Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, did the Northern Ireland Executive receive a Barnett consequential payment as a result of the £42.3 million top-up to the English apprenticeship budget for the year 2025/2026.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Barnett formula was applied in the normal way to changes in the English apprenticeships budget at Main Estimates 2025/26 and at Budget 2025, and the resulting consequentials were added to the Northern Ireland Executive’s existing block grant.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the most recent version of the Valuation Office Agency's Property Details Guide.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are no plans to publish the Valuation Office’s Property Details Guide at this time.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HMRC online accounts were reported as (a) compromised or (b) subject to unauthorised access in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Information relating to suspected or confirmed account compromise is recorded across different systems and teams, reflecting variation in how fraud presents across HMRC services and channels. As a result, HMRC is unable to provide a comprehensive breakdown of the number of accounts reported as compromised or subject to unauthorised access for each of the last three financial years in the format requested.
HMRC continues to strengthen its capability to identify, respond to and manage compromised accounts, including improving incident management processes and developing more joined‑up approaches to monitoring and response across services.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what policy HMRC follows on suspending automated penalty notices and enforcement action in cases where a taxpayer's account has been compromised by a third party.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Since May 2025, HMRC has seen a significant increase in VAT fraud attempts relating to criminals compromising legitimate customer accounts. HMRC security teams actively investigate these incidents and work with experts across the department to continually strengthen the security of online services.
HMRC’s approach is to identify and prevent fraud upstream by strengthening perimeter controls to prevent fraudulent access to systems, applying effective risk‑based controls at the point of registration and repayment, and targeting the organised criminal groups behind these attacks. HMRC’s Cybercrime team works proactively to understand these threats and identify those responsible.
Where HMRC identifies that a taxpayer’s VAT account has been compromised by a third party, the department takes action to lock the digital account to prevent further unauthorised access and to mitigate any adverse impact on the customer.
HMRC contacts the customer to explain what has occurred, the action taken to correct their account, and any steps the customer needs to take. Until recently, customers were asked to appeal any penalties or interest incurred. However, the process has been adjusted so that any incorrect penalties are now inhibited and removed.
Once the customer regains access to their account, HMRC provides appropriate support and allows additional time for the customer to submit updates and returns without accruing penalties.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency news story entitled VOA integration with HMRC, of 12 March 2026, whether Valuation Office branding will be retained by HMRC.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 1 April 2026, the Valuation Office Agency no longer exists as an executive agency, and now operates as a group within HMRC.
The Valuation Office name has been retained, and it has been integrated into HMRC’s branding for customer communications.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of VAT penalties issued in the 2024-25 financial year were subsequently (a) overturned or (b) cancelled on appeal.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information you have requested can be found here: 2024-25 HMRC Annual Reports and Accounts and here: 2024-25 Tax Assurance Commissioners Report
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of whether the current Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rates remain sufficient for volunteer drivers in rural areas, including those providing community transport to NHS appointments; and whether she will review those rates in light of increased motoring costs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee's expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. These rates are also used by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage (simplified motoring expenses) and can be used by organisations to reimburse volunteers who use their own vehicle for voluntary purposes.
Voluntary organisations reimbursing volunteers can either use the AMAP rates, or they can reimburse the actual cost incurred where the volunteer drivers can evidence such costs, without a tax liability arising. Any reimbursement above the AMAP rates would be subject to Income Tax unless the driver can show evidence of the expenditure. It is ultimately up to the voluntary organisation to determine the amount they reimburse to volunteers.
Individuals can claim up to 45p/mile for the first 10,000 miles annually, followed by 25p/mile thereafter. An additional 5p/mile can be claimed for each passenger transported.
The government recognises that while AMAP rates have not changed since 2011, the motoring landscape has evolved significantly and it is an important issue for many people who claim motoring expenses. As the Chancellor announced last month, the government will review this issue and will consider this matter further as part of a future fiscal event.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential a) merits of extending the R&D Expenditure Credit to include capital expenditure and the b) impact of that measure on allowing start-ups and pre-profit companies to invest and scale in the UK.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government made a number of commitments on R&D tax reliefs as part of the Corporate Tax Roadmap to provide the stability and certainty that help support investment decisions. The Government committed to maintaining the generosity of the rates in both the merged R&D Expenditure Credit (RDEC) scheme and the Enhanced R&D Intensive Support (ERIS). This, combined with the commitment to cap the headline rate of Corporation Tax, means that companies doing qualifying R&D will continue to receive between £15 to £27 for every £100 spent on R&D.
The RDEC rate of 20 per cent represents the joint highest uncapped headline rate of R&D tax relief in the G7 for large companies, and the ERIS scheme will provide around £1.3 billion per year to eligible R&D-intensive, loss-making SMEs. Overall, R&D reliefs will support an estimated £56 billion of business R&D expenditure in 2029/30, roughly a 20 per cent increase from £47 billion in 2022/23.
Companies are not currently able to claim R&D reliefs on capital expenditure, but the Government keeps the whole tax system under review.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her department has made on the potential impact of the changes to umbrella company regulations on non-profit umbrella providers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 6 April 2026, recruitment agencies are responsible for ensuring that Pay As You Earn and National Insurance contributions obligations are met when they choose to use an umbrella company to engage a worker. Where these obligations are not met, HMRC will recover underpayments from the recruitment agency. If there is no recruitment agency involved in an arrangement with an umbrella company, this responsibility will fall to the end client business.
These rules apply to all umbrella companies, regardless of corporate structure. They do not change the amount that umbrella companies, including not-for-profit umbrella companies, have to account for under Pay As You Earn when they pay their employees. The government keeps tax policies under review. However, there are no plans to change the treatment of not-for-profit umbrella companies within these rules.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her department has any plans to formally recognise not-for-profit umbrella models within the new regulations.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 6 April 2026, recruitment agencies are responsible for ensuring that Pay As You Earn and National Insurance contributions obligations are met when they choose to use an umbrella company to engage a worker. Where these obligations are not met, HMRC will recover underpayments from the recruitment agency. If there is no recruitment agency involved in an arrangement with an umbrella company, this responsibility will fall to the end client business.
These rules apply to all umbrella companies, regardless of corporate structure. They do not change the amount that umbrella companies, including not-for-profit umbrella companies, have to account for under Pay As You Earn when they pay their employees. The government keeps tax policies under review. However, there are no plans to change the treatment of not-for-profit umbrella companies within these rules.