Asked by: Lord Walker of Broxton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect vulnerable people from turning to illegal moneylenders.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the serious harm that illegal money lenders can cause, particularly to vulnerable people. To help prevent people from turning to illegal money lenders, the Government funds specialist Illegal Money Lending Teams (IMLTs). These teams combine enforcement action against illegal lenders with prevention and victim support, including awareness-raising in communities, working with local partners to identify those at risk, and encouraging the safe reporting of illegal lenders. More information about the work of the IMLTs is available on the Stop Loan Sharks website.[1] The Government is also taking steps to ensure appropriate access to regulated credit through the Financial Inclusion Strategy.
[1] https://www.stoploansharks.co.uk/.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Core Spending Power table: final local government finance settlement 2026–27 to 2028–29, published on 9 February, and the associated council tax requirement estimates for each year from 2024–25 to 2028–29 in England, whether they will publish equivalent estimates for the total business rate receipts in England in each of those years.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As set out in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, business rates receipts in England were £32.1 billion in 2024/25 and are forecast to be £33.7 billion, £37.1 billion, £37.9 billion and £38.8 billion in 2025/26, 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29 respectively.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to consolidating the anti-money laundering supervisory responsibilities of professional body supervisors under a statutory regulator, such as the Financial Conduct Authority.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor announced in October that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will become the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) supervisor for professional services firms, simplifying the current complex model. The FCA are currently working on the implementation of this new supervisory framework and HM Treasury will announce next steps shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Chancellor has met the City Remembrancer Paul Wright; and if so, on how many occasions.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor has not held or attended any meetings with the City Remembrancer Paul Wright.
The Chancellor and City Remembrancer are likely to have attended a number of the same events, relevant to their respective roles.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 26 October 2009 (HC col 140W), on housing valuation, how many and what proportion of dwellings in (1) Wales, and (2) England, are now recorded on the Valuation Office Agency's database with (a) dwellinghouse, and (b) value significant code, data.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As of 14 April 2026 there are 25,950,670 dwellings on the Council Tax list in England. Of these, 25,781,260 (99.3%) have a dwelling group, and 25,784,950 (99.4%) have a dwelling type, and 6,755,400 (26.0%) have at least one value significant code.
In Wales, there are 1,494,410 dwellings on the Council Tax list. Of these, 1,494,180 (>99.9%) have a dwelling group, and 1,494,060 (>99.9%) have a dwelling type. 403,610 (27.0%) have at least one value significant code.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of the potential impact of an overnight visitor levy on (a) employment in the hospitality and tourism sector, (b) regional growth and (c) tax receipts, including (i) VAT, (ii) income tax and (iii) National Insurance contributions associated with overnight stays and related visitor spending.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth, including through support for the local visitor economy.
At Budget, the Government published a consultation so that the public, businesses, and local government could shape the design of these powers, including options to minimise the burden on businesses and communities. This consultation closed on the 18th of February and the Government will publish a response in due course.
The precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development, and the impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Evidence from international and domestic schemes suggested modest rates have minimal impact on visitor numbers. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear any concerns. Following consultation, we expect Mayors to publish a summary of the consultation results and their response, including a final prospectus, and an impact assessment.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has undertaken modelling of the potential impact of introducing an overnight visitor levy on tourism demand in terms of a) number of nights stayed by domestic and international visitors, b) number of visits by domestic and international visitors, c) accommodation spend linked to number of nights spent in accommodation and d) tourism spend.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth, including through support for the local visitor economy.
At Budget, the Government published a consultation so that the public, businesses, and local government could shape the design of these powers, including options to minimise the burden on businesses and communities. This consultation closed on the 18th of February and the Government will publish a response in due course.
The precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development, and the impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Evidence from international and domestic schemes suggested modest rates have minimal impact on visitor numbers. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear any concerns. Following consultation, we expect Mayors to publish a summary of the consultation results and their response, including a final prospectus, and an impact assessment.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has undertaken modelling of the potential impact of introducing an overnight visitor levy on the economy in terms of a) jobs, b) GDP, c) sectoral investment and d) net tax benefit.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth, including through support for the local visitor economy.
At Budget, the Government published a consultation so that the public, businesses, and local government could shape the design of these powers, including options to minimise the burden on businesses and communities. This consultation closed on the 18th of February and the Government will publish a response in due course.
The precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development, and the impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Evidence from international and domestic schemes suggested modest rates have minimal impact on visitor numbers. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear any concerns. Following consultation, we expect Mayors to publish a summary of the consultation results and their response, including a final prospectus, and an impact assessment.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has undertaken modelling on the potential impact of introducing an overnight visitor levy on a) high street footfall, b) numbers of empty shops and c) social mobility.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced powers for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth, including through support for the local visitor economy.
At Budget, the Government published a consultation so that the public, businesses, and local government could shape the design of these powers, including options to minimise the burden on businesses and communities. This consultation closed on the 18th of February and the Government will publish a response in due course.
The precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development, and the impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Evidence from international and domestic schemes suggested modest rates have minimal impact on visitor numbers. Mayors will decide whether to introduce a levy and, if so, consult on specific proposals. We expect Mayors to engage constructively with businesses and their communities to hear any concerns. Following consultation, we expect Mayors to publish a summary of the consultation results and their response, including a final prospectus, and an impact assessment.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the relative additional costs to domestic refineries of not including refined products in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism from January 2028 for the 2028-29 financial year.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the role that refineries play in energy security and the UK’s industrial base. The Government published a call for evidence (https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/future-of-the-uk-downstream-oil-sector/future-of-the-uk-downstream-oil-sector-call-for-evidence) on the future of the fuel sector on 23rd February 2026 in order to help understand the current state of the refining sector.
Following a strategic and technical assessment by HMG, it has been decided not to expand the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to refined oil products in January 2028. We are continuing to work with the sector to assess the options and case for expanding CBAM to refined oil products at a later date.
We are unable to conclude that expanding the CBAM to refined oil products is technically feasible for January 2028, especially in an uncertain global environment where the potential adverse impacts of inclusion could not necessarily be managed effectively at such accelerated timelines.