Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessments and consultation have been undertaken to understand the potential impact of the removal of the 10% wear and tear allowance within Making Tax Digital on the daily running of childminding businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2025 the Government confirmed that the standard rules for calculating income tax would apply to childminders within Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. We will phase in this change between 2026 and 2028, in line with MTD for Income Tax thresholds. The threshold from April 2026 is £50,000 of qualifying income, reducing to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028.
Childminders can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business.
HMRC engaged with stakeholders before the Budget and continue to engage with them, and will produce updated guidance for childminders in early 2026. Guidance on business expenses and on MTD for Income Tax is already available on GOV.UK.
Childminders play a vital role in childcare. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the removal of the 10% wear and tear allowance for child minders within Making Tax Digital on the level of complexity for users of the system.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2025 the Government confirmed that the standard rules for calculating income tax would apply to childminders within Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. We will phase in this change between 2026 and 2028, in line with MTD for Income Tax thresholds. The threshold from April 2026 is £50,000 of qualifying income, reducing to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028.
Childminders can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business.
HMRC engaged with stakeholders before the Budget and continue to engage with them, and will produce updated guidance for childminders in early 2026. Guidance on business expenses and on MTD for Income Tax is already available on GOV.UK.
Childminders play a vital role in childcare. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to share guidance for child minders as a targeted profession as part of proposed changes in Making Tax Digital.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2025 the Government confirmed that the standard rules for calculating income tax would apply to childminders within Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. We will phase in this change between 2026 and 2028, in line with MTD for Income Tax thresholds. The threshold from April 2026 is £50,000 of qualifying income, reducing to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028.
Childminders can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business.
HMRC engaged with stakeholders before the Budget and continue to engage with them, and will produce updated guidance for childminders in early 2026. Guidance on business expenses and on MTD for Income Tax is already available on GOV.UK.
Childminders play a vital role in childcare. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what additional support HM Revenue and Customs can provide to visually impaired people using the Self Assessment system.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC’s online services are designed to work with screen readers and other assistive technologies. Guidance and help text are built into the online tax return and customers can access support through webchat or textphone if they need it.
HMRC also offers a range of support to help visually impaired customers complete their Self Assessment. Customers can request their correspondence and tax return information in Braille, large print or audio formats. These requests are handled by HMRC’s dedicated Visually Impaired Media Unit (VIMU), which ensures that future communications are automatically produced in the customer’s preferred format. In 2024/5, VIMU provided over 59,500 customers with correspondence in an alternative format.
HMRC also has an Extra Support Team that provides tailored assistance for people who need additional help, including those with visual impairments. This team can arrange phone or video appointments and guide customers through the Self Assessment process.
Anyone who needs extra help can contact the Self Assessment helpline or find information on GOV.UK. The service has grown, with the Extra Support team expanding by around 28% in 2024-25. During that time, it supported more than 150,000 customers in vulnerable circumstances.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will increase the level of taxation on tech companies in the forthcoming Budget.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor’s decisions on tax will be announced in the usual way at the Budget. We do not comment on tax speculation outside of fiscal events.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment she has made of (a) reforming the G20 Common Framework for debt relief and (b) a new UN-led system for debt relief.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Whilst the G20 Common Framework process has been slower than the government would like, we remain committed to making it a success and are actively working with our G20 partners to ensure that it can deliver more timely, efficient, orderly and coordinated restructurings.
The UK and likeminded partners have pushed for improvements to the Framework – including advocating for greater transparency and clearer timelines in restructuring processes through the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable and the G20 and expanding eligibility to select middle-income countries. We welcome the agreement of the recent G20 Ministerial Declaration on Debt Sustainability under the South African Presidency, and we are working with partners to ensure its commitments are implemented.
The government welcomed the package to support debt sustainability in the outcome document agreed at the UN’s Seville Conference on Financing for Development in June, specifically the strong action to improve debtor voice, debt transparency, disaster pause clauses and strengthen the Common Framework. We will maintain momentum on reforms to the existing debt architecture, including making restructurings quicker and more efficient and engage with partners on any future discussions on debt at the UN.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with Santander UK plc on its introduction of £120 annual charge for small business accounts.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders across the financial services sector including Santander.
While the Government recognises the concerns of long-standing customers who signed up to different business accounts, decisions regarding the products offered and any associated charges are commercial matters for individual firms. The Government does not intervene in these commercial decisions but continues to monitor wider access to bank account provision.
The Government also recognises the importance of transparency in business bank account fees, enabling businesses to make informed choices when selecting banking services. Encouraging competition in financial services helps stimulate a strong and diverse market for SMEs, improves access to finance, and ensures that businesses benefit from competitive pricing and improved choice.
The Government is committed to ensuring that SMEs are treated fairly by banks and have access to the financial services they need. That is why the Financial Ombudsman Service has jurisdiction over 99% of business banking disputes, providing a wide safety-net for businesses and an important avenue for redress where SMEs feel they have been misled or unfairly charged.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to appoint an independent commissioner who would be responsible for outstanding losses from the Equitable Life scandal.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under plans put in place by the Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition Government, the Equitable Life Payment Scheme was fully wound down and closed in 2016. The only remaining part of the Payment Scheme in operation is the annual payments made to eligible With-Profit-Annuitants and the Scheme is on track to distribute the remainder of the £1.5 billion as planned.
There are no plans to reopen any decisions relating to the Payment Scheme. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of police funding increases being delivered primarily through rises in council tax precepts on local taxpayers.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
The government believes in empowering local decision-makers, including by ensuring they have the flexibility to generate their own income through council tax, while protecting residents from excessive increases.
Police precept levels for 2026/27 onwards remains subject to final decisions on precept which will be set out in the annual police funding settlement in the usual way. It will then be for individual police and crime commissioners to decide whether to use their full flexibility, balancing the extra spending with the tax burden on residents.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of exempting hospices from the planned increase in employer National Insurance contributions.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer National Insurance costs only. Charities, including hospices, will not be exempt, which is the usual approach taken by government when supporting the public sector with employer National Insurance contributions. The Government has announced a £100m boost for adult and children’s hospices to ensure they have the best physical environment for care, alongside £26m in revenue for children and young people’s hospices.