Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance HM Revenue and Customs provides to charities on the classification of educational activities for the purposes of VAT exemption.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC provides detailed guidance on how VAT applies to education on GOV.UK and in VAT Notice 701/30: Education and vocational training. This covers all aspects of the exemption, including services provided by charities.
Additional guidance is published when significant changes are made, such as the changes to the VAT treatment of private schools. The guidance can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-on-education-and-vocational-training-notice-70130
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of freezing fuel duty again in September 2026, in the context of volatility in global oil prices.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2025, the Government extended the 5p-per-litre cut for a further five months, until the end of August this year. The Government has also cancelled the increase in line with inflation for 2026/27. The 5p cut was introduced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when prices reached a peak of over £1.90 per litre.
Since Budget 2024, the Government's decisions to freeze fuel duty will save the average motorist over £90 – or 8-11 pence per litre – compared to the plans inherited from the previous government.
As the Chancellor has set out, a rapid de-escalation in the Middle East remains the best way to keep prices low at the pump, but the Government will also take the necessary decisions to help families with the cost of living and protect the public finances.
As with all taxes, the Government keeps fuel duty under review; and any changes will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the VAT registration threshold on small charities that generate income through educational public engagement activities.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU country and the joint highest in the OECD. This means the majority of UK businesses are not in the VAT system at all.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption. Once an organisation’s taxable turnover exceeds £90,000, it is required to register for VAT, and VAT-registered organisations can generally reclaim the VAT they incur on their business costs.
The Government takes steps elsewhere in the tax system to ensure that charities receive treatment that takes account of their unique status and invaluable contribution. Our tax regime for charities, including Gift Aid and an exemption from paying business rates, is among the most generous of anywhere in the world, with tax reliefs for charities and their donors worth just over £6 billion for the tax year to April 2024.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of fiscal drag on the number of charities expected to become liable for VAT registration over the next five years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU country and the joint highest in the OECD. This means the majority of UK businesses are not in the VAT system at all.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption. Once an organisation’s taxable turnover exceeds £90,000, it is required to register for VAT, and VAT-registered organisations can generally reclaim the VAT they incur on their business costs.
The Government takes steps elsewhere in the tax system to ensure that charities receive treatment that takes account of their unique status and invaluable contribution. Our tax regime for charities, including Gift Aid and an exemption from paying business rates, is among the most generous of anywhere in the world, with tax reliefs for charities and their donors worth just over £6 billion for the tax year to April 2024.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing temporary emergency price controls on retail petrol and diesel prices.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government and the CMA are closely monitoring petrol and diesel prices in light of instability in the Middle East, while the CMA are considering what options they have available if there is evidence of unfair practices.
The government are also engaging regularly with refiners, importers and distributors to ensure any emerging risks are identified and managed promptly. Households should be reassured the UK benefits from strong and diverse security of energy supplies, and there are no issues with fuel supply.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many individuals in (a) the Chichester constituency and (b) the UK have been issued tax demands under the Loan Charge policy; and what estimate she has made of the total value of those demands.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Information on the number of individuals subject to the Loan Charge is not held at constituency, borough or regional level.
HMRC’s estimate of the number of individuals that are affected by the Loan Charge policy is around 45,000. Some of these individuals have already settled with HMRC.
The Government commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to bring the matter to a close for those affected, ensure fairness for all taxpayers and ensure that appropriate support is in place for those subject to the loan charge.
The Government accepted the review’s conclusion that the Loan Charge was an extraordinary piece of Government policy which necessitated an exceptional response, and is now legislating a new settlement opportunity that will assist those who have not yet settled to do so.
The Government’s response to the review represents a fair and proportionate attempt to provide a route to resolution for those who have not yet been able to settle with HMRC. In turn, this requires those individuals to now come forward and engage with HMRC.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she is considering additional fiscal support for (a) small business and (b) hospitality.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The hospitality sector and small businesses make significant contributions to the exchequer, the UK economy, and society.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties, including those in the hospitality sector as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto.
The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including pubs. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
Furthermore, we have worked with the hospitality sector to announce the first National Licensing Policy Framework which sets a new strategic direction for licensing authorities and encourages them to have more regard to growth when reviewing licensing applications and decisions. Responding to sector asks, we will also explore further planning reforms to make it easier for hospitality and high-street businesses to expand and grow. To help drive these reforms, we will appoint a new Retail and Hospitality Envoy to champion these sectors across government.
This is on top of measures we have already announced, such as:
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of recent changes to (a) business rates relief, (b) VAT and (c) employer's National Insurance contributions on (i) small and medium-sized hospitality businesses and (ii) independent pubs and restaurants in rural constituencies.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the vital role that all hospitality businesses play in supporting the UK’s economy and communities.
That is why, as set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, the Government prevented RHL business rates 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. By extending the RHL relief, the Government has saved the average pub, with a ratable value of £16,800, over £3,300. Without any Government intervention, the RHL relief would have ended entirely.
To ensure that key amenities are available, and that community assets are protected in rural areas, Rural Rates Relief provides 100% business rates relief for certain properties in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000, including those that are the only public house, with a RV of up to £12,500.
The Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities, including those in the hospitality sector, will either gain or see no change this year. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside changes to employer NICs, and the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts employment levels to increase over the coming years.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Lifetime ISA price threshold on prospective first-time buyers in Chichester constituency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
HMRC commits to publishing all research in their Annual Report and Accounts. The findings from all strands of research on the LISA will be published in due course.
The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HM Treasury’s consultation on the tax treatment of online gambling, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of harmonising remote betting and gaming duties on (a) turnover in horserace betting, (b) receipts to the Horserace Betting Levy, (c) employment across the racing and racecourse sectors, and (d) Exchequer revenues.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government consultation on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system by merging the three current taxes that cover remote (including online) gambling into one closed on 21 July 2025. Responses are now being analysed and a response to the consultation will be published at Autumn Budget 2025.
If any changes are made to gambling duties at a future Budget following the consultation, they will be accompanied by a Tax Information and Impact Note which will set out the expected impacts.