Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether telephone bookmakers will be subject to the increase to Remote Gaming Duty to 40% from 1 April 2026.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Telephone bookmakers will be subject to the new General Betting Duty rate of 25% for remote bets from 1 April 2027. This rate will not include telephone bets placed on UK horseracing, pool bets or spread bets.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling Credit Unions to offer Help to Save accounts.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Help to Save scheme supports financial resilience for working people on low incomes by encouraging consistent, long-term saving and helping them build a financial buffer to plan and prepare for the future. The scheme is currently available to working individuals in receipt of Universal Credit, ensuring it remains targeted at its intended population.
As announced at Autumn Budget 2025, the government will make the Help to Save scheme permanent and, from April 2028, will expand eligibility to include all Universal Credit claimants who receive the child element, the caring element or both.
The government has recently consulted on reforms to the future delivery of Help to Save and has engaged with a range of third-party financial institutions, including credit unions, as part of this process. While a decision on the future delivery model has not yet been made, the government will continue working with credit unions and other interested financial institutions as these proposals are developed further.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme on the number of first-time buyers.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
95% loan-to-value mortgage products can be beneficial for first-time buyers who may struggle to raise larger deposits, and the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme aims to support this segment of the UK mortgage market.
The new Mortgage Guarantee Scheme recently launched in July 2025 and remains permanently available to lenders who wish to participate in the scheme. The Treasury will be collecting data about the scheme over its lifespan, including data on first-time buyers taking out mortgages under the scheme.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she collects data on the number and proportion of first-time buyers using the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
95% loan-to-value mortgage products can be beneficial for first-time buyers who may struggle to raise larger deposits, and the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme aims to support this segment of the UK mortgage market.
The new Mortgage Guarantee Scheme recently launched in July 2025 and remains permanently available to lenders who wish to participate in the scheme. The Treasury will be collecting data about the scheme over its lifespan, including data on first-time buyers taking out mortgages under the scheme.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to question 95185, what the updated average annual change in the Welsh Government’s capital budget is between 2025-26 and 2029-30; and whether that budget will increase.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
As a result of decisions at Budget 2025, the Welsh Government will receive an additional £185m CDEL through the operation of the Barnett formula on top of the record settlement provided at Spending Review 2025. This will ensure the Welsh Government are funded above their independently assessed level of need in all years of the Spending Review 2025 period.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the £14.5 million for Grangemouth announced at the Budget relates to the previous commitment from the Prime Minister that £200 million from the National Wealth Fund would support the transition of the Grangemouth site; and whether the £14.5 million announced at the Budget is additional to the previous £200 million commitment.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The £14.5 million of investment to support industrial projects in Grangemouth announced at Autumn Budget 2025 is in addition to the National Wealth Fund commitment.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the new council tax surcharge bands on property prices at the thresholds of each band.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Various factors affect the sale price of residential properties. In its recent Economic and Fiscal outlook, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that house prices will rise every year, growing by ‘just under 3 per cent in 2025 and average 2 ½ percent annual growth from 2026’.
The policy costing for the surcharge assumes an average price impact on affected properties of 2.5% with greater effects around the band thresholds.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to require HMRC to review 2010 mileage rates to reflect 2025 costs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates are used by employers to reimburse an employee's expenses, tax free, for business mileage in their private vehicle. These rates are also used by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage (when using simplified motoring expenses), and can be used by organisations to reimburse volunteers who use their own vehicle for voluntary purposes.
Employees can claim up to 45p/mile for the first 10,000 miles annually, followed by up to 25p/mile thereafter. An additional 5p/mile can be claimed for each passenger transported.
The AMAP rates are not mandatory, and employers can choose to pay more or less than the AMAP rate. It is therefore ultimately up to employers to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees.
The Government keeps the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) rate under review and HMRC use a variety of information in estimating typical motoring costs per business mile. This includes information from the AA, the National Travel Survey, the Association of British Insurers, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date the National Wealth Fund Board was informed of the Government’s intention to allocate £200 million to Grangemouth community; and whether the Board formally approved any such commitment in accordance with its statutory governance and investment processes.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government made a major intervention to ensure the long-term future of the Grangemouth site. As part of that, £200 million has been made available from the National Wealth Fund’s existing capitalisation for investible projects at Grangemouth.
The National Wealth Fund will be responsible for approval of specific investments, in line with its regular governance and investment processes, including Board approval where appropriate.
Asked by: Mel Stride (Conservative - Central Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there will be a Spring Statement in 2026 to accompany the OBR's Spring Forecast 2026; and whether the OBR's Spring Forecast 2026 will include the scoring of new measures announced since Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chancellor will set out her plans for the Spring forecast in due course.