which to make contact.

HMRC holds information by postal address although HMRC would be unable to release to such a granular level due to the risk of breaching taxpayer confidentiality.

HMRC’s pilot last year using international travel data prevented around £17m in incorrect payments. This led to a wider rollout and investment in an additional 180 counter-fraud staff, announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, which is expected to save around £350 million over the next five years.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether ministers have met Welsh farmers regarding the agricultural inheritance tax on working farms.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Ministers from several Government departments have met with organisations including the National Farmers’ Union, the Tenant Farmers’ Association, the Country Land and Business Association, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, the Ulster Farmers’ Union, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Farmers’ Union of Wales.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 89705 on Child Benefit, how many of the 23,500 enquiries excluded from the PAYE check were found to be eligible for reinstatement after the checks were completed on 14 November 2025.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC’s Chief Executive wrote to the Treasury Select Committee on 14 November 2025 about this matter including the corrective action that HMRC is taking. This letter was subsequently published by the Committee on 18 November 2025. There are no plans to publish a report.

In the response to the Treasury Select Committee, HMRC provided figures for those customers subsequently confirmed as eligible through a PAYE check or customer contact up to and including 31 October 2025. This time period reflects that figures are only validated after the month end.

Where there was evidence that customers had continued UK employment, HMRC reinstated payments automatically without any need for customer contact and those payments have been backdated. By the end of November 2025, HMRC will have written to all customers who have not yet contacted them to provide a further 4 weeks in which to make contact.

HMRC holds information by postal address although HMRC would be unable to release to such a granular level due to the risk of breaching taxpayer confidentiality.

HMRC’s pilot last year using international travel data prevented around £17m in incorrect payments. This led to a wider rollout and investment in an additional 180 counter-fraud staff, announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, which is expected to save around £350 million over the next five years.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answered of 27 May 2025 to question 53743 on Taxation: Overpayments, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of improving HMRC’s data collection systems to record more detailed information on enquiries received from hon. Members, including whether those enquiries (a) related to overpaid or overcharged tax and (b) resulted in repayment.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 6 November (HL11291), what were the annual costs of the tax exemption of income receipts and capital gains in pension funds in the past three years.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Estimates of Income Tax relief on pension contributions can be found in Table 6 of the Private Pension Statistics publication. [1]

Figures are in £ million and rounded to the nearest £100 million.

The column totals may not equal the sum of the individual components due to rounding.

HMRC does not hold data on the cost of the tax exemption of capital gains in pension funds.

[1] This publication can be access via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-and-stakeholder-pensions-statistics

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many telephone operators work on the HMRC employers general enquiries line by the nationality of those operators.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not have information readily available identifying the nationality of staff working on specific telephone enquiry lines. Obtaining this information would require a manual process which would exceed the cost threshold for answering parliamentary questions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many telephone operators work on the HMRC self-assessment line by the nationality of those operators.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not have information readily available identifying the nationality of staff working on specific telephone enquiry lines. Obtaining this information would require a manual process which would exceed the cost threshold for answering parliamentary questions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of penalties for people engaged in the illegal trade of tobacco products.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has a robust strategy to tackle the illicit tobacco trade which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stubbing-out-the-problem-a-new-strategy-to-tackle-illicit-tobacco/stubbing-out-the-problem-a-new-strategy-to-tackle-illicit-tobacco

This strategy combines legislation, controls, operations and sanctions to penalise and deter those involved in the illegal trade of tobacco products.

HMRC works together with partner agencies such as Border Force and Trading Standards in tackling illicit tobacco. Penalties provide a strong deterrent effect and play a key role in enforcement activity. Published data on seizures, criminal investigations and civil penalties related to tobacco can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-outputs-for-tacking-tobacco-smuggling

The scope, impact and effectiveness of penalties are continually reviewed as part of the wider tobacco strategy. Strong enforcement supported by robust penalties has contributed to a significant reduction in the estimated duty gap by around one third for cigarettes (from 16.9% in 2005 to 10.5% in 2023 to 2024) and by nearly two thirds for hand-rolling tobacco (from 65.2% to 22.9% over the same period).

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism during the debate on Hospitality Sector of 3 September 2025, Official Report, column 351WH, whether she plans to introduce a tourism tax.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy, if they so choose.

We have 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 precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector in developing this power through the consultation process.

The impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear these concerns. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is invested.

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

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the comments made by the then Tourism Minister on 3 September 2025 (Hansard col 351), that the Government has no plans to introduce a tourism tax, remain the policy of her Department.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy, if they so choose.

We have 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 precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector in developing this power through the consultation process.

The impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear these concerns. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is invested.

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

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a visitor levy on a) domestic and inbound tourism demand, b) inflation and c) the cost burden on hospitality businesses.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy, if they so choose.

We have 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 precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector in developing this power through the consultation process.

The impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear these concerns. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is invested.

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

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues about a potential introduction of a tourism tax or visitor levy powers.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy, if they so choose.

We have 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 precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector in developing this power through the consultation process.

The impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear these concerns. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is invested.

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

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Treasury plans to introduce additional protections for individuals who face retaliation as a result of engaging with the HMRC whistleblowing reward scheme; and whether HMRC will be required to provide support to whistleblowers involved in employment disputes or SLAPP-type legal proceedings arising from their disclosures.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC treats all informants with the highest levels of confidentiality and security in line with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 and the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) Codes of Practice.

There is no legal obligation on HMRC to participate in an employment tribunal of an informant. However, if requested, HMRC can provide a disclosure to the informant or their legal representative to support any employment tribunal under Sec 18 (2)(c) Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether officials in her Department have worked on proposals to provide Mayors with powers to introduce a visitor levy.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy, if they so choose.

We have 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 precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector in developing this power through the consultation process.

The impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear these concerns. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is invested.

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

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has carried out modelling on a visitor levy.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy, if they so choose.

We have 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 precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector in developing this power through the consultation process.

The impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear these concerns. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is invested.

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

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to WPQ 91913, did the dedicated director of the National Wealth Fund based in Northern Ireland meet with the Northern Ireland Executive (a) once, or (b) more than once, since December 2024.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Pursuant to WPQ 91913, in 2025 the National Wealth Fund’s Regional Director for Northern Ireland has met with the Northern Ireland Executive more than once to discuss investment opportunities.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to provide an answer to Question 22764 on Government Securities: Public Sector Debt.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

A response was provided for Question 22764 on 13 January 2025. The government does not comment on specific financial market movements.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her department is taking to change (i) the tax system and (ii) public sector funds to encourage further investment in start-ups and early stage companies.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to making the UK the best place to start and grow a business, recognising the importance of a competitive investment environment for economic growth.

The UK is already the best place in Europe to start a business, and Autumn Budget 2025 sets out measures which will unlock even more investment in UK entrepreneurs and innovators, including start-ups and early stage companies.

On tax, we are doubling the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and Venture Capital Trusts (VCT) investment limits, and expanding eligibility for the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) scheme. These changes will encourage further investment in our most successful companies, and attract top talent to help companies grow.

On public finance, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will direct £7 billion to support innovative company growth, and, as a first step, Innovate UK will launch a £130 million Growth Catalyst programme to accelerate frontier firms. The British Business Bank (BBB) will increase annual deployment by two-thirds, aiming to unlock £26 billion of private capital alongside £13 billion in public funding, and enable up to £10 billion in small business lending through guarantees.

Together, these steps will strengthen the UK’s start-up and scale-up ecosystem, giving founders the confidence and capital to start here, scale here, and succeed here.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will amend the Financial Promotions Order to remove the exemption for self-certified sophisticated investors.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The financial promotion regime includes a number of targeted exemptions that are designed to reduce regulatory burdens, including for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking to raise capital through sophisticated private investors.

The previous government brought forward proposals to amend the exemptions for self-certified sophisticated investors and high-net-worth individuals, which came into effect in January 2024. Those reforms aimed to strike a balance between increasing consumer protection and preserving the ability of SMEs to raise capital.

However, following significant concerns having been raised about the impact of these changes on SMEs raising capital, the previous Chancellor announced at Spring Budget 2024 that the government would legislate to reinstate the previous eligibility criteria. Those changes came into effect on 27 March 2024.

The Government has no plans to remove the exemption for self-certified sophisticated investors.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to give Mayors the power to introduce a visitor levy.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy, if they so choose.

We have 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 precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector in developing this power through the consultation process.

The impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear these concerns. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is invested.

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

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department will take to ensure transparency in the operation of HMRC's proposed whistleblowing reward scheme; and whether she plans to publish (a) eligibility criteria and award thresholds for applicants, and (b) data on the number and value of awards granted.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025 the Government launched the Rewards for informants of high value tax fraud. This scheme is designed to target serious non-compliance involving large corporates, wealthy individuals, offshore and avoidance schemes. Informants can receive a reward of between 15 and 30% when they provide information which leads directly to HMRC collecting more than £1.5M tax. HMRC have published eligibility criteria for the scheme at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/reporting-serious-tax-avoidance-and-evasion.

HMRC has previously published data on the total amount of rewards paid annually through the standard informants reward scheme and will continue to do so. To protect the confidentiality of informants we do not publish the number of rewards or size of individual rewards.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has (a) undertaken (i) modelling or (ii) impact assessments and (b) consulted the hospitality sector on the introduction of a visitor levy.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy, if they so choose.

We have 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 precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector in developing this power through the consultation process.

The impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear these concerns. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is invested.

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

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a visitor levy on domestic tourism, hospitality businesses and inflation.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy, if they so choose.

We have 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 precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector in developing this power through the consultation process.

The impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear these concerns. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is invested.

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

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many properties or other assets belonging to persons affiliated with ISIS have been seized or frozen under UK Government sanctions since March 2011.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury published in its 2024-2025 Annual Review that £19.3 million in assets across multiple sanctions regimes have been reported as frozen as of September 2024. This is an aggregated total of all entities and individuals listed on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets under non specified regimes including the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida regime. OFSI does not hold a comparable figure for 2011.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) properties and (b) other assets belonging to family members of Bashar al-Assad have been (i) seized and (ii) frozen under UK Government sanctions since March 2011.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury published in its 2024-2025 Annual Review that £383 million in assets relating to the Syrian sanctions regime have been reported as frozen as of September 2024. This is an aggregated total of all entities and individuals listed on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets. OFSI does not hold a comparable figure for 2011.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she expects to receive the report on Mutuals from the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

In line with the government’s manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector, the Chancellor announced measures to support the sector at Mansion House 2024. This included asking the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to prepare a report on the mutuals landscape, to ensure that regulation for all mutuals remains proportionate and enables growth.

The report is expected to be published by the regulators before the end of 2025.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps are being taken to inform young adults whose matured Child Trust Fund monies have not been claimed.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to reuniting all young adults with their Child Trust Funds (CTF). HMRC works with CTF providers, industry representatives and others to enable account owners to be aware of and trace their accounts.

For example, HMRC has partnered with the University and Colleges Admissions Service to encourage awareness among student peer groups. HMRC issues a range of communications such as the recent press release published on Gov.uk - www.gov.uk/government/news/savings-stash-worth-thousands-waiting-for-758000-young-people.

HMRC also provides a free tracing tool on Gov.uk to help people find their CTF provider (www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-trust-fund) and has also provided a link to The Share Foundation’s CTF account tracing service on Gov.uk, providing an additional way for young people to trace their accounts.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has investigated (a) Photovolt Development Partners and (b) Cranssetta Investments Ltd regarding sanctions against the (i) Russian Federation and (ii) named Russian individuals.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

OFSI does not generally comment on specific cases or confirm if particular companies are or have been subject to investigation beyond the publishing of public enforcement actions such as a monetary penalty.

OFSI is committed to ensuring that sanctions are robustly enforced and potential breaches are investigated and appropriate action taken.

If somebody has evidence or information of activity that contravenes UK financial sanctions, this should be reported to OFSI immediately using the reporting form available on GOV.UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints the a) Financial Ombudsman Service, b) Financial Conduct Authority and c) Prudential Regulation Authority received about i) the cost of loans to SMEs, ii) debt recovery behaviour by those offering to lend to SMEs and iii) fees charged by lenders when lending to SMEs in each of the last three years for which data is available.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

I refer my honourable friend to the answers I provided on the topic of SME lending on 23 October.

Complaints are the remit of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which publishes regular data on complaint trends. In its latest quarterly report, it noted that complaints about unaffordable lending had halved, though this figure does not distinguish between household and business credit, and complaint patterns can fluctuate each quarter. Over the past five years, credit card complaints have consistently ranked among the top five issues, while business lending has generated relatively few FOS disputes compared to personal and household credit.

The Bank of England’s ‘Bankstats’ data tracks business and household credit, including average interest rates for SMEs. As of 31 August 2025, the average rate for new SME loans from UK banks is 6.35%, reflecting a decline in line with base rate reductions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of debt servicing on the ability of low-income countries to fund public services and climate adaptation; and what steps she is taking to support international debt cancellation initiatives.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK government is focused on delivering an international financial system that better finances development needs, reduces debt vulnerabilities, and supports relevant countries to be more resilient to shocks, including those caused by climate change and nature loss.

We are working with all our partners to tackle unsustainable debt and ensure all countries can invest and grow. I am co-chairing the 'London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt', launched in June to work with private creditors on sovereign debt issues, and at the UN Fourth Conference on Financing for Development, the UK co-led the launch of the Debt Pause Clause Alliance. We continue to drive progress in the G20 on strengthening and accelerating debt restructurings via the G20 Common Framework.

The UK government is committed to playing our part alongside other developed countries and providers to deliver our international climate finance commitments, including through our shareholdings at the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), the largest providers of public climate finance. We are also pushing for new sources of funding such as agreement on the International Maritime Organisation's Net Zero Framework alongside efforts to mobilise more private capital.

In line with the UK's commitment to the OECD's sustainable lending practices, the UK government considers debt sustainability when providing financing, particularly in cases of lending to countries deemed at high risk of debt distress. In such cases, the UK only supports projects in line with limits set by the IMF and World Bank. We also follow best practice under the G20 Official Guidelines on Sustainable Finance, including strong commitments to debt transparency, and recently published our own self-assessment against these guidelines.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of a financial levy on UK industries historically linked to environmental degradation with revenue allocated to affected countries.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to helping deliver global climate finance, including the New Collective Quantified Goal agreed at COP29 of at least $300bn per year to developing countries by 2035, and responding to the wider call on all actors to increase climate finance to developing countries to £1.3trn per year.

As part of that effort, we are pressing for faster and more ambitious reforms to the global financial system to deliver much more and higher quality climate and development finance. Alongside this, we are supportive of exploring revenue raising mechanisms for climate action.

The Government’s headline carbon pricing measure is the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), a ‘cap and trade’ system setting a declining cap on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted by covered sectors, which include the power sector, energy intensive industries and aviation.

This approach is viewed by the IMF and World Bank as one of the most efficient tools for promoting decarbonisation.

The Government is committed to the ETS until at least 2050. In 2024-25 the UK ETS raised £3.5bn to support public services and other government objectives like net zero.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with international partners on the potential merits of linking debt cancellation to climate adaptation funding for countries facing both high debt burdens and climate-related disasters.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK government is focused on delivering an international financial system that better finances development needs, reduces debt vulnerabilities, and supports relevant countries to be more resilient to shocks, including those caused by climate change and nature loss.

We are working with all our partners to tackle unsustainable debt and ensure all countries can invest and grow. I am co-chairing the 'London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt', launched in June to work with private creditors on sovereign debt issues, and at the UN Fourth Conference on Financing for Development, the UK co-led the launch of the Debt Pause Clause Alliance. We continue to drive progress in the G20 on strengthening and accelerating debt restructurings via the G20 Common Framework.

The UK government is committed to playing our part alongside other developed countries and providers to deliver our international climate finance commitments, including through our shareholdings at the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), the largest providers of public climate finance. We are also pushing for new sources of funding such as agreement on the International Maritime Organisation's Net Zero Framework alongside efforts to mobilise more private capital.

In line with the UK's commitment to the OECD's sustainable lending practices, the UK government considers debt sustainability when providing financing, particularly in cases of lending to countries deemed at high risk of debt distress. In such cases, the UK only supports projects in line with limits set by the IMF and World Bank. We also follow best practice under the G20 Official Guidelines on Sustainable Finance, including strong commitments to debt transparency, and recently published our own self-assessment against these guidelines.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to encourage private creditors to participate in international debt relief efforts for heavily indebted low-income countries.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK government is focused on delivering an international financial system that better finances development needs, reduces debt vulnerabilities, and supports relevant countries to be more resilient to shocks, including those caused by climate change and nature loss.

We are working with all our partners to tackle unsustainable debt and ensure all countries can invest and grow. I am co-chairing the 'London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt', launched in June to work with private creditors on sovereign debt issues, and at the UN Fourth Conference on Financing for Development, the UK co-led the launch of the Debt Pause Clause Alliance. We continue to drive progress in the G20 on strengthening and accelerating debt restructurings via the G20 Common Framework.

The UK government is committed to playing our part alongside other developed countries and providers to deliver our international climate finance commitments, including through our shareholdings at the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), the largest providers of public climate finance. We are also pushing for new sources of funding such as agreement on the International Maritime Organisation's Net Zero Framework alongside efforts to mobilise more private capital.

In line with the UK's commitment to the OECD's sustainable lending practices, the UK government considers debt sustainability when providing financing, particularly in cases of lending to countries deemed at high risk of debt distress. In such cases, the UK only supports projects in line with limits set by the IMF and World Bank. We also follow best practice under the G20 Official Guidelines on Sustainable Finance, including strong commitments to debt transparency, and recently published our own self-assessment against these guidelines.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that UK-based private lenders participate in international debt relief initiatives for low-income countries.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK government is focused on delivering an international financial system that better finances development needs, reduces debt vulnerabilities, and supports relevant countries to be more resilient to shocks, including those caused by climate change and nature loss.

We are working with all our partners to tackle unsustainable debt and ensure all countries can invest and grow. I am co-chairing the 'London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt', launched in June to work with private creditors on sovereign debt issues, and at the UN Fourth Conference on Financing for Development, the UK co-led the launch of the Debt Pause Clause Alliance. We continue to drive progress in the G20 on strengthening and accelerating debt restructurings via the G20 Common Framework.

The UK government is committed to playing our part alongside other developed countries and providers to deliver our international climate finance commitments, including through our shareholdings at the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), the largest providers of public climate finance. We are also pushing for new sources of funding such as agreement on the International Maritime Organisation's Net Zero Framework alongside efforts to mobilise more private capital.

In line with the UK's commitment to the OECD's sustainable lending practices, the UK government considers debt sustainability when providing financing, particularly in cases of lending to countries deemed at high risk of debt distress. In such cases, the UK only supports projects in line with limits set by the IMF and World Bank. We also follow best practice under the G20 Official Guidelines on Sustainable Finance, including strong commitments to debt transparency, and recently published our own self-assessment against these guidelines.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that UK-backed international development finance does not contribute to unsustainable debt in recipient countries.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK government is focused on delivering an international financial system that better finances development needs, reduces debt vulnerabilities, and supports relevant countries to be more resilient to shocks, including those caused by climate change and nature loss.

We are working with all our partners to tackle unsustainable debt and ensure all countries can invest and grow. I am co-chairing the 'London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt', launched in June to work with private creditors on sovereign debt issues, and at the UN Fourth Conference on Financing for Development, the UK co-led the launch of the Debt Pause Clause Alliance. We continue to drive progress in the G20 on strengthening and accelerating debt restructurings via the G20 Common Framework.

The UK government is committed to playing our part alongside other developed countries and providers to deliver our international climate finance commitments, including through our shareholdings at the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), the largest providers of public climate finance. We are also pushing for new sources of funding such as agreement on the International Maritime Organisation's Net Zero Framework alongside efforts to mobilise more private capital.

In line with the UK's commitment to the OECD's sustainable lending practices, the UK government considers debt sustainability when providing financing, particularly in cases of lending to countries deemed at high risk of debt distress. In such cases, the UK only supports projects in line with limits set by the IMF and World Bank. We also follow best practice under the G20 Official Guidelines on Sustainable Finance, including strong commitments to debt transparency, and recently published our own self-assessment against these guidelines.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of effectiveness of the tax incentives available to increase the formation of Employee Ownership Trusts.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

An evaluation of the Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) tax regime commissioned by HMRC and published in May 2025 found that the tax reliefs encourage company owners to transition their companies to employee ownership under the EOT model. This evaluation can be found at GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/qualitative-evaluation-of-employee-ownership-trusts

However, the cost of the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) relief has increased significantly in recent years. The original costing from 2013 suggested the entire EOT tax regime would cost less than £100m in 2018-19. The cost of the CGT relief alone reached £600m in 2021-22 and forecasts suggest it could rise to more than 20 times the original costing to £2 billion by 2028-29 without any action.

The relief also allowed wealthy business owners to sell their shares without paying any CGT, with around half of the relief going to the largest 10% of disposals.

At Budget 2025, the government announced that it will reduce the relief available on these disposals from 100% of the gain to 50%. This will retain a strong incentive for employee ownership whilst ensuring that business owners pay their fair share of tax. The relief remains more generous than alternative reliefs that individuals might use when disposing of their companies, such as Business Asset Disposal Relief.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what change in the number of people paying income tax at 40% does she estimate will take place between 2023 and 2028.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate from 2023-24 to 2028-29 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 recent estimate she has made of the number of older people unable to pay utility bills.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

We’re committed to helping pensioners with the cost of living and ensuring financial security in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of that support. At Autumn Budget 2025 we announced that, in line with the Government’s commitment to the Triple Lock throughout this parliament, over 12 million pensioners will benefit from a 4.8% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2026, increasing their income by up to £575 a year. This follows a substantial increase in 2025/26.

The Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee will increase by 4.8% in April 2026, from £227.10 to £238 a week for a single pensioner and from £346.60 to £363.25 a week for a couple, protecting the income of the poorest pensioners. Those in receipt of Pension Credit will also automatically receive the Cold Weather Payment alongside other benefits

The Winter Fuel Payment will benefit over three quarters of pensioners for the duration of this parliament, targeting help to those on lower and middle incomes while ensuring fairness for pensioners and taxpayers

To reduce cost of living pressures immediately, the Budget removed around £150 on average off household energy bills from April 2026 by ending the Energy Company Obligation and taking some of the expensive legacy levies off bills

The Government knows that more needs to be done to support vulnerable households struggling with their energy bills. That's why we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. From this winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs.

We are also providing support for low-income households through our Warm Homes Plan which will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. At the recent Budget, we announced £1.5 billion in new funding to support households facing fuel poverty.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support older people with the cost of utility bills.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

We’re committed to helping pensioners with the cost of living and ensuring financial security in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of that support. At Autumn Budget 2025 we announced that, in line with the Government’s commitment to the Triple Lock throughout this parliament, over 12 million pensioners will benefit from a 4.8% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2026, increasing their income by up to £575 a year. This follows a substantial increase in 2025/26.

The Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee will increase by 4.8% in April 2026, from £227.10 to £238 a week for a single pensioner and from £346.60 to £363.25 a week for a couple, protecting the income of the poorest pensioners. Those in receipt of Pension Credit will also automatically receive the Cold Weather Payment alongside other benefits

The Winter Fuel Payment will benefit over three quarters of pensioners for the duration of this parliament, targeting help to those on lower and middle incomes while ensuring fairness for pensioners and taxpayers

To reduce cost of living pressures immediately, the Budget removed around £150 on average off household energy bills from April 2026 by ending the Energy Company Obligation and taking some of the expensive legacy levies off bills

The Government knows that more needs to be done to support vulnerable households struggling with their energy bills. That's why we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. From this winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs.

We are also providing support for low-income households through our Warm Homes Plan which will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. At the recent Budget, we announced £1.5 billion in new funding to support households facing fuel poverty.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to WPQ 80434 answered on 17 October 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the proposals on the (a) minimum share rule, (b) upper limit on relief and (c) transferrable allowance in that report.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

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

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

The report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) sets out its other potential amendments to the policy are not, in its own words, a “silver bullet”. For example, CenTax acknowledge the proposal for a minimum share test is less effective than the Government’s reforms in raising revenue from the wealthiest estates, could be exposed to tax planning opportunities, would not necessarily prevent wealthy individuals buying land for inheritance tax purposes, and would mean double the number of estates being affected by the reforms (and largely estates below £2 million).

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the current six‑month deadline for the payment of Inheritance Tax in cases of administrative delays in the granting of probate.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The deadline for payment of Inheritance Tax (IHT) is the end of the sixth month after the month in which the death occurs. Personal representatives (PRs) are required to make a payment of IHT before applying for probate. This is a longstanding requirement which ensures that the tax due can be collected quickly and efficiently.

HMRC offers several payment options if there are not sufficient liquid funds in the estate to pay IHT before applying for probate, including the Direct Payment Scheme and the option to pay IHT by yearly instalments. For assets which are eligible for payment of IHT by instalments, only the first instalment will be due before PRs can proceed to apply for probate. Further information on IHT payment options is available at: https://www.gov.uk/paying-inheritance-tax

In certain circumstances, PRs may also apply to HMRC to defer payment of the IHT until probate has been granted (a ‘grant on credit’). Once probate has been issued, the PRs will be expected to pay the outstanding tax as soon as possible. Further information on this option is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/applying-for-a-grant-on-credit-for-inheritance-tax

HM Courts & Tribunals Service has invested in more staff, alongside system and process improvements to reduce and maintain lower processing times for probate applications during the last year. The Ministry of Justice publishes regular data on probate timeliness in the quarterly family court statistics bulletin: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of a 5 pence per litre rise in fuel duty on (a) GDP and (b) levels of employment in the logistics sector.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Budget 2025, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026. Rates will then gradually return to previous levels. The planned increase in line with inflation for 2026-27 will not take place, with the government increasing fuel duty rates in line with RPI from April 2027. This will save the average van driver £100 next year compared to previous plans, and the average HGV driver more than £800.

The Government considers the impact of fuel duty on the economy, including households and businesses, with decisions on rates made at fiscal events.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment her Department has made of the cost-of-living pressures facing working people in Greater Manchester.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The government is prioritising cutting the cost of living and improving living standards across the UK, including for residents in Greater Manchester. The government recognises that people are still feeling the squeeze on their finances with essential areas such as energy, food and housing remaining too high. That is why we have announced that we are taking around £150 on average off household energy bills, expanding the £150 Warm Home Discount to 6 million lower income households, freezing regulated rail fares and NHS prescription fees for one-year, and extending temporary 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the disparity between wage growth and increases in living costs in Greater Manchester.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Through the growth mission, the government will deliver a milestone of higher living standards in every part of the United Kingdom by the end of the Parliament. The main route to higher living standards is through good, productive jobs, stable employment, and a thriving business environment.

The government is taking action to cut the cost of living and bring down inflation. At the Budget 2025, the government announced that it would deliver a set of measures to remove an average of £150 from household energy bills from April 2026 and would implement a one-year freeze on regulated train fares and prescription charges.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding: accessing HMRC information to assist honours committees in making ​recommendations​​​​​ about awarding honours to individuals, published on 19 October 2023, whether the HMRC Checking Panel’s deliberations are minuted and retained.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Under the published Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), HMRC will commission reports on the tax behaviour of nominees. The reports and risk ratings are retained in line with HMRC’s data retention policy, as set out in the MOU. Deliberations are not minuted, but the framework for decision making is published with the MOU.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact on employment and job creation in the hospitality sector of extending employer National Insurance contribution relief to (a) employees aged under 25 and (b) individuals returning to work from welfare.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is committed to tackling the rise in youth unemployment and inactivity, which has been growing since the last Parliament. That is why we are delivering a Youth Guarantee to ensure that every young person can access the support they need to earn or learn. This includes a new Jobs Guarantee, which will provide a six-month paid work placement for every eligible 18- to 21-year-old who has been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months – helping young people take that crucial first step into sustained employment. Details on the wider Youth Guarantee will be announced shortly.

The government is increasing funding for employment support to more than £3.75 billion per year by 2028-29, helping people to access the skills they need to progress, tackling inactivity and ensuring more people are in better jobs.

There are a wide range of factors to take into consideration when introducing a tax relief. These include how effective the relief would be at achieving the policy intent, how targeted support would be, whether it adds complexity to the tax system, and the cost.

The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process. The Chancellor will announce any changes to the tax system at fiscal events in the usual way.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make recording studios eligible for the retail, hospitality and leisure business rates relief scheme from April 2026.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As announced at the Budget in October 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from April 2026.

Since these new multipliers were announced in the previous Budget, the Government has been clear that the intention was for their scope to broadly reflect the scope of the current 40 per cent RHL business rates relief, which is centred around RHL properties that are “reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public”.

On 16 October 2025, the Government published legislation and accompanying guidance detailing the eligibility criteria for the new multipliers. As music studios are not generally reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public, the Government has no plans to make recording studios eligible for the new multipliers.

Nevertheless, the Government values the music industry and understands that recording studios are a vital part of the infrastructure of the industry. The Music Growth Package will see Government funding for the sector more than doubled from £4.1 million to up to £10 million a year for the next three years.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support she is offering for the building societies, in the context of the government's ambition to double the size of the mutuals sector.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is committed to supporting the growth of building societies in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the mutual and co-operative sector. HM Treasury has already announced measures to support the sector and is currently progressing these.

For building societies specifically, HM Treasury has committed to progressing further amendments to the Building Societies Act 1986. This follows two statutory instruments being laid in October 2024, which raise the turnover limit for the definition of a small business for the purpose of wholesale funding limit exclusions, remove outdated director retirement requirements, and simplify how balance sheets are signed. These will create a more supportive legislative environment for building societies.

To support all financial mutuals, HM Treasury has also asked the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to produce a report on the current landscape of the sector. This is expected to be published before the end of 2025. The government also welcomed the establishment of the Mutual and Co-operative Sector Business Council to consider mutual and co-operative solutions. The government also published the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which will support all organisations in the financial services sector and encourages the sector to continue to work in partnership with government to deliver growth.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she will take to ensure banks provide access to affordable credit to people who are financially excluded.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that, when provided responsibly, credit can play an important role in helping people manage unexpected expenses and smooth their cash flow. Access to suitable, affordable credit products can support people’s financial resilience and help them achieve their financial goals.

For this reason, the Government is committed to improving access to affordable credit. HM Treasury regularly engages with lenders on a range of policy matters, including how the provision of affordable credit can be strengthened.

The Government’s recently published Financial Inclusion Strategy sets out an ambitious package of measures to improve access to affordable credit. This includes support for the community finance sector and a pilot of a small-sum lending scheme, run by Fair4All Finance, which will test the offer of small value loans from a mainstream lender.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help support the growth of the mutual banking and building society sector.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is committed to supporting the growth of building societies and all mutual financial services in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the mutual and co-operative sector. HM Treasury has already announced measures to support financial mutuals and is currently progressing these.

For building societies, HM Treasury has committed to progressing further amendments to the Building Societies Act 1986. This follows two statutory instruments being laid in October 2024, which allow building societies to accept deposits from a wider range of SMEs, remove outdated director retirement requirements, and simplify how balance sheets are signed. These will create a more supportive legislative environment for building societies.

To support all financial mutuals, HM Treasury has also asked the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to produce a report on the current landscape of the sector. This is expected to be published before the end of 2025. The government also welcomed the establishment of the Mutual and Co-operative Sector Business Council to consider mutual and co-operative solutions. The government also published the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which will support all organisations in the financial services sector and encourages the sector to continue to work in partnership with government to deliver growth. Finally, the government is also supporting the credit union sector by committing to bringing forward a package of growth-focused reforms to the credit union common bond.

The government continues to engage regularly with mutuals to understand the current barriers they face and consider further opportunities to help the sector grow.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of international policy cooperation on regulating artificial intelligence in financial services; and whether they plan to develop further UK policy in this area.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government’s ambition is to make the UK a global leader in AI, leveraging our dual strength in financial services and AI to drive growth, productivity, and consumer benefits. Encouraging safe adoption is an essential part of realising that ambition.

International collaboration is vital to ensure that we can collectively unlock AI’s potential. The UK remains committed to working internationally, including through fora such as the Financial Stability Board (FSB), to support the safe adoption of AI in the financial sector.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of continued fuel duty freezes on (a0 supporting economic growth and (b) supply chain stability in the North West.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Budget 2025, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026. Rates will then gradually return to previous levels. The planned increase in line with inflation for 2026-27 will not take place, with the government uprating fuel duty rates by RPI from April 2027. This will save the average car driver £49 next year compared to previous plans.

The Government considers the impact of fuel duty on the economy, including households and businesses, with decisions on rates made at fiscal events.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the taxation of inherited pensions before transfer into trusts on the long-term financial security of disabled beneficiaries.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Certain types of trusts for vulnerable people, including disabled persons trusts, are exempt from inheritance charges which normally apply to other types of trusts. No inheritance tax is charged on payments made to a beneficiary from a disabled persons trust. These are longstanding rules and are not changing.

From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will form part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes. This removes distortions resulting from changes that have been made to pensions tax policy over the last decade, which have led to pensions being openly used and marketed as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth, rather than as a way to fund retirement.

Following these changes, any unused pension funds or death benefits left to a disabled persons trust on the settlor’s death, will therefore be in scope for inheritance tax in the same way as other assets in the settlor’s estate, such as cash or property. This is the longstanding position for assets settled into a disabled persons trust following the settlor’s death.

The government estimates that more than 90% of estates will continue to have no inheritance tax liability following these changes and the transferable tax-free nil-rate bands mean that estates can continue to pass on up to £1 million without an inheritance tax liability.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the economy of recent outages of large-scale cloud providers.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

I refer the member to the answer given to UIN 92928 on 24 November 2025.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of fuel duty rates on (a) households that rely on vehicles for work, or in areas with limited public transport, and (b) small businesses, the logistics sector and supply chains.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Budget 2025, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026. Rates will then gradually return to previous levels. The planned increase in line with inflation for 2026-27 will not take place, with the government uprating fuel duty rates by RPI from April 2027. This will save the average car driver £49 next year compared to previous plans.

The Government considers the impact of fuel duty on the economy, including households and businesses, with decisions on rates made at fiscal events.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to review tax and residency rules, following reports of UK technology founders relocating overseas.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK uses the Statutory Residence Test (SRT) to determine UK residency for tax purposes. UK tax residents normally pay tax on their worldwide income and gains, while non-UK residents only pay UK tax on their UK income and gains.

The Government’s priority is improving the UK’s competitiveness internationally and securing economic growth.

The Government is backing entrepreneurs and fostering a pro-business environment by ensuring the tax system is designed to support innovation and economic growth. That is why we have announced a package of measures to back entrepreneurship at Autumn Budget 2025.

The Government keeps tax and residency rules under review to ensure they remain competitive and responsive to the needs of innovative sectors, including technology.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the number and proportion of retail businesses that only accept cash.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups, and is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumed regulatory responsibility for access to cash in September 2024. Its rules ensure cash continues to be a viable method of payment for the millions of people who depend on it and help businesses to continue to accept cash by providing reasonable access to cash deposit facilities.

It is for each business to decide on the forms of payment it chooses to accept. This will be based on a variety of factors, including cost and customer preferences. The Government does not hold data on the number and proportion of businesses who only accept cash.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of (1) defined contribution, and (2) defined benefit, pension schemes that use salary sacrifice for auto-enrolled workers.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Whilst the government does not currently hold these figures, 39% of employers offer salary sacrifice and 35% of employees use it. We would expect that the vast majority of pension schemes using salary sacrifice include workers covered by pensions automatic enrolment. Automatic enrolment applies to workers aged between 22 and the State Pension age and earning at least £10,000 a year. The latest figures indicate that the majority (94%) of employees using salary sacrifice are eligible for auto-enrolment.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the level of illegal doorstep lending in England for which the latest data is available.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Illegal money lenders — more commonly known as loan sharks — are dangerous criminals capable of inflicting terrible harm on their victims. To combat this, the Government funds specialist Illegal Money Lending Teams (IMLTs) operating across the UK. These teams investigate and prosecute illegal money lenders and offer support to their victims.

Because of the underground nature of illegal money lending, HM Treasury does not have data on the number of victims of illegal money lending each year. However, HM Treasury officials regularly engage with the IMLTs to receive updates on their work, including on prosecutions, support provided to victims, and any key trends. To learn more about the work of the IMLTs, visit the Stop Loan Sharks website: https://www.stoploansharks.co.uk/.

Found: Department for Transport 18 November 20257 Appendix 2: Memorandum from the HM Treasury S.I. 2025/1076

Found: Science, Innovation and Technology, “Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper”, 20 October 2025 13 HM Treasury

Found: To MOD and HM Treasury: What Scotland specific SME spend baseline and target will you adopt for 2026

Found: align ambition with NAO‑anchored trajectories, set scenario ranges to be finalised by DWP and HM Treasury

Found: With the agreeme nt of HMT, this is the measure by which we will be held to account for delivering the

Found: since 2017 – is a welcome sign that affordability for passengers is being taken seriously by HM Treasury

Found: encouraging developments in our key British market during 2025, notably pledges in the summer by HM Treasury

Found: • We published the Performance Review of Digital Spend jointly with HM Treasury in March 2025.

Found: The previous version, published in April 2018, is now outdated, and HM Treasury has since revised the

Found: Correspondence to HM Treasury relating to its approach to rural proofing policies, dated 2 December 2025

Found: encouraging developments in our key British market during 2025, notably pledges in the summer by HM Treasury

Found: for since 2017 – is a welcome sign that affordability for passengers is being taken seriously by HM Treasury

Found: shared in advance the contents of this letter and briefing note with the Permanent Secretary of HM Treasury

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury to the Chair relating to Lease Arrangements for Royal

Found: The O ffice for Value for Money (OVfM), working with others in HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office and across

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury relating to the Committee’s evidence session on Identifying

Found: seventy-two documents with the NAO team, including briefs for senior meetings, correspondence with HM Treasury

Found: implementation date from January 2026 to May 2026 to align with a wider programme of work between GDS and HMT

Found: In line with HM Treasury guidance, the closing paragraphs of the Federated Data Platform AOA summary

Found: case which received full approval in September 2025 following approvals by NHS England, DHSC and HM Treasury

Found: The O ffice for Value for Money (OVfM), working with others in HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office and across

Found: Justice Value for Money, National Audit Office, and David Fairbrother, Treasury Officer of Accounts, HM Treasury

Found: How could the HM Treasury Green Book and related appraisal guidance integrate environmental thresholds

Found: This inquiry should consider and guide coherent policy across Defra, HM Treasury and BEIS, ensuring

Found: DEFRA has a funding commitment from HM Treasury of over £2.7 billion for sustainable farming and nature

Found: shortcomings of the approaches are, and what action government/regulators should take to address them: - HMT

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Found: of Great Grimsby & Cleethorpes Minister for Investment Department for Business and Trade & HM Treasury

Found: 26 August 2025 6 Charity Commission for England and Wales, About us, accessed 20 November 2025 7 HM Treasury

Found: A meaningful funding route using ASF is one suggestion worthy of exploration with HMT and the NIO.

Found: Official Caxton House Tothill Street LONDON SW1H 9DA ministers@dwp.gov.uk HM Treasury

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is working with the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority on a strategy to help tackle digital exclusion in financial services, particularly for older or disabled people who do not use mobile devices.

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

Tackling digital exclusion, which disproportionately impacts certain demographics including older and disabled people, is a priority for Government. That’s why we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February 2025, which sets out our immediate actions to boost digital inclusion.

Alongside this, DSIT is working closely with HM Treasury on the implementation of the Financial Inclusion Strategy to address the barriers consumers face in accessing the financial services products they need.

The Government is working closely with industry on the commitment to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK by the end of this Parliament, which will provide individuals and businesses across the country with cash and banking services. Over 240 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 190 are already open.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2025 to Question 93956 on Driving Tests, what is the estimated total cost of the Ministry of Defence charges to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency for the use of 36 defence driving examiners for one day per week over a 12-month period.

Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)

In response to a Military Aid to the Civil Authorities request from the Department for Transport, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has agreed to provide 36 defence driving examiners (DDE) to conduct driving tests for one day a week for 12 months. This support will seek to reduce current civilian driving test wait times.

Actual costs will be calculated and charged following the completion of this support, the estimated cost is approximately £100,000. The MOD has agreed to charge marginal costs, rather than full costs, in line with HM Treasury guidelines as set out in JDP 02 UK Operations: the Defence Contribution to Resilience.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Emergency Services Network will be fully operational, including phone-based location tracking capabilities for emergency responders.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The programme’s priority is to achieve the right balance between credible plans that have user confidence and the need to deliver ESN as quickly and safely as possible to enable the shutdown of Airwave.

The Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) has successfully concluded two major re-procurements. In November 2024, the Mobile Services contract was awarded to BT/EE, followed by the award of the User Services contract to IBM in December 2024. With these committed delivery partners firmly on board, ESMCP has made excellent progress into full delivery mode.

The programme has finalised a revised Programme Business Case, which has been endorsed by the Senior Users of the three Emergency Services and representatives from the devolved nations. The Business Case is expected to complete departmental and HM Treasury approvals in early 2026. Our user community remains actively engaged in planning the deployment and rollout of the Emergency Services Network (ESN) and ensuring a safe transition from Airwave. Early adoption of a service-ready solution is on track for early 2028, with full transition from Airwave targeted for completion by the end of 2029.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of Scotland's allocation under the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund on the development of the Scottish seafood sector's exports.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Funding for the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund is being allocated using the Barnett formula, in line with HM Treasury guidance. Each Devolved Government is responsible for determining how its share of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund supports its fishing and seafood sectors, including exports. Devolved Governments can choose to target investment in line with their local priorities and economic context.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what current unbudgeted pressures his Department is aware of within its spending plans.

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

The 2025 Spending Review was published on 11 June by HM Treasury and sets out departmental budgets for day‑to‑day spending until 2028/29, and until 2029/30 for capital investment. The 2025 Spending Review is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2025-document

The Department is now underway with a financial planning exercise to allocate budgets within those financial years. Spending plans will be set out in the Main Supply Estimates when published in due course by HM Treasury.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the estimated cost is of The Ministers’ Etc. Pension Scheme (Amendment) 2025, dated 6 November 2025.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Ministers’ Etc. Pension Scheme (Amendment) 2025 makes technical amendments to the rules to allow the cost control mechanism (CCM) process to be completed, and the Scheme does not incur a cost as a result of the changes.

All public service pension schemes are subject to the CCM as part of the valuation cycle in line with HM Treasury policy. The CCM is designed to ensure a fair balance of risk with regard to the cost of providing public service pension schemes between members of those schemes and the Exchequer (and by extension taxpayers). If, when the CCM is tested, those costs are not within agreed target levels the member contributions are adjusted accordingly.

Any administrative costs associated with drafting and implementing these regulations are negligible and have been absorbed within existing Cabinet Office budgets.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 30 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, whether income received from the Government Property Agency, Government People Group, Government Commercial and Grants Function, Government Security Group, Central Finance, CO Digital and Government Communications is used to cross-subsidise departmental activity outside those business units.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

No, the business units outlined in the question only recover incurred costs from providing services to other Government departments.

As such there is no surplus recovered to be used to subsidise department activity outside those business units. This is in alignment with ‘Managing Public Money’ guidance from HM Treasury.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what discussions she has had with HM Treasury regarding the suitability of short-term capital funding windows for local economic development programmes in Wales.

Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales

As announced at the Spending Review, from 2026-27 the UK government will provide targeted, long-term local growth funding to support regional growth across the UK, completing the transition from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). For the next three years, this funding will be at the same overall level in cash terms as under UKSPF in the current year in Wales.

My Department has been provided with the financial breakdown for the new Local Growth Fund, including the capital and revenue split. I have regular discussions with both UK and Welsh Government ministerial colleagues on how this funding will benefit communities the length and breadth of Wales.

Over the course of the Spending Review period, the Local Growth Fund will invest in a range of projects that drive growth through both capital and revenue funding – from infrastructure to supporting businesses and helping people find jobs and acquire new skills.

The Welsh Government is developing an Investment Plan for the Local Growth Fund in Wales, and there is currently a live consultation to inform priorities. Insights from the consultation exercise alongside learning from evaluations of previous programmes will help ensure that the Local Growth Fund delivers long-term, sustainable benefits for communities and complements other major programmes such as Pride in Place, City and Regional Growth Deals, Freeports and Investment Zones.

This new fund reinforces the strong collaborative relationship between the UK Government and Welsh Government. It will help create jobs and grow productivity, bringing benefit to every part of Wales. I am fully committed to ensuring that the transition to the new Local Growth Fund is as smooth as possible with sufficient flexibilities for local authorities to manage the change in capital and revenue funding. To this end, I have written a joint letter with Rebecca Evans MS, Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Planning to local authority leaders in Wales reassuring them that both governments are open to exploring opportunities for additional flexibilities within the parameters of the budget settlement and our shared responsibilities for managing public money. This will help local authorities manage the change while continuing to support local businesses and workers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer given 17 November 2025 (UIN 88239), if she will publish the evidence provided to her in relation to the A12 Widening Scheme by (a) the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and (b) other agencies to inform her decision to cancel the A12 Widening Scheme.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The evidence provided to the Secretary of State for Transport in relation to the A12 Widening Scheme by (a) the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and (b) other agencies, formed part of a much larger body of evidence that informed the Spending Review and subsequent decisions.

There are no plans to publish officials’ advice and evidence base to Ministers that informed the Spending Review and subsequent decisions, as has been the usual practice of successive administrations, including the one the Rt Hon Lady served in.

Detailed information on the analysis of the A12 widening scheme, conducted in accordance with the HM Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance, was published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, available here: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/TR010060.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (b) the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and (c) mayoral authorities on the Government's commitments to the hospitality sector.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

In April, the Government launched a joint government and industry taskforce to bring together representatives from the hospitality industry, police, local and central government to explore a more enabling approach to licensing with a greater focus on growth. This included officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and HM Treasury who have continued to work closely together to explore the recommendations made in the Taskforce report, which was published in July. We are committed to reducing the costs for hospitality businesses in the UK by restoring licensing to its founding ethos of flexibility and growth, while maintaining a focus on the licensing objectives, particularly the prevention of crime and disorder. It is in this spirit that we have just published a first iteration of a National Licensing Policy Framework setting out a strategic vision for a modern licensing system.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the measures included in her Department's joint press release entitled Mirror, signal, manoeuvres: military driving examiners mobilised to cut test backlog, published on 12 November 2025.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has agreed with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) that 36 defence driving examiners (DDE) will carry out driving tests for one day a week for 12 months. MOD has charged DVSA estimated marginal costs in line with HM Treasury guidelines.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 113 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, for what reason dividends from associates are treated as income in the Statement of Outturn against Parliamentary Supply.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Section 8.13 of Consolidated budget guidance issued by HM Treasury states that:

“Financial transactions involve the exchange of financial assets and liabilities. Financial transactions mainly impact on the resource budget through the returns received or paid on these financial assets or liabilities (for example, interest received/paid on a loan, or dividends received/paid on equity). Financial assets also impact on the resource budget through changes in their valuation.”

Therefore, all dividend income received from associate companies should score to RDEL as income.

Dividends from associate companies are not recognised as income in the financial statements because International Accounting Standard IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures, states:

“When using the equity method, dividends received are not recognised as income in the consolidated income statement; instead, they are treated as a return of capital and reduce the carrying amount of the investment in the statement of financial position.”

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Government Departments use a ministerial car.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government Car Service (GCS) provides Departmental Pool Cars (DPC) to the following Government departments:

• Attorney General’s Office

• Cabinet Office

• Department for Business and Trade

• Department for Culture, Media and Sport

• Department for Education

• Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

• Department for Health and Social Care

• Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

• Department for Transport

• Department for Work and Pensions

• HM Treasury

• Home Office

• Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government

• Ministry of Justice

• Scotland Office

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to pages 111 to 114 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, for what reason his Department’s new strategic outcomes were adopted during the year while the Estimates remained based on previous departmental objectives.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office’s strategic outcomes were updated following the election to ensure that these reflected the new government’s priorities. These changes were reported to the Public Administration and Parliamentary Affairs Committee on 19 March 2025.

The financial reporting against these outcomes was updated at the earliest opportunity on HM Treasury systems and will be reported against in the 2025/26 Accounts.

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Found: Details of the requirement to ensure regularity and value for money are set out in the HM Treasury guidance

Found: It has been prepared in line with HM Treasury guidance, and is based on the information and assurances

Found: Health and Social Care 177 178 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office 273 163 HM Treasury

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