Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what forecast they have made of the UK tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio in (1) 2025–26, (2) 2026–27, (3) 2027–28, (4) 2028–29, and (5) 2029–30; and what comparative assessment they have made of the tax-to-GDP ratio of each of the G7 countries in each of those years.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published the latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) in March 2026[1]. This forecasts the tax-to-GDP ratio to change as follows: 2025-26 – 36.3%; 2026-27 – 37.0%; 2027-28 – 37.7%; 2028-29 – 37.8%; 2029-30 – 38.3%[2].
The UK’s current tax-to-GDP ratio is in the middle of the pack within the G7; lower than Italy (42.8%), France (43.5%) and Germany (38.0%), but above Japan (33.7%), Canada (34.9%) and the US (25.6%) based on the latest available OECD data. [3]
[1] https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2026/#
[2] https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2026/#, page 42
[3] Latest OECD data 2024, except Japan, which is from 2023.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which countries the UK has prisoner transfer agreements with.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Enhancing our bilateral prisoner transfer capability is a government priority. We remain fully committed to transferring eligible foreign national offenders from the UK so they can serve the remainder of their sentences in their home country, and to repatriating British nationals imprisoned overseas.
Compulsory bilateral agreements
The UK has compulsory bilateral prisoner transfer agreements (PTAs) with Albania, Ghana, Libya, Nigeria and Rwanda. These agreements state that the consent of the prisoner is not required for transfer, although both States must agree to the transfer. The UK has also recently signed a compulsory bilateral PTA with Italy, which is currently undergoing parliamentary scrutiny and has not yet been ratified.
Voluntary bilateral agreements
The UK also has voluntary bilateral PTAs, where the consent of the prisoner to transfer is required in addition to the agreement of both States, with the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Brazil, Cuba, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, India, Iraq, Laos, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Thailand and Vietnam.
Multilateral arrangements
The UK has multilateral prisoner transfer arrangements with all States that are party to the 1983 Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. This includes:
All 27 European Union Member States.
NonEU Council of Europe members: Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Türkiye and Ukraine.
Non‑Council of Europe States (as the Convention is also open to non‑Council of Europe members): Australia, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Honduras, India, Israel, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Panama, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States of America and Venezuela.
The UK also participates in the Scheme for the Transfer of Convicted Offenders within the Commonwealth, which provides prisoner transfer arrangements with: Kenya, Malawi, Maldives, Botswana, Tonga and Uganda.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking with international partners to help tackle organised immigration crime.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Immigration crime is an international problem, and it can only be solved through international cooperation.
That is why we have worked to develop agreements with France, Germany and Italy and others to break the business model of the criminal gangs, and why we are working upstream in Iraq, the Balkans, Ethiopia and elsewhere to disrupt smuggling supply chains, and reduce the drivers of illegal migration.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2026 to Question 107755 on Hospitality Industry VAT, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of lessons learned from (a) France, (b) Germany, (c) Italy and (d) the Republic of Ireland on introducing hospitality VAT rates.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is aware that some European countries apply reduced VAT rates to hospitality, reflecting different tax systems, policy choices and wider fiscal contexts.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Reduced rates of VAT come at a significant cost to the Exchequer, reduce the revenue available for vital public services, and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.
The Government keeps all taxes under review, with decisions on VAT rates taken by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff in his Department are working on trade with Italy; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.
DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.
We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.
Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what lessons his Department has learnt from other countries that have reduced curtailment while expanding renewables.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We use evidence from comparable countries to support our decision making and policy thinking on curtailment. Constraint payments are a natural part of operating an electricity system and are used in many countries such as Italy, Spain, Germany and Denmark. However, the current extent of grid constraints reflects years of underinvestment, with new network infrastructure development having lagged the expansion of new generation. We’re finally changing that, with the biggest upgrade to Great Britain’s electricity network in decades, which will minimise both curtailment and constraint costs, and help deliver clean power by 2030.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of levels of [a] standard and [b] hospitality VAT on the sustainability of the hospitality industry in [i] France, [ii] Germany, [iii] Italy and [iv] the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Providing further VAT relief or introducing new reduced rates would reduce tax revenue and add further complexity to the tax system.
Furthermore, HMRC estimates that the cost of a 5 per cent reduced rate for accommodation, hospitality and tourist attractions would be around £17bn in 2026-27. This would reduce VAT revenue, which pays for public services, by almost 10%.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) UK and (b) overseas military and civilian personnel will be routinely employed at the Global Combat Air Programme International Government Organisation in Reading when it is fully operational.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Global Combat Air Programme International Government Organisation (GIGO) is validating and refining its organisational design.
Tri-nation planning for the Organisation includes a workforce of around 500 employees when fully operational. Exact numbers will fluctuate based on the programme requirements. A third of employees will come from each of Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, there will be a mixture of military and civilian employees from each nation.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-Italy Young Leaders Programme on the level of UK-Italy trade in the next five years.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Young Leaders Programme was launched in 2023 and aims to strengthen ties between the UK and Italy, the third largest economy in the EU, the UK's 9th largest trading partner, and a key NATO ally. The programme promotes collaboration between young UK and Italian professionals, including in trade and commercial fields, and its 26 participants to date have been evenly split between citizens of the two countries. The UK allocated £20,000 to the programme in both 2023/24 and 2024/25, our selection process is still open for 25/26 and we have allocated £46,500 in 2025/26 to reflect the increasing number of participants and the activities of the alumni network for past participants.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British citizens have participated in the UK-Italy Young Leaders Programme.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Young Leaders Programme was launched in 2023 and aims to strengthen ties between the UK and Italy, the third largest economy in the EU, the UK's 9th largest trading partner, and a key NATO ally. The programme promotes collaboration between young UK and Italian professionals, including in trade and commercial fields, and its 26 participants to date have been evenly split between citizens of the two countries. The UK allocated £20,000 to the programme in both 2023/24 and 2024/25, our selection process is still open for 25/26 and we have allocated £46,500 in 2025/26 to reflect the increasing number of participants and the activities of the alumni network for past participants.