Asked by: David Taylor (Labour - Hemel Hempstead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether funding saved by reducing the cost of hotel accommodation for asylum seekers in the UK will be given to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to spend on international aid overseas.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Spring Statement 2025, the government confirmed that ODA budgets across the Spending Review period would be set in cash terms, based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s spring 2025 forecast of gross national income (GNI). This means the FCDO’s ODA budget will no longer be automatically exposed to the volatility of GNI fluctuations or to ODA spending by other departments, including changes in asylum costs, providing greater predictability.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 August 2025 to Question 68418 on Business Rates: Valuation, how many hereditaments in the flexible workplace and serviced office sector have had their rateable values increased following the changes to the Valuation Office Agency’s practice on how such properties should be valued for business rates; and whether such amendments have been applied retrospectively.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As a result of case law developments, the VOA have concluded that, rather than each room within a serviced office being assessed separately, many serviced offices may need to be assessed as a single property, unless clear evidence demonstrates a need to have separate assessments.
Each serviced office is looked at on a case-by-case basis, and the VOA are addressing properties where they have received legal advice, or where unit of assessment issues are brought to its attention.
The VOA will continue to monitor legal developments and update its approach as needed.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding her Department plans to provide through the National Wealth Fund for steel projects; and how businesses can access that funding.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
This Government has a vision for a strong, resilient, productive steel industry in the UK that is primed for long-term success, driving growth in communities. The NWF will commit at least £5.8 billion over this Parliament to priority sub-sectors, which includes green steel. Businesses seeking the NWF’s finance or support from should contact them directly via their website:
https://www.nationalwealthfund.org.uk/contact-us
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85189 on National Wealth Fund: Workplace Pensions, and with reference to page 123 of her Department's document entitled National Wealth Fund Limited's Annual Report and Accounts 2024–2025, published on 31 October 2025, and paragraphs 5.2.1 and 5.8.1 of her Department's joint document entitled UK Infrastructure Bank Framework Document, published on 9 January 2024, what the name is of the pension provider for the defined contribution pension scheme for staff; and if she will list the names of the pension funds that the scheme invests in.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
I refer the Honourable Member to my answer given on 4 November to PQ UIN 85189.Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2024 to Question 11978 on Government Departments: Cost Effectiveness, if her Department holds data that breaks down how the savings were delivered by each department.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
All savings and investments announced at the July statement in 2024 were factored into the departmental budgets. Departments are responsible for managing spend within that budget.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.43 of the Spring Statement 2025 and pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 81329 on Civil Service: Redundancy, how much of the £150 million government employee exit scheme fund remains unspent for which the latest data is available.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The £150m government employee exit funding was allocated at Spending Review 2025 across 2025/26 and 2026/27. Information on how much departments have spent will be published in departmental Annual Reports & Accounts.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 June 2025 to Question 59412 on Government Departments: Reviews, how many lines of activity in her Department were considered as part of the zero based review.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
As with all departments, HM Treasury undertook a line-by-line review of all activity within the Department.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on enabling (a) hauliers and (b) coach operators in Wales to access the National Wealth Fund for investment in zero-emission vehicles and refuelling infrastructure.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The National Wealth Fund is committed to ensuring the benefits of its investments are felt in all four nations of the UK. It is actively engaging with stakeholders in Wales, including with the Welsh Government and Wales Office, to identify opportunities for investment.
As set out in the Chancellor’s Statement of Strategic Priorities to the National Wealth Fund in March 2025, clean energy and transport are priority sectors, this includes supporting the transition to zero-emission vehicles and associated refuelling infrastructure.
The National Wealth Fund will continue to explore investible propositions that satisfy its investment principles.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department holds data on (a) taxes paid and (b) the cost of public services used by migrants who have arrived in the UK within the last 10 years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold aggregate data on the taxes paid by migrants who have arrived in the UK within the last 10 years.
HMRC does hold data on the nationality reported by individuals at the point of National Insurance number registration, for adult National Insurance number registrations. This data is used to produce statistics on UK payrolled employments by nationality, region, industry, age and sex.
UK public spending covers a wide range of areas, including public services and infrastructure that are public goods. All groups in society benefit from these areas of public spending. In addition, some public provision is at a family or household level. It is therefore not possible to distinguish spending per person between migrant and non-migrants
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that HM Revenue and Customs has sufficient capacity to support taxpayers during the implementation of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Self Assessment.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC has undertaken detailed assessments of the potential impact of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax on compliance costs and administrative requirements across different taxpayer groups, including seasonal workers, self-employed individuals, small businesses, and landlords. The latest published assessment is available at:
HMRC has worked to ensure that MTD for Income Tax works well for all kinds of businesses. In-year, quarterly updates are not like full tax returns.
They are simple, unadjusted summaries of income and expenditure, acting as a snapshot of quarterly trading activity. They will be populated automatically through software and can be submitted easily. This process has been designed to be simple for users and quick to complete.
Quarterly updates reduce the risk of error by moving record-keeping closer to real time. They also make preparing the tax return easier, as much information is already captured and categorised. Updates can help inform estimates of tax liability and prompts to help taxpayers get their tax right.
The Government has taken steps to minimise costs to businesses resulting from MTD, including work with the software industry to ensure free software is available for those with simple affairs.
Following MTD’s introduction in April 2026, HMRC will support MTD users with fully-trained advisers in sufficient numbers to manage anticipated demand.
In advance of MTD’s rollout, nearly 5,000 volunteers have signed up to test the service. HMRC’s dedicated teams are working to ensure the new systems and processes operate as planned and the right guidance and training is in place for both advisors and users.
As a major government programme, HMRC routinely evaluates MTD’s value for money in line with mandatory Government Major Project Portfolio (GMPP) requirements, which include demonstrating affordability, cost-effectiveness, and delivery of benefits throughout its lifecycle to ensure efficient use of public funds. The latest assessment is at:
Making Tax Digital Programme Accounting Officer Assessment (updated) - GOV.UK