Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the interaction between the Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF) and the Transfer of Assets Abroad rules, and whether that could affect the revenue the OBR forecast from the TRF.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Interactions between the Temporary Repatriation Facility and the Transfer of Assets Abroad legislation were taken into consideration throughout policy development of the Temporary Repatriation Facility and the drafting of the legislation. The Government amended the Finance Bill to include an amendment to the Transfer of Assets Abroad legislation, ensuring that the interactions work as intended.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of rent inflation on the level of disposable incomes and consumer spending.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
According to the latest ONS data, annual rental price slowed to 3.5% in January 2026, after peaking at 9.1% in March 2024. However, the Government recognises the pressure that rental inflation places on the finances of households in the private rental sector.
The most effective way to keep rents down is by increasing housing supply across the UK. The Government’s Plan for Change has set a milestone to build 1.5m homes in this Parliament. This will help address the housing crisis which impacts everyone, especially private renters. The Government has also passed the Renter’s Rights Act 2025 which empowers 11 million renters in England to challenge unreasonable rent increases, giving them greater security and stability.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of rent inflation plays on levels of in-work poverty.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
According to the latest ONS data, annual rental price inflation slowed to 3.5% in January 2026, after peaking at 9.1% in March 2024. However, the Government recognises the pressure that rental inflation places on the finances of working households in the private rental sector.
The Government is taking action to reduce levels of in-work poverty for families by tackling the cost of living. Thanks to decisions the Government made at the Budget, households across Britain will now save around £150 on energy bills from April 2026. We have also removed the two-child benefit cap, which will lift 450,000 children out of poverty and we have increased the minimum wage, so that those on low incomes are properly rewarded for their hard work. Alongside this, the Government is taking steps to increase housing supply and improve conditions in the private rented sector, helping to ease pressure on renters.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of rent stabilisation on inflation.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Forecasting the economy, including the impact of Government policy decisions on inflation, is the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR set out its latest assessment of policy measures in its Spring Forecast 2026, published on 3 March 2026. The OBR did not publish a specific estimate of the impact of social rent convergence on inflation in that forecast.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the cash ISA limit on savers nearing retirement.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) incentivise saving and investment for future goals by providing tax advantages to individual taxpayers. At Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced that from 6 April 2027, the annual Cash ISA limit will be set at £12,000 within the overall ISA limit of £20,000. Those aged 65 and over will continue to be able to put up to £20,000k in a cash ISA each year as we recognise they might need more flexibility to manage their savings as they approach retirement.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has conducted a comparative assessment of how much physical retailers will pay as a result of business rates changes with online-only retailers in 2026.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.
As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that these properties benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties in 2026-27 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.
Ahead of these changes being made, the Government recognises that businesses will need support in 2025-26. As such, we prevented RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. We have also frozen the small business multiplier, taken together with small business rates relief, this will protect over a million properties from inflationary bill increases.
The Government will confirm the rates for any new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context.
When the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has conducted an impact assessment of charging business rates for physical retail premises in (a) Liverpool Walton constituency, (b) constituencies which have an anchor store providing footfall to other stores and (c) deprived areas with a high proportion of employment in retail.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.
As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that these properties benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties in 2026-27 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.
Ahead of these changes being made, the Government recognises that businesses will need support in 2025-26. As such, we prevented RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. We have also frozen the small business multiplier, taken together with small business rates relief, this will protect over a million properties from inflationary bill increases.
The Government will confirm the rates for any new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context.
When the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will conduct an impact assessment on increasing financial pressures in the retail sector in (a) the UK and (b) Liverpool Walton constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting the retail sector across the UK and we are acutely aware of the challenges faced by businesses. We frequently engage with the retail sector to understand their concerns.
We are determined to support retail businesses to succeed against a difficult economic backdrop. We will introduce a permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, we extended the RHL relief for 2025-26 at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and froze the small business multiplier.
In addition, we have:
We will continue to work with the retail sector to help drive economic growth, regenerate our high streets, and support vibrant and healthy communities.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
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 policies of the report by ActionAid UK entitled Who Pays the Price?, published in April 2025.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The government is restoring the global leadership needed to tackle the climate and nature crisis, and aiming to make Britain a clean energy superpower with zero carbon electricity by 2030.
At COP 29, the Prime Minister announced the UK’s ambitious and credible Nationally Determined Contribution target to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels, excluding international aviation and shipping emissions. We must unlock a much greater scale of climate and nature finance to support developing countries’ energy transitions and those most vulnerable to climate change and nature degradation.
While the UK government does not set out what private companies, including banks, should invest in, we are supportive of the standards published by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in June 2023 and are consulting on the UK version of these standards, UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. These aim to support long-term, sustainable decision-making by the business and investment community by providing high-quality information about the sustainability-related risks and opportunities that businesses face.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposals in her Department’s consultation on the harmonisation of gambling duties on the British horseracing industry.
Answered by James Murray - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government is consulting on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system by merging the three current taxes that cover remote (including online) gambling into one. The Government is committed to engaging with all stakeholders, including representatives of the horseracing industry, as part of the consultation process.
The Government recognises the significant cultural and economic value of British horseracing, both as a major sporting tradition and as an important contributor to rural economies across the country.
The Government encourages all interested parties to participate in the consultation.