Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the council tax surcharge and the ordinary council tax charge for new builds will be based on different antecedent valuation dates from April 2028.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Council Tax bands are based on the price a property could have sold for on a fixed date set in law. The High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) is in addition to Council Tax. This will be a new charge on owners of residential property in England worth £2 million or more in 2026, taking effect in 2028. The precise antecedent valuation date for HVCTS has not yet been set in legislation.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2026, to Question 108650, on Gardens: Council tax, whether there is internal guidance on how gardens are valued for council tax, other than prevailing legislation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Where a dwelling includes a garden, then this will be reflected in the valuation subject to the legislative framework. The Valuation Office Agency’s internal guidance on when gardens are included in the valuation can be found in the Council Tax Manual, published online here.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the Valuation Office Agency's responses to Member's correspondence, including on matters of confidentiality.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency is committed to protecting taxpayer confidentiality in line with its duty under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given, if any, to abolishing stamp duty.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has no plans to abolish Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). SDLT continues to be an important source of Government revenue, raising around £14 billion each year to help pay for the essential services the Government provides.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2026 to Question 108649 on Valuation Office Agency: Training, if she will list the titles of the 400 internal training opportunities in relation to council tax and business rates.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA training modules are for internal use only and are not routinely published.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 107997 on Council tax, valuation, if she will publish the list of Value Significant Codes.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Value Significant Codes are used internally by the Valuation Office Agency to indicate specific features that are likely to affect the value of a property – there are therefore no plans to publish these.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 91847 on Leisure: Business Rates, when the analysis on the effects of the multiplier arrangements will be published.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government published its assessment of the business rates retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers on the 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any crown servant has been (a) dismissed and (b) disciplined for sharing information related to the Budget 2025 without authority.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury commissioned a Budget Information Security Review following the November 2025 Budget which was published on 9 February 2026. A copy of the review can be found here: Budget Information Security Review - GOV.UK
No Crown Servants employed by HM Treasury were dismissed or disciplined for the stated reason.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 30 of the Budget 2025 policy costings document, published in November 2025, if she will make an assessment of the reasons for the change in business rate RHL multipliers between 2026-27 and 2027-28.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) multipliers being introduced from April are worth nearly £1 billion per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties in England.
The Exchequer impact of the new RHL multipliers can be found on page 30 of the ‘Policy costings’ document, published at the Budget and found online at this address: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/692872fd2a37784b16ecf676/Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2026 to Question 109143 on Business Rate: Uprating, what the evidential basis is for the business rate system raising the same amount of revenue as was forecast before the Spring Budget 2025; and what the date and sources are for the previous estimate.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Business rates receipts are forecast independently by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The previous answer that the business rates system will raise the same amount of revenue in the coming year as was forecast before the Spring Budget 2025 is based on a comparison between the OBRs pre-measures forecast at Spring Budget 2025, and forecasts for the same year at Autumn Budget 2025, which incorporates policy costings.