Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions a repayment of overpaid tax to a customer who has submitted a voluntary self-assessment return been delayed by longer than (a) three, (b) six and (c) 12 months in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC recognise that repayments are important for customers. They prioritise them and work hard to ensure they are processed as quickly and securely as possible.
Like any financial institution, HMRC are an attractive target for organised criminals who continually test their security and repayment controls. HMRC aim to balance ensuring prompt payments to eligible customers with effective revenue protection from fraudsters.
Voluntary returns are submitted by customers who are not required to file a Self Assessment return but choose to do so, often to reclaim overpaid tax. These cases can require additional manual checks, particularly where PAYE income is involved, to ensure repayments are not duplicated.
Because customers submitting voluntary Self Assessment returns are not required to file, these cases are not currently included separately in HMRC’s reported performance data. While these returns are worked and processed by operational teams, they fall outside the scope of published metrics and are therefore not counted in official service level reporting.
HMRC has communicated to agent communities that customers can help reduce delays by registering for Self Assessment before submitting a return. Additional staff have been deployed to reduce delays in processing voluntary Self Assessment repayment cases, particularly those requiring manual checks. Work is also underway to explore automation opportunities to improve processing times and reduce the number of customers affected by repayment delays.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) longest, (b) shortest and (c) average time taken from claim to decision was for Research and Development tax relief in (i) 2023-24 and (ii) 2024-25.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC aims to process 85% of Research and Development (R&D) tax relief claims within 40 working days. This target was met in both 2023–24 and 2024–25, with performance reaching 90% in 2024–25, as reported in HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts.
HMRC published information on the average duration of a compliance check in the Approach to Research and Development tax reliefs 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK
Since 31 December 2024, HMRC has received 20 voluntary disclosures about incorrect R&D tax relief claims with a total value of £5.5m via the R&D Disclosure Facility.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Research and Development tax relief disclosures have been made in each month since 31 December 2024.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC aims to process 85% of Research and Development (R&D) tax relief claims within 40 working days. This target was met in both 2023–24 and 2024–25, with performance reaching 90% in 2024–25, as reported in HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts.
HMRC published information on the average duration of a compliance check in the Approach to Research and Development tax reliefs 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK
Since 31 December 2024, HMRC has received 20 voluntary disclosures about incorrect R&D tax relief claims with a total value of £5.5m via the R&D Disclosure Facility.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will carry out sector-specific impact assessments for proposed non-domestic rate multipliers ahead of the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The business rates multipliers are set by Government.
From 2026-27, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with rateable values (RVs) under £500,000. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on properties with RVs of £500,000 or more.
The new business rates multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the expected effects of the new RHL and higher multiplier arrangements.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to respond to the open letter from Young Women's Trust entitled For the Employment Rights Bill to work for young women and their employers, the Spending Review must increase funding for enforcement of their rights, dated 22 May 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has responded to the open letter from the Young Women’s Trust, as the department responsible for delivering the Employment Rights Bill.
At SR 2025, DBT were funded to support the establishment of the Fair Work Agency (FWA), which will tackle low pay, poor working conditions and poor job security. The government is committed to ensuring the FWA is fully resourced to deliver on its remit, with funding allocated to cover both transition and operational costs through to 2028-29. This includes the transfer of existing budgets from enforcement bodies such as the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, as well as funding for National Minimum Wage enforcement.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the scope of the Financial Ombudsman to permit investigation of complaints about motor insurance companies where the claimant is not a direct customer but has accepted an offer to proceed with Third Party Capture.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) was set up to resolve complaints between consumers and their own financial services providers. It cannot consider disputes between insurers and third parties as the third party is not the policyholder.
The rules on how the FOS should handle complaints, including the jurisdiction of the FOS and what complaints it can deal with, are determined by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and set out in the FCA Handbook. Whether a complaint is eligible or not is a matter for the FOS to consider.
The FCA requires that insurers treat their customers, including third party claimants, fairly. The FCA actively monitors insurers and has robust powers to take action against firms that fail to comply with its rules.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the guidance entitled Get VAT relief on certain goods if you have a disability, updated on 22 January 2019, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of permitting (a) sports clubs and (b) other charitable groups to purchase (i) wheelchairs and (ii) other medical appliances such at zero rate in (A) instances when those appliances will not solely be for the use of one person and (B) other instances.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Charities providing care, medical or surgical treatment for handicapped persons, rescue or first-aid services can already benefit from a VAT zero-rate when purchasing relevant goods. The supply of a wheelchair designed solely for the use of a disabled person can be zero-rated where it is supplied to a disabled person for their personal or domestic use or when supplied to a charity which will make the wheelchair available to a disabled person for their personal or domestic use. Sports clubs can register either as a community amateur sports club (CASC) or as a charity where the relevant conditions are met. However, where a sports club is registered as a CASC, they will not qualify for VAT reliefs which are only available to charities.
There are currently no plans to widen the scope of current VAT reliefs as targeting these reliefs to disabled users ensures they are not open to distortion or abuse. The Government takes steps elsewhere in the tax system to take account of charities' unique status and invaluable contribution.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent watchdog to monitor the effectiveness of HMRC Customer Compliance Group.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMRC and its Customer Compliance Group (CCG), is subject to a wide range of independent oversight and actively engages with a range of independent assurance, both internal and external.
Internally, HMRC maintains robust governance structures, including oversight by its Executive Committee and HMRC Board, alongside newly established subcommittees of the Board such as the Closing the Tax Gap Committee chaired by non-executive director Bill Dodwell – with a significant focus on the work of Customer Compliance Group.
Externally, HMRC is held to account by Parliamentary authorities, including the Committee of Public Accounts (PAC), the Treasury Select Committee (TSC), and the National Audit Office (NAO) who regularly undertake both financial and value for money scrutiny of HMRC and its Customer Compliance Group. Recent reports include those into tax evasion in the retail sector, managing compliance work since the pandemic and collecting the right tax from wealthy individuals – all of which primarily focused upon the work of HMRC’s Customer Compliance Group.
HMRC Customer Compliance Group welcomes Parliamentary scrutiny and has accepted 93.5% of recommendations of these bodies in the last 24 months aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of the Department. HMRC is working to implement the recommendations by the deadlines agreed with the respective bodies.
Customers can also ask the independent Adjudicator’s Office to review complaints after they have been investigated, if they are dissatisfied with how they have been handled by the Department.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has issued guidance that the (a) Customer Compliance Group and (b) Risk and Intelligence Service (Compliance, Operational Insight and Risking) Group should only investigate cases of alleged tax evasion where the estimated loss to the public purse has been more than £35,000 for five years or more.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMRC Customer Compliance Group’s guidance specifically states that there is no de-minimis limit for suspected fraud referrals and does not contain any instructions that would limit investigation in relation to timespan of the tax at risk.
HMRC’s Risk and Intelligence Service deliver a wide range of cases, including where there is suspected evasion behaviour. CCG use a variety of indicators to identify the highest risk cases to address different compliance risks, but do not use an estimated loss of £35,000 for five years or more as a standard selection criteria.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has produced impact assessments on the potential impact of the (a) increase to employer National Insurance contributions and (b) changes to Business Property Relief on the horticulture sector.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
In accordance with standard practice, a TIIN for the reforms to business property relief will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.