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 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.
Don't apply VAT to independent school fees, or remove business rates relief.
Gov Responded - 20 Dec 2024 Debated on - 3 Mar 2025Prevent independent schools from having to pay VAT on fees and incurring business rates as a result of new legislation.
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.
        
    
        
    
        
    
        
    
        
    Partners are treated as self-employed for tax purposes and therefore no Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) are due on their income.
Partners are treated as self-employed for tax purposes and therefore no Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) are due on their income.
Partners are treated as self-employed for tax purposes and therefore no Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) are due on their income.
Child Benefit is paid to over 6.9 million families, supporting 11.9 million children. It is one of the most widely accessed benefits in the UK.
As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce error and fraud in the Child Benefit system, HMRC undertook a pilot last year using international travel data. This pilot saw thousands of people who had left the UK but carried on claiming Child Benefit removed from the system - preventing around £17m in wrongful payments. This led to a wider rollout and investment in an additional 180 counter-fraud staff, announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 and is expected to save £350 million over the next five years.
In expanding the process last month, a check of HMRC systems to first look for continuing UK employment was inadvertently omitted on around 23,500 enquiries. While evidence from the pilot suggests that most of these cases will have been correctly suspended, the omission of the check has meant that HMRC will have incorrectly suspended payments in some instances.
HMRC has taken immediate corrective action to resolve this issue. The employment check has been reinstated for all future cases meaning fewer people will be sent letters in the first instance. In addition, HMRC has retrospectively applied this check to the 346 Northern Ireland customers, resulting in reinstated payments for 134 cases. HMRC have also reinstated payments for a further 46 Northern Ireland customers while we clarify their residency status.
HMRC has taken steps to improve the process. HMRC will no longer suspend payments at the outset and will give customers time to evidence their entitlement first. Together these changes will reduce error and ensure fair treatment of claimants.
Customers affected by the issue who believe they are still eligible should call the number on the letter they received. HMRC have set up a dedicated team to handle their cases swiftly.
Where eligibility is confirmed, payments will resume and HMRC will make backdated payments, so no-one is left out of pocket.
This Government is investing in Wales to help create jobs and drive economic growth. UKRI has recently launched the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF) - a new programme that will empower innovation leadership through local ‘triple helix’ partnerships between civic institutions, business and universities, delivering impact, at scale. This Fund has earmarked £30 million for the Cardiff Capital Region [1].
[1] Cardiff Capital Region backed by £30m to unlock innovation and growth - GOV.UK
The government has been clear in its commitment to get Britain building.
Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hm-treasury-ministerial-overseas-travel-and-meetings
HM Treasury ministers and officials regularly engage with Welsh Government counterparts, including through forums such as the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee (F:ISC), to discuss a range of issues affecting Wales. The most recent F:ISC was on 17 October.
We have ongoing discussions with the Welsh Government about funding flexibilities and updating their Fiscal Framework and remain committed to working in partnership to ensure the smooth delivery of their funding settlement.
HM Treasury ministers regularly engage with Welsh Government counterparts, including through forums such as the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee (F:ISC), to discuss a range of issues affecting Wales, including funding arrangements. The most recent F:ISC was on 17 October.
There have been regular discussions with the Welsh Government on the Budget. This ensures that we are taking account of their views to ensure that we are delivering for the people of Wales.
The Chancellor met with the First Minister for Wales on the 7th of August in Wales.
I also met with the Welsh Government’s Finance Minister on the 17th of October at the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee (F:ISC), to discuss a range of issues affecting Wales, including funding arrangements and his priorities for the Autumn Budget .
This government’s priority is delivering a renewed economy, that works for working people after years of instability.
The fiscal framework puts debt on a sustainable path. The framework supports the long-term growth needed to rebuild Britain by repairing the public finances, providing certainty to families and business, and prioritising sustainable public investment.
This is the responsible choice – to live within our means and reduce our levels of borrowing in the years ahead. According to IMF data, we are set to deliver the largest primary deficit reduction in both the G7 and G20 over the next five years.
The Government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.
As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026/27. This permanent tax cut will ensure they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government is sustainably funding this by introducing a higher tax rate on properties with RVs of £500,000 and above.
The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the Government can factor the revaluation outcomes and broader economic and fiscal context into decision-making.
Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, the Government prevented RHL business rates relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.
The Government will also support those seeing the biggest increases at the revaluation. The Government will announce details at Budget 2025, in light of the revaluation outcomes.
The Government recognises the value that music and dance schools bring to education in the UK.
In advance of Autumn Budget 2024, the Government conducted thorough and detailed analysis of the impacts of applying VAT to private school fees and the removal of business rates charitable rate relief from private schools in England, including on Music and Dance schools.
The Department for Education provides means-tested bursaries for eligible families as part of the Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) if their child has a place at any one of eight MDS performing arts private schools. The Department adjusted MDS bursary contribution for families with a relevant income below £45,000 to account for VAT on fees, ensuring that the total parental fee contributions for families with below average relevant incomes remain unchanged for the 2024/25 academic year.
The Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities, including those providing specialist education in music and dance, will either gain or see no change this year.
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
The National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates are recommended by the independent and expert Low Pay Commission (LPC). By seeking advice from the LPC when setting the minimum wage rates, the Government is able to ensure that the right balance is struck between the needs of workers, affordability for employers, including those in the education sector, and the impact on the economy. DBT have published their full Impact Assessment alongside the legislation here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2025/9780348268492/impacts
The FCA does not generally have a role in relation to managing or intervening with individual complaints between the firms it regulates and their customers.
Under the independent Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA’s) Dispute Resolution Rules, firms that are regulated by the FCA are required to operate complaints handling procedures to deal with complaints promptly and fairly.
Where complaints are not resolved through a firm’s own complaints procedures, the customer can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS is an independent body established by Parliament to provide consumers with a cost-free and quick route to resolve disputes with financial services firms. Firms are required under the FCA’s rules to co-operate with the FOS and comply promptly with any decision that the FOS may make.
The FCA is directly involved in some types of complaint, for example where a person has information about potential wrongdoing or misconduct, or an individual wants to raise a whistleblowing concern. People who are worried they have been the victim of relevant scams can also make a report to the FCA. While the FCA cannot resolve individual disputes, it can take information provided into account as part of its ongoing supervision of a firm and wider monitoring of practices in the sector. The FCA is required not to disclose confidential information it receives in the course of carrying on its functions, and will not normally be able to discuss this with the person making the complaint due to statutory restrictions on disclosing certain information.
Anyone directly affected by the way in which the FCA has exercised, or failed to exercise, its functions (other than its legislative functions) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 may also complain about the FCA using the Financial Regulators Complaints Scheme. This would include, for example, complaints about the FCA’s actions supervising a relevant firm. The FCA website gives details of how to make a complaint about the regulators at https://www.fca.org.uk/about/complain-about-regulators
The FCA is fully accountable to Parliament for how it discharges its statutory functions, and there are a range of mechanisms in place to provide accountability and oversight. Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the FCA to discuss a wide range of issues, including its overall performance in furthering its statutory objectives.
The Chancellor engages regularly with the OBR including in preparation for fiscal events. As the Government’s independent official forecaster, the OBR has full discretion over the judgements underpinning its forecasts.
In the OBR's March Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR included two scenarios for trend productivity, reflecting both upside and downside risks.
On September 10, the FCA launched a consultation on its proposals to introduce a new risk-based approach to contactless payments, allowing payment service providers greater flexibility to determine their approach to contactless payments where they identify there is a low risk of fraud. This consultation closed on 15 October. Decisions on the consultation process on changes to the contactless limits are a matter for the FCA, which is independent of the Government.
I refer the hon member to the answers that I gave to Parliamentary Question UIN 80792 and Parliamentary Question UIN 84508 on 20 October and 28 October respectively.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates the size of the tax gap, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. The tax gap statistics and details of the estimate methodologies are published annually and are available at: Measuring tax gaps 2025 edition: tax gap estimates for 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
Table 1.3 of the online tables shows the tax gap time series between tax years 2005 to 2006 and 2023 to 2024 in percentage and absolute value terms. In the tax year 2023 to 2024, the tax gap was 5.3% of total theoretical tax liabilities, or £46.8 billion in absolute terms. The tax gap was 5.6% (£46.4 billion) in 2022 to 2023, 5.6% (£41.8 billion) in 2021 to 2022, 5.3% (£34.2 billion) in 2020 to 2021, and 5.8% (£38.5 billion) in 2019 to 2020. The online tables are available at: Measuring tax gaps tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces the Living Costs and Food survey which is one of the household microdata sets used regularly for analysis of tax and welfare measures by protected characteristics to fulfil the requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty in the Equality Act 2010. The ONS has not provided any technical support or modelling assistance.
Self-employed people who work from home can deduct the actual cost of working from home when working out their profits, or use simplified expenses. There are three different rates of simplified expenses depending on the number of hours worked from home. As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the rates of simplified expenses under review.
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy, including on businesses. The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from the changes to employer NICs by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.
The Sterling 20 is a new grouping of institutional investors announced by the Chancellor at the inaugural Regional Investment Summit in Birmingham. Members of the group include signatories of July’s Mansion House Accord, as well as two insurers and the Pension Protection Fund. There will also be attendance from the Local Government Pension Scheme pools where appropriate.
The Mansion House Accord saw pension providers representing 90% of active defined contribution scheme savers commit to invest at least 5% of their main default funds in UK private markets by 2030. This commitment will unlock over £25 billion for the UK with investment including new housing, infrastructure and high-growth industries. Establishing the Sterling 20 also delivers on a specific government pledge to “curate a pipeline” of investment opportunities.
The grouping will further support mobilising institutional investment by raising awareness among investors of government-led programmes and initiatives. This will allow members to help shape and co-design investment opportunities, so they are attractive and relevant to their regulatory and fiduciary requirements. By promoting knowledge sharing, the Sterling 20 can help remove investment blockers and improve the investability of government-led projects.
The forum is industry-led and delivered in partnership with the City of London Corporation as well as the relevant leading trade associations. The Office for Investment act as the secretariat and are responsible for curating the programme for the group. His Majesty’s Treasury will take an oversight role through the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Minister for Investment, as well as cross-government investment governance structures, to hold the Office for Investment and contributing departments to account on delivery and ensure the success of the initiative.
More broadly, delivering the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy’s ambitious programme for transforming the UK’s infrastructure will require significant increases in private investment to complement and maximise the value of the extensive public investment underway. The government will continue to work in partnership with the private sector to unlock capital for UK infrastructure, including through the Sterling 20.
The Pension Schemes Bill was introduced on 5 June, implementing the reforms outlined in the Pensions Investment Review.
The Bill sets out a vision for a pensions market with fewer, larger schemes which can use the benefits of scale to invest in a wider range of productive assets as well as deliver better outcomes for savers.
These reforms support the Mansion House Accord, an industry-led pledge to invest at least 10 per cent of defined contribution default funds into private markets by 2030, of which at least half is in the UK.
Furthermore, last year the British Business Bank announced the establishment of the British Growth Partnership, designed to crowd in investment from UK pension funds for our most innovative, fastest growing companies.
HMRC provides extensive guidance on GOV.UK to support VAT registered businesses including essentials that every business needs, up to more complex areas. Additional individual support is available from their helplines. HMRC has published an online VAT Registration Estimator for businesses approaching VAT registration. This helps them understand their basic obligations, work out what their liability may be should they need to register, and provides links to relevant guidance.
There are schemes available to small businesses to support their cash flow and simplify the requirements for accounting for VAT. This includes the annual accounting scheme and cash accounting scheme, available for businesses with a turnover up to £1.6m. The Flat Rate Scheme is also available for those with a turnover up to £230k. This simplifies the calculation of VAT liability by applying a sector-specific percentage to sales, rather than recording VAT on each transaction.
The government recognises the role that credit unions play in providing savings and affordable loans to their members, serving local communities throughout the country. This is why the government is taking steps to ensure credit unions are fully supported to grow and scale into the future.
This includes exploring legislative reform to the credit union common bond, to ensure it remains fit for purpose. We launched a call for evidence at last year’s Mansion House on the potential reform, which closed in March this year.   
 
Responses to the call for evidence are being carefully considered and the government will provide an update on this work in due course.
OFSI does not generally comment on specific cases. For further information about how OFSI takes licensing decisions, please see the OFSI’s general guidance here, and OFSI’s supplemental licensing guidance here.
Designations under UK sanctions regimes are published on the OFSI Consolidated List, which provides details of individuals and entities subject to financial sanctions, including asset freezes. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) also maintains the UK sanctions List, which outlines relevant regimes and listings. Where a designated person (DP) owns or controls economic resources, such as property, those resources are subject to an asset freeze. This means that dealing with or making funds or economic resources available to or for the benefit of a DP, whether directly or indirectly, is prohibited unless authorised by either a General Licence or Specific Licence from OFSI or an applicable legislative exception.
The Government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups, and is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumed regulatory responsibility for access to cash in September 2024. Its rules ensure cash continues to be a viable method of payment for the millions of people who depend on it by providing reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposit facilities for individuals and businesses, including free services for personal accounts.
The FCA is required by law to keep its rules under review and, as part of the Government’s response to the Treasury Committee’s report into the acceptance of cash earlier this year, the FCA publicly committed to review its regime. The FCA has been closely monitoring the impact and effectiveness of their regime during its first year. It will commence a formal evaluation of its regime in due course and will write to the Treasury Committee shortly setting out its plans.
HMRC does not collect information on the address of LISA account holders.
In HMRC’s response to the recent Treasury Select Committee’s LISA enquiry (link), they provided a regional breakdown of where homes were bought using LISA’s:
HMRC LISA enquiry response - Tables 1, 2 and 3.
The Chancellor has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on a range of topics
The Chancellor recognises the importance of electrification for manufacturers and bringing down the cost of electricity is a key element of this government's mission to increase growth.
HM Treasury has a comprehensive framework for the assessment and management of current and potential risks to the economy, including those posed by digital infrastructure disruptions. The framework involves systematic monitoring through internal risk monitors, risk governance forums, and collaboration with other government departments such as the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, and the Cabinet Office.
While the cost of the outage is not yet known, the temporary disruptions to online services and business operations are unlikely to have a material macroeconomic impact. The Government will continue to assess digital risks closely to ensure the UK economy remains resilient to future disruptions in digital infrastructure.
The government does not have plans to publish any further documents related to the EU State aid decision in 2009 concerning Lloyds Banking Group.
The Royal Collection Trust is responsible for the care and conservation of the Royal Collection and there is already a publicly available inventory of object records held by the Royal Collection Trust on the rct.uk website.
Separately, the Royal Household maintains fixed asset registers, which are audited annually by the National Audit Office, for items funded by the Sovereign Grant.
A baseline for the administrative burden of regulation on businesses has been established at £22.4bn a year. Further to the Prime Minister’s commitment to cutting the administrative costs of regulation by 25% by the end of the Parliament, the Government’s target is to reduce the annual burden by £5.6bn.
Our methodology for calculating administrative burdens, and the distribution of the savings we have identified so far, is publicly available on GOV.UK.
A baseline for the administrative burden of regulation on businesses has been established at £22.4bn a year. Further to the Prime Minister’s commitment to cutting the administrative costs of regulation by 25% by the end of the Parliament, the Government’s target is to reduce the annual burden by £5.6bn.
Our methodology for calculating administrative burdens, and the distribution of the savings we have identified so far, is publicly available on GOV.UK.
The cider industry makes a vital contribution to our economy and society, which is recognised in the tax system.
The current duty system supports the cider industry through Draught Relief (DR), which ensures products served on draught pay less duty, and Small Producer Relief (SPR), which permits smaller producers to pay reduced duty rates.
Eligible producers making cider products below 8.5 per cent alcohol by volume can claim both DR and SPR.
At Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced a duty cut on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This reduces alcohol producers’ duty bills by over £85m a year and has cut 1p off the duty on an average strength pint.
The Chancellor also increased the generosity of the discount available for small cider-makers, by increasing the relative value of the SPR discount, compared to the main duty rates, for both draught and non-draught products. To illustrate, a cider-maker producing 10,000 litres of pure alcohol a year received a 52% discount on the main rate before the Budget, and receives a 53% discount now.
High streets are focal points of economic and social activity. They are a point of local pride and reflect the unique character of communities. As the business rates burden falls more heavily on property-intensive sectors, the Government wants to ensure that the business rates burden is permanently rebalanced, supporting high street and town centre businesses such as those in Surrey Heath.
That is why the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026/27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible RHL properties benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
Ahead of these changes being made, the Government recognises that businesses will need support in 2025/26. As such, the Government has prevented the current RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, and frozen the small business multiplier.
The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the Government can factor the revaluation outcomes, as well as the broader economic and fiscal context into decision-making. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
HMRC are committed to being aware of customers’ wider personal situations and will provide extra support if customers need it, as set out in the HMRC Charter.
All HMRC advisers are given training and guidance on how to identify customers who need extra help and how to either provide tailored support themselves or refer the customer to HMRC’s specialist extra support provision. HMRC increased the size of its Extra Support Team (EST) by 28% over 2024 to 2025. In 2024 to 2025, HMRC’s dedicated Customer Service EST helped over 150,000 customers in vulnerable circumstances.
The average response time for those contacting the EST in the past twelve months (October 2024- September 2025) was:
The Government recognises the important role of the visitor economy sector, and has set an ambitious goal to grow inbound tourism. These will be set out in more detail when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport publishes its Visitor Economy Growth Strategy.
In September the government launched an overarching Pride in Place programme, providing up to £5bn over 10 years to support almost 250 places. In addition, the Pride in Place Impact Fund will provide around £150 million of funding to 95 places to support the development of shared spaces, revitalise local high streets and improve the public realm, all of which have benefits for the visitor economy.
Following the Green Book Review, HM Treasury is working with relevant departments, as well as local and regional government, to develop place-based business cases. This will bring together the different Departments needed to achieve the objectives of a particular place.
Due to legislation protecting taxpayer confidentiality, the VOA is unable to disclose information about individual ratepayers or properties; this also includes proposed rateable values.
The VOA are currently working on a revaluation of all non-domestic properties. This will come into effect on 1 April 2026, with draft valuations published by the end of this year.
The VOA have been engaging with representatives from the airports industry, including all civil airports in England and Wales, and held discussions with Airports UK.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
The Government currently provides VAT reliefs to aid the purchase of defibrillators. For example, when an Automated External Defibrillator is purchased with funds provided by a charity and then donated to an eligible body, no VAT is charged. Furthermore, all state schools in England have been fitted with AEDs.
The Government recognises the vital role that all hospitality businesses play in supporting the UK’s economy and communities.
That is why, as set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, the Government prevented RHL business rates relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. By extending the RHL relief, the Government has saved the average pub, with a ratable value of £16,800, over £3,300. Without any Government intervention, the RHL relief would have ended entirely.
To ensure that key amenities are available, and that community assets are protected in rural areas, Rural Rates Relief provides 100% business rates relief for certain properties in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000, including those that are the only public house, with a RV of up to £12,500.
The Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities, including those in the hospitality sector, will either gain or see no change this year. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside changes to employer NICs, and the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts employment levels to increase over the coming years.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.
As outlined in my previous response, the Government recognises the vital role Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. However I cannot comment on how individual banks decide to approach provision of affordable credit.
I am very grateful for the engagement by a range of banks and CDFIs in contributing to the upcoming Financial Inclusion Strategy, which includes a focus on access to affordable credit and will seek to ensure people have access to useful products and services for their needs.
The government is committed to exploring legislative reform to the credit union common bond to ensure it remains fit for purpose. 
Responses to the call for evidence are currently being considered, and the government will provide an update on this work in due course.
The Terms of Reference for the Payments Vision Delivery Committee set out the Payments Forward Plan will be published by the end of this year. This will set out a sequenced plan of initiatives across the wider UK payments ecosystem.
HMRC is committed to ensuring that the tax system operates fairly and efficiently and creates a level playing field for compliant businesses. Most businesses pay what they owe but a minority fail to register with HMRC or only declare a portion of their earnings.
HMRC is committed to tackling false self-employment and will investigate evidence suggesting businesses have misclassified individuals for tax purposes. In these cases, HMRC will take steps to ensure they pay the right Income Tax and National Insurance contributions.
HMRC recognises that some customers can find it hard to understand their tax obligations. HMRC is developing and testing new educational material specific to the hair and beauty sector to explain better the rent-a-chair model, making it easier for customers to get things right.
The government is committed to improving living standards for all, in every part of the UK, and supporting households with the high cost of living. This is why the government has already raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and is rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.
The Chancellor will make decisions on Budget in the round and these will be announced in the usual way on 26 November 2025.
The government is committed to improving living standards for all, in every part of the UK, and supporting households with the high cost of living. This is why the government has already raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and is rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.
The Chancellor will make decisions on Budget in the round and these will be announced in the usual way on 26 November 2025.
The government is committed to improving living standards for all, in every part of the UK, and supporting households with the high cost of living. This is why the government has already raised the minimum wage, extended the £3 bus fare cap, expanded free school meals to over half a million more children, and is rolling out free breakfast clubs for every child in the country.
The Chancellor will make decisions on Budget in the round and these will be announced in the usual way on 26 November 2025.