Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual cost to the Exchequer is of the exemption from VAT on repairs enjoyed by museums and galleries.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not hold data that specifically relates to the refunds of VAT on repairs enjoyed by museums and galleries. HMRC does not hold information on VAT revenue from specific products or services because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level on their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason the new Places of Worship Renewal Fund is open to applications from places of worship which are not listed; and whether the new Places of Worship Renewal Fund is open to applications from all places of worship irrespective of denomination.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Places of Worship Renewal Fund (PWRF) will only be targeted at listed places of worship. PWRF will be open to applications from all faiths and denominations. Further details regarding the eligibility criteria and application process, will be published in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Minister plans to respond to the email from the hon. Member for Christchurch dated 26 November 2025 on the use of civil enforcement powers by local authorities.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Following a search, I can confirm that the Department holds no record of receiving this email. If a copy can be forwarded a response will be provided.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential cost exempting repairs enjoyed by museums and galleries from VAT to include listed places of worship to the Exchequer.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Outside of a limited number of VAT reliefs aimed at stimulating the supply of new homes, the standard VAT rate of 20 per cent applies to most construction work.

Some museums and galleries receive VAT refunds on the costs associated with providing free access to their permanent collections, under the museums and galleries VAT Refund Scheme. This includes the refunds of the VAT paid on repairs to the buildings that contain museums/galleries’ permanent collections. Further information about the refund scheme can be found here:

VAT Refund Scheme for museums and galleries (VAT Notice 998) - GOV.UK

The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, provides grants for VAT paid by listed places of worship on their repair and maintenance costs, with the objective of helping to preserve UK heritage. From April 2026, the scheme will be replaced by a Places of Worship Renewal Fund, which will invest £92 million capital funding into listed places of worship. It is designed to ensure that taxpayer funding is targeted more effectively toward the preservation of our heritage assets.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will reinstate the right to remain of a Christchurch constituent who has been classified as an overstayer pending review of his case, with reference 1212-0001-5632-8110/00.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are working with the hon Gentleman’s constituent to resolve the situation and will contact them directly to resolve the situation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many UK businesses at the most recent date for which information is available have had their Government Gateway access restricted on the grounds that their accounts may have been compromised by fraudulent attempts to reclaim VAT.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The security of HMRC’s online services is a top priority. We are aware of attempts by organised criminals to access VAT accounts using genuine customers’ registration details, and our immediate focus is to protect customer data and correct any affected tax or payment records. Customer accounts may be restricted, i.e. suspended or deleted, for a range of reasons, including proactive fraud monitoring, reports of suspicious activity, and the closure of inactive accounts. Specialist security and VAT teams are actively investigating and delivering improvements to strengthen VAT account security, which could include restricting accounts where fraudulent activity has not been identified.

When and if fraudulent activity has occurred, HMRC contacts affected customers to explain the remedial actions taken and outline any steps they need to take.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Bill Esterson (Chair); Sir Christopher Chope; Lizzi Collinge; Torcuil

Found: Asser (Labour; West Ham and Beckton) Bambos Charalambous (Labour; Southgate and Wood Green) Sir Christopher Chope

Submit Evidence (by 27 Mar 2026)

The Committee is inquiring into what reforms are needed to the UK electricity market to enable the transition to clean, lower cost energy by 2023.