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Written Question
Treasury: Communications
Monday 9th September 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much her Department spent on communications in the latest year for which data is available.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Expenditure on communications staffing was £2,507,000 and non-pay related items/services for the communications team was £869,000, In 2023-24.

HM Treasury’s Communications Team is responsible for all communications conducted by HM Treasury and its Ministers to help inform, promote and explain HMT policies through traditional and new media channels.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs: Private Education
Monday 2nd September 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will exempt independent special schools from the removal of business rates charitable rates relief.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

On 29 July 2024, the Government published a technical note confirming that the Government will remove private schools’ eligibility for charitable rates relief under business rates in England.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government will bring forward primary legislation to amend the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to end relief eligibility for private schools. The change is intended to take effect from April 2025, subject to Parliamentary process.

As set out in the technical note, the Government recognises some pupils have special educational needs that can only be met in a private school. The Government has made clear that it will consider how to address the potential impact of these changes in cases where private school provision has been specified for pupils through an Education, Health and Care Plan


Written Question
Capital Gains Tax
Thursday 1st August 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of people who paid capital gains tax also paid employee national insurance contributions in the most recent year for which data is available.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

HMRC does not routinely produce estimates of the proportion of capital gains taxpayers who have paid employee national insurance contributions. A reliable estimate would only be available at disproportionate cost.

Annual statistics on Capital Gains Tax including number of taxpayers are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/capital-gains-tax-statistics The statistics in this publication are for all customers liable to Capital Gains Tax including those who have and have not paid employee national insurance contributions.


Written Question
Capital Gains Tax
Thursday 1st August 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of people who paid capital gains tax were in work in the most recent year for which data is available.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

In the 2021 to 2022 tax year, around 50% of customers liable to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) declared in their Self Assessment return that they were in employment or were self-employed.

This figure is based on data reported by taxpayers who have filed a Self Assessment tax return and excludes a small proportion of taxpayers who have reported CGT exclusively via other filing systems.


Written Question
Revenue and Customs: Research
Friday 15th March 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many research projects have started work in the HMRC datalab in each year since 2013.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

HMRC Datalab have provided 106 projects access to de-identified HMRC data for research purposes, since 2012.


Written Question
Treasury: Equality
Wednesday 6th March 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in their Department have job titles that include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)

The Government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all activities that support the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) of the workforce, through the review of EDI spending announced last June. As stated in the Autumn Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister for Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course.

There are two members of staff in HM Treasury with the words (a) equality/equalities, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT or (f) race included in their job title.


Written Question
Revenue and Customs: Equality
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in HMRC have job titles which include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all activities that support the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) of the workforce, through the review of EDI spending announced last June.

As stated in the Autumn Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister for Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course.


Written Question
Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion
Friday 9th February 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue the Government has raised through tackling tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance since 2010.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Every year, HMRC measures the impact of its activity to tackle tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance through its performance measure of compliance yield. Compliance yield is HMRC’s term for money that would have been lost to the Exchequer if not for our compliance work. This is published each year in HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts

Compliance yield since 2010 is as follows:

Year

Compliance yield

2023-24 (to Q3)

£24,026m

2022-23

£34,031m

2021-22

£30,792m

2020-21

£30,450m

2019-20

£36,948m

2018-19

£34,070m

2017-18

£30,292m

2016-17

£28,855m

2015-16

£26,607m

2014-15

£26,558m

2013-14

£23,926m

2012-13

£20,722m

2011-12

£18,627m

2010-11

£13,900m

More about the different components that are included in the reported amount can be found in the HMRC Compliance Yield: technical note, that is published each year alongside the Annual Reports and Accounts.


Written Question
Treasury: Equality
Tuesday 23rd January 2024

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many equalities impact assessments his Department completed in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

HM Treasury does not collate the figures requested. HM Treasury publishes impacts in summary form for tax measures in tax information and impact notes (TIINs) alongside the Finance Bill.


Written Question
Migration: Forecasts
Tuesday 12th December 2023

Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 31 of the Office for Budget Responsibility's publication entitled Economic and fiscal outlook- November 2023, published on 22 November 2023, whether his Department holds information on the assumptions underpinning the forecast of future net migration.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing forecasts for the UK economy and public finances and the underlying assumptions.

In its November 2023 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR set out its forecast for net migration, and the assumptions it is based on. This is available here:

CP 944 – Office for Budget Responsibility – Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2023 (obr.uk)