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 plans to amend rateable values for rural pubs in the context of proposed changes to drink driving thresholds.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Rateable values represent the annual rent a property could reasonably have been expected to achieve at the Antecedent Valuation Date (AVD), reflecting market evidence at that point in time. For the current 2023 rateable values the AVD is 1 April 2021, and for the 2026 revaluation, it is 1 April 2024.
The Government will launch a review on how pubs are valued for business rates.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has issued guidance on (a) whether improper payments made to public officials are taxable for (i) Income Tax and (ii) National Insurance and (b) in what circumstances enforcement action should be taken to recover unpaid tax.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The income tax and National Insurance Contributions status of any payment made to an employee or a public official will depend on the specific facts and circumstances. Generally, where a payment is received because of a person’s employment or public office, it should be taxed as employment income. Payments may still be taxable, even if not treated as employment income.
HMRC will take action to recover unpaid tax and National Insurance Contributions, where it is appropriate to do so.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding: accessing HMRC information to assist honours committees in making recommendations about awarding honours to individuals, between Cabinet Office and HMRC, what were the conclusions of the review that took place on 12 June 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreed between HMRC and the Cabinet Office on 19 October 2023 sets out the arrangements under which HMRC may disclose information to support the honours process.
A review of the operation of the MoU took place on 29 November 2024 as part of routine governance activity. The review concluded that the arrangements continued to operate as intended and it did not result in any material changes. As the arrangements were unchanged, no further review was carried out on 12 June 2025. The MoU remains in force until 12 June 2027. Any future updates would be reflected in a revised agreement when agreed and published.
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 21 January 2026 to Question 105915 on Katie Martin, for what reason she is unpaid; and how many and what proportion of (a) female and (b) male advisers to her Department are unpaid.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Katie Martin is a Business Adviser to the Chancellor, appointed as a Direct Ministerial Appointment.
Direct Ministerial Appointments are generally unpaid, reflecting their part-time, advisory nature. HM Treasury currently has nine unpaid Direct Ministerial Appointments: three are held by women and six by men (37.5% and 62.5% respectively). HM Treasury also has two paid Direct Ministerial Appointments, one held by a woman and one held by a man.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasting schedule agreed between the OBR and her Department.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury published the Budget Information Security Review on 9 February: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-information-security-review.
The review states that "The OBR will not publish the full forecast timetable ahead of the 2026 Spring Statement. The OBR will consider, ahead of Budget 2026, whether the current approach to publishing the timetable continues to contribute to transparency and stability as was intended when it was implemented in October 2022 following a recommendation by the OBR’s then non-executive directors"
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the target date is for a new chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility to be in post.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury launched a competitive external recruitment campaign for a new Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on 20 February. The intention is that a new Chair is in post by the Budget later this year.
While the Chair’s post is vacant, the two current members of the Budget Responsibility Committee, Professor David Miles and Tom Josephs, will lead the OBR.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to encourage investment in British equities by pension funds.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has taken forward an ambitious programme of reforms to boost UK markets, including overhauling the UK listing and prospectus rules to make it easier for firms to raise the capital they need to grow.
In addition, the government has taken steps through the measures outlined in the Pensions Investment Review to improve long-term returns to pension savers and support UK growth. These will directly support investment in UK growth markets, including firms quoted on AIM and Acquis.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 79 of the HM Budget 2025 Policy Costings, published in November 2025, for what reason the Exchequer Impact of the Cash ISA changes fluctuate from (a) £5 million in 2028-29 to (b) £35 million in 2029-30 to (c) £15 million in 2030-31.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The figures set out on page 79 of the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document reflect the estimated Exchequer impact from a combination of savings tax changes.
The savings measures covered are:
The profile of the Exchequer impacts reflects the different commencement dates of these changes, as well as the timing of receipts collected through Self-Assessment.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, through which (a) companies and (b) registries HM Government holds its crypto-assets.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Neither the Treasury nor central Government hold any cryptoassets. However, the Government recognises the transformative potential of cryptoassets and blockchain technologies to drive economic growth in the UK and increase efficiencies across financial markets.
We are therefore committed to making the UK a world leading destination for cryptoassets and have taken steps to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the FCA's letter to Stewarts LLPs, dated 23 January 2026, what assessment her Department has made of the level of compliance of insurers with the FCA's expectations to review and revisit Covid Business Interruption claims following post-Test Case court rulings.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the independent regulator for financial services, sets the conduct standards required of insurance firms. The FCA has made clear its expectation that insurers carefully consider how new legal rulings affect claims they have already decided. It is for the FCA to supervise firms and, if necessary, take action against those that do not comply with its rules. The FCA has robust powers to take action where it deems appropriate.
The FCA’s 23 January letter (available online at: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/correspondence/fca-response-insurance-open-letter.pdf) stated that the FCA stopped publishing business interruption claims data in March 2023. Questions about data held by the FCA can be addressed directly to the FCA.