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Written Question
Revenue and Customs: Pay
Tuesday 3rd March 2026

Asked by: Tony Vaughan (Labour - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of compensation for HMRC staff due to the late award of the Flexibility Payment.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC has considered the appropriateness and potential merits of compensation and reflected on the factors set out below:

  • The new Flexibility rates required complex payroll system design, build and testing to ensure the 3,000 eligible staff would be paid correctly for their various working patterns.

  • Throughout the relevant period between June 2025 – November 2025, HMRC frequently updated staff and Departmental Trade Union representatives on progress and timings.

  • For clarity, the late award of the Flexibility Payment, refers to the new June 2025 rates. As standard practice, staff had continued to receive the pre-2025 Flexibility Payment rates to ensure they received their regular income.

  • Staff received the new June 2025 Flexibility Payment rates in December 2025, which included backdated arrears. The arrears reflected the difference between the new June 2025 rate, and the pre-June 2025 rate that individuals had continued to receive between June 2025 – November 2025.

HMRC is acutely aware of its additional role as the UK Tax Authority to ensure that public funds are managed with propriety, regularity, and value for money.

On conclusion of the assessment, HMRC does not believe that the delayed payment of the 2025 Flexibility Payment rates, while staff continued to be paid the former rates are sufficiently exceptional, sustained, or significant to require compensation.

Written Question
Air Passenger Duty
Thursday 26th February 2026

Asked by: Tony Vaughan (Labour - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to increase the number of private jet passengers paying the higher rate of Air Passenger Duty.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is ensuring all private jets are taxed fairly. Currently, only 36% of private jet passengers pay the higher APD rate, while most pay the same as those on commercial flights, despite using a more premium service with far higher emissions per passenger.

Building on the 50% rate increase announced at Autumn Budget 2024, at Budget 2025, the government announced that it would extend the higher rate to all private jets over 5.7 tonnes from April 2027.

This change ensures that private jet passengers pay higher rates of APD compared to commercial flyers and ensures fair and consistent taxation across private aviation.

Written Question
Gambling: Taxation
Monday 2nd June 2025

Asked by: Tony Vaughan (Labour - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the level of taxation on online gambling.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Government is currently consulting on proposals to simplify the gambling tax system by merging the three current taxes that cover remote (including online) gambling into one.