HM Treasury is the government’s economic and finance ministry, maintaining control over public spending, setting the direction of the UK’s economic policy and working to achieve strong and sustainable economic growth.
This inquiry will examine quantitative tightening, including its impact on the economy and its fiscal costs. It will also investigate …
Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs
Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue
Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.
HM Treasury does not have Bills currently before Parliament
A Bill to Make provision to amend section 4 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, and section 4 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992, so that amounts of salary sacrificed for employer pensions contributions pursuant to optional remuneration arrangements are liable to national insurance contributions.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 29th April 2026 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to make provision in connection with finance.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 18th March 2026 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to Authorise the use of resources for the years ending with 31 March 2025, 31 March 2026 and 31 March 2027; to authorise the issue of sums out of the Consolidated Fund for those years; and to appropriate the supply authorised by this Act for the years ending with 31 March 2025 and 31 March 2026.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 18th March 2026 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to Authorise the use of resources for the year ending with 31 March 2026; to authorise both the issue of sums out of the Consolidated Fund and the application of income for that year; and to appropriate the supply authorised for that year by this Act and by the Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) Act 2025.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 21st July 2025 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to make provision about secondary Class 1 contributions.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 3rd April 2025 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to make provision about finance.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 20th March 2025 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to amend the Crown Estate Act 1961.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 11th March 2025 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to Authorise the use of resources for the years ending with 31 March 2024, 31 March 2025 and 31 March 2026; to authorise the issue of sums out of the Consolidated Fund for those years; and to appropriate the supply authorised by this Act for the years ending with 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2025.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 11th March 2025 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to make provision for loans or other financial assistance to be provided to, or for the benefit of, the government of Ukraine.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 16th January 2025 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to impose duties on the Treasury and the Office for Budget Responsibility in respect of the announcement of fiscally significant measures.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 10th September 2024 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to authorise the use of resources for the year ending with 31 March 2025; to authorise both the issue of sums out of the Consolidated Fund and the application of income for that year; and to appropriate the supply authorised for that year by this Act and by the Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) Act 2024.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 30th July 2024 and was enacted into law.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Raise the income tax personal allowance from £12,570 to £20,000
Gov Responded - 20 Feb 2025 Debated on - 12 May 2025Raise the income tax personal allowance from £12570 to £20000. We think this would help low earners to get off benefits and allow pensioners a decent income.
Don't change inheritance tax relief for working farms
Gov Responded - 5 Dec 2024 Debated on - 10 Feb 2025We think that changing inheritance tax relief for agricultural land will devastate farms nationwide, forcing families to sell land and assets just to stay on their property. We urge the government to keep the current exemptions for working farms.
Introduce new tax code for state pensioners with double the personal allowance
Gov Responded - 9 Dec 2025We want the government to introduce a new tax code for state pensioners, set at double the basic threshold. If this was implemented, pensioners would receive a higher tax-exempt limit, but wealthier pensioners would still pay tax.
Commons Select Committees are a formally established cross-party group of backbench MPs tasked with holding a Government department to account.
At any time there will be number of ongoing investigations into the work of the Department, or issues which fall within the oversight of the Department. Witnesses can be summoned from within the Government and outside to assist in these inquiries.
Select Committee findings are reported to the Commons, printed, and published on the Parliament website. The government then usually has 60 days to reply to the committee's recommendations.
When the UK was a EU Member State, financial contributions were made directly to the EU budget. These were disclosed in the annual HM Treasury EU Finances Statement (EUFS). Since the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, payments under the financial settlement in the Withdrawal Agreement continue to be disclosed annually in the EUFS. These can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/eu-annual-statement.
Financial contributions for UK association to the Horizon Europe and Copernicus programmes under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement are reported in the relevant department’s annual accounts as part of normal budgetary disclosures.
The government is committed to halving violence against women and girls in a decade. Ensuring victims receive effective and timely support is vital to delivering this.
The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, published in December 2025, is backed by over £1 billion investment into victims’ services over the next 3 years.
Under the Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Act 2008, dormant assets are a distinct form of capital restricted to four statutory areas in England: youth, financial inclusion, social investment wholesalers and community wealth funds.
The June 2025 Dormant Assets Strategy outlines the allocation of the next £440 million tranche across these four existing statutory areas.
The government is committed to working in partnership with the nation’s coastal and rural communities, including Southport, so that they can kickstart growth in their area and make everyone better off.
Many coastal communities sit within mayoral combined authorities - like the West of England CA, Liverpool City Region, and the North East MSA – and therefore benefit from an Integrated Settlement allowing more flexible, long-term funding to invest locally and plan strategically – including on infrastructure investment. Many areas have also received specific support; Southport, for example has received £5m to renovate the Town Hall Gardens and funding for the Regeneration of Southport Pier through the Growth Mission Fund.
Social media hosts large amounts of unofficial tax guidance, which can sometimes be incomplete or misleading and contribute to customer confusion. Using HMRC-approved influencers helps ensure accurate, trustworthy information is presented in these spaces offering repeatable value for money, high engagement, and scalable content output for HMRC.
HMRC worked with 44 distinct influencers as part of this activity. Of these, 11 supported multiple campaigns. Total spend therefore reflects both repeat collaborations with a smaller number of influencers and one‑off engagements.
At the Budget, the VO announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.
The Government also introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and benefit over 750,000 properties.
In addition to the support announced at Budget, the Government understands that pubs have been under huge pressure over recent years. Recognising the value they bring and the challenges they face, the Government has introduced a 1-year 15 per cent relief for all pubs and live music venues in 2026/27. For the following two years, their bills will then be frozen in real terms.
HMRC use third-party data to help simplify tax administration. Specifically in relation to calculating tax due, the key sources of third-party data are:
o Department for Work and Pensions – pension income and benefit information
o Bank and building societies– savings interest information
o Employers – payroll data about payments to employees
In addition, HMRC also make use of third-party data in our compliance activities to ensure customers pay the right amount of income tax. To protect the operational integrity of these activities we do not disclose all of our data sources, but at a high level they include card sales data and other data that provides evidence of undeclared taxable income.
On 30 June, the Prime Minister announced £15bn of additional defence spending for the Defence Investment Plan. More information, including a ‘Funding Explainer’, is available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-defence-investment-plan.
The Government remains firmly committed to the Electric Vehicle (EV) transition and has carefully considered the potential impact of electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) on consumer uptake of electric vehicles.
The rate of eVED for EVs will be half of the equivalent fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol/diesel driver, ensuring that EVs are cheaper to own and run for the majority of EV drivers. Alongside eVED, the Government also announced at the Budget in 2025 generous additional support to incentivise the use of electric vehicles, including £1.3 billion of additional funding for the Electric Car Grant (ECG), £200 million for chargepoint rollout, and increasing the VED Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) threshold to £50,000 for EVs.
The Government has set out the expected impacts of eVED and related Budget measures in the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document at GOV.UK.
The Government published a consultation which provides further detail on how eVED will work and sought views on its implementation, available at GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-introduction-of-electric-vehicle-excise-duty-eved. The consultation closed on 18 March 2026 and the Government will respond to the consultation in due course.
The Government announced on 19 May 2026 that the SCAPE discount rate is 2%+CPI. The SCAPE discount rate must be reviewed periodically and calculated in accordance with current methodology. By way of background, the Government published its response to the public consultation on the discount rate methodology for public service pensions on 30 March 2023: Public service pension schemes - SCAPE discount rate methodology: a GAD technical bulletin - GOV.UK. As confirmed in that response, the existing methodology for setting the discount rate was retained.
The implementation of any changes is the responsibility of the individual authorities responsible.
The Government has not made an estimate. I refer the Honourable Member to my answer of 23 April to the Honourable Member for Basildon and Billericay (UIN 128427), in which I stated that HMRC does not hold information on VAT revenue from pilot training, and that the Government has no plans to change policy in this area.
The breakdown specific to (a) £386,857,000 and (b) £1,248,283,000 is below.
£000s | HMRC Administration Purchase of goods and services: | HMRC Administration Purchase of goods and services: |
Building and Facilities costs | 31,131 | 59,235 |
IT Spend | 282,994 | 856,001 |
Travel and Subsistence | 6,332 | 35,899 |
Postage, printing and other office spend | 16,261 | 63,091 |
Training | 17,863 | 9,778 |
Legal, enforcement and other professional services | 10,211 | 87,231 |
Other | 22,065 | 137,048 |
Total Outturn | 386,857 | 1,248,283 |
HMRC does not hold information on incorrect suspensions of Child Benefit. This is because, where there is doubt over a customer’s Child Benefit entitlement, HMRC will check eligibility and take appropriate action to safeguard public money. This may involve suspending payment whilst enquiries are ongoing. In cases where eligibility is later confirmed, it does not mean that the suspension was incorrectly applied.
However, HMRC has acknowledged that the way it expanded compliance using international travel data between August and October last year impacted some eligible customers, where upfront checks of UK employment through PAYE were excluded on 23,794 enquiries. It took swift action to address the issues including retrospective PAYE checks and automatic reinstatement of 5,327 payments by the middle of November 2025.
The Government is providing up to £2.5 billion to support the UK steel industry, in addition to the £500 million grant to Tata Steel at Port Talbot. This is being delivered through a combination of direct support for steel companies and the National Wealth Fund (NWF), which aims to commit £5.8 billion to five priority sectors, including green steel. All funding is allocated on a case-by-case basis subject to scrutiny of individual propositions. Businesses seeking the NWF’s finance or support from should contact them directly via their website:
https://www.nationalwealthfund.org.uk/contact-us
Following the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief, a total of up to 915 estates only claiming business property relief are forecast to pay more inheritance tax in 2026-27.
Of these, around 700 are forecast to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges. These shares now receive a maximum of 50 per cent relief in all circumstances.
This analysis is published in the tax information and impact note, which is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-changes.
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.
The precise design and scope of the power is still under development, and the impacts of the levy will largely be determined by local decisions. 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. This will inform their decisions and help them to find an appropriate balance between supporting local economic priorities, including tourism, ensuring a levy is affordable, and providing stability and certainty for businesses.
Following consultation, we expect Mayors to publish a summary of the consultation results and their response, including a final prospectus, and an impact assessment.
The fiscal rules require the current budget to be in surplus and net financial debt to be falling as a share of the economy by the third year of the rolling forecast period.
The Government is aware of proposals for the automatic release of funds in unclaimed matured Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts. These savings belong to the account holders and are held by private sector providers. The Government does not have the authority to access or transfer these funds.
The Government is committed to reuniting young people with their CTFs. HMRC works with providers, industry representatives and others to raise awareness and help individuals trace their accounts, including through targeted communications and a free GOV.UK tracing service.
The Government has also recently established a dedicated Taskforce to address unclaimed matured CTF accounts and improve outcomes for account holders. This brings together Government and industry to strengthen tracing activity, increase engagement, and support access to funds.
The Government legislated in 2021 to bring pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This made it illegal for firms to sell pre-paid funeral plans without authorisation from the FCA, protecting 1.6 million customers and their families.
In the preceding public consultation in 2019, the Government stated it had not seen evidence that plans offered by local authorities required regulation from a conduct or prudential perspective. The Government therefore proposed that local authorities should be excluded from FCA regulation, and this position was maintained in the consultation response published in March 2020. The Government is committed to regulating only where there is a clear case for doing so.
Pre-paid funeral plans bought from local authorities fall outside the remit of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service. Residents who are unhappy with the service they have received can raise a complaint directly with their local authority. Where a complaint remains unresolved, residents in England can submit a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
The Government legislated in 2021 to bring pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This made it illegal for firms to sell pre-paid funeral plans without authorisation from the FCA, protecting 1.6 million customers and their families.
In the preceding public consultation in 2019, the Government stated it had not seen evidence that plans offered by local authorities required regulation from a conduct or prudential perspective. The Government therefore proposed that local authorities should be excluded from FCA regulation, and this position was maintained in the consultation response published in March 2020. The Government is committed to regulating only where there is a clear case for doing so.
Pre-paid funeral plans bought from local authorities fall outside the remit of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service. Residents who are unhappy with the service they have received can raise a complaint directly with their local authority. Where a complaint remains unresolved, residents in England can submit a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
The Government legislated in 2021 to bring pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This made it illegal for firms to sell pre-paid funeral plans without authorisation from the FCA, protecting 1.6 million customers and their families.
In the preceding public consultation in 2019, the Government stated it had not seen evidence that plans offered by local authorities required regulation from a conduct or prudential perspective. The Government therefore proposed that local authorities should be excluded from FCA regulation, and this position was maintained in the consultation response published in March 2020. The Government is committed to regulating only where there is a clear case for doing so.
Pre-paid funeral plans bought from local authorities fall outside the remit of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service. Residents who are unhappy with the service they have received can raise a complaint directly with their local authority. Where a complaint remains unresolved, residents in England can submit a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
The Government legislated in 2021 to bring pre-paid funeral plan providers and intermediaries within the regulatory remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This made it illegal for firms to sell pre-paid funeral plans without authorisation from the FCA, protecting 1.6 million customers and their families.
In the preceding public consultation in 2019, the Government stated it had not seen evidence that plans offered by local authorities required regulation from a conduct or prudential perspective. The Government therefore proposed that local authorities should be excluded from FCA regulation, and this position was maintained in the consultation response published in March 2020. The Government is committed to regulating only where there is a clear case for doing so.
Pre-paid funeral plans bought from local authorities fall outside the remit of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service. Residents who are unhappy with the service they have received can raise a complaint directly with their local authority. Where a complaint remains unresolved, residents in England can submit a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Chancellor announced a reduction in the Cash Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) limit for those under 65, to encourage retail investment and drive better returns for savers.
Rules are needed to protect the integrity of the new Cash ISA limit. We have designed the rules to be as simple as possible for providers and consumers, and to retain maximum flexibility for consumers to build an investment portfolio that works for them.
Returns from investing remain tax free. Investors will still be able to hold cash in a non Cash ISA, but a flat rate charge will apply on any interest on cash held within a non Cash ISA to discourage long-term cash holdings.
A flat rate charge on interest on cash holdings in S&S ISAs was previously in operation prior to 1 July 2014.
The Government continues to support cash saving with a generous set of reliefs. Individuals under 65 will still be able to save up to £12,000 into a Cash ISA each year, and any savings income received in a Cash ISA will be tax free. Provisional figures for the average Cash ISA subscription in 2023/24 are £6993.
Outside of the ISA regime, there is a Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher rate taxpayers, and the Starting Rate for Savings, which allows for tax free savings income of up to £5,000 for those with earned income below £17,570. This means that in 2026-27 around 84 per cent of people with savings income will pay no tax on that income.
National Savings and Investment (NS&I) customers with an online account can log in and see the value of their investments instantly. Alternatively, NS&I customers can phone the customer service team for a valuation, which can be provided during the phone call.
As noted in my update to Parliament on 19 May, in response issues in its handling of bereavement claims, NS&I is conducting a new, more thorough process for bereavement claims. As a result, valuation requests following a bereavement and tracing valuation requests received by NS&I via post are taking longer than the usual 14 days for NS&I to process. An additional 100 people have been hired to ensure this is temporary and NS&I expects to return to processing bereavement claims within usual service standards by Autumn 2026.
At Autumn Budget 2025, the Chancellor announced a reduction in the Cash Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) limit for those under 65, to encourage retail investment and drive better returns for savers.
Rules are needed to protect to integrity of the new Cash ISA limit. We have designed the rules to be as simple as possible for providers and consumers, and to retain maximum flexibility for consumers to build an investment portfolio that works for them.
Returns from investing remain tax free. Investors will still be able to hold cash in a non Cash ISA, but a flat rate charge will apply on any interest on cash held within a non Cash ISA to discourage long-term cash holdings.
A flat rate charge on interest on cash holdings in S&S ISAs was previously in operation prior to 1 July 2014.
The Government continues to support cash saving with a generous set of reliefs. Individuals under 65 will still be able to save up to £12,000 into a Cash ISA each year, and any savings income received in a Cash ISA will be tax free. Provisional figures for the average Cash ISA subscription in 2023/24 are £6993.
Outside of the ISA regime, there is a Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and £500 for higher rate taxpayers, and the Starting Rate for Savings, which allows for tax free savings income of up to £5,000 for those with earned income below £17,570. This means that in 2026-27 around 84 per cent of people with savings income will pay no tax on that income.
Artificial intelligence covers a broad range of capabilities, including data analytics, machine learning, automation and newer generative AI tools. These capabilities are widely embedded within modern software and digital services used across government, including HM Treasury. Specific Generative AI tools broadly used by Treasury officials are Copilot365 and internal AI tools such as HMT-GPT, which are built using the Microsoft Azure service and have been assured to the appropriate security standards and approved for official use.
The department holds appropriate commercial contracts and licensing arrangements with suppliers covering the use of these systems and services, including where they incorporate AI.
From April 2027, the Cash ISA annual limit will be reduced to £12,000 while the limit for Stocks and Shares and Innovative Finance ISA (non-Cash ISAs) will remain at £20,000. The Cash ISA limit for those aged 65 and over will remain at £20,000.
To support this change, a number of rules will be introduced to ensure the policy achieves its objective of encouraging retail investment and supporting better returns for savers. The new rules will minimise the opportunity for the lower Cash ISA limit to be circumvented, while preserving the flexibility needed for legitimate investment activity within non-Cash ISAs. A flat rate charge of 22% will apply from April 2027 to any interest or alternative finance return paid on cash held within a non-Cash ISA to discourage long-term cash holdings. Further details of the changes are in the ISA reform 2027 published factsheet:
ISA reform 2027: anti-circumvention rules factsheet - GOV.UK
The FCA publishes guidance on the requirements of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) with regard to politically exposed persons (PEPs). The guidance is clear that financial institutions must treat PEPs as a PEP for at least 12 months after they leave office, and should apply enhanced due diligence (EDD) measures beyond that only in higher risk circumstances. The guidance is also clear that family members of PEPs should cease to be subject to EDD measures as soon as the person is no longer a PEP, absent any other higher risk factors.
The 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy set out the Government's long-term plan for economic, housing and social infrastructure to drive growth. We recently published an update to the Infrastructure Pipeline. The Pipeline is designed to provide certainty to industry and investors, supply chains and contractors. The pipeline currently covers spending of over £250 billion of public finance and over £450 billion of investment from private or blended finance for infrastructure projects.
Government is supporting private infrastructure investment by working with pension funds, including Australian pension funds, who are already significant investors in UK infrastructure projects.
The Government recognises the hospitality sector’s vital contribution to jobs, communities, and local economies across the UK. Given the sector’s seasonal and flexible nature, changes in trading patterns may reflect wider economic conditions and consumer demand. The Government monitors the sector closely, engages regularly with businesses, and considers potential economic impacts during policy development, publishing Tax Information and Impact Notes where appropriate.
The Government has announced a range of measures to support employment in hospitality businesses. It is investing £2.5 billion over three years in the Youth Guarantee and Growth and Skills Levy, helping deliver up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. The Employment Allowance was increased to £10,500 and businesses can claim employer NICs reliefs for under-21s and under-25 apprentices.
The Government recognises the hospitality sector’s vital contribution to jobs, communities, and local economies across the UK. Given the sector’s seasonal and flexible nature, changes in trading patterns may reflect wider economic conditions and consumer demand. The Government monitors the sector closely, engages regularly with businesses, and considers potential economic impacts during policy development, publishing Tax Information and Impact Notes where appropriate.
The Government has announced a range of measures to support employment in hospitality businesses. It is investing £2.5 billion over three years in the Youth Guarantee and Growth and Skills Levy, helping deliver up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. The Employment Allowance was increased to £10,500 and businesses can claim employer NICs reliefs for under-21s and under-25 apprentices.
The Government commissioned the independent Wheatley Review in July 2012 to identify and recommend changes to the regulatory framework in light of the LIBOR scandal. The Government accepted the Review’s recommendations and implemented associated reforms to the regulation and oversight of benchmarks.
Since then, LIBOR has been wound down, reflecting concerns about its reliability. This has been supported by coordinated action across government and regulators, alongside the transition to alternative benchmarks. The Treasury engaged closely with regulators throughout the programme to support the transition away from LIBOR. The transition was successfully completed, with all LIBOR settings having now ceased and no significant market disruption arising as a result.
The investigations and subsequent prosecutions relating to the LIBOR scandal were led by the operationally independent Serious Fraud Office. The Government is not able to comment on the specifics of any individual case, but the Government’s position on financial market abuse is clear: it undermines the integrity of public markets, impairs the effectiveness of financial markets, and reduces public confidence in them.
The Government commissioned the independent Wheatley Review in July 2012 to identify and recommend changes to the regulatory framework in light of the LIBOR scandal. The Government accepted the Review’s recommendations and implemented associated reforms to the regulation and oversight of benchmarks.
Since then, LIBOR has been wound down, reflecting concerns about its reliability. This has been supported by coordinated action across government and regulators, alongside the transition to alternative benchmarks. The Treasury engaged closely with regulators throughout the programme to support the transition away from LIBOR. The transition was successfully completed, with all LIBOR settings having now ceased and no significant market disruption arising as a result.
The investigations and subsequent prosecutions relating to the LIBOR scandal were led by the operationally independent Serious Fraud Office. The Government is not able to comment on the specifics of any individual case, but the Government’s position on financial market abuse is clear: it undermines the integrity of public markets, impairs the effectiveness of financial markets, and reduces public confidence in them.
The Government commissioned the independent Wheatley Review in July 2012 to identify and recommend changes to the regulatory framework in light of the LIBOR scandal. The Government accepted the Review’s recommendations and implemented associated reforms to the regulation and oversight of benchmarks.
Since then, LIBOR has been wound down, reflecting concerns about its reliability. This has been supported by coordinated action across government and regulators, alongside the transition to alternative benchmarks. The Treasury engaged closely with regulators throughout the programme to support the transition away from LIBOR. The transition was successfully completed, with all LIBOR settings having now ceased and no significant market disruption arising as a result.
The investigations and subsequent prosecutions relating to the LIBOR scandal were led by the operationally independent Serious Fraud Office. The Government is not able to comment on the specifics of any individual case, but the Government’s position on financial market abuse is clear: it undermines the integrity of public markets, impairs the effectiveness of financial markets, and reduces public confidence in them.
Ensuring all individuals have access to the financial products they need is a key priority for the Government. The Financial Inclusion Strategy, published in November last year, sets out a range of ambitious measures for the Government and industry to improve financial inclusion and resilience for underserved groups across the UK.
The FCA’s Financial Lives Survey provides data on a wide range of financial inclusion metrics, including for younger adults. The latest report can be found here - https://www.fca.org.uk/financial-lives/financial-lives-2024
The Financial Inclusion Strategy is acting to address financial exclusion, including through interventions to: i) make it easier for individuals without standard ID to open a bank account through a pilot partnership with banks and charities, ii) make financial products more accessible through an inclusive design industry working group, iii) support individuals to build savings through workplace savings schemes and iv) increase the provision of affordable credit through new funding for credit unions and a pilot to explore small sum lending for mainstream banks.
This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is an independent, non-governmental body. The FCA will respond to the hon. Member, and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
The Government recognises that taxpayers earning between £100,000 and £125,140 face a higher marginal tax rate due to the tapering of the tax-free Personal Allowance, introduced in 2010-11.
A breakdown of income tax liabilities is published by HMRC, and the most recent update from June 2025 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-tax-liabilities-statistics-tax-year-2022-to-2023-to-tax-year-2025-to-2026
The Plan 2 Student Loan Scheme was introduced in 2012 under the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government.
We will continue to keep the terms of the system under review to ensure the system protects taxpayers and students now and in the future.
The Valuation Office Agency published data comparing changes between the 2023 non-domestic rating lists and 2026 draft non-domestic rating lists on GOV.UK.
These statistics were released alongside the publication of the 2026 draft list.
They contain information about changes in the mean Rateable Value of public houses (RVL_5 _1, Row 13) and changes by administrative area (RVL_2_1). A data set collating the two is not published.
HM Treasury recognises the seriousness of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s disclaimed opinion on the 2024-25 Whole of Government Accounts and is taking action in three key areas:
o The disclaimer reflects systemic issues in the local government audit market, including delays in audited accounts and a lack of audit assurance.
o Government is progressing wider audit system reforms and legislation to restore local audit capacity and timeliness, which are critical to resolving the underlying cause.
o HM Treasury has reduced the level of missing data in 2024‑25, while continuing to include available (including unaudited) data to maximise transparency to Parliament.
o This reflects a deliberate approach to ensure WGA remains a comprehensive and timely picture of the public finances, even while wider audit issues are being resolved.
o The 2024‑25 WGA represents the final year of the recovery plan, with actions already taken to return reporting timetables to normal and support improved data submission.
o For future years, the Government will continue to work across departments and local government authorities to restore full audit assurance to WGA over time, recognising this as a priority for accountability and scrutiny.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer will consider making a donation to the Prime Minister's Library in due course.
On 17 December 2025 the UK announced the conclusion of negotiations on the UK’s association to Erasmus+. This commitment covers 2027, the final year in the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Under the current MFF, the European Solidarity Corps is a distinct programme to which the UK is not associated.
The European Commission has proposed that the European Solidarity Corps will become part of Erasmus+ in the next MFF, covering 2028-34, although the EU’s internal negotiations on programme design are continuing. Any association by the UK to Erasmus+ in the next MFF is a matter for future decisions and negotiation.
On 30 June, the Prime Minister announced £15bn of additional defence spending for the Defence Investment Plan. More information, including a ‘Funding Explainer’, is available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-defence-investment-plan.
On 18 June the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced a £4 million one‑off in‑year funding provision to provide immediate support to the Police Service of Northern Ireland given the significant challenges they faced in confronting the disorder.
The emergency funding will help with the costs incurred by the PSNI during the disorder, including the cost of the Mutual Aid support and overtime paid to police officers.
Steel imports are subject to the same risk-based, intelligence-led compliance checks the UK applies across all imports. HMRC and Border Force take appropriate enforcement action where cases of non-compliance or deliberate fraud are detected. Businesses and individuals who do not comply with customs controls may be liable to civil or criminal penalties.
The Digital Services Tax (DST) is a 2 per cent tax to ensure that providers of search engines, social media platforms, and online marketplaces pay UK tax on digital services that reflects the value they derive from UK user-related activities. The DST raised around £800 million of revenues in the financial year 2024-25 in support of vital public services.
DST was introduced as an interim solution to the challenges posed by the digitalisation of the economy to the international corporate tax framework. The UK remains committed to withdrawing DST once a suitable global solution to these challenges is established.
The UK has sought to play an active and constructive role in helping to develop that solution over several years of negotiation.
The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review. Any potential tax changes would need to be considered carefully as part of the wider Budget process, with decisions taken by the Chancellor at a fiscal event.
At Autumn Budget 2025, the government announced more timely payments for Income Tax Self Assessment and committed to developing the policy with stakeholders through a public consultation. The consultation is now live on www.gov.uk and will close on 4 August 2026.
The government recognises that Self Assessment taxpayers may have seasonal or irregular income patterns and is carefully considering as part of the consultation process how to support such customers. The government welcomes responses from those who may be affected, which will inform the final policy design.
At Budget, the government announced a comprehensive package of measures designed to provide enhanced support for businesses seeking to start and scale in the UK. This included doubling the annual, lifetime and gross assets limits on investment which companies can receive through the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust scheme.
Overall, the changes we made are forecast to increase investment by around £100m per year into high-growth scaling companies, including those in the technology sector.
The tax rules for employment-related living accommodation apply to Government ministers in the same way as they do to all employees.
Information on the living accommodation exemption is set out in HMRC’s guidance at: www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim11332
HMRC’s guidance on purchases of additional dwellings is set out at the links below:
GOV.uk guidance
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/stamp-duty-land-tax-buying-an-additional-residential-property
HMRC Stamp Duty Land Tax manual -
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/stamp-duty-land-tax-manual/sdltm09735
SDLT penalties for inaccurate returns are charged under Schedule 24 Finance Act 2007. HMRC’s approach to compliance (including Schedule 24 penalties) is set out in its Compliance Handbook. The Compliance Handbook pages on penalties can be found at the links below:
Compliance Handbook “Charging Penalties”
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/compliance-handbook/ch400000
Compliance Handbook “Charging Penalties: establishing penalty behaviour”
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/compliance-handbook/ch402050