Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what take-up there has been of the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme since July 2025 and how take-up compares with the predecessor scheme.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The new Mortgage Guarantee Scheme is designed to support and sustain the availability of low deposit mortgage products for credit-worthy borrowers. 95% loan-to-value mortgage products can be particularly important for first-time buyers who may struggle to raise larger deposits, and the scheme aims to support this segment of the UK mortgage market.

The Scheme launched in July 2025 and will now remain permanently available to lenders. Properties of any value are eligible for the mortgage guarantee, and the scheme is available in all regions of the UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the bespoke departmental efficiency targets and plans.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Yes. The Government accepted the recommendation from the Office for Value for Money, to publish bespoke efficiency targets and plans biennially, embedding a culture of continuous improvement backed up by greater confidence in delivery. Previous Departmental Efficiency Plans and targets were published on Gov.uk at Spending Review 2025.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he accepts the recommendation from the Office for Value for Money to conduct thematic value for money reviews and publish the terms of reference of these reviews in 2026.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on on 5 January 2026 in response to Question HL13130.

The terms of reference for these reviews were published on gov.uk in January 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish analysis of the usage of structural and non-structural tax reliefs in force during 2024-25.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

HMRC recognises around 1,200 tax reliefs. Of these, 340 are non-structural and the remaining are structural.

The most recent HMRC statistical publication covering costings and usage of structural and non-structural reliefs, where available, is the annual Tax Relief Statistics publication. The latest publication was released on 22 January 2026, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-reliefs

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Tax Reliefs are in force.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

HMRC recognises around 1,200 tax reliefs. Of these, 340 are non-structural and the remaining are structural.

The most recent HMRC statistical publication covering costings and usage of structural and non-structural reliefs, where available, is the annual Tax Relief Statistics publication. The latest publication was released on 22 January 2026, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-reliefs

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the cost and the impact of the Great British Summer Savings scheme.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

From 25 June to 1 September the Government introduced a temporary reduced rate of VAT on eligible family days out, known as Great British Summer Savings.

The temporary reduced rate is estimated to have cost about £300m. All costings will be subject to certification by the OBR at the next Budget in the usual way.

The Government has published a Tax Information and Impact Note concerning the temporary reduced rate, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/temporary-reduced-rate-of-vat-for-childrens-meals-tickets-and-family-attractions

The reduced rate of VAT under the Great British Summer Savings Scheme applies to all supplies within its scope. HM Treasury and HMRC do not hold information on the number of businesses making such supplies. This is because businesses are not required to provide information at a product level in their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Treasury has designated core in-office collaboration days for staff; and if he will publish details of those arrangements.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

HM Treasury does not have designated core in-office collaboration days. Employees are expected to spend at least 60% of their working time in the office, with attendance arrangements agreed locally by employees, their line managers and teams to support effective collaboration and pastoral support. There are therefore no such arrangements to publish.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to question (28309) a) how many people claimed Tax-Free Childcare in each tax year since the scheme was introduced and b) what information is held about their incomes.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The number of families who have a Tax-Free Childcare account that has been used to make a payment to a childcare provider each year is available in the publication linked below (Table 1):

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-free-childcare-quarterly-statistics

Income information from HMRC systems is used to assess whether an applicant meets the eligibility criteria at the point of application and subsequent reconfirmations. HMRC does not store income figures from these checks.

Found: answer to the question regarding the impact of global tariffs on UK inflation posed by Dame Harriett Baldwin