Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reforms to Cash ISAs on (a) the balance sheets of building societies and (b) mortgage (i) availability and (ii) pricing.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
ISA reform forms part of our strategy to support people into the higher returns that investing can provide.
Rules will be introduced to avoid circumvention of the lower limit for cash ISAs where an individual is under the age of 65. The industry is being consulted on the draft rules, which will be made by amendments to the ISA Regulations and laid in Parliament ahead of April 2027. Building societies and mortgage lenders are part of the industry consultation.
We will consult on the final rules as soon as these are ready, so that firms have enough notice before the new limit applies in April 2027.
The availability and pricing of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. However, mortgage rates are influenced by a range of factors, including Base Rate, which has been cut six times since this Government came to power.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the use of Stocks and Shares ISAs to circumvent revised Cash ISA limits due to be introduced in April 2027.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
ISA reform forms part of our strategy to support people into the higher returns that investing can provide.
Rules will be introduced to avoid circumvention of the lower limit for cash ISAs where an individual is under the age of 65. The industry is being consulted on the draft rules, which will be made by amendments to the ISA Regulations and laid in Parliament ahead of April 2027. Building societies and mortgage lenders are part of the industry consultation.
We will consult on the final rules as soon as these are ready, so that firms have enough notice before the new limit applies in April 2027.
The availability and pricing of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. However, mortgage rates are influenced by a range of factors, including Base Rate, which has been cut six times since this Government came to power.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to publish final legislation and guidance for ISA providers on the operation of the ISA regime from April 2027.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
ISA reform forms part of our strategy to support people into the higher returns that investing can provide.
Rules will be introduced to avoid circumvention of the lower limit for cash ISAs where an individual is under the age of 65. The industry is being consulted on the draft rules, which will be made by amendments to the ISA Regulations and laid in Parliament ahead of April 2027. Building societies and mortgage lenders are part of the industry consultation.
We will consult on the final rules as soon as these are ready, so that firms have enough notice before the new limit applies in April 2027.
The availability and pricing of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. However, mortgage rates are influenced by a range of factors, including Base Rate, which has been cut six times since this Government came to power.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many residents have been charged interest on late payments to HMRC in each year since 2015.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
We do not hold aggregated data on the total number of individuals who have paid late payment interest.Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to protect businesses and investors from fraud where individuals found liable by UK courts are resident overseas.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to tackling fraud, a key aspect in ensuring that the UK is a strong place for investment.
As detailed in Economic Crime Plan 2023-2026, the Government is working to strengthen international standards and build partnerships with overseas financial centres to reduce the threat international illicit finance, including fraud, poses to the UK. Agencies including HMRC, the Serious Fraud Office, and the National Crime Agency collaborate with overseas partners on this.
The upcoming Fraud Strategy will detail the Government’s plans to prevent fraud and protect the public beyond 2026.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) her Department and (b) the arms length bodies sponsored by her Department are compliant with the Supreme Court ruling in the case of For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025].
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Cabinet Office have set out the expectation that all duty bearers, including Departments and arm’s-length bodies, follow the law as clarified by the Supreme Court ruling and seek specialist legal advice where necessary. The Prime Minister has underlined this recently. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has submitted a draft Code of Practice on services, public functions and associations to Ministers, and Cabinet Office are reviewing it with the care it deserves. This will provide further guidance to duty bearers.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for each financial year since 2020-21, how many officials in HM Treasury have held a professional accountancy qualification.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
We hold the below information on officials holding professional accountancy qualifications. In each of the below years, there were at least:
2022 – 28 officials
2023 – 42 officials
2024 – 38 officials
2025 – 43 officials
holding professional accountancy qualifications.
Currently, there are 53 officials in the department holding a professional accountancy qualification.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 5p cut to fuel duty on levels of social mobility in rural areas.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor considers a wide range of impacts when taking decisions on tax policy. At Budget 2025, the Government announced that the 5p cut in fuel duty would be extended until the end of August 2026, with rates then gradually returning to March 2022 levels by March 2027. The planned increase in line with inflation for 2026/27 will also not take place, with RPI uprating resuming from 2027/28 onwards.
The Government’s decision on fuel duty will save the average car driver £49 in 2026/27. Those driving more than average, which includes drivers in rural communities, will generally experience larger savings.
The Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme provides a 5p per litre reduction to motorists buying fuel in certain areas. The areas included in the scheme demonstrate certain characteristics such as: pump prices much higher than the UK average; remoteness leading to high fuel transport costs from refinery to filling station; and relatively low sales meaning that retailers cannot benefit from bulk discounts.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to equalise the VAT treatment of Further Education colleges and school sixth forms.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Further Education (FE) funding is vital to ensure people are being trained in the skills they need to thrive in the modern labour market. The 2025 Spending Review provided an additional £1.2 billion per year by 2028-29 for skills and £1.7 billion of capital funding to help colleges maintain the condition of their estate. In addition, the Government is providing £375 million of capital investment to support the FE system to accommodate increasing student numbers.
For their non-business activity, FE colleges are unable to reclaim VAT incurred. We operate VAT refund schemes for schools and academies which are designed variously to ensure that VAT is not a burden on local taxation, and that academies are not disincentivised to leave LA control. FE colleges do not meet the criteria for either scheme.
In relation to business activity, FE colleges enjoy an exemption from VAT which means that they do not have to charge VAT to students but cannot recover it either.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the increased cost to businesses as a result of the expansion of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), including directly through paying the increased SDIL and indirectly through the demand of product reformulation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The changes to SDIL announced at Budget 2025 were confirmed following extensive industry engagement through the ‘Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ consultation, which was open from 28 April to 21 July 2025. Representations from businesses, and the trade bodies representing them, were received and considered as part of this process.
On 25 November 2025, the government published its summary of responses to the consultation. An assessment of impacts – including economic impacts for businesses – of the announced policy changes can be found within the Summary of Responses document here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/strengthening-the-soft-drinks-industry-levy/outcome/strengthening-the-soft-drinks-industry-levy-summary-of-responses#assessment-of-impacts