Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much tax was taken by HM Treasury on the interest accrued on Libyan assets frozen in UK banks in each of the years since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

The Government’s response of 24 June to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee report (on Government support for UK victims of IRA attacks that used Qadhafi-supplied Semtex and weapons) set out the information the Government had obtained about tax receipts derived from frozen Libyan assets held in UK banks. The response states: “Around £17 million has been received in total since the start of the 2016-17 tax year. HMRC currently receives around £5 million each year.”

Information on the tax taken on interest accrued on Libyan assets frozen in UK banks is not held centrally within government and would involve disproportionate costs to collect and collate.