Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of unpaid tax for the last three fiscal years; and what plans they have to recover that money.

The details requested by the Noble Lord are published annually in the HMRC Annual Reports and Accounts, copies of which are in the library and also online at GOV.UK. HMRC also publishes quarterly performance data which includes the debt balance at the end of each quarter.

Where customers don’t engage, refuse to pay, or where businesses have little chance of recovery, we have a responsibility to take prompt enforcement action to collect the tax due. It is in no one’s interests to allow unsustainable debt to build up unchecked.