Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of generative AI tools by consumers for pension planning and investment decision-making; and what steps they are taking to ensure that appropriate consumer protections and regulatory safeguards are in place.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMT has recently appointed Harriet Rees and Rohit Dhawan as Financial Services AI Champions. They will focus on helping firms seize opportunities of AI while protecting consumers and ensuring financial stability.
In recognition of growing consumer interest in these tools, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published information for consumers on using AI for investment research. This sets out the pros and cons of such tools, including the risk of incorrect or out-of-date information, and makes clear that advice from general purpose AI tools is not regulated and does not benefit from protections such as the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The FCA also launched the Mills Review in January 2026 which will consider the implications of advanced AI on consumers, retail financial markets and regulators. The review will help the FCA support innovation while promoting the safe and trusted adoption of AI in retail financial services.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending VAT exemption to counsellors, psychotherapists and CBT therapists who are on Professional Standards Authority-accredited registers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Many services provided directly or supervised by registered health professionals are exempt from VAT, meaning no VAT is charged to the final consumer. This does not apply to professionals who do not have statutory registers, such as counsellors and psychotherapists.
The UK’s approach of linking VAT exemption to statutory registration provides a clear and objective criterion for defining ‘health professionals’ for VAT purposes, ensuring that VAT reliefs are tightly targeted. While the Government keeps all taxes under review, there are no current plans to introduce VAT exemptions for counsellors and psychotherapists without statutory registration.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116959 on Taxation: Overpayments, if she will publish the average processing time for HMRC overpayment relief claims in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not produce an overall average processing time for overpayment relief claims. Processing times vary depending on the type of claim and the checks required to protect public funds.
However, HMRC recognises that payments to customers are important, therefore claims are processed as priority post. HMRC aims to process 80% of priority post received within 15 working days.
Customer correspondence performance is reported monthly and quarterly through HMRC’s published performance updates at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of freezing fuel duty again in September 2026, in the context of volatility in global oil prices.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2025, the Government extended the 5p-per-litre cut for a further five months, until the end of August this year. The Government has also cancelled the increase in line with inflation for 2026/27. The 5p cut was introduced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when prices reached a peak of over £1.90 per litre.
Since Budget 2024, the Government's decisions to freeze fuel duty will save the average motorist over £90 – or 8-11 pence per litre – compared to the plans inherited from the previous government.
As the Chancellor has set out, a rapid de-escalation in the Middle East remains the best way to keep prices low at the pump, but the Government will also take the necessary decisions to help families with the cost of living and protect the public finances.
As with all taxes, the Government keeps fuel duty under review; and any changes will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance HM Revenue and Customs provides to charities on the classification of educational activities for the purposes of VAT exemption.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC provides detailed guidance on how VAT applies to education on GOV.UK and in VAT Notice 701/30: Education and vocational training. This covers all aspects of the exemption, including services provided by charities.
Additional guidance is published when significant changes are made, such as the changes to the VAT treatment of private schools. The guidance can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-on-education-and-vocational-training-notice-70130
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue has been raised through the domestic VAT charge on heating oil and liquid petroleum gas since the outbreak conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran on 28 February 2026.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue and Customs does not hold information on VAT revenue from specific products or services, including VAT on heating oil and liquid petroleum gas.
This is because businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level within their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.
VAT is chargeable at the reduced rate of 5% on domestic fuel and power.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency document entitled, Valuation of public houses, published on 10 March 2026, if she will publish the guidance for the valuation of public houses used for the 2026 Rating List.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The 2026 Rating List comes into effect on 1 April 2026, and the Valuation Office Agency plans to publish valuation guidance including for the valuation of public houses on or around this date.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2026, what the forecast level of public sector net debt as a proportion of GDP will be in each year of the forecast period; what the reasons are for the projected increase in debt; and what steps she is taking to reduce public debt.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
This data is available at Table A.9: Fiscal aggregates in the March 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlook published by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The government’s fiscal plan brings down borrowing and debt, keeps the public finances on a sustainable path and supports the Bank of England to bring down inflation.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2026, what estimate she has made of the forecast increase in welfare spending over the forecast period; what the projected level of welfare expenditure will be in each financial year to 2030-31; what proportion of that spending is forecast to be allocated to working-age benefits, disability benefits and pensioner benefits; and whether she is taking steps to control projected growth in welfare spending.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Forecasts for welfare spending are the responsibility of the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what methodology was used to determine the distribution of funding of the Heating Oil Support Scheme between the four nations.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government has acted quickly to provide timely, targeted support to low-income households struggling with the rising price of heating oils, based on the latest census data.
This means the funding is distributed in line where the most vulnerable oil-heated homes are concentrated.