Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Customs Declaration Service and its Bulk Import Reduced Data Set, how many entries were logged under Customs Procedure Code 0020 21V in each year since 2022.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
For the purposes of this answer, “entries” have been interpreted as customs declarations.
The table shows the number of customs declarations logged on the Customs Declaration Service (CDS) under Customs Procedure Code (CPC) 0020 21V, which is used for the Bulk Import Reduced Data Set (BIRDs).
Year | Number of declarations |
2022 | 60,000 |
2023 | 278,000 |
2024 | 368,000 |
2025 | 403,000 |
These figures represent the number of declarations submitted to CDS under CPC 0020 21V only.
It should be noted that the figures are not directly comparable across years. In 2022 and 2023 a substantial proportion of BIRDs declarations were submitted via the legacy CHIEF system, under CPCs 4900003 and 4000003, and are therefore not included in the CDS figures shown above. In 2022 around 21% of BIRDs declarations were submitted via CDS, rising to around 75% in 2023.
The figures also exclude BIRDs declarations submitted using multiple additional procedure codes and therefore do not represent total BIRDs volumes.
Number of customs declarations are rounded to the nearest thousand.
You should note that a BIRDs declaration can cover multiple consignments.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her Moroccan counterpart on the UN Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council calling for the Royal Moroccan Army to refrain from building further military infrastructure west of the berm in occupied Western Sahara.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK wants to see a lasting solution to the Western Sahara conflict. In her meeting with Moroccan Foreign Minister Bourita on 23 April, the Foreign Secretary reaffirmed Morocco's 2007 autonomy plan as the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis for achieving this objective. We continue to engage with all relevant parties in support of the UN-led process to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution, based on compromise, which conforms with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including the principle of respect for self-determination.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate her Department has made of the level of loss to public finances of VAT non-compliance by overseas retailers through online marketplaces.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC’s best estimate of VAT losses, for 2021 to 2022, as a result of overseas seller non-compliance occurring through online marketplaces is £150 million per annum as published in the NAO report Tackling tax evasion in high street and online retail - NAO report. This will not include any subsequent compliance activity to recover any losses from OMPs.
HMRC can raise assessments to recover unpaid VAT against an OMP should they incorrectly determine the establishment of an overseas seller unless they can demonstrate they have taken all reasonable steps to make that determination, leading to an under declaration of VAT.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 20 April 2026 to question 125033, what is her Department's estimate of the number of premises in (a) Ceredigion Preseli constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the UK that will still be without access to adequate mobile coverage from any mobile network operator when the UK's Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) are switched off.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The estimated number of premises currently without access to good mobile coverage for each of these areas based on the latest Ofcom data was provided in our answer to question 125033.
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the copper based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK, including in Ceredigion Preseli. The Government has had confirmation from major communication providers that no existing PSTN customers will be left without a landline alternative.
All network operator’s have committed significant investment in line with Government's ambition for standalone 5G to be available in all populated areas by 2030. In addition, the Shared Rural Network, jointly funded by the Government and the UK’s mobile network operators (MNOs), is utilising Government funding to incentivise mobile network operators to deliver commercial outdoor mobile coverage in rural areas, where there was previously limited or no 4G coverage at all. The programme has been successful in helping to achieve 96% 4G coverage from at least one operator across the UK landmass.
Government does not hold data on MNO’s future deployment plans. Along with the emergence of Direct to Device connectivity, this means that we cannot provide a reliable estimate of how many premises would be left without adequate mobile coverage from any operator at the point in time when the PSTN and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) are switched off. No existing PSTN customers will be left without a landline alternative.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the revenue raised from fuel duty between January and April (a) 2026 and (b) 2025; and if she will consider offering targeted support to the road haulage sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Fuel duty receipts total approximately £8 billion for the period January to April 2025. Tax receipt data is available on GOV.UK, where data for April 2026 will be published in due course.
Fuel duty is charged as a fixed amount per litre, so receipts depend on the volume of fuel sold, as opposed to pump prices.
Since Autumn Budget 2024, the Government's decisions to freeze fuel duty will save hauliers 11 pence per litre compared to the plans inherited from the previous government.
In addition, in order to support the haulage sector, the Government and industry are jointly providing up to £35.7m of investment to enhance truck stops across England, in addition to joint investment by National Highways and industry of up to a further £30 million.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many non-established taxable persons liable to be registered for VAT under Schedule 1A to the VAT Act 1994 have an overdue VAT bill.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC holds management information on VAT liabilities, but data for non‑established taxable persons is not robust enough to provide reliable estimates of the population with VAT debt or amounts overdue.Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value is of overdue VAT owed by non-established taxable persons registered for VAT under Schedule 1A to the VAT Act 1994.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC holds management information on VAT liabilities, but data for non‑established taxable persons is not robust enough to provide reliable estimates of the population with VAT debt or amounts overdue.Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the upcoming trial of Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek; and what representations she has made to her Egyptian counterpart on that case.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 March in response to Question 116214.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will introduce a time-limited rebate on fuel duty for public transport providers and essential users in the road haulage sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is taking action on fuel affordability at the pump.
At Budget 2025, the Government extended the 5p-per-litre cut for a further five months, until the end of August this year. The Government has also cancelled the increase in line with inflation for 2026/27; instead, rates will only gradually return to early 2022 levels by March 2027.
The Government's action on fuel duty will save an average heavy goods vehicle more than £800 in 2026/27 compared to previous plans, and follows an extended period where freezes to fuel duty have resulted in substantial savings for the haulage industry.
As with all taxes, the Government keeps fuel duty under review.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of co-locating community banking representatives within post offices.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Banks provide access to in‑person banking services through a range of channels, including branches, banking hubs and post offices.
Some banks also provide access to community bankers through pop‑up services in locations such as libraries and community centres, or via mobile banking vans serving rural and remote areas. Community bankers are bank employees who provide face-to-face support to customers in local communities outside a traditional branch, helping with banking queries and access to further support as needed. Decisions about where such services are located are commercial matters for individual banks.
The retail banking sector provides everyday banking services at post offices through the Banking Framework, a commercial agreement that enables personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check balances and pay bills at over 10,500 Post Office branches across the UK.
The Government supports initiatives that help customers access banking services in ways that reflect local needs, alongside digital provision.
In January, the Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation and the Economic Secretary to the Treasury convened a roundtable with the Post Office and the banking sector to facilitate discussion on where further collaboration would allow all parties to better meet the needs of people and businesses.
The Government supports collaboration between banks and the Post Office, while being clear that this must be achieved on a voluntary and commercial basis.