Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the average annual saving to households arising from the temporary suspension of tariffs on agricultural and food products announced on 30 April 2026.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor appreciates that the weekly shop is one of the biggest worries for families and is taking action on the cost of living, by suspending tariffs on a range of agri-food products.
The Government announced a package of temporary tariff suspensions on 30 April with a detailed list published on 20 May. These suspensions will reduce import costs for these items. The benefit to consumers is estimated to be around £100m to £400m annually.
The Chancellor also announced a consultation on a further list of products on 21 May. Taking account of all the items on the second list of products, published on 27 May, and currently subject to the call for input, would increase the estimated consumer benefit to a total of around £330m to £770m.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of the expected impact on consumer food prices of the temporary suspension of tariffs on agricultural and food products announced on 30 April 2026.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor appreciates that the weekly shop is one of the biggest worries for families and is taking action on the cost of living, by suspending tariffs on a range of agri-food products.
The Government announced a package of temporary tariff suspensions on 30 April with a detailed list published on 20 May. These suspensions will reduce import costs for these items. The benefit to consumers is estimated to be around £100m to £400m annually.
The Chancellor also announced a consultation on a further list of products on 21 May. Taking account of all the items on the second list of products, published on 27 May, and currently subject to the call for input, would increase the estimated consumer benefit to a total of around £330m to £770m.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of tariff savings that will be passed through to consumers in retail food prices.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor appreciates that the weekly shop is one of the biggest worries for families. She is taking action on the cost of living, including by suspending tariffs on a range of agri-food products. The UK grocery market is highly competitive, and we fully expect that retailers will pass on the entirety of cost savings to consumers.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department intends to publish an assessment of the expected consumer benefits of any tariff suspensions implemented following the Call for Input on goods for cost of living tariff suspensions.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government will be setting out next steps after the Call for Input closes on 24 June.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Full‑Time Equivalent staff are engaged via the Managed Service Provider, broken down by business area.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC is currently using Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to provide additional customer service capacity, equivalent to around 500 FTE, focused on routine work. This includes support for the Online Services Helpdesk and handling simple PAYE enquiries.
HMRC are currently in an initial approximately 18 month ‘proof of value’ phase using existing Government contracts. This will allow them to test, learn and ensure quality and value for money before wider implementation.
HMRC has been clear that no HMRC colleague will be made redundant as a result of this initiative.
HMRC will continue to use a range of resourcing models, alongside the use of MSPs, to meet variable customer demand.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what modelling HMRC has undertaken on the displacement risk from the Managed Service provider model to existing HMRC roles, including surge staff and fixed‑term employees.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC is currently using Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to provide additional customer service capacity, equivalent to around 500 FTE, focused on routine work. This includes support for the Online Services Helpdesk and handling simple PAYE enquiries.
HMRC are currently in an initial approximately 18 month ‘proof of value’ phase using existing Government contracts. This will allow them to test, learn and ensure quality and value for money before wider implementation.
HMRC has been clear that no HMRC colleague will be made redundant as a result of this initiative.
HMRC will continue to use a range of resourcing models, alongside the use of MSPs, to meet variable customer demand.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether Managed Service Provider staffing levels are expected to increase beyond peak‑demand coverage for each function.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC is currently using Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to provide additional customer service capacity, equivalent to around 500 FTE, focused on routine work. This includes support for the Online Services Helpdesk and handling simple PAYE enquiries.
HMRC are currently in an initial approximately 18 month ‘proof of value’ phase using existing Government contracts. This will allow them to test, learn and ensure quality and value for money before wider implementation.
HMRC has been clear that no HMRC colleague will be made redundant as a result of this initiative.
HMRC will continue to use a range of resourcing models, alongside the use of MSPs, to meet variable customer demand.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what HMRC’s projected Managed Service Provider headcount is for the (a) next 12 months and (b) Spending Review period.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC is currently using Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to provide additional customer service capacity, equivalent to around 500 FTE, focused on routine work. This includes support for the Online Services Helpdesk and handling simple PAYE enquiries.
HMRC are currently in an initial approximately 18 month ‘proof of value’ phase using existing Government contracts. This will allow them to test, learn and ensure quality and value for money before wider implementation.
HMRC has been clear that no HMRC colleague will be made redundant as a result of this initiative.
HMRC will continue to use a range of resourcing models, alongside the use of MSPs, to meet variable customer demand.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC plans to maintain Customer Services Group headcount and total productive hours as Managed Service Provider capacity increases.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC is currently using Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to provide additional customer service capacity, equivalent to around 500 FTE, focused on routine work. This includes support for the Online Services Helpdesk and handling simple PAYE enquiries.
HMRC are currently in an initial approximately 18 month ‘proof of value’ phase using existing Government contracts. This will allow them to test, learn and ensure quality and value for money before wider implementation.
HMRC has been clear that no HMRC colleague will be made redundant as a result of this initiative.
HMRC will continue to use a range of resourcing models, alongside the use of MSPs, to meet variable customer demand.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of and the capacity in the specialist spinal cord injury service.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Specialised spinal cord injury services are currently commissioned by NHS England Specialised Commissioning, in line with the service specification published by the Clinical Reference Group. This translates to 385 spinal cord injury beds commissioned from eight providers in England. NHS England provides annual funding of approximately £80 million to spinal cord injury centres to deliver inpatient care and outreach to secondary care prior to admission and to community services following discharges to support transition.
NHS England recognises that services have experienced increasing referrals alongside complexity of presentations. NHS England plans to undertake work during 2026/27 to assess the adequacy of treatment pathways within specialised spinal injury services and will consider if any further updates are required to the national service specification based on the findings.
All spinal cord injury providers are required to submit outcome data to the Specialised Services Quality Dashboard. These data enable the National Health Service to monitor of the quality of care, including clinical outcomes and equitability of access. The data is linked to the national spinal cord injury (SCI) registry, which provides audit data.
The dashboard is a key tool in monitoring the quality of services, enabling comparison between service providers, and supporting improvements over time in the outcomes of services commissioned by NHS England.
Additionally, in March 2025, NHS England published the Spinal Services Clinical Network Specification, which establishes expectations for spinal clinical networks to standardise pathways and reduce variation, with the aim of improving access to care for patients.
Spinal Cord Injury services in England are commissioned against the published national service specification, which sets out the mandated standards that all providers are required to meet for all patients, including in relation to rehabilitation. The service specification mandates that spinal cord injury centres must provide restorative rehabilitation and re-enablement, and support patients’ reintegration into the community. When a patient is admitted to a spinal cord injury centre, there must be a focus on rehabilitation from the outset, with treatment by a co-ordinated multidisciplinary team. The specification is available at the following link: