Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60486 on Chinese Embassy, whether her discussions with the Chinese during her visit included that of the proposed Chinese Embassy in London.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As stated in my Answer of 25 June, the Chancellor discussed a range of economic and financial issues during her visit to China for the 2025 UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue. The Chancellor published a written ministerial statement about her visit on the morning of Monday 13 January (found here) and delivered an oral statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday 14 January (found here).
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to increase £500,000 threshold for the new surcharge on business rates in line with the increase in aggregate rateable values from the 2026 business rates revaluation.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce a higher business rates multiplier for all properties with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 or above in April 2026 to fund permanently lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with RVs below £500,000.
The final details of the higher multiplier will be announced at Autumn Budget 2025 in light of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation, which is currently ongoing.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Table 5.8 of the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, how much of the spending line Memo: Police Core Spending is made up of (a) government grant and (b) council tax receipts in each year.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
As set out in the Spending Review 2025 document, published 11 June 2025, the Phase 2 settlement provides an average 1.7% real terms increase per year in police spending power. Over the SR period, police spending power is projected to increase by an average 2.3% per year in real terms.
Police core spending power includes projected spending from a mix of central government funding and local taxation through the police council tax precept. This 2.3% projection is therefore premised on the police being funded through increases to both. However, this remains subject to final decisions on precept levels and individual police and crime commissioner decisions. The government will set out spending plans for police forces in England and Wales, including the final precept level and core government funding, at the annual police funding settlement in the usual way.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 54290 on Chinese Embassy, whether the Bank of England has any role in relation to the cyber-security of financial institutions in and near the City of London.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is the UK's technical authority for cyber security, including helping to protect the UK's critical infrastructure and services from cyber-attacks. The Bank of England, through the Prudential Regulation Authority and working closely with the NCSC, requires PRA-regulated financial institutions to have rigorous cyber-security frameworks in place and requires regular assessment of financial institutions’ cyber security measures.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to exempt film studios from the business rates surcharge for hereditaments with a rateable value over £500,000.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced an intention to introduce a higher business rates multiplier on the most valuable properties – those with Rateable Values (RVs) of £500,000 and above – from April 2026 to fund permanently lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties.
This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties with an RV of £500,000 and above – these represent less than one per cent of properties. The final details of the new higher multiplier will be set at Budget 2025.
Eligible film studios in England benefit from 40 per cent business rates relief. Business rates bills are calculated by applying the relevant multiplier first, meaning film studios receive 40 per cent relief on their total liability.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54866 on Alcoholic Drinks, if she will remove the exclusion of the direct manufacture of alcoholic beverages from paragraph 2.12 of the UK Government Green Financing Framework.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Green Financing Framework, published in 2021, explains how proceeds from green gilts and NS&I’s retail Green Savings Bonds will finance public expenditures that demonstrate a direct and positive environmental impact.
The Framework includes guidelines on the types of expenditures that can be included in the Programme. Eligible expenditures are drawn from departments’ confirmed Spending Review settlements and assessed on the basis of their contribution to the government’s climate and environmental objectives.
The Framework excludes financing of the direct manufacture of alcoholic beverages, alongside other named exclusions, in line with international convention and investor expectations for green bond frameworks. This approach enables the UK’s green gilts to be accessible to the greatest possible pool of investors, improving value-for-money.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57280 on Local Government: Reorganisation, what estimate she has made of the change in public sector net borrowing from local government reorganisation in each of the next four financial years; and whether she plans to limit the levels of that reorganisation.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
HM Treasury has not undertaken an assessment of the impact of local government reorganisation on local authority borrowing nor the impact on public sector net borrowing. The OBR will continue to update its forecast for overall local government borrowing at each fiscal event, in line with standard practice.
The government announced its plans for local government reorganisation in the English Devolution White Paper on 16 December 2024. The ambition is to replace two-tier authorities with suitably sized unitary councils to create simpler structures, strengthen disjointed services and help councils pursue efficiencies. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government received interim plan responses from all areas in March. Surrey councils submitted their final proposals on 9 May 2025, and all other areas invited will be submitting their final proposals later this year. The government will set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 56711 on Council tax: valuation, how many complaints have been made to (a) Tier 1 complaints process, (b) Tier 2 complaints process and (c) the Adjudicator's Office in relation delays in council tax banding appeals by the Valuation Office Agency in the last 12 months.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025, the VOA received the following number of complaints about delays:
Tier 1 – 677
Tier 2 - 103
Adjudicator’s Office (Council Tax complaints)– 9
For context, on average the VOA deals with around 60,000 cases each year in England and Wales where customers wish to challenge their council tax band.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the guidance entitled Civil Service 2024/2025 External Expenditure on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, published on 30 May 2025, which suppliers were used to provide Antisemitism and Anti-Islamophobia training.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury volunteers coordinated 3 events on Antisemitism and Anti-Islamophobia with 2 paid for speakers- TellMAMA and Antisemitism Policy Trust (APT).
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 55222 on Film: Business Rates, how many film studios in England will be subject to the higher multiplier on Rateable Values above £500,000, from April 2026.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced an intention to introduce a higher business rates multiplier on the most valuable properties – those with Rateable Values (RVs) of £500,000 and above – from April 2026 to fund permanently lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with RVs below £500,000.
The next revaluation will take effect from April 2026. The VOA are required to publish a draft of all properties’ new RVs this year, at which point it will be clear how many film studios will be in scope of the new higher multiplier.
Eligible film studios in England benefit from 40 per cent business rates relief on their total liability. Business rates bills are calculated by applying the relevant multiplier first and so film studios will receive 40 per cent relief on their total liability.