Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Making Tax Digital, if any, on the tax gap attributable to intentional tax evasion; and what plans they have to implement such a scheme directly to address that issue.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax helps taxpayers pay the right amount of tax. It is expected to generate almost £1 billion in additional tax revenue in 2030–31 by encouraging timely and accurate record keeping and reducing that part of the tax gap caused by taxpayer errors and failure to take reasonable care.
HMRC is committed to closing the tax gap further and tackling other types of non-compliance such as tax evasion, tax avoidance, criminal attacks, hidden economy activity, legal interpretation issues, and non-payment.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help increase economic growth in Norfolk.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is restoring stability, increasing investment, and reforming the economy to drive growth across every region of the UK.
Norfolk will receive £32.5 million in Local Transport Grant funding enabling local authorities to deliver transport improvements including more zero emission buses, cycleways, accessibility and congestion improvement measures.
The record breaking results of our most recent offshore wind auction will support projects in the region, delivering further local jobs and growth.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, her Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
A review of the harmonised standard for ethnicity data collection is underway by the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team.
A public consultation between October 2025 and February 2026 sought views from a wide range of users, including Government Departments and public bodies, to understand user needs for ethnic group data. This was supplemented by a programme of engagement activity, including with representatives of all government departments.
ONS have committed to providing an initial response to the public consultation in April, and a full report on the consultation in late summer 2026 will include more detailed information on the departments that responded to the consultation.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of personal debt among financially vulnerable households in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government regularly engages with the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to monitor personal finances and debt levels.
Household debt levels have been falling since the beginning of 2022, with the household debt-to-income ratio in 2025 at its lowest level since 2002. The Financial Policy Committee at the Bank of England expects households to remain resilient in aggregate. However, the Government also recognises that some households face difficulties managing debt.
The Government is committed to ensuring that those in problem debt can access the specialist support they need to get their finances back on track. That is why we fund free, impartial debt advice services through MaPS to meet the needs and concerns of individuals in debt, including national and community-based services offering free-to-client debt advice. MaPS regularly measures the need for debt advice in the UK. Its 2025 MoneyView Report notes that c.12% of adults in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency need debt advice (compared to 14% of all UK adults).
Asked by: Lloyd Hatton (Labour - South Dorset)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help ensure the accuracy of information provided by tax advisers.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC’s standard for agents sets the minimum expectations for all tax advisers and is regularly reviewed by HMRC. While the vast majority of tax advisers support taxpayers to pay the right amount of tax, the government is legislating in this year’s Finance Bill to give HMRC the powers to better tackle tax advisers who facilitate non-compliance.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support the growth of co-operatives in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the contribution co-operatives make to local communities, to a diverse business sector and a resilient UK economy. In line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operatives and mutuals sector, HM Treasury is taking steps to support the growth nationwide, including in North East Somerset and Hanham.
This includes funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, which is exploring options to modernise and update the legislative framework. The review is expected to report in 2026 and the government will carefully consider its findings before responding.
At Mansion House 2024 the Chancellor set out a package of measures to support the growth of the co-operative and mutuals sector. This included welcoming the establishment of the industry-led Mutuals and Co-operative Business Council and asking the PRA and FCA to produce a report on the mutuals landscape. These reports were published in December 2025, and covered co-operatives through the FCA’s role as registering authority.
HM Treasury works with other Government departments on support for co-operatives. This includes on the Department for Business and Trade’s call for evidence on business support for co-operatives, which was launched at Budget 2025 and closed in February 2026. In addition, the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government has announced the launch of a co-operative development unit as part of its Pride in Place Strategy.
Together, these actions will help support the growth of the co-operative sector in across the UK.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support the growth of co-operatives in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the contribution co-operatives make to local communities, to a diverse business sector and a resilient UK economy. In line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operatives and mutuals sector, HM Treasury is taking steps to support the growth nationwide, including in Buckingham and Bletchley.
This includes funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, which is exploring options to modernise and update the legislative framework. The review is expected to report in 2026 and the government will carefully consider its findings before responding.
At Mansion House 2024 the Chancellor set out a package of measures to support the growth of the co-operative and mutuals sector. This included welcoming the establishment of the industry-led Mutuals and Co-operative Business Council and asking the PRA and FCA to produce a report on the mutuals landscape. These reports were published in December 2025, and covered co-operatives through the FCA’s role as registering authority.
HM Treasury works with other Government departments on support for co-operatives. This includes on the Department for Business and Trade’s call for evidence on business support for co-operatives, which was launched at Budget 2025 and closed in February 2026. In addition, the Ministry for Housing, Communities, and Local Government has announced the launch of a co-operative development unit as part of its Pride in Place Strategy.
Together, these actions will help support the growth of the co-operative sector in across the UK.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to reform credit union common bond rules.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to supporting the growth of financial mutuals in line with the manifesto commitment to double the size of the mutuals sector. To deliver this, the Chancellor announced a multi-year programme of measures at Mansion House 2024 which HM Treasury is now delivering.
This included asking the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to produce a report on the current landscape of the sector. This was published in December 2025 and included measures to support the development of financial mutuals, including the FCA’s establishment of their Mutual Societies Development Unit. The government also welcomed the Mutual and Co-operative Sector Business Council and published the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, which will support all organisations in the financial services sector.
For credit unions specifically, the government announced it is pursuing growth-focused reforms to the common bond in Great Britain. This was announced in the Financial Inclusion Strategy in November 2025 and followed a call for evidence on reforms. The government will provide a further update on this work in due course.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2026 to Question 109632 on Council tax: Valuation, what (a) geographical tools and (b) datasets are accessible within the new Valuation Office Agency Valuation Operating System.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN UIN109632 on 5 February 2026.Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of supporting the UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK is committed to ensuring inclusive and effective international tax cooperation, and has been actively engaging in negotiations at the UN over a future Framework Convention.
The UK believes a UN Tax Framework Convention has the potential to further advance international tax cooperation, but to be successful, it needs to be clear in its aims, avoid duplicating initiatives, and seek to secure the broad support and participation of members.