Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of re-joining the EU Customs Union on economic growth.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are not planning to make an assessment as there will be no return to the Customs Union or the Single Market. We have reset our relations with European partners in order to improve our diplomatic, economic, and security cooperation following Brexit. This Government is making the best choices for businesses, workers and citizens across the country from our position outside the European Union, through significant deals with the US and India, and now a new partnership with the EU - each decision taken to support UK growth.Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of leaving the European Union on economic growth.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the government’s official forecaster. The OBR have included assessments of the economic impacts of leaving the EU in its forecasts since 2016. In March 2020, the OBR estimated that GDP will be 4 per cent lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU, an impact which the Chancellor has said is severe and long-lasting, and that imports and exports will eventually both be 15 per cent lower than had we stayed in the EU. As of the Spring Budget 2025, these assumptions are unchanged from its previous assessment.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse of (a) building border inspection facilities, (b) operating border inspection facilities annually since construction and (c) in total was since the UK left the EU.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Customs infrastructure at Inland Border Facilities (IBFs) is essential to protect the UK by ensuring risk-based checks on goods entering and leaving the country can take place. The cost to HMRC of building and setting up both enduring and temporary sites was £89m.
The annual cost to HMRC for the operation of IBFs is £32m.
The total cost since leaving the EU (up to 31st March 25) was £495m, this included £20m for decommissioning costs at temporary sites.
In April 2025, Government announced amendments to existing legislation to require all approved border locations to provide and fund their own customs infrastructure. This includes border locations which currently benefit from Government provision of IBFs.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much her Department has spent on inland border facilities for customs checks since 2020.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Customs infrastructure at Inland Border Facilities (IBFs) is essential to protect the UK by ensuring risk-based checks on goods entering and leaving the country can take place. HMRC has spent a total of £495m since 2020 on IBFs. This figure represents all costs up to and including 31st March 2025.
In addition to HMRC costs, the Sevington IBF was constructed by the Department for Transport. The total costs of this were £154 million. This includes £70 million on the Border Control Post (BCP), which allows biosecurity checks to take place on sanitary and phytosanitary goods (SPS).
In April 2025, Government announced amendments to existing legislation to require all approved border locations to provide and fund their own customs infrastructure. This includes border locations which currently benefit from Government provision of IBFs.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the average wait time for callers to HMRC helplines; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for callers to HMRC helplines.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes its call waiting times on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates
Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC. Last year, HMRC recruited and deployed additional customer service advisers. They are also investing in new technology which will significantly enhance the customer experience.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with her Canadian counterpart on releasing frozen Russian assets for use by Ukraine.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Chancellor regularly speaks to her G7 and European counterparts to progress matters in the UK national interest.
Supporting Ukraine and increasing economic pressure on Russia remains a priority.
The Government is firmly committed to ensuring Russia pays for the damage it has caused, and is causing, in Ukraine. The UK, together with our G7 allies, has committed to keeping Russia’s sovereign assets immobilised in our respective jurisdictions until Russia pays for this damage.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with her Belgian counterpart on releasing frozen Russian assets for use by Ukraine.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Chancellor regularly speaks to her G7 and European counterparts to progress matters in the UK national interest.
Supporting Ukraine and increasing economic pressure on Russia remains a priority.
The Government is firmly committed to ensuring Russia pays for the damage it has caused, and is causing, in Ukraine. The UK, together with our G7 allies, has committed to keeping Russia’s sovereign assets immobilised in our respective jurisdictions until Russia pays for this damage.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the terms of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme to reimburse legal costs for victims of fraud.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The rules governing the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for consumers of failed authorised firms, including where those consumers have been the victims of fraud, are set by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). They are set out in the PRA Rulebook and FCA Handbook within the framework set by Parliament. It is for the FSCS to assess individual claims and provide appropriate compensation in line with those rules and depending on the circumstances of the claim and the regulated activity involved.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of re-joining the EU single market on the UK economy, in the context of the UK-EU summit on 19 May 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The OBR has estimated that productivity will be 4% lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU, and that imports and exports will eventually both be 15 per cent lower than had we stayed in the EU. As of the Spring Budget 2025, these assumptions are unchanged from its previous assessment. The OBR estimated in their March 2021 Economic and Fiscal Outlook that two-fifths of this impact to productivity had already materialised before the Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force in January 2021.
The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. There will be no return to the Customs Union or the single market. But we are committed to finding constructive ways to work together and deliver for the British people.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of re-joining the EU Customs Union on the UK economy, in the context of the UK-EU summit on 19 May 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The OBR has estimated that productivity will be 4% lower in the long run than it would have been had the UK not withdrawn from the EU, and that imports and exports will eventually both be 15 per cent lower than had we stayed in the EU. As of the Spring Budget 2025, these assumptions are unchanged from its previous assessment. The OBR estimated in their March 2021 Economic and Fiscal Outlook that two-fifths of this impact to productivity had already materialised before the Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force in January 2021.
The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. There will be no return to the Customs Union or the single market. But we are committed to finding constructive ways to work together and deliver for the British people.