Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Time To Pay Agreements with (a) individuals and (b) businesses there were in each year since 2020; how many of those agreements have been (i) terminated and (ii) renegotiated since July 2024; and how many complaints about those agreements from (A) individuals and (B) businesses HMRC has received since July 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes data on the number of customers in Time to Pay (TTP) arrangements as part of its quarterly performance updates, which can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates
Over 90% of TTP arrangements are completed successfully. There is a variety of reasons why a TTP arrangement might end before the agreed period; for example, a customer may fail to make their payments on time, the customer may pay the debt in full, or they may ask HMRC to “renegotiate” the TTP to include new liabilities becoming due or to reflect a change in circumstances. HMRC’s systems do not hold data on how many TTPs have specifically been “terminated” or “renegotiated”. “Renegotiated” TTPs are included in the overall published TTP figures.
Extracting the relevant information to confirm how many complaints HMRC has received about “terminated” or “renegotiated” TTPs since July 2024, broken down by individuals and businesses, would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold for Written Parliamentary Questions.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what budget assumptions her Department has provided to the Office for Budget Responsibility on the potential costs to the public purse relating to the proposed treaty with Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
As usual, the OBR will include costs in its forecast once the approach to implementation of government policy is clear. In this case, that will be after any agreement has been scrutinised by Parliament and then ratified. Financial obligations arising from an agreement will be managed responsibly within the government’s fiscal framework by the lead departments, the FCDO and MOD, and no payments will be made until the treaty is legally binding.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) people and (b) businesses have positive tax balances with HMRC due to overpayments of tax broken down by tax type; what the total value of those balances are; and (i) how many accounts and (ii) the total balances in those accounts will be held over into future tax years.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not hold readily available summary information on taxpayers with positive tax balances.
Several regimes require taxpayers to make payments on account or settle tax liabilities ahead of filing returns, and subsequent to filing returns, claims for reliefs or notification of a change in circumstances may further impact amounts repayable to taxpayers.
For these reasons the time taken to extract information on positive balances from the various databases and to produce and quality assure the data to answer the questions would be disproportionate on cost grounds.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with other Cabinet colleagues on the possibility of front-loading payments to Mauritius as part of the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty on the future sovereignty of the British India Ocean Territory.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMT has been engaged on the financial mandate for negotiations with Mauritius. Any UK-Mauritius agreement, alongside the structure of any associated financial obligations, remains subject to finalisation and signature. As lead departments, the FCDO and the MOD must balance the commitments of any agreement against wider priorities, as per the Managing Public Money Framework.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 21589 on Military Bases: Diego Garcia, when she plans to publish the costs of the (a) proposed economic partnership and (b) Chagossian Trust Fund; and whether she plans to frontload payments for the proposed lease of the military base.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The UK-Mauritius treaty, which will enable the continued operation of the base on Diego Garcia, alongside the structure of any associated financial obligations, still remains subject to finalisation and signature.
It is not normal practice for the UK to confirm the value of its payments for military bases anywhere across the globe. Any financial obligations arising from this agreement will be managed responsibly within the government’s fiscal framework, including through the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of closer economic ties with China on (a) the UK economy and (b) public finances.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor visited Beijing and Shanghai for the 2025 UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue. The government published a press statement and policy outcomes paper on Saturday 11 January which lists the outcomes for British businesses and the UK economy. The press release and paper can be found here.
The Chancellor also published a written ministerial statement about her visit to China on the morning of Monday 13 January (found here) and delivered an oral statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday 14 January.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question 14333 on Diego Garcia: Military Bases, which Departments will incur the costs of the (a) lease of the military base, (b) economic partnership and (c) Chagossian trust fund; with which Departments her Department has reached agreement; whether the financial elements are included in the (i) 2025-26 budget allocations and (ii) spending envelope to 2029-30; and whether she has received representations to increase the cost envelope since 3 October 2024.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The UK-Mauritius treaty enabling the continued operation of the base on Diego Garcia is still subject to finalisation and signature. Financial obligations arising from this agreement, including departmental budgetary responsibilities, will be managed responsibly within the government’s fiscal framework, including through the upcoming spending review.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12263 on Employers' Contributions: Public Sector, what estimate she has made of the number of public sector employees covered by the provisions of line 26 of Table 5.1 of the Autumn Budget 2024 for compensating public sector organisations for proposed changes to employer National Insurance contributions.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance Contributions costs only. This funding will be allocated to departments, with the Barnett formula applying in the usual way.
This is in line with the approach taken under the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
The Government plans to update Parliament on allocations by department in the usual way as soon as possible.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12263 on Employers' Contributions: Public Sector, what methodology her Department used to calculate the provisions identified in line 26 of Table 5.1 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, for compensating public sector organisations for the cost of increases in employer national insurance contributions.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of public sector support was based on an estimate of the proportion of employer NICs receipts paid by public sector organisations, using the Office for National Statistics (ONS) classification of the public sector boundary. The Treasury routinely uses the Office for National Statistics (ONS) classification of the public sector boundary, for example in relation to public sector spending, public sector borrowing and public sector debt.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the cost of the proposed lease of the military base at Diego Garcia following the UK and Mauritius joint statement, published on 3 October 2024; and what provisions she has made in the Budget and Spending Review for these costs.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has engaged in discussions and reached an agreement with Cabinet colleagues on the financial elements of the proposed lease of the military base on Diego Garcia, as part of the UK-Mauritius agreement announced on 3 October 2024.
The treaty is still being finalised and will require ratification before coming into force. No payments will be made until the treaty is legally binding.
This agreement secures the future of Diego Garcia as a vital part of the UK’s global defence network, reinforcing regional and global security. It also supports a new era of economic partnership with Mauritius and demonstrates the UK’s commitment to the welfare of Chagossian communities. The financial package includes an annual payment, an economic partnership programme, and a Trust Fund to benefit Chagossians.
As is standard practice, the UK does not disclose the specific costs of payments for military bases to ensure their secure operation. Any financial obligations arising from this agreement will be managed responsibly within the government’s fiscal framework.