Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Table 4.1 entitled Budget 2025 policy decisions in the Budget Red Book, line item 43, Investing in Communities: Provide funding to refurbish and improve up to 200 playgrounds in England, whether (a) local authorities, (b) town and parish councils, (c) schools and school trusts, (d) community groups and (e) charities will be able to bid for funding in this programme.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced £18 million for up to 200 children’s playgrounds in England. This funding will breathe new life into play areas, creating safe, exciting spaces for thousands of children.
The government will provide more detail on the approach to allocating and delivery of this funding shortly.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Table 4.1 entitled Budget 2025 policy decisions’ in the Budget Red Book, line item 43, Investing in Communities: Provide funding to refurbish and improve up to 200 playgrounds in England, how projects will apply and qualify for funding in this programme.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced £18 million for up to 200 children’s playgrounds in England. This funding will breathe new life into play areas, creating safe, exciting spaces for thousands of children.
The government will provide more detail on the approach to allocating and delivery of this funding shortly.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Table 4.1 entitled Budget 2025 policy decisions in the Budget Red Book, line item 43, Investing in Communities: Provide funding to refurbish and improve up to 200 playgrounds in England, which Department will disburse these funds.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced £18 million for up to 200 children’s playgrounds in England. This funding will breathe new life into play areas, creating safe, exciting spaces for thousands of children.
The government will provide more detail on the approach to allocating and delivery of this funding shortly.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the banding thresholds for the high value council tax surcharge will be uprated each year in line with changes to (a) inflation or (b) the house price index.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Properties will be revalued every 5 years and banding thresholds will be kept under review alongside the revaluations.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the charging of (a) second homes and (b) empty homes council tax premiums on a dwelling will affect the calculation of the high value council tax surcharge liability.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The second homes and empty homes premiums will not affect the calculation of the High Value Council Tax Surcharge liability.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing the writing-down allowance main rate in corporation tax on women-led businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Since the introduction of full expensing, most businesses now claim first-year allowances, such as full expensing and the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), to claim relief on their investments, with 99% of businesses investing under the AIA’s £1 million threshold. The government has maintained these key reliefs, as well as the low Corporation Tax main rate of 25%.
At Budget, the government announced that it is decreasing the main rate of writing-down allowance by 4ppt to 14% from April 2026. This change allows us to fully fund a new 40% first-year allowance (FYA) while also raising revenue to protect the public finances. This new FYA will allow businesses to deduct much of the cost of their investment in the year they make that investment and lower their tax bill. It will be available for assets bought for leasing and for unincorporated businesses, which do not benefit from full expensing, and broadly preserves the current incentives to invest.
For future investment, the present value and cost of capital for businesses that claim the new first-year allowance remains broadly the same. The expected impacts of this measure, included the equalities impacts, are set out on gov.uk. There are no disproportionate impacts expected on women-led businesses or other protected groups as a result of this measure:
Capital allowances: new first-year allowance and reducing main rate writing-down allowances - GOV.UK
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Adura joint venture, whether HMRC has investigated potential breaches of loss-buying prohibitions under the Corporation Tax Act 2010.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In 2024-25 HMRC secured £19.7bn in additional tax revenue from the largest and most complex businesses. This is money that would otherwise have gone unpaid.
I cannot comment on specific taxpayers or provide comment on individual businesses.
In reviewing a large business's tax affairs, HMRC will consider all relevant challenges, including loss-buying provisions where appropriate. HMRC is committed to ensuring everyone pays the right tax under the law, regardless of the size of business.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of spirits duty rates on the competitiveness of UK pubs comparted to pubs in Europe.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Alcohol duty is paid by producers, and is therefore not typically paid directly by pubs. Further, according to estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics, only around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade.
At Autumn Budget 2025 the Chancellor confirmed that alcohol duty will be uprated on 1 February 2026 to maintain its current real-terms value.
An assessment of the impacts of decisions taken by the Chancellor at each Budget is published within the relevant Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN). The TIIN for the inflation-linked uprating announced at the most recent Budget is available here:
There is significant variation in alcohol taxation policy amongst European countries. The World Health Organization recently published a comparison of alcohol taxes across the WHO European Region, which can be found here: https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289061940.
HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of inflation-linked duty increases on the on-trade in each of the last three years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Alcohol duty is paid by producers, and is therefore not typically paid directly by pubs. Further, according to estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics, only around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade.
At Autumn Budget 2025 the Chancellor confirmed that alcohol duty will be uprated on 1 February 2026 to maintain its current real-terms value.
An assessment of the impacts of decisions taken by the Chancellor at each Budget is published within the relevant Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN). The TIIN for the inflation-linked uprating announced at the most recent Budget is available here:
There is significant variation in alcohol taxation policy amongst European countries. The World Health Organization recently published a comparison of alcohol taxes across the WHO European Region, which can be found here: https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289061940.
HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data she holds on spirits duty revenue generated from pubs in (a) rural areas and (b) urban areas.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Alcohol duty is paid by producers, and is therefore not typically paid directly by pubs. Further, according to estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics, only around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade.
At Autumn Budget 2025 the Chancellor confirmed that alcohol duty will be uprated on 1 February 2026 to maintain its current real-terms value.
An assessment of the impacts of decisions taken by the Chancellor at each Budget is published within the relevant Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN). The TIIN for the inflation-linked uprating announced at the most recent Budget is available here:
There is significant variation in alcohol taxation policy amongst European countries. The World Health Organization recently published a comparison of alcohol taxes across the WHO European Region, which can be found here: https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289061940.
HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs.