Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the level of uptake of the marriage tax allowance is; what steps he is taking to increase the uptake of that allowance; and if he will make a statement.

The Marriage Allowance was introduced in April 2015, to recognise the importance of marriage in the tax system and support those on low incomes. Over 1.6 million couples have successfully applied for the Marriage Allowance, with around one million applying so far in this tax year.

The Government is committed to raising awareness of the savings the allowance will bring to eligible couples. HM Revenue and Customs ran a marketing campaign in the autumn of 2016, comprising radio, digital, social media and search engine advertising. A further round of advertising commenced on 20 February and will run through to 31 March 2017.

As with all efforts to promote awareness of tax reliefs and allowances, the Government will keep the effectiveness of these marketing campaigns under review.