Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Northern Ireland Executive has the ability to create an energy support scheme for users of home heating oil with funding from the UK government, announced in the Autumn budget.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Spending classed as Annually Managed Expenditure will be provided to Northern Ireland to develop a comparable scheme to that developed in GB.
It is for the Northern Ireland Executive to decide how they would like to deliver a comparable offer. The UK Government is ready to review the business case once it has been submitted by the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of eligible households in Belfast South and Mid Down, West Belfast, North Belfast and East Belfast constituencies are availing of the Tax Free Childcare scheme.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The number of families that use Tax Free Childcare in these constituencies each year is published in table 12 of Tax Free Childcare statistics (Tax-Free Childcare Statistics, December 2025 - GOV.UK).Eligible population data is not broken down at constituency level so it is not possible to calculate the proportion that are using the scheme.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many childminders i) across the UK ii) in Northern Ireland are expected to be impacted by the loss of the 10% wear and tear allowance.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Childminders make a significant contribution to children’s development, learning, and wellbeing. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers.
Only a small proportion of childminders with qualifying income over £50,000 will be mandated into Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax from April 2026. Childminders moving to MTD for income tax can continue to claim tax relief for household costs, wear and tear of household items and furniture, and food and drink, by deducting actual business costs. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business.
The Government will monitor the impact of MTD for income tax on childminders and other home-based childcare providers in the same way as it will for all sole traders moving to MTD for income tax.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how and when her Department plans to roll out the 'Making Tax Digital' scheme across turnover brackets.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
MTD for Income Tax will be introduced across the UK from April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000. It will be extended to those with qualifying income over £30,000 from April 2027 and for those with qualifying income over £20,000 in April 2028.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has had discussions on further fiscal devolution with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Department of Finance during this current Stormont mandate.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury and Northern Ireland Executive Ministers have regular discussions.
The Northern Ireland Executive’s Interim Fiscal Framework published in May 2024 stated that a full Fiscal Framework would consider the principles of fiscal devolution.
The scope and scale of the full Fiscal Framework will be subject to agreement between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Northern Ireland Department of Finance Minister has submitted fiscal devolution plans to her Department in this current Stormont mandate.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury and Northern Ireland Executive Ministers have regular discussions.
The Northern Ireland Executive’s Interim Fiscal Framework published in May 2024 stated that a full Fiscal Framework would consider the principles of fiscal devolution.
The scope and scale of the full Fiscal Framework will be subject to agreement between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many families exceeded the tax-free childcare cap in each year since 2017.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Families cannot exceed the limits within their Tax Free Childcare accounts because the system automatically restricts government top-ups once the cap for the 3 month period is reached. Families can still make payments to childcare providers from their account without the top-up.
Official statistics on Tax-Free Childcare are published quarterly and further details can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-free-childcare-quarterly-statistics
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to to clause 32 in the Windsor Framework relating to VAT and excise, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing the VAT rate in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies consistently across the UK to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to support (a) hospitality, (b) consumers, (c) pubs and (d) breweries by (i) reducing (A) VAT and (B) draught beer and cider duty and (ii) introducing targeted relief for (1) energy and (2) employment costs through the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses, including pubs, to economic growth and social life in the UK.
The Government keeps all areas of the tax system under review. Any changes to the tax system are announced as part of the annual Budget process.
On VAT, HMRC estimate that the cost of a 5 per cent reduced rate for accommodation, hospitality and tourist attractions would be around £13 billion this financial year. If the scope were also to include alcoholic beverages, the cost would be approximately £3 billion greater. VAT reliefs reduce the revenue available to fund public services and must be good value for the taxpayer.
The current duty system supports breweries through Draught Relief, which ensures products served on draught pay less duty, and Small Producer Relief, which permits smaller producers to pay reduced duty rates.
In recognition of the economic and cultural importance of pubs, as well as the wider ‘on trade’, at Autumn Budget 2024 the Government cut alcohol duty on qualifying draught products by 1.7% in cash terms. This duty reduction, worth over £85m a year, covers approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs and is equivalent to a 1p duty reduction on a typical pint.
As a Government we understand the importance to businesses of reducing their energy bills and reaching net zero and recognise the barriers businesses face trying to overcome these challenges. On energy costs, the Government has announced a new Zero Carbon Services Hospitality Trial, which aims to provide pubs, cafés, restaurants and hotels with free energy and carbon-cutting advice to slash their energy bills as part of the Government’s Plan for Change. This initiative is designed to help businesses reduce costs and support the transition to net zero.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the regulation of car insurance providers.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) rules.
The FCA is an independent body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry across the United Kingdom and has robust powers to act against firms that fail to comply with its rules.
The government plans to publish the final report of the cross-government Motor Insurance Taskforce in the autumn. The Taskforce has a strategic remit to set the direction for UK Government policy, identifying short- and long-term actions for departments that may contribute to stabilising or reducing premiums, while maintaining appropriate levels of cover.