Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the change in the number of people who will be tax payers as a result of the freezing of personal allowances between 2024 and 2029.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The number of people forecast to pay Income Tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts, linked below:
The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for East Londonderry of 13 January 2026 on an outstanding tax issue from September 2024.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The correspondence from the hon. Member for East Londonderry was transferred from HM Treasury to HMRC. HMRC responded on 2 February.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will she hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on the potential impact of Making Tax Digital on home-based childcare providers in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury ministers and officials engage regularly with the Northern Ireland Executive.
Childminders play a vital role in childcare. 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. The government will monitor the impact of Making Tax Digital (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.
Childminders can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the National Wealth Fund's strategic plan of investment will be allocated in all areas of the United Kingdom.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The National Wealth Fund's Strategic Plan sets out its ambition to accelerate place-based investment across all four nations of the UK, and it has dedicated directors in each nation to support this.
The National Wealth Fund will continue to work closely with devolved governments and local leaders to help accelerate project delivery and drive regional growth.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much on average was invested in Government Bonds by Retail Investors in January (a) 2023 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not hold data on the average amounts invested in gilts by retail investors; however, the government welcomes participation from a broad and diverse range of gilt market investors, including retail buyers.
The Office for National Statistics publishes aggregate holdings in government bonds by different investors, which can be found using the following link - https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/ukeconomicaccountsjulytoseptember2025
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on the hospitality sector in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM 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.
The Government protected the smallest hospitality businesses from recent changes to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500.
Wider business support is devolved in Northern Ireland and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. The Northern Ireland Executive’s Spending Review settlement for 2025-26 is the largest in real terms of any settlement since devolution and they receive over 24% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK in all years of the Spending Review 2025 period (2025-26 to 2028-29).
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many households were in receipt of Tax-Free Childcare in each constituency in Northern Ireland in July 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The number of families with a used Tax Free Childcare account in 2024-25 each constituency in Northern Ireland is published in the Table 12 of The Tax Free Childcare Official Statistics:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-free-childcare-quarterly-statistics
This information is only available on an annual basis. Monthly figures are not available.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will review the adequacy of the 7.75% rate of interest chargeable on unpaid income tax after each January deadline.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Late payment interest is charged whenever tax is paid late or paid where amounts have been overpaid.
The interest charged ensures people aren’t encouraged to overpay their tax to secure a higher interest rate than available commercially. It also ensures those paying late don’t get an unfair advantage over those paying on time.
The rates operated by HMRC are linked to the Bank of England Base Rate, with late payment interest set at Base Rate +4% and repayment interest set at Base Rate – 1%.
The rates of interest operated by HMRC are set in legislation following consultation with stakeholders. HMRC does not charge or pay interest for a commercial purpose.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions were calls to HMRC ended before the caller was connected, during January (a) 2022, (b) 2023, (c) 2024 and (d) 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Every year, HMRC answers millions of calls. HMRC has published monthly telephony performance data which covers the requested time period. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-monthly-performance-reports
This data includes information about the number of calls received, the number of customers who wanted to speak to an adviser and the proportion of callers that got through to an adviser (adviser attempts handled – AAH).
There are several reasons why somebody calling HMRC may not speak to an adviser – the customer may have had their query answered by HMRC’s recorded messages, they may have found the information they require online or they may have decided to call back another time.
Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC.
HMRC are taking steps to make sure more of their services are digital. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access and receive high customer satisfaction ratings. As more people use HMRC online services, advisers are freed up to support those with more complex queries and those who are digitally excluded.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when will she respond to the correspondence dated 9 October 2025 from the Hon. Member for East Londonderry.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
A response to the hon. Member for East Londonderry was sent on 19 January 2026.