Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to UIN 5852, what advice her department has received from the ONS regarding the implications for ONS classification if Thames Water was taken into Special Administration.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury has not asked for, nor received, any advice from the ONS regarding the implications for ONS classification if Thames Water was taken into Special Administration.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to encourage investment in areas with high economic inactivity historically impacted by deindustrialisation.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is committed to improving economic growth and living standards across every part of the United Kingdom, including in communities affected by the long-term decline of industry. We are moving away from a model where growth is concentrated in a few places to one that unlocks investment in every region.
At the March 2026 Mais Lecture, the Chancellor set out plans to empower regional growth, including establishing City Investment Funds with an additional £2.3 billion of grant, loan and patient capital funding for major city regions, with up to £1.7 billion going directly to mayors in the North. Over £150 million will also be invested through the IS8 cluster (Industrial Strategy growth driving sectors) programme into five areas across the North and North East, backing growth-driving sectors where places already have strengths, to grow firms and create good local jobs. This builds on the £15.6 billion confirmed at the Spending Review for Transport for City Regions settlements, and the £5.8 billion being provided for deprived neighbourhoods across the UK through the Pride in Place Programme.
Alongside investment, the Government is tackling economic inactivity directly. We have announced further investment to unlock up to 200,000 new jobs and apprenticeship opportunities for young people, including a new Youth Jobs Grant and an expanded Jobs Guarantee, taking total investment in the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years. Through the National Wealth Fund, the Government has invested £3.8 billion across a number of projects, creating or supporting 20,300 jobs in its first year.
Taken together, these measures are designed to raise investment, create more jobs and improve living standards in the places that have too often been left behind.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to encourage a culture of economic growth in deindustrialised areas.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is committed to improving economic growth and living standards across every part of the United Kingdom, including in communities affected by the long-term decline of industry. We are moving away from a model where growth is concentrated in a few places to one that unlocks investment in every region.
At the March 2026 Mais Lecture, the Chancellor set out plans to empower regional growth, including establishing City Investment Funds with an additional £2.3 billion of grant, loan and patient capital funding for major city regions, with up to £1.7 billion going directly to mayors in the North. Over £150 million will also be invested through the IS8 cluster (Industrial Strategy growth driving sectors) programme into five areas across the North and North East, backing growth-driving sectors where places already have strengths, to grow firms and create good local jobs. This builds on the £15.6 billion confirmed at the Spending Review for Transport for City Regions settlements, and the £5.8 billion being provided for deprived neighbourhoods across the UK through the Pride in Place Programme.
Alongside investment, the Government is tackling economic inactivity directly. We have announced further investment to unlock up to 200,000 new jobs and apprenticeship opportunities for young people, including a new Youth Jobs Grant and an expanded Jobs Guarantee, taking total investment in the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years. Through the National Wealth Fund, the Government has invested £3.8 billion across a number of projects, creating or supporting 20,300 jobs in its first year.
Taken together, these measures are designed to raise investment, create more jobs and improve living standards in the places that have too often been left behind.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Payment Systems Regulator's document entitled Specific Direction 17 on expanding Confirmation of Payee, published in October 2022, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that Direction on trends in the level of fraud.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to tackling fraud and protecting victims from this appalling crime. The Government has recently introduced a new and expanded Fraud Strategy and is determined to turn the tide on fraud and better protect the public and businesses.
Specific Direction 17 was issued by the independent Payment Systems Regulator in October 2022 under the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013. It requires certain payment service providers, including some participants in Faster Payments and CHAPS, to use Confirmation of Payee. This is a name-checking service designed to reduce certain types of authorised push payment fraud and accidentally misdirected payments.
As Specific Direction 17 is made and overseen by the independent Payment Systems Regulator, this is a matter for the PSR.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has assessed the potential merits of tax breaks and financial incentives for new parents.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is committed to supporting new parents and keeps relevant tax breaks and financial incentives under regular review.
Available support includes Child Benefit which provides weekly payments of £27.05 for eldest children and £17.90 for subsequent children, as well as a £500 one-off payment through the Sure Start Maternity Grant to help with the costs of having a child.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to her Department was of tax relief for landlords of residential properties in the last financial year.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Unincorporated landlords receive basic rate relief through a tax reduction. The estimated cost of basic rate tax relief on finance costs for landlords of residential properties reporting in Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA) in 2023/24 (the latest available year) is £1.4 billion.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people reported a gross property income of greater than £1,000 to HMRC in the last financial year.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Estimates of the number of people reporting a gross property income of greater than £1,000 to HMRC for the latest available financial year are shown in the table below.
Tax Year | Category | No. of People Reporting Gross Property Income Greater Than £1,000 in 2023/24 (Rounded to the Nearest 1,000) (1) |
2023/24 | Individual | 2,887,000 |
2023/24 | Partnership | 33,000 |
(1) The figures include unincorporated landlords reporting total property rental income greater than £1,000, before any expenses and allowances deductions, via Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA).
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent progress she has made on the seizure of Russian assets in the United Kingdom; and the impact of those assets for the Ukrainian war effort.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains determined to ensure Russia is held accountable for the damage it has caused, and continues to cause, in Ukraine.
We will continue work and coordinate with G7 and EU partners to ensure that Ukraine gets the funding it needs, ensuring any options developed by the Government are in line with international law.
As the Prime Minister and the E3 reaffirmed in their joint statement on 7 June, the UK has pledged that Russia's sovereign assets will remain immobilised until they cease the war and pay compensation to Ukraine.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the publication, High Value Council Tax Surcharge, published 19 May 2026, what assessment she has made of the number of people eligible for the deferment scheme.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is seeking views on the eligibility criteria under which homeowners might defer HVCTS liability in a consultation published on 29 May 2026. Numbers of homeowners eligible will depend on the final design of any deferral scheme.
The consultation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/high-value-council-tax-surcharge/high-value-council-tax-surcharge
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the estimated annual cost to the public purse is of tax reliefs associated with Freeports, Special Economic Zones, Investment Zones, and Industrial Strategy Zones.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Special Economic Zones is an umbrella term that covers Industrial Strategy Zones and Enterprise Zones. The UK’s Industrial Strategy Zones include both Freeports and Investment zones.
For Freeports, the latest cost in 2023-24 (excluding Business Rates) can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-reliefs/tax-relief-statistics-january-2026.
For Investment Zones, the cost in 2025-26 (including Business Rates) can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-budget-2024.
For the Capital Allowances relief in Enterprise Zones the latest cost for 2019-20 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-reliefs/tax-relief-statistics-january-2026.
MHCLG published Business Rates reliefs statistics and forecasts here: National non-domestic rates collected by councils in England: forecast for 2026 to 2027 - GOV.UK