Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what comparative analysis they have made of the total effective tax burden on the hospitality sector versus other UK sectors.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that the nature and rate of taxes on business is important to the hospitality sector, and the success and competitiveness of the UK.
The UK hospitality sector is largely made up of small businesses. The Government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer NICs at all this year.
To deliver our manifesto pledge, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on employment levels in the hospitality sector.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs). The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
The hospitality sector is predominately made up of smaller businesses. The Government protected the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.
The Office for Budget Responsibility also published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances. With all policies considered, the OBR's March 2025 EFO forecasts the employment level to increase from 33.6 million in 2024 to 34.8 million in 2029.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish an impact assessment of the impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on low-income and middle-income workers in the hospitality industry.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs). The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
The hospitality sector is predominately made up of smaller businesses. The Government protected the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to exempt hospitality businesses from the business rates surcharge as part of a review of support for high street sectors.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street and supports investment.
To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to apply a higher multiplier from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with rateable values of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants. The final design of the new higher multiplier, including the rate, will be set at Budget 2025.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total cost of administering the Duty Reimbursement Scheme.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC has not made an estimate of the cost of administering the Duty Reimbursement Scheme. Resourcing is spread across several different teams and systems, so it is not possible to apportion the spending related to the Duty Reimbursement Scheme specifically.
HMRC has published extensive guidance on the scheme and will continue to support businesses to use it effectively.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time taken for a business to reclaim duty under the Duty Reimbursement Scheme from the date of application to receipt of money.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As of 14 March 2025, the average processing time for a Duty Reimbursement Scheme claim is 16 days.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many applications they have received to the Duty Reimbursement Scheme in each year since the scheme was set up, and how much has been reimbursed in each year.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Duty Reimbursement Scheme (DRS) has been operational since 30 June 2023, allowing businesses who move goods into Northern Ireland to reclaim or remit duty provided that the goods can be shown not to have subsequently entered the EU.
As of 3 April 2025, 1407 claims have been submitted under the DRS.
Period | Claims Submitted | Amounts Repaid |
30 June 2023 – 31 December 2023 | 92 | £134,925.30 |
1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024 | 873 | £1,706,950.41 |
1 January 2025 – 3 April 2025 | 442 | £1,720,655.27 |
Businesses also have a three-year window from the date they were notified of the duty being owed to make a claim under the DRS.
HMRC has published extensive guidance and will continue to support businesses to use the scheme effectively, as well as other schemes like the Customs Duty Waiver Scheme.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether goods manufactured in China that are moved by a company in Great Britain to a company in Northern Ireland for sale in Northern Ireland are subject to (1) any EU tax or duty, or (2) any compliance procedures, under the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Goods manufactured outside the UK or EU that are in free circulation in Great Britain are only subject to duty when moved to Northern Ireland if they are considered to be ‘at risk’ of entering the EU. Goods that are subject to trade defence measures are treated as ‘at risk’.
In these scenarios, the Windsor Framework provides a means to offset these costs. If goods do not subsequently enter the EU, the Duty Reimbursement Scheme can be used to claim back the full amount. The Customs Duty Waiver Scheme is also available for traders to waive the duties up to certain thresholds, regardless of the ultimate destination of the goods.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what would be the threshold for liability for inheritance tax today if the threshold had risen in line with the retail price index since 2010.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The estates of all individuals benefit from a £325,000 nil-rate band for inheritance tax. This has been fixed at £325,000 since April 2009.
The residence nil-rate band is a further £175,000 for those passing on a qualifying residence on death to their direct descendants, such as children or grandchildren. The residence nil-rate band was introduced in April 2017.
This means qualifying estates can pass on up to £500,000 and the qualifying estate of a surviving spouse or civil partner can pass on up to £1 million without an inheritance tax liability. This is because any unused nil-rate band or residence nil-rate band is transferable to a surviving spouse or civil partner.
Where personal tax thresholds are not fixed, up until April 2012, they were indexed in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation. As set out in the 2012 Finance Act, from April 2012, any personal tax thresholds that were not fixed were indexed in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation.
Had the nil-rate band not been fixed, HMRC estimate it would have been £508,000 in 2024-25.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the proportion of goods moving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain that are deemed to be at risk and are therefore subject to full EU compliance requirements.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As set out in the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper, more than 80% of all freight movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be treated as not at risk and will move within the UK internal market system. That commitment will be monitored by the Independent Monitoring Panel and will take effect once the internal market system comes into force fully next year.