Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the 74 HMRC engagement forums are involved in developing tax policy; and what is the composition of those stakeholder groups, including the proportion of tax practitioners compared to academics or independent experts.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The majority of HMRC’s engagement forums play a role in contributing to the development of tax policy, as well as addressing other key areas such as operations, compliance and communications. These forums bring together a diverse mix of representatives from professional bodies, other representative organisations, tax practitioners and independent experts.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Treasury plans to introduce additional protections for individuals who face retaliation as a result of engaging with the HMRC whistleblowing reward scheme; and whether HMRC will be required to provide support to whistleblowers involved in employment disputes or SLAPP-type legal proceedings arising from their disclosures.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC treats all informants with the highest levels of confidentiality and security in line with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 and the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) Codes of Practice.

There is no legal obligation on HMRC to participate in an employment tribunal of an informant. However, if requested, HMRC can provide a disclosure to the informant or their legal representative to support any employment tribunal under Sec 18 (2)(c) Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department will take to ensure transparency in the operation of HMRC's proposed whistleblowing reward scheme; and whether she plans to publish (a) eligibility criteria and award thresholds for applicants, and (b) data on the number and value of awards granted.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Autumn Budget on 26 November 2025 the Government launched the Rewards for informants of high value tax fraud. This scheme is designed to target serious non-compliance involving large corporates, wealthy individuals, offshore and avoidance schemes. Informants can receive a reward of between 15 and 30% when they provide information which leads directly to HMRC collecting more than £1.5M tax. HMRC have published eligibility criteria for the scheme at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/reporting-serious-tax-avoidance-and-evasion.

HMRC has previously published data on the total amount of rewards paid annually through the standard informants reward scheme and will continue to do so. To protect the confidentiality of informants we do not publish the number of rewards or size of individual rewards.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of low-cost imported stone on the competitiveness of UK natural stone producers; and what steps he is taking to help support the natural stone industry.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) is the UK’s investigatory body that exists to defend the UK against unfair international trade practices, including foreign subsidies.

I encourage UK industry to engage directly with the TRA if they believe they are being injured by unfair trading practices as it will be for the TRA to decide whether evidentiary thresholds to initiate a trade remedies investigation are met.

The Department remains vigilant to any reports of potential injury to industries from unfair trading practices and regularly engages with the natural stone sector.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to expand the Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025 to apply to all recreational water users.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Bathing waters are one of the most visible ways in which the public interacts with the water environment, and so it is critical that appropriate regulations meet the needs of water users and those involved with managing bathing water sites. In the November – December 2024 consultation on bathing water reforms, we asked respondents about wider reforms including the expansion of the definition of ‘bathers’ to include other water users and introducing multiple monitoring points at sites. The Government response to the consultation, published in March 2025, outlined that a clear majority of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with this proposal and many offered suggestions of what water users should be included. The Department is now exploring how evidence to support the delivery of these wider reforms, including expanding the definition of a bather might be developed. The timeline for detailed policy development and research will depend on the outcome of initial scoping work. Defra will engage with local and national stakeholders as this work progresses.

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Found: Minehead) Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat; Chesham and Amersham) Sarah Hall (Labour; Warrington South) Lloyd Hatton

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Found: present: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Anna Dixon; Sarah Green; Sarah Hall; Lloyd Hatton