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 authorise the use of resources for the year ending with 31 March 2027; 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 2026.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 15th July 2026 and was enacted into law.
A Bill to Increase the rate of electricity generator levy and mileage amounts relating to income tax and to provide for temporary rates of vehicle excise duty for goods vehicles.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 15th July 2026 and was enacted into law.
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.
The Government has not made an estimate of the reduction in pension savings at State Pension age for an individual affected by the £2,000 salary sacrifice cap.
The impact on an individual’s pension savings will depend on their circumstances, including their age, earnings, pension contributions, investment returns and how they and their employer respond to the change.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has published information on the methodology and assumptions underpinning the costing of the measure.
The Government has not made an estimate of the reduction in pension savings at State Pension age for an individual affected by the £2,000 salary sacrifice cap.
The impact on an individual’s pension savings will depend on their circumstances, including their age, earnings, pension contributions, investment returns and how they and their employer respond to the change.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has published information on the methodology and assumptions underpinning the costing of the measure.
Tax avoidance deprives the Exchequer of funds needed to deliver vital public services and it is right that HMRC target their resources to stop this.
The Loan Charge was intended to encourage those who had used disguised remuneration loan schemes to settle their affairs before it came into effect. HMRC estimates that £2.3 billion of these liabilities had been paid, largely by customers who agreed a contract settlement before the Loan Charge arose.
There are are around 32,000 individuals and 5,000 employers with outstanding or unresolved Loan Charge liabilities in scope of the Loan Charge Settlement Scheme, with liabilities estimated to be around £3.6 billion in total(£1.7 billion and £1.9 billion respectively).
Tax avoidance deprives the Exchequer of funds needed to deliver vital public services and it is right that HMRC target their resources to stop this.
The Loan Charge was intended to encourage those who had used disguised remuneration loan schemes to settle their affairs before it came into effect. HMRC estimates that £2.3 billion of these liabilities had been paid, largely by customers who agreed a contract settlement before the Loan Charge arose.
There are are around 32,000 individuals and 5,000 employers with outstanding or unresolved Loan Charge liabilities in scope of the Loan Charge Settlement Scheme, with liabilities estimated to be around £3.6 billion in total(£1.7 billion and £1.9 billion respectively).
The Liberal Democrat Conservative coalition government chose to allocate £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme, which included a contingency of £100 million.
Significant efforts were made to identify and trace eligible policyholders and payments to them began in June 2011.
At 30 September, the total value of payments stood at £1.3957 bn, and the Scheme is on track to pay out the remainder.
The Government recognises the important contribution that pubs make to local communities, including in Royal Sutton Coldfield. The Government has taken steps to support the sector with eligible pubs benefiting from a 15 per cent business rates reduction from April 2026, followed by a further 20 per cent reduction for pubs, social clubs and qualifying live music venues from April 2027. Taken together, these measures are expected to save the typical pub around £3,100 in 2027-28.
We have also doubled the Hospitality Support Fund to £10m which will help rural pubs to diversify and ensure they can continue to be vital community hubs. We have also ended upward-only rent review clauses and new Community Right to Buy legislation will strengthen powers for local people to buy assets like hospitality venues and pubs before they are lost – keeping them in the hands of the community.
Increased domestic defence investment will improve our security and stability and boost economic growth, through more skills, innovation and spillover effects.
The government will ensure that economic growth considerations are central to decision-making in the allocation of defence investment. Our Defence Investment Plan will back British workers, support businesses and innovation, and create thousands of better-skilled jobs and apprenticeships by increasing Defence exports.
The government is ensuring that public procurement delivers the best value for taxpayers by protecting national security, enhancing supply chain resilience across critical sectors, and supporting businesses, growth and innovation. Changes, including those to the Social Value model announced by the government in August 2026, will ensure that suppliers will be assessed by their commitment to back British jobs, skills and opportunities, to deliver benefits for communities across the UK.
As set out in Managing Public Money, central government bodies should avoid contractors using offshore jurisdictions, consistent with international obligations and the government’s stated objectives on tax transparency and openness.
The Chancellor engages regularly with the OBR’s Budget Responsibility Committee, including in preparation for fiscal events. The OBR publishes a log of substantive contact between the OBR and Ministers and their Special Advisers, alongside its Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
The government recognises that Hydrogen can help reindustrialise Britain by cutting emissions from heavy industry and providing clean power, helping to maintain our manufacturing base, and creating new clean energy industries and skilled jobs in our industrial heartlands.
The Chancellor will set out his plans for spending at future fiscal events.
Relevant distribution dates of recovered Nazi-looted gold are set out in the publicly available Final Report of the Tripartite Commission.[1]
The Government recognises the importance of customers of financial services firms, including payment firms, receiving good outcomes.
A market review by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) found that the supply of card-acquiring services, which allow businesses to accept card payments, did not work well for small and medium-sized merchants and large merchants with annual card turnover up to £50 million.
In response, the PSR introduced new rules to improve outcomes for small businesses. These include personalised summary boxes containing key price and non-price information; online quotation tools; and messages prompting businesses to shop around or switch. It also introduced an 18-month maximum duration for point-of-sale terminal lease and rental contracts, followed by rolling monthly contracts. These measures are intended to help businesses compare offers and reduce barriers to switching.
Furthermore, the PSR has also recently introduced a set of requirements on the information that Mastercard and Visa must supply to card acquirers when setting certain fee levels that may be passed down to small businesses. This should help reduce unnecessary operational costs, support more accurate billing and pricing to small businesses, and help card acquirers and small businesses make better-informed choices about optional services and behavioural fees.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s Consumer Duty also requires firms to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. The FCA has confirmed that the Duty applies to card acquirers serving micro-enterprises and charities with annual income below £1 million. The FCA expects firms to give customers the information they need, at the right time and in a way they can understand.
I refer the honourable member to the answer on the 9th of October. In line with usual practice, any government business raised in meetings is fed back to the Department.
In the 2025 Budget, the government announced new policies that raise £2.4 billion in additional tax revenue from closing the tax gap in 2029-30. This brings the total revenue from closing the tax gap announced this Parliament to £10 billion in 2029-30.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
The information requested can be found in the tables below.
Translation
FY | Spend |
FY22/23 | £393,566.21 |
FY23/24 | £589,212.67 |
FY24/25 | £641,494.83 |
FY25/26 | £546,422.61 |
Interpreting
FY | Spend |
FY22/23 | £590,484.28 |
FY23/24 | £602,185.23 |
FY24/25 | £596,363.74 |
FY25/26 | £584,199.35 |
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
As of 22 October 2026, HMRC has made 41 death or serious injury referrals to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) involving separate individuals who had used a disguised remuneration scheme.
The government and HMRC take the safeguarding of individuals extremely seriously. HMRC has a statutory obligation to refer incidents of death or serious injury of a customer where there is an indication that HMRC contact may have directly or indirectly contributed to the event.
Following each referral, HMRC has conducted internal investigations and has found no evidence of misconduct by any HMRC officer. HMRC is taking forward organisational learning to strengthen the support provided to individuals who need extra help.
There is no distinction in VAT treatment dependent on whether the patient is an adult or child.
Orthodontic treatment is exempt from VAT where it forms part of a package of medical care whose principle purpose is to protect, maintain or restore a person’s health, provided the conditions for the medical exemption are met.
The cost to date of hotel accommodation for No10 North staff, Ministers and special advisers since its opening has been £4,514.34 in relation to HM Treasury budgets.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 25 June in response to Question 9944. The review will assess progress since the Government’s 2018 review of brain tumour research, and what is still holding progress back. Terms of reference for the review are in development. A national action plan will follow.
HM Treasury's office attendance policy applies across all of its office locations. Employees are expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in their contractual workplace, unless alternative arrangements have been agreed through workplace adjustments
Line managers are responsible for supporting and monitoring compliance with the department's office attendance expectations. Attendance data is not collated for individual offices as anonymised, aggregated building access data is used to understand overall occupancy levels and does not identify individual members of staff. HMT is currently reviewing its attendance monitoring regime in order to improve its accuracy.
Under HM Revenue and Customs’ attendance monitoring regime, they are only able to provide the latest validated individual attendance rate data which cover the last two years, Sept 2024 – August 26.
September 24 - August 25: 78.5% of colleagues met their office attendance expectation
September 25 - August 26: 85.6% of colleagues met their office attendance expectation.
HM Treasury's office attendance policy applies across all of its office locations. Employees are expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in their contractual workplace, unless alternative arrangements have been agreed through workplace adjustments.
Line managers are responsible for supporting and monitoring compliance with the department's office attendance expectations. Attendance data is not collated for individual offices as anonymised, aggregated building access data is used to understand overall occupancy levels and does not identify individual members of staff. HMT is currently reviewing its attendance monitoring regime in order to improve its accuracy.
Under HM Revenue and Customs’ monitoring regime they are only able to provide the latest validated individual attendance rate data which cover the last two years, Sept 2024 – August 26.
September 24 - August 25: 37.4% colleagues worked from their office on a Friday
September 25 - August 26: 38.7% colleagues worked from their office on a Friday
Line managers are responsible for supporting and monitoring compliance with HM Treasury’s office attendance expectations. Attendance data is not collated for individual offices as anonymised, aggregated building access data is used to understand overall occupancy levels and does not identify individual members of staff. Employees are expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in their contractual workplace, unless alternative arrangements have been agreed through workplace adjustments.
HM Treasury is currently reviewing its attendance monitoring regime in order to improve its accuracy.
Under HM Revenue and Customs’ monitoring regime they are only able to provide the latest validated individual attendance rate data which cover the last two years, Sept 2024 – August 26, which shows that fewer staff worked in the office on Fridays.
September 24 - August 25: 37.4% colleagues worked from their office on a Friday.
September 25 - August 26: 38.7% colleagues worked from their office on a Friday
HM Treasury's office attendance policy applies across all of its office locations. Employees are expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in their contractual workplace, unless alternative arrangements have been agreed through workplace adjustments.
Line managers are responsible for supporting and monitoring compliance with the department's office attendance expectations. Attendance data is not collated for individual offices as anonymised, aggregated building access data is used to understand overall occupancy levels and does not identify individual members of staff. HMT is currently reviewing its attendance monitoring regime in order to improve its accuracy.
Under HM Revenue and Customs’ attendance monitoring regime, they are only able to provide the latest validated individual attendance rate data which cover the last two years, Sept 2024 – August 26.
September 24 - August 25: 78.5% of colleagues met their office attendance expectation.
September 25 - August 26: 85.6% of colleagues met their office attendance expectation.
Stablecoins are predominantly a form of private money. The Government has legislated to create a new regulated activity for issuing certain stablecoins in the UK in line with its goals for delivering world-leading innovation in payments and digital assets.
Separately, HM Treasury and the Bank of England have been undertaking work to assess the case for a potential UK retail central bank digital currency, commonly referred to as a "digital pound". We intend to announce a decision on the digital pound by the end of 2026.
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that consumers, including people with a history of cancer, can access suitable travel insurance products, and will consider the proposal referred to. More broadly, HM Treasury has regular engagement with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and industry on a wide range of financial services issues.
The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under FCA rules. The FCA also requires travel insurers to signpost consumers with pre-existing medical conditions to specialist providers where they are declined cover, offered cover with an exclusion, or charged a significantly higher premium.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, assesses every instance of reported non-compliance with UK financial sanctions and takes action in all cases where it concludes that a breach has occurred. OFSI works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in respect of the enforcement of UK financial sanctions where cases concern FCA-regulated firms. The FCA is responsible for supervising regulated firms to ensure that they maintain adequate systems and controls to mitigate the risk of breaching sanctions and facilitating evasion.
It is not possible to provide this information for all tax reliefs. Information on how the impact of some of the largest tax reliefs are distributed among claimants is set out in HMRC's annual Tax Relief Statistics publication, last released on 22 January 2026, and can be found here:
HMRC estimated the overall cost of collection as 0.51 pence for every pound generated in tax revenue in 2025/26.
Estimates of the cost of operating and monitoring individual reliefs are not available.
HMRC and HM Treasury do not operate a model that assigns a Senior Responsible Officer to individual reliefs.
At Budget 2025, the Government announced an intention to empower local leaders to introduce a visitor levy and published a consultation so that the public, businesses, and local government could shape the design. On 10 September, the Government published a response to the consultation which provides more detail on the policy design, drawing on feedback from the accommodation sector, local government, and members of the public.
HMRC reviewed relevant international evidence when estimating the Exchequer impact of changes to Remote Gaming Duty and Remote Betting Duty announced at Budget 2025. More details can be found in the policy costing note published at Budget 2025.
HMRC business groups determine office attendance arrangements according to their operational requirements.
The HMRC Valuation Office does not hold the information requested.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
The latest (2023-4) Freeport tax relief costs (excluding Business Rates) can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-reliefs/tax-relief-statistics-january-2026. MHCLG published Business Rates reliefs statistics and forecasts here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-non-domestic-rates-collected-by-councils-in-england-forecast-2026-to-2027/national-non-domestic-rates-collected-by-councils-in-england-forecast-for-2026-to-2027
The Government monitors Freeport performance through established governance and evaluation arrangements.
The cost of the Structures and Buildings Allowance was £130m in 2023-24, the latest year of outturn data, and is forecasted to reach £310m in 2025-26. This can be found in the latest tax reliefs publication: Tax reliefs - GOV.UK
HMRC publishes estimates of the cost of tax reliefs, but these estimates do not explicitly model wider economic impacts or represent the amount that would necessarily be raised if a relief were withdrawn.
The combination of nil-rate bands, exemptions, and reliefs means less than 10 per cent of estates across the UK are currently forecast to have an inheritance tax liability in 2030-31. Inheritance tax makes an important contribution to the public finances and it is forecast to raise more than £14 billion in 2030-31 to help fund public services.
The latest available statistics are available at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/inheritance-tax-liabilities-statistics.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
The combination of nil-rate bands, exemptions, and reliefs means less than 10 per cent of estates across the UK are currently forecast to have an inheritance tax liability in 2030-31. Inheritance tax makes an important contribution to the public finances and it is forecast to raise more than £14 billion in 2030-31 to help fund public services.
The latest available statistics are available at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/inheritance-tax-liabilities-statistics.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
The Government has introduced a higher rate on the most valuable properties, which includes large distribution warehouses such as those used by online giants, to sustainably fund a tax cut for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with RVs below £500,000, which make up the backbone of England's high streets.
The OBR is responsible for forecasting the impact of Government policy decisions on inflation. The OBR has not published a specific estimate of the impact of the business rates multiplier on warehouses and logistics infrastructure on inflation.
HMRC undertakes internal assessments of compliance risks to inform the deployment of its resources. It does not routinely publish detailed relief-level risk assessments or estimates as doing so could provide insight into HMRC’s compliance approach and undermine its ability to protect the Exchequer.
HMRC undertakes internal assessments of compliance risks to inform the deployment of its resources. It does not routinely publish detailed relief-level risk assessments or estimates as doing so could provide insight into HMRC’s compliance approach and undermine its ability to protect the Exchequer.
HMRC undertakes internal assessments of compliance risks to inform the deployment of its resources. It does not routinely publish detailed relief-level risk assessments or estimates as doing so could provide insight into HMRC’s compliance approach and undermine its ability to protect the Exchequer.
HMRC worked very closely with agent representative bodies to understand how best to introduce multi-factor authentication (MFA) to minimise burdens for the agent community. The timing and method of implementation were developed with representative bodies, alongside the support agents needed to prepare for MFA activation.
MFA provides an important additional layer of protection, to help prevent unauthorised access if the agent’s sign-in details are compromised
MFA is already used to protect Government Gateway accounts for individuals and organisations and is a familiar security measure across major digital services, including online banking, email, social media and online shopping
Extending this protection to agent accounts is a proportionate response to evolving online threats and helps to safeguard agents’ accounts and the sensitive information they hold on behalf of their clients.
HMRC worked very closely with agent representative bodies to understand how best to introduce multi-factor authentication (MFA) to minimise burdens for the agent community. The timing and method of implementation were developed with representative bodies, alongside the support agents needed to prepare for MFA activation.
MFA provides an important additional layer of protection, to help prevent unauthorised access if the agent’s sign-in details are compromised
MFA is already used to protect Government Gateway accounts for individuals and organisations and is a familiar security measure across major digital services, including online banking, email, social media and online shopping
Extending this protection to agent accounts is a proportionate response to evolving online threats and helps to safeguard agents’ accounts and the sensitive information they hold on behalf of their clients.
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. This can be found here: Changes to the Class 1 National Insurance Contributions Secondary Threshold, the Secondary Class 1 National Insurance contributions rate, and the Employment Allowance, all from 6 April 2025 - GOV.UK
The Office for Budget Responsibility published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook in March 2026, which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances. The OBR expects that employment levels will rise in every year of the forecast, reaching 35.3m in 2030-31.
Lifetime gifts to individuals, including money, only use up some of the inheritance tax nil-rate band if the individual giving the gifts dies within seven years. There are also several exemptions and reliefs for gifts made in those seven years.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Lifetime gifts to individuals, including money, only use up some of the inheritance tax nil-rate band if the individual giving the gifts dies within seven years. There are also several exemptions and reliefs for gifts made in those seven years.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Lifetime gifts to individuals, including money, only use up some of the inheritance tax nil-rate band if the individual giving the gifts dies within seven years. There are also several exemptions and reliefs for gifts made in those seven years.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.