Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
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.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
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.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the (a) volume and (b) value of goods imported to the UK from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the last 12 months.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government’s position is that Israeli settlements in Palestine (formerly referred to as the Occupied Palestinian Territories) are illegal under international law. For trade statistics purposes Palestine consists of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an accredited official statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (https://www.uktradeinfo.com/).
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of business rates on (a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) independent nurseries.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In April 2025, the Government removed eligibility of private schools in England for business rates charitable rate relief. Schools that satisfy the definition of a private school have lost entitlement to charitable rate relief entirely. This definition may include private schools with some nursery classes, which, despite the presence of some nursery provision will still be, by their nature, private schools.
Standalone nursery schools, where they have their own business rates assessments, were excluded from the legislation and, where applicable, have retained their charitable rate relief. This approach best ensures consistency with the underlying policy intent.
Analysis on the expected impact of this policy can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/removal-of-eligibility-of-private-schools-for-business-rates-charitable-relief/removal-of-eligibility-of-private-schools-for-business-rates-charitable-relief
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of business rates on (a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) independent nurseries.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In April 2025, the Government removed eligibility of private schools in England for business rates charitable rate relief. Schools that satisfy the definition of a private school have lost entitlement to charitable rate relief entirely. This definition may include private schools with some nursery classes, which, despite the presence of some nursery provision will still be, by their nature, private schools.
Standalone nursery schools, where they have their own business rates assessments, were excluded from the legislation and, where applicable, have retained their charitable rate relief. This approach best ensures consistency with the underlying policy intent.
Analysis on the expected impact of this policy can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/removal-of-eligibility-of-private-schools-for-business-rates-charitable-relief/removal-of-eligibility-of-private-schools-for-business-rates-charitable-relief
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will instruct the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate pricing in the insurance market.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Insurers make commercial decisions about the price and terms of cover they offer based on their assessment of the relevant risks.
However, the Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value (i.e. if the price a consumer pays for a product or service is reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive).
The FCA monitors firms to ensure they provide products that offer fair value and has robust powers to act against firms that fail to comply with its rules.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of classifying thermal storage heaters as energy saving materials.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is committed to improving the quality and sustainability of our housing stock. Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent.
The Government assesses whether to add ESMs to this relief by evaluating them against the following principles: the primary purpose of the technology must be to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, and relieving the technology of VAT must be cost effective and align with broader VAT principles.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has held recent discussions with (a) financial institutions, (b) remittance service providers and (c) other relevant stakeholders on taking steps to reform remittances.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The government recognises that improved cross-border payment services, including remittances, would have widespread benefits for citizens and economies worldwide. The government works with UK and international partners, including under the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments, to seek to deliver faster, cheaper, more transparent and more inclusive cross-border payments and remittances.
Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) climate change and (b) new oil and gas production on the economy.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Illustrative analysis in the OBR's 2024 Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report suggests that UK GDP could be around 3% lower by 2074 under a below 2°C warming scenario and around 5% lower under a below 3°C warming scenario.
For decades, the North Sea’s workers, businesses and communities have been at the heart of Britain’s energy future - something they will continue to do for decades to come. This Government will not revoke existing licences and will partner with businesses and workers to manage our existing fields for the entirety of their lifespans
This Government is engaging industry via the ‘Building the North Sea’s Energy Future’ consultation to develop and set out the next steps for the overarching objective for the North Sea. Scaling up industries that will shape the future of the North Sea (including offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, and decommissioning), will be vital for delivering the best outcomes for workers and communities, energy security, and sustainable economic growth.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she will consider including funding for homelessness services as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
HMT will consider departmental budget requests as part of the Spending Review process and set out funding for future years at Phase 2 of the Spending Review. The government has already made steps to tackle homelessness through: funding at Autumn Budget 2024 where we announced an additional £233 million of resource funding for services in 2025/26; a commitment to the delivery of the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament and through protecting renters by abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.