Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025, to Question 93747, on Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, what the date, title, location and purpose of the cross-government event related to the public expenditure on TasteThatLove are.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
See answer to WPQ 93747. The purpose of the event was to encourage collaboration between government departments, academia and the private sector.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the forecast profile of yearly (a) defence and (b) security spending to meet the respective 3.5% and 1.5% GDP NATO targets by 2035.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
NATO qualifying defence spending will increase to 2.6 per cent of GDP by April 2027. The Government’s ambition is to spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence next Parliament, when economic and fiscal conditions allow, and 5 per cent of GDP on national security spending by the Parliament after next.
In 2029, when NATO review capability requirements and this pledge, the UK and Allies will review the trajectory and the balance of spending, which is currently 3.5 per cent on core defence and 1.5 per cent on security and resilience-related spend.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2025, to Question 88660, on Elections: Proof of Identity, what is the policy of Government Social Research on using the terms (a) sex and (b) gender.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government Social Research Profession is a professional membership body for social researchers working across government. It supports professional social researchers employed directly by departments through providing opportunities for learning, development, career support and technical development.
The Government Social Research Profession is part of the Government Analysis Function, which sets expectations for analysis, as set out in the Government Functional Standard. In using the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’, government analysts should have regard to relevant data harmonisation standards published by the Office for National Statistics and the Government Statistical Service.
The Office for National Statistics and the Government Statistical Service are currently partway through a review of their harmonised standards. That review is focused on developing updated and new harmonised standards for Sex, Gender Identity, Disability and Ethnicity
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the Freedom of Information Act disclosure released by the Government Actuary’s Department on 4 August 2025 with reference Internal Review response to FOI252626.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government Actuary’s Department released information on 4 August 2025 in relation to a Freedom of Information request. The content of that response is provided alongside this PQ response.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the Freedom of Information Act disclosure with reference Internal Review response to FOI252626.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not recognise the Freedom of Information case reference FOI252626.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to question 95074 , how many of the businesses classified as holiday sites in the Valuation Office Agency draft 2026 rating lists have had their rateable value i) decrease ii) stay the same iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to question 95074 of 2 December 2025, how many of the businesses classified as restaurants and cafes in the Valuation Office Agency draft 2026 rating lists have had their rateable value i) decrease ii) stay the same iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to question 95074 of 2 December 2025, how many of the businesses classified as hotels etc in the Valuation Office Agency draft 2026 rating lists have had their rateable value i) decrease ii) stay the same iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to question 95074, how many of the 52,080 businesses classified as pubs and wine bars in the VAO draft 2026 rating lists have seen their rateable value i) decrease, ii) stay the same and iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she intends to cap public service pension costs under section 12 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Section 12 of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 (the Act) requires an employer cost cap to be set in each of the public service pension schemes.
The Act requires that Treasury regulations must provide for the costs of a scheme to remain within specified margins either side of the employer cost cap of the scheme. The Regulations (SI 2014 No. 575) provide the margins are 3% of pay and that steps must be taken to return the cost of a scheme to the employer cost cap if the cost of the scheme would otherwise go beyond these margins.
Treasury Directions made under the Act specify when the employer cost cap is to be assessed (The_Public_Service_Pensions__Valuations_and_Employer_Cost_Cap__Directions_2023_-_Final.pdf ). Valuations of the employer cost cap as at 31 March 2016 and at 31 March 2020 have been undertaken by each of the schemes, for example see page 9 of the Civil Service Pension Scheme Actuarial Valuation as at 31 March 2020 - Valuation Results. Valuations of the employer cost cap as at 31 March 2024 are currently underway and are expected to be published next year.