Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding: accessing HMRC information to assist honours committees in making recommendations about awarding honours to individuals, published on 19 October 2023, whether the HMRC Checking Panel’s deliberations are minuted and retained.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Under the published Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), HMRC will commission reports on the tax behaviour of nominees. The reports and risk ratings are retained in line with HMRC’s data retention policy, as set out in the MOU. Deliberations are not minuted, but the framework for decision making is published with the MOU.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education on reforming Child Benefit rules to better support children experiencing mental-health crises who cannot attend school.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Child Benefit remains in payment until 31 August following a child’s 16th birthday. This applies without any conditions on education, so there is no impact on children of this age if they are unable to attend school for any reason.
For young people who are over 16 and under 20, Child Benefit remains payable if they continue in full-time non-advanced education or training. Legislation allows for Child Benefit to continue being paid when this education is interrupted. This can be for a period of up to six months, or for as long as is reasonable if it is attributable to the illness or disability of mind or body. Child Benefit can also still be paid in respect of young people who cannot attend education for an average of more than 12 hours per week due to an illness or disability.
The Government does not hold data on the number of families where Child Benefit has stopped because a young person over 16 has not been able to attend education due to mental ill health.
Where a young person is unable to return to education because of mental ill-health or trauma, disability benefits may provide a more suitable form of long-term support.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has conducted an equality impact assessment on the effect of school-attendance-linked Child Benefit rules on children with mental-health-related disabilities.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Child Benefit remains in payment until 31 August following a child’s 16th birthday. This applies without any conditions on education, so there is no impact on children of this age if they are unable to attend school for any reason.
For young people who are over 16 and under 20, Child Benefit remains payable if they continue in full-time non-advanced education or training. Legislation allows for Child Benefit to continue being paid when this education is interrupted. This can be for a period of up to six months, or for as long as is reasonable if it is attributable to the illness or disability of mind or body. Child Benefit can also still be paid in respect of young people who cannot attend education for an average of more than 12 hours per week due to an illness or disability.
The Government does not hold data on the number of families where Child Benefit has stopped because a young person over 16 has not been able to attend education due to mental ill health.
Where a young person is unable to return to education because of mental ill-health or trauma, disability benefits may provide a more suitable form of long-term support.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of Child Benefit cessation on families where a child or young person is unable to attend school as a result of clinically evidenced mental-health conditions or trauma.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Child Benefit remains in payment until 31 August following a child’s 16th birthday. This applies without any conditions on education, so there is no impact on children of this age if they are unable to attend school for any reason.
For young people who are over 16 and under 20, Child Benefit remains payable if they continue in full-time non-advanced education or training. Legislation allows for Child Benefit to continue being paid when this education is interrupted. This can be for a period of up to six months, or for as long as is reasonable if it is attributable to the illness or disability of mind or body. Child Benefit can also still be paid in respect of young people who cannot attend education for an average of more than 12 hours per week due to an illness or disability.
The Government does not hold data on the number of families where Child Benefit has stopped because a young person over 16 has not been able to attend education due to mental ill health.
Where a young person is unable to return to education because of mental ill-health or trauma, disability benefits may provide a more suitable form of long-term support.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of families who have had Child Benefit reduced or withdrawn because a child or young person has been unable to attend school due to mental ill-health.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Child Benefit remains in payment until 31 August following a child’s 16th birthday. This applies without any conditions on education, so there is no impact on children of this age if they are unable to attend school for any reason.
For young people who are over 16 and under 20, Child Benefit remains payable if they continue in full-time non-advanced education or training. Legislation allows for Child Benefit to continue being paid when this education is interrupted. This can be for a period of up to six months, or for as long as is reasonable if it is attributable to the illness or disability of mind or body. Child Benefit can also still be paid in respect of young people who cannot attend education for an average of more than 12 hours per week due to an illness or disability.
The Government does not hold data on the number of families where Child Benefit has stopped because a young person over 16 has not been able to attend education due to mental ill health.
Where a young person is unable to return to education because of mental ill-health or trauma, disability benefits may provide a more suitable form of long-term support.
Asked by: Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to review Child Benefit eligibility rules linked to school attendance in relation to absence caused by severe mental ill-health or trauma.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Child Benefit remains in payment until 31 August following a child’s 16th birthday. This applies without any conditions on education, so there is no impact on children of this age if they are unable to attend school for any reason.
For young people who are over 16 and under 20, Child Benefit remains payable if they continue in full-time non-advanced education or training. Legislation allows for Child Benefit to continue being paid when this education is interrupted. This can be for a period of up to six months, or for as long as is reasonable if it is attributable to the illness or disability of mind or body. Child Benefit can also still be paid in respect of young people who cannot attend education for an average of more than 12 hours per week due to an illness or disability.
The Government does not hold data on the number of families where Child Benefit has stopped because a young person over 16 has not been able to attend education due to mental ill health.
Where a young person is unable to return to education because of mental ill-health or trauma, disability benefits may provide a more suitable form of long-term support.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether a second homes council tax premium has been paid for her Ministerial residence since 1 April 2025.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
All council tax due on the Chancellor’s Ministerial residence has been paid in full.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many telephone operators work on the HMRC employers general enquiries line by the nationality of those operators.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not have information readily available identifying the nationality of staff working on specific telephone enquiry lines. Obtaining this information would require a manual process which would exceed the cost threshold for answering parliamentary questions.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many telephone operators work on the HMRC self-assessment line by the nationality of those operators.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not have information readily available identifying the nationality of staff working on specific telephone enquiry lines. Obtaining this information would require a manual process which would exceed the cost threshold for answering parliamentary questions.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what analysis she has commissioned from HMRC of the tax contribution made by the 257,000 British nationals who the ONS estimates left the UK in 2024.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor has not commissioned any analysis from HMRC on the tax contribution of the ONS estimate of 257,000 British nationals who left the UK in 2024.