Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the extent of the use of Large Language Models in providing inaccurate advice to HMRC customers relating to (a) self-assessment and (b) corporation tax returns.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to helping taxpayers get their tax right. While the use of external Large Language Models can be helpful, they may not always provide accurate tax advice and HMRC has no control over the way these models are trained. HMRC therefore encourages customers and agents to use official guidance and services on GOV.UK when meeting their tax obligations.
This includes GOV.UK Chat an AI-powered chatbot which uses a Large Language Model within guardrails developed by HMRC and DSIT/GDS. There is evidence that the GOV.UK chatbot’s responses are robust, as evidenced by a recent article in the Daily Telegraph, which chronicled a journalist using an adversarial line of questioning, who still received accurate replies.
HMRC also works closely with software developers and industry partners to promote the responsible use of AI, helping reduce the risk of errors and supporting customers to meet their tax obligations with confidence.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information her Department holds on the extent to which money market funds within stocks and shares ISAs are used as temporary holding vehicles rather than long-term cash substitutes.
Answered by Rachel Blake
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government announced a reduction in the Cash ISA limit for those under 65, to encourage retail investment and drive better returns for savers. Rules are needed to protect the integrity of the Government’s objectives and ensure that the lower cash limit is respected.
HMRC does not currently collect data from ISA managers on investment in money market funds (MMFs) or the purpose for which they are held. MMFs are advertised by the finance industry as low risk alternatives to cash, but they are also used as temporary holding vehicles.
The new rules will not prevent investment in MMFs but ensure MMFs do not constitute the sole investment held in a stocks and shares ISA. Further details of the rules are contained in the HMRC factsheet published at Tax Update 2026 at Tax Update 2026- www.gov.uk/government/publications/fiscal-events-2026-factsheets/isa-reform-2027-anti-circumvention-rules-factsheet
The new rules are the product of extensive engagement with managers of cash and stocks and shares ISAs, alongside trade bodies and savings infrastructure suppliers. The resulting rules are as simple as possible for providers and consumers and retain maximum flexibility for consumers to build an investment portfolio that works for them.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the extent of the use of Large Language Models in cases of (a) tax evasion and (b) fraud.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
HMRC recognises the rapid growth in the use of large language models (LLMs) and other generative AI tools and their potential to affect tax compliance. These technologies are widely accessible and are increasingly used by taxpayers and the wider general public.
Whilst HMRC has seen increasing use of LLMs, both for legitimate and for potentially fraudulent purposes, it has not yet identified evidence of widespread misuse of these tools to commit tax fraud. HMRC continues to monitor this with partners across government and internationally to understand developments and ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations she has received from the investment management industry on changes regarding money market funds in stocks and shares ISAs.
Answered by Rachel Blake
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government announced a reduction in the Cash ISA limit for those under 65, to encourage retail investment and drive better returns for savers. Rules are needed to protect the integrity of the Government’s objectives and ensure that the lower cash limit is respected.
HMRC does not currently collect data from ISA managers on investment in money market funds (MMFs) or the purpose for which they are held. MMFs are advertised by the finance industry as low risk alternatives to cash, but they are also used as temporary holding vehicles.
The new rules will not prevent investment in MMFs but ensure MMFs do not constitute the sole investment held in a stocks and shares ISA. Further details of the rules are contained in the HMRC factsheet published at Tax Update 2026 at Tax Update 2026- www.gov.uk/government/publications/fiscal-events-2026-factsheets/isa-reform-2027-anti-circumvention-rules-factsheet
The new rules are the product of extensive engagement with managers of cash and stocks and shares ISAs, alongside trade bodies and savings infrastructure suppliers. The resulting rules are as simple as possible for providers and consumers and retain maximum flexibility for consumers to build an investment portfolio that works for them.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of adequacy of the time taken for National Savings and Investments to action a request for a valuation.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
National Savings and Investment (NS&I) customers with an online account can log in and see the value of their investments instantly. Alternatively, NS&I customers can phone the customer service team for a valuation, which can be provided during the phone call.
As noted in my update to Parliament on 19 May, in response issues in its handling of bereavement claims, NS&I is conducting a new, more thorough process for bereavement claims. As a result, valuation requests following a bereavement and tracing valuation requests received by NS&I via post are taking longer than the usual 14 days for NS&I to process. An additional 100 people have been hired to ensure this is temporary and NS&I expects to return to processing bereavement claims within usual service standards by Autumn 2026.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's regulatory policies of building societies using electronic quick vote systems to approve board recommendations at AGMs.
Answered by Rachel Blake
This Government is committed to supporting the growth and long-term success of the mutual sector, including building societies, in line with its manifesto commitment to double the size of the mutual and co‑operative sector.
The Government recognises the importance of member ownership and engagement as a defining feature of mutuals. Within the existing legislative and regulatory framework, it is generally for individual building societies and their members to determine detailed governance arrangements, including matters such as executive remuneration, board composition and the format of annual general meetings. This includes the use of different voting mechanisms, such as electronic voting systems, which are a matter for individual societies and their members within the existing framework.
The Government therefore has no plans to introduce prescriptive requirements in these areas, but will continue to keep the framework under review as part of its broader work to support mutuals.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many projects being delivered through the infrastructure pipeline relate to national defence; and what proportion of all infrastructure pipeline projects they represent.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The current Infrastructure Pipeline, updated on 9 March 2026, includes one aggregated line on defence infrastructure spending. Once the Defence Investment Plan is published, project level detail we be available and included.
The Infrastructure Pipeline line represents the total 10 year capital and resource committed Infrastructure Plan expenditure at SR25 excluding Aquatrine and Utilities spend. This is reported as £3.51 billion of planned expenditure. It is important to note that the Infrastructure Pipeline includes physical infrastructure and construction only, and therefore is not representative of all capital spending by the Ministry of Defence.
The July 2025 publication of the Pipeline included 71 projects and 5 programmes in the defence sector. At the time of the July publication, this represented £20.4 billion of expenditure.
Following the publication of the Defence Investment Plan, we expect to reflect all Defence projects meeting our inclusion thresholds in future iterations of the Pipeline
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an impact assessment of estimating factors such as risk, returns and readiness for delivery of any defence-related projects being delivered through the infrastructure pipeline.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The dynamic Infrastructure Pipeline dashboard provides broad sector insight on projected demand, costs and timing and is not designed to assess project risk, returns or readiness. Furthermore, the Infrastructure Pipeline covers physical infrastructure and construction projects only, and therefore is not representative of all capital spending by the Ministry of Defence. The latest March 2026 Pipeline does not include any project level entries for defence as the Defence Investment Plan had not been finalised. NISTA’s Annual Report on the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) includes a project delivery confidence assessment.
Defence projects on the Government Major Projects Portfolio are covered by the standard GMPP assurance process. This includes reviews at key stages, which consider risk, deliverability and readiness to proceed, and inform delivery confidence assessments. Any issues identified are then addressed through the normal assurance process.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the total cost of resolving all remaining Loan Charge cases broken down by (a) the 32,000 individual cases currently unsettled, (b) cases involving HMRC demand from before December 2021 and (c) all demands from after April 2019.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
At Budget 2024, the Government committed to a new independent review of the loan charge. The purpose of the review was to bring the matter to a close for people who have not settled and paid their Loan Charge liabilities.
The Government has accepted all but one of the Review’s recommendations, and in some areas has gone further. The Government has introduced legislation in the Finance Act to provide for a generous new settlement offer which it hopes maximises the opportunity for individuals to come forward and settle. I am committed to deliver the Government’s ambition to bring this matter to a close for as many customers as possible.
Whilst HMRC assesses the overall resources needed to carry out Loan Charge compliance activity, this is not based on detailed case-by-case forecasts. HMRC is required to collect tax due under the law. The progression and resolution of Loan Charge cases depend on a range of variable and often uncertain factors. These include the extent to which taxpayers choose to engage with HMRC to settle their enquiries.
In line with most tax policy changes, Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN) setting out HMRC’s assessment of the impacts of the Loan Charge were published when the Loan Charge was announced in 2016. Further TIINs were published alongside subsequent changes to the Loan Charge.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Lifetime ISA property cap threshold for (a) England and (b) St Albans constituency.
Answered by Rachel Blake
Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that while the average price paid by first-time buyers has increased, it is still below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except for London, where the average price paid is affected by boroughs with very high property values.
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government announced that it will consult on introducing a new, first-time buyer only savings product that will provide the bonus when a person uses it to buy a house, giving savers flexibility in case their circumstances change. Details of the new scheme will be set out as part of the consultation in due course.
The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.