Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of using income from tax obtained by the sale of (a) tobacco, (b) alcohol and (c) gambling on prevention education.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The allocations of all revenues received by the Government are decided in the round alongside broader fiscal and economic objectives. Widespread hypothecation of tax revenues can undermine the Government’s ability to flexibly manage the public finances.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to Inheritance Tax on the Valuation Office Agency’s processing of cases; and whether her Department plans to take steps to help mitigate any increase in demand.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Inheritance Tax (IHT) is the responsibility of HMRC. In matters involving the valuation of land and buildings, HMRC will refer cases to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) for a specialist view. HMRC decides whether to refer particular property valuation cases to VOA.
Any changes in demand are managed by HMRC and VOA’s existing joint governance groups, which oversee volumes of referrals to VOA across IHT and all other heads of tax.
On 28 April 2025, the government announced that VOA’s functions will be brought into HMRC by the end of this financial year. This will combine the expertise and experience of both organisations in policy, valuations and programme delivery to support government to deliver change more quickly and effectively, including forthcoming policy changes to IHT.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions on early years providers.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
Early years providers play a crucial role in driving economic growth. The Government has committed to delivering the expansion of government-funded childcare and opening 3,000 new school-based nurseries in this parliament. At the Budget, the Chancellor announced that total funding will rise to over £8 billion in 2025-26 to support providers. On top of this, the Department for Education confirmed an additional £75 million of funding in 2025-26 to support the sector deliver the final phase of expanded childcare entitlements from September 2025. Alongside this, rates for the early years pupil premium have also been increased by over 45%, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.
Asked by: Michelle Welsh (Labour - Sherwood Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment on the potential merits of extending eligibility for the zero-rate VAT for charities to include flood defence equipment.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
To protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, the Government has committed £2.4 billion over the next two years to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences.
Through this funding the Government provides direct support to communities facing flooding, and therefore we have no plans to change the VAT treatment of flood defence equipment for charities. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax forecast to raise £171 billion in 2024/25. Taxation is a vital source of revenue that helps to fund vital public services including schools and hospitals.