Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of employer National Insurance contributions paid by public sector organisations in (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue and Customs receipts figures are not separated into public and private sector employers. The requested figures are therefore not readily available.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Valuation Office Agency can increase council tax bands outside the sale of a property where the property owner has not challenged the existing valuation.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Outside the sale of a property, there are very limited circumstances where a listing officer (LO) can alter a Council Tax band. If an LO is satisfied there is an error in the valuation list, they have a statutory duty to correct that error.
If that error results in an increase to the band, the increase would be effective from the date the list is altered. A reduction of a property’s band as a result of an error would be backdated as necessary.
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 10 January 2025 to Question 20950 on Employers' Contributions: Public Sector, what progress she has made on estimating the assumed unit cost per (a) headcount and (b) FTE employee of the increase in National Insurance contributions on employers in the public sector.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Autumn Budget the Chancellor set aside £4.7 billion of funding for departments in order to support them with the increased costs as a result of the rise in employer national insurance contributions.
This funding has been allocated to departments, with the Barnett formula applying in the usual way, which is in line with the approach taken under the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy. Updated departmental budgets for 2025/26 including allocations were published at the Spring Statement.
The Government also plans to publish individual departments’ allocations as part of Mains estimates.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Spending Review Phase 2 will include council tax.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the hon Member to the answer given by Minister McMahon to PQ UIN 45028 Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament on 22 April 2025.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to provide additional funding to public bodies for the increase in business rates for hereditaments with a Rateable Value above £500,000.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27.
This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with a rateable value of £500,000 and above, representing less than one percent of all properties.
The Spring Statement confirmed the spending envelope for phase 2 of the spending review. We will consider the full range of priorities and pressures facing departments in the round, when setting these budgets.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help prevent the debanking of people and organisations by financial institutions due to (a) their lawful political views and (b) domestic Politically Exposed Persons status or affiliation.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Banking services fulfil a vital role in the lives of millions of people and businesses across the UK, and the government is committed to ensuring high standards of consumer protection and financial inclusion across the financial services sector.
Banks are already prohibited from discriminating against UK consumers based on their lawful political opinions when accessing a payment account. The government has on 28 April published new legislation that strengthens customer protection standards in cases where their account is terminated by their provider. These new rules will require banks to give customers 90 days’ notice before closing accounts and provide a clear explanation. These changes will prevent banks closing accounts without a clear reason, while giving people and businesses the time and information needed to challenge decisions. Further details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-of-people-and-businesses-protected-against-debanking
FCA guidance is clear that financial institutions should not be applying a blanket approach to the treatment of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs). The government has been working closely with the FCA to follow up on the findings of its review into the treatment of PEPs by financial institutions, and to ensure firms improve their practices where necessary, including to treat domestic PEPs and their relatives and close associates proportionately in line with the level of risk.
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 26 March 2025 to Question 39028 on Housing: Pylons, whether the Valuation Office Agency has made an assessment of the potential impact of a pylon being erected within 500 metres on the capital value of a dwelling.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has not made a general assessment on the potential impact on a dwelling’s capital value from a pylon being erected within 500 metres of a dwelling.
If the VOA receives a proposal seeking a change in the Valuation List citing the erection of a pylon in the locality, the Listing Officer will assess any valuation impact always having regard to the specific facts of the case. This will include the characteristics of the dwelling, the position of the pylon, and features of the surrounding area. The Listing Officer would then determine whether the changed physical state of the locality would have affected the dwelling’s value at the relevant valuation date. The valuation date for England is 1 April 1991, and for Wales is 1 April 2003.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Valuation Office Agency plans to publish the draft council tax bandings for dwellings in Wales as part of the council tax revaluation in Wales.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Local Government Finance (Wales) Act 2024 states that the Welsh Ministers can specify, in an order, the date by which listing officers must send a copy of the proposed valuation list to their billing authorities. If the Welsh Ministers do not make such an order, the deadline will be the 1 September before the date on which the list is to be compiled.
Therefore, for a compiled list date of 1 April 2028, the proposed valuation list would be made available on or before 1 September 2027.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the amount of funding being allocated by the UK Government to each of the devolved administrations to fund the direct and indirect cost of higher National Insurance Contributions on local government is in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland; and what proportion of the direct and indirect costs must be funded by the devolved Administrations.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor agreed to provide funding to the public sector to support them with the additional cost associated with changes to employer National Insurance Contributions policy.
The devolved governments will receive funding through the Barnett formula in the usual way in 2025-26, including on this support. This is the normal operation of the funding arrangements as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy. The outcome of the Barnett formula will be confirmed, and funding provided for all devolved governments at Main Estimates 2025-26.
It is for the devolved governments to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including on workforce. They can therefore take their own decisions on managing and investing available resources, reflecting their own priorities and local circumstances, and they are accountable to the devolved legislatures for these decisions.
The devolved governments’ Phase 1 Spending Review 2025 settlements are growing in real terms in 2025-26 and are the largest spending review settlements in real terms of any settlements since devolution. The devolved governments are each receiving at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK. That translates into over £16 billion more in 2025-26.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC policy requires Government Ministers to pay an income tax charge for political gifts given to them of (a) clothes, (b) glasses and (c) accommodation from party political donors.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ministers are employees for the purposes of Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions.
The normal rules for employment-related benefits apply to employment-related gifts, as set out in HMRC’s guidance at www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim20020
There is an exemption for small gifts costing a total of £250 or less per year to provide, HMRC guidance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim21715