Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost to (1) businesses, and (2) consumers, in Northern Ireland of the introduction by the European Union of a €2 handling charge for parcels with a value of less than €150.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are aware of changes to the EU’s rules of low-value imports and the announcement in December 2025 of its intention to introduce a handling fee on consumer parcels from November 2026.
At the Budget in November 2025, the Chancellor also announced the removal of the UK's relief from customs duty on goods below £135 from March 2029 at the latest. There is currently a consultation on these changes that closes on 6th March 2026.
We are committed to ensuring that the current facilitations available for parcels under the Windsor Framework continue to operate. The EU has not yet published their full legislation in relation to the handling fee and therefore an assessment cannot be made. The Government is, however, engaging closely with the EU with regard to their announcements.
The Government continues to engage with industry and the EU to ensure any applicable arrangements are implemented correctly and to minimise any negative impacts on Northern Ireland consumers and businesses.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of feedback from businesses that use the Trader Support Service.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
In 2024, the TSS had a customer satisfaction score of 89%. Traders score on information, ease of use, whether they would recommend the service and overall satisfaction. This feedback is used to make improvements to the TSS portal, communications and education materials.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the cost of running the Trader Support Service for each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The costs of the Trader Support Service by financial year are set out below.
Financial Year | Costs |
2022/23 | £114.68m |
2023/24 | £105.19m |
2024/25 | £88.15m |
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have budgeted for the operation of the Trader Support Service for the current financial year.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The total budget for the current financial year (25/26) for operating the Trader Support Service is £76.99 million.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to prepare businesses in the United Kingdom for the introduction of the new EU Customs Code on 1 January 2026.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 17 May 2023, the European Commission proposed a revision of the Union Customs Code. The published proposal foresees implementation of some elements from 2028 and is still subject to EU internal procedures; therefore, we cannot comment on the final proposal. However, we are following these suggested reforms closely, and continue to engage with the EU and business, particularly on potential impacts for UK businesses.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what conditions they would agree to the Northern Ireland Executive introducing a different rate of corporation tax to the rest of the UK.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Stormont House Agreement between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive agreed, in principle, for the power to set the rate of Corporation Tax in Northern Ireland on certain trading profits to be devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
It was agreed that the Executive would need to formally request the power to change the Corporation Tax rate in Northern Ireland and to demonstrate that its finances were on a sustainable footing, and that the Executive’s block grant would need to be adjusted to reflect the Corporation Tax revenues foregone if the devolved power were exercised.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether UK-based insurers are insuring oil or gas tankers that transport Russian fossil fuel products.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
UK based insurers are permitted to provide insurance services to vessels transporting Russian origin oil or oil products if those products are shipped below the relevant price cap and the insurers comply with the conditions of the Oil Price Cap general licence. More information on the Maritime Services Ban and Oil Price Cap general licence can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/russian-oil-services-ban.
In January 2023 the UK prohibited all imports of Russian liquefied natural gas into the UK and provision of services which facilitate that import such as insurance. UK insurers are permitted to provide coverage to vessels transporting Russian gas between Russia and third countries. HMG is aware of UK based insurers who are currently involved in this trade.
These measures are restricting Russia’s funding for Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine; sanctions have deprived Russia of $450 billion in revenue, approximately four years of current Russian military spending.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the introduction of a cap of £25,000 on the amount of VAT that can be claimed back under the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of supporting churches and other listed places of worship. That is why the decision was made to extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme until 31 March 2026, with a budget of £23m.
Against a tough fiscal picture, the difficult decision was taken by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to implement an annual limit of £25,000 per individual place of worship for the coming year. The changes to the scheme were necessary given the significant pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors.
Based on DCMS’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications will be unaffected by the change, as most claims are under £5,000.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much annually managed expenditure the Treasury made available to the Northern Ireland Executive in each of the past three financial years for the purpose of funding the non-domestic renewable heating initiative; and how much was actually drawn down in each of those years.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Programmes are funded by the UK Government in Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) if they are demand-led and volatile in a way that could not adequately be controlled by the devolved governments. Where a devolved government offers broadly similar terms for an AME programme, the UK Government will fund the cost of this programme. Where a devolved government wishes to offer more generous terms for an AME programme, then the excess over that implied by adopting broadly similar terms for that programme (and therefore broadly comparable costs) must be met by the devolved government.
The Northern Ireland Executive received the following AME funding for the non-domestic renewable heating initiative; £27.97m in 2023-24, £33.47m in 2024-25, and £33.47m in 2025-26.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what financial contributions they will make to the EU as a result of the UK–EU reset agreement, and when those contributions will commence.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
There will be implementation costs associated with the UK-EU reset agreement, which will be confirmed in due course once we have negotiated the details of the agreement. This will include proportionate contributions in specific and limited areas, such as where access to specific IT systems will help to remove trade barriers for UK firms or manage biosecurity risks. The UK will also negotiate fair financial contributions to the Erasmus+ programme which will reflect the benefits of participation. We will not be making general contributions to the EU budget.