Asked by: Olly Glover (Liberal Democrat - Didcot and Wantage)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an inflation adjustment mechanism for capital gains tax calculations.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
An indexation allowance previously existed when Capital Gains Tax (CGT) was charged at income tax rates, with a top rate of 40 per cent. The current rates of 18 and 24 per cent are significantly below the higher rates of income tax, simplifying the calculation of gains for taxpayers.
When considering changes to the tax system, the government has to take into account a wide range of factors, including the fiscal cost, administrative burdens, and complexity it would add to the tax system.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Making Tax Digital on the childminding sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has worked extensively with taxpayers, representative bodies and software developers to ensure Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax works well for businesses of all types and sizes.
MTD will help businesses and landlords keep on top of their tax affairs. It places small businesses on a more digital footing, with digital tools helping to reduce errors and making annual tax returns easier.
The government has worked with the software industry to ensure a wide range of options are available to suit different needs and budgets, including low cost and free software supporting those with the simplest affairs. Many products are designed for users who manage their own tax affairs or those new to digital tools.
As with other businesses, MTD will allow childminders to keep better track of their finances, helping their businesses to grow. Childminders moving to MTD for income tax can continue to claim tax relief for household costs, wear and tear of household items and furniture, and food and drink, by deducting actual business costs. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how will property subject to tenancies agreed under (a) the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 and (b) the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995 be valued for the purposes of calculating an estate's inheritance tax liability.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The reforms to reliefs for agricultural and business property do not affect the existing rules on how assets are valued. The general rule for inheritance tax is that assets are valued at their ‘open market value’ at the date of death. If a property is subject to an agricultural tenancy, the open market value will reflect that fact. The value of the freehold interest subject to the tenancy may therefore be less than the vacant possession value. The valuation will consider factors including the type of agricultural tenancy, term length or security of tenure, property specific factors and the rent payable.Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the proposed High Value Council Tax Surcharge will be levied on the property owner of the dwelling.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The High Value Council Tax Surcharge is intended to address aspects of unfairness in the current Council Tax system. Owners of properties worth £10 million should not be paying less tax than those renting an ordinary family home.
Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2026 to Question 109216, what estimate she has made of the annual amount of UK Emissions Trading Scheme revenue generated from domestic maritime emissions allocated to maritime decarbonisation projects by programme.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Domestic maritime emissions will be subject to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) from July this year. The OBR’s November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook states that the UK ETS overall raised £3.4bn in 2024-25. Revenues from the scheme are not hypothecated but accrue to the consolidated fund, and support spending on government priorities, which includes maritime decarbonisation.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help ensure regulatory co-operation with China does not impact on UK standards in financial supervision.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The agreements reached at the first UK‑China Financial Working Group in Beijing will strengthen cooperation with China in ways that support the UK’s position as an open, competitive and well‑regulated international financial centre, supporting jobs and growth in the UK.
As set out in HM Treasury’s press release and the joint readout of the first UK-China Financial Working Group meeting (FWG), the FWG provides a new formal mechanism for structured, substantive and technical dialogue between UK and Chinese financial authorities on issues including financial stability and resilience, capital markets, market development and sustainable finance.
Specific outcomes include the designation of Bank of China’s London Branch as the UK’s second renminbi (RMB) clearing bank, which will broaden the range of services available to UK businesses trading with China and strengthen London’s role as a leading international financial centre. Technical discussions were also held on long-term initiatives to support the UK’s capital markets, as well as green finance and asset management sectors. Alongside the FWG and the Prime Minister’s visit, the UK and China also agreed to pursue new cooperation on innovative financing, such as RMB-denominated sovereign biodiversity bond issuances, cementing the City's role as the global hub for green finance.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information requested is not held by hotel star rating. HM Treasury does not centrally record hotel star ratings. All hotel bookings must represent value for money and comply with Civil Service and departmental travel and subsistence policies.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether recording and visual arts studios will be included within the forthcoming business rates revaluation process; if so, how; and when this will be implemented.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency independently value all non-domestic properties, including recording and visual arts studios, every three years at a revaluation.
We are reforming the business rates system by introducing permanently lower tax rates for over 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties, funded by a higher rate on the most valuable properties. Where a recording studio forms part of a single property with a qualifying hospitality or retail business and the hospitality or retail aspect is the main purpose of the property, it will qualify for the lower multipliers.
Following concerns raised after the Budget, the Government has also launched a review of the methodology used to value both pubs and hotels for business rates purposes. As part of this, the Government will engage extensively with valuation experts, businesses and their representatives and will report in time for any decisions that follow to be implemented for the 2029 revaluation.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to end the sale of written-off consumer debts to third-party debt purchasers.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government expects that consumers are treated fairly by firms purchasing and collecting debt, and recognises the importance of responsible debt recovery practices.
Firms that purchase or collect consumer credit debts must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and comply with its rules, including requirements to treat customers fairly and to offer appropriate forbearance options to customers in financial difficulty. The FCA has a broad range of supervisory and enforcement powers to address misconduct.
The Government remains committed to supporting individuals in financial difficulty and keeps the regulatory framework under review.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure transparency in the work of the VOA.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency publishes valuation information for transparency while ensuring the protection of taxpayer confidentiality in line with its duty under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. The VOA published draft valuations from the 2026 Revaluation of Business Rates alongside Autumn Budget, so ratepayers can see the Rateable Values on which their bills will be based from 1 April 2026. To increase transparency, VOA also provided customers with information on comparable properties to help them understand how their rateable value has been determined.