Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to Machine Gaming Duty on employment levels in (a) casinos and (b) bingo halls.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

An assessment of the impacts of any decisions taken is published within the relevant Tax Impact and Info Note. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made on the impact of changing the recoverability of VAT on the repair and reuse of heritage buildings, including churches, and in particular the viability of converting heritage buildings to appropriate housing.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is keen to support the supply of new homes, including the reuse of existing buildings and already encourages this through the VAT system. The conversion of non-residential buildings, including churches, into a residential dwelling qualifies for a reduced rate of VAT at five per cent. Additionally, the conversion of non-residential buildings for relevant housing associations attracts a zero rate of VAT.

Away from VAT, to support the repair and maintenance of places of worship, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport administer the Places of Worship Renewal Fund which will allocate £92m over four years. The Fund provides upfront capital grants to enable essential capital works for buildings in greatest need.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Ministry is taking to ensure FCA-authorised lenders are accountable for representations made by their introducer networks.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, authorised financial services firms are responsible for representatives they appoint to engage in regulated financial services activities. Authorised firms that use appointed representatives (ARs – of which Introducer ARs are a subset) are known as principal firms. Principal firms are responsible for ensuring their ARs maintain high standards of conduct and comply with all relevant regulatory requirements. This includes introducer ARs.

The government is introducing changes to the AR regime through the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2026. The Bill will enhance the ability of the Financial Conduct Authority to ensure that principal firms have the necessary expertise, resource and control systems to provide robust oversight of appointed representatives. The Bill will also extend the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) directly to ARs, which means that a consumer who believes they have been treated unfairly by an appointed representative can take their complaint to FOS.

In relation to credit brokers, authorised lenders are in many cases liable for the actions of the brokers they work with as a result of the Consumer Credit Act, regardless of whether or not those brokers are ARs appointed by the lender.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to integrate a distributional analysis of essential household expenditure into the formal Autumn Budget Tax Impact Assessments.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has no current plans to integrate a distributional analysis of essential household expenditure into the formal Autumn Budget Tax Impact Assessments.

HM Treasury routinely publishes distributional analysis of the impact of government policy across the household income distribution alongside fiscal events. The most recent published analysis, accompanying Budget 2025, set out estimates of the impact of tax, welfare and public service spending decisions on household incomes across the household income distribution. The focus is on policy choices, including those made in fiscal events.

The analysis showed that, on average, households in the lowest income deciles will benefit the most from policy decisions as a percentage of net income and that increases in tax will be concentrated on the highest income households. On average, all but the richest 10 per cent of households in 2028-29 will benefit from policy decisions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Transformation Roadmap Update 2026, what the current percentage is of HMRC interactions with tax agents that take place digitally, against the target of 90% by 2030.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

HMRC publishes digital shift metrics as part of its aim for at least 90% of customer interactions to be completed through digital or automated channels by 2029/30.

HMRC published its latest digital shift metrics in the 2025/26 Annual Report and Accounts.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the average speed of answer published in HM Revenue and Customs' performance data includes time spent by callers listening to automated messages before joining a queue for an adviser.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

HMRC’s published Average Speed of Answer (ASA) measure does not include the time callers spend listening to automated messages or selecting options through the automated menu.

ASA measures the time from when a customer has finished listening to the automated messages and completed their selection from the automated menu to the time when they get to speak to an adviser.

HMRC telephony performance data, including the average speed of answering a customer’s call, is published on a regular basis and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reducing VAT rates to levels more closely aligned with those in other European countries.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Government is aware some European countries apply different VAT rates to certain goods and services, reflecting different tax systems, policy choices and wider fiscal contexts.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services in the UK. Reduced rates of VAT come at a significant cost to the Exchequer, reduce the revenue available for vital public services, and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Company Share Option Plans in incentivising workforce retention in the manufacturing sector.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Government offers four tax-advantaged employee share schemes. These support business growth by aligning employee and shareholder interests, incentivising employee productivity and supporting recruitment and retention.

HMRC publishes annual statistics on the uptake and use of tax-advantaged employee share schemes, including the Company Share Option Plan (CSOP) scheme.

In addition, qualitative research into three of the tax-advantaged share schemes was published in 2023, which included consideration of CSOP uptake with different sectors. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/share-schemes-evaluation

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the £100,000 adjusted net income threshold for childcare support on Effective Marginal Tax Rates.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Government recognises that childcare is a significant expense for many families, and we remain committed to ensuring that parents can access affordable, high‑quality provision that supports them to work and provide for their children.

At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government announced that the Department for Education will lead a review of childcare provision. The aim of this review is to simplify the system for both providers and families, making it easier to access support and enhancing the overall impact of the Government’s childcare offer.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of (a) trends in the level of displacement of UK-Iran personal remittances into unregulated channels and (b) the potential impact of visibility of those flows on law enforcement.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK Government plays a leading international role in addressing challenges related to remittances and financial inclusion, working through forums such as the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, and alongside organisations such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to ensure these issues remain a focus of collective action.

At the same time, we remain committed to protecting the integrity of the UK financial system and ensuring that it is not exploited to facilitate illicit finance. The Money Laundering Regulations require regulated businesses to apply enhanced customer due diligence and enhanced ongoing transaction monitoring where there is a relationship or transaction involving a country subject to a FATF call for action, which includes Iran.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of common bond geographic restrictions on the asset scaling capability of credit unions.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to supporting the growth of credit unions, recognising the important role they play in promoting financial inclusion, providing affordable credit and supporting regional economic growth.

To support this, the Government has committed to increasing the cap on the maximum potential size of credit unions with a locality based common bond from 3 million to 10 million people. This change will be delivered through secondary legislation, alongside further changes being made through the Financial Services and Markets Bill to modernise the common bond framework and support credit union growth.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the reduced rate of VAT on renovating empty residential properties.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

To support the Government’s housing delivery targets, the Government maintains several VAT reliefs for the construction of homes. This includes a reduced rate of VAT of five per cent for the renovation of properties that have been empty for two or more years.

Reduced VAT on services in relation to conversions, renovations and alterations is included in the ongoing evaluation of tax reliefs to support housebuilding. The evaluation report will be published in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many P85 forms have been submitted to HMRC in each month since May 2025.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The table below shows the number of P85 forms submitted to HMRC electronically from May 2025 to July 2026:

Figures are rounded to 100. Counts of submitted P85 forms in April 2026 are labelled as [x] due to incomplete data.

Individuals can use the online system to submit a digital P85 or fill in a paper form and submit it by post. The counts provided in the table above are for digital forms only. Postal form data for this period is not available.

P85 forms are submitted by taxpayers who are not intending to submit a self-assessment tax return. Individuals who file through Self-Assessment do not need to submit a P85 form.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the taxation of Non-Domiciled taxpayers on taxes received.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Government is committed to addressing unfairness in the tax system, so that everyone who makes their home in the UK pays their taxes here.

That is why the Government removed the outdated concept of domicile status from the tax system from April 2025 and replaced it with a new internationally competitive residence-based regime, focused on attracting the best talent and investment to the UK.

The OBR certified at Autumn Budget 2026 that the reforms are expected to raise £39.5bn by 2030-31. Further detail on the approach to costing the reforms was published by the OBR in January 2025, and is available here: https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/Non-doms-supplementary-release-Jan-2025.pdf

HMRC will continue to monitor the impacts of the reforms as they do in all cases.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in each constituency in the East of England have been identified by HMRC as being owed pension tax relief as a result of not receiving the full tax relief available on pension contributions.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

HMRC do not hold information on owed pension tax relief by constituency.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that park home residents who purchase electricity through their site owners benefit from the removal of VAT from electricity bills from 1st October 2026.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

To support households with the cost of living, the Government is removing VAT from electricity bills this winter. Around 29 million households across the UK are expected to benefit from this change.

The new zero VAT rate for domestic electricity will replace the existing reduced VAT rate (5%). Anyone currently benefiting from the reduced rate will benefit from the new zero rate.

Some park home residents purchase their electricity from the park home site owner rather than directly from a licensed energy supplier. Where electricity is not individually metered and charged based on actual consumption, the electricity supply may be treated as part of the pitch fee and can therefore be subject to the same VAT treatment as that charge.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential impact to the public purse of the trends in the level of money collected from beer duty paid over the past year compared to 2022-23.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish an updated Alcohol Duty forecast at Budget 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of new regulatory costs, including new packaging costs, on pubs.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The potential impact of regulatory changes on pubs is carefully considered as part of policy development, and the Government regularly engages with the pub industry to understand the pressures businesses face. With regard to Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, we are aware of concerns about the classification of packaging that is disposed of through commercial waste streams, including through pubs. We are working closely with stakeholders on this issue.

We are reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens and supporting pubs to grow. The National Licensing Policy Framework for England and Wales has set a new strategic direction for licensing authorities to have greater regard for growth when considering licensing applications and decisions. We also extended opening hours during the Men’s Football World Cup and are backing “pavement pints” by making it easier for hospitality businesses to serve food and drink outside.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether (1) joining the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, (2) joining the Security Action for Europe scheme, or (3) forming the Multilateral Defence Mechanism, would have an impact on (a) borrowing, (b) public sector debt, or (c) public sector debt net financial liabilities.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The MDM and DSRB are initiatives with a shared recognition that allies must work together to strengthen defence capability, industrial capacity and collective security. As is standard under public spending rules, paid-in capital for international institutions, such as Multilateral Defence Mechanism (MDM) and Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) will score as financial transactions and should therefore have a neutral impact on UK public sector net financial liabilities (PSNFL). Any borrowing from them would be recognized as government expenditure.

At Ankara in July, UK Prime Minister Starmer and Prime Minister Carney of Canada issued a joint statement on defence financing. This noted that the efforts of the countries supporting the DSRB and the MDM have a high degree of complementarity,and, taken together can serve to improve defence investment throughout the supply chain.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards forming the Multilateral Defence Mechanism to fund defence

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

As a part of the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) discussions, the government committed £400 million towards the UK’s contribution to the Multilateral Defence Mechanism (MDM).

On 6 July, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Finland and Poland issued a joint statement to reiterate their commitment to strengthen defence financing and improve the cost efficiency of defence spending acknowledging the significant progress achieved to develop MDM.

At Ankara in July, UK Prime Minister Starmer and Prime Minister Carney of Canada issued a joint statement on defence financing. This noted that the efforts of the countries supporting the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) and the MDM have a high degree of complementarity and taken together can serve to improve defence investment throughout the supply chain.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they explored the merits of VAT reform for the hospitality sector before introducing a visitor levy.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s third largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.

HMRC estimates that the cost of changing the 20 per cent Standard Rate of VAT on all accommodation and food and beverage services to the Reduced Rate of 5 per cent would be around £17 billion in 2026-27, rising to £19.5 billion in 2030-31.

Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

Visitor levies are common in Europe and the rest of the world. All other G7 countries already have some form of tourism or overnight accommodation levy in place. It will be for strategic authorities to decide whether a levy is the right choice for their region and how funds should be reinvested within their areas to drive growth.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many motor vehicles have been provided to members of the Royal Family by government departments or funded through public expenditure in the last 20 years; under what financial and operational terms those vehicles were provided; what was the total monetary value of those vehicles; and what proportion of that value, if any, was reimbursed to the public purse.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government does not hold the information necessary to answer this question.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on UK citizens of the closure of bank branches.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is aware of the public’s concerns around access to banking services, which are currently not protected in legislation. Whilst there is evidence on a local level of individuals being affected by the closure of bank branches, the Government needs robust evidence from across the UK.  

That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and who and where it affects.

Alongside the Review, the Financial Services and Markets Bill includes a power to allow the Government to take action in future to protect access to banking services, should this be necessary. This power ensures the Government can act swiftly and proportionately, including through future regulation, if the evidence from the Review supports intervention.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Defence Investment Plan announced on 30 June, by what date they intend to confirm the source of the remaining £4.7 billion of funding not yet identified; and what assessment they have made of the impact on other departments' capital budgets of reallocating £10.3 billion to fund the measures set out in the plan.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Defence Investment Plan confirmed that of the £15 billion uplift to defence spending over the next four years, £10.3 billion is funded by reprioritising public spending from other departments.

The remaining £4.7 billion of funding will be confirmed at Autumn Budget 2026 in a fair and balanced way.

To fund the £10.3 billion already committed, departments have been asked to contribute 1p in every £1 of their capital budgets from this year. As departments with larger capital budgets, the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) have been asked to make further contributions.

DfT will provide savings of up to £700m from its roads funding, and will explore limited reductions to as-yet uncommitted roads funding.

DESNZ will find an additional £2 billion in savings - including £400m Financial Transactions – while maintaining the fastest-growing capital budget out of any department across this spending review period. They will reshape their capital budget in a way which continues to protect the clean power mission, drive renewable and nuclear build-out and insulate us from future gas price spikes on the path to energy independence.

Further detail will be set out at the Autumn Budget.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the tax revenue foregone as a result of UK consumers gambling with unlicensed operators.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not produce an estimate of the tax revenue foregone specifically as a result of UK consumers gambling with unlicensed operators.

The tax gap for betting and gaming duties is included within the “other excise duties” tax gap published in Measuring tax gaps 2026.

Limitations in the available data and methods mean that the tax gap for these components cannot be estimated individually. The average percentage revenue losses should therefore not be considered estimates of the true percentage losses from betting and gaming, as they are unknown.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to develop a new incentive for first time buyers to save for their first home.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government announced its intention to introduce a new First Time Buyer ISA(FTB ISA) to support people saving for their first home. On 23 June the Government published a consultation on the implementation of the FTB ISA, seeking views from industry and other stakeholders on its design and delivery. The consultation closed on 18 August 2026 and the Government is carefully considering the responses received.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative benefits of joining the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank as opposed to the Security Action for Europe scheme.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The MDM and DSRB are initiatives with a shared recognition that allies must work together to strengthen defence capability, industrial capacity and collective security. As is standard under public spending rules, paid-in capital for international institutions, such as Multilateral Defence Mechanism (MDM) and Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) will score as financial transactions and should therefore have a neutral impact on UK public sector net financial liabilities (PSNFL). Any borrowing from them would be recognized as government expenditure.

At Ankara in July, UK Prime Minister Starmer and Prime Minister Carney of Canada issued a joint statement on defence financing. This noted that the efforts of the countries supporting the DSRB and the MDM have a high degree of complementarity,and, taken together can serve to improve defence investment throughout the supply chain.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of joining the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The MDM and DSRB are initiatives with a shared recognition that allies must work together to strengthen defence capability, industrial capacity and collective security. As is standard under public spending rules, paid-in capital for international institutions, such as Multilateral Defence Mechanism (MDM) and Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) will score as financial transactions and should therefore have a neutral impact on UK public sector net financial liabilities (PSNFL). Any borrowing from them would be recognized as government expenditure.

At Ankara in July, UK Prime Minister Starmer and Prime Minister Carney of Canada issued a joint statement on defence financing. This noted that the efforts of the countries supporting the DSRB and the MDM have a high degree of complementarity,and, taken together can serve to improve defence investment throughout the supply chain.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing youth unemployment on UK productivity and economic growth.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Getting young people into work is vital for driving growth in every postcode. Higher youth participation helps expand the workforce, reduce the risk of long-term detachment from the labour market and unlock economic potential across the country.

The Government acknowledges that there are significant challenges facing young people in the world of work. These challenges have been building for some time, with the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) rising by over 100,000 in the last five years of the previous Government. We have also seen a growing challenge from ill health.

That is why the Government is investing £2.5 billion over the next three years in the Youth Guarantee and Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn. Alongside this, Alan Milburn's independent review is examining the drivers of rising youth inactivity and identifying potential areas for reform. The Government will consider the review's recommendations carefully when it is published in the autumn.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of Draught Relief on (a) pubs, (b) brewers and (c) consumers in Rushcliffe.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

An assessment of the impacts of decisions taken by the Chancellor at the Budget is published within the relevant Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN). The TIINs for the inflation-linked uprating to alcohol duty announced at Autumn Budget 2024 and 2025 are available here:

Alcohol Duty uprating - GOV.UK

Alcohol Duty uprating - GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of beer duty rates on (a) pubs, (b) brewers and (c) consumers in Rushcliffe.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

An assessment of the impacts of decisions taken by the Chancellor at the Budget is published within the relevant Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN). The TIINs for the inflation-linked uprating to alcohol duty announced at Autumn Budget 2024 and 2025 are available here:

Alcohol Duty uprating - GOV.UK

Alcohol Duty uprating - GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the levels of GDP growth per capita in each postcode in the United Kingdom since July 2024.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for National Statistics publishes regional GDP per capita statistics on an annual basis. The latest data, published in 2025, cover the period up to 2023.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will cut the VAT on swimming lessons for children.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Department for Education is working with third sector organisations, including Swim England, the Royal Life Saving Society UK, and National Water Safety Education, to support schools in delivering swimming lessons as part of the national curriculum.

Certain sporting and physical education services supplied by ‘eligible bodies’ are already exempt from VAT, including some swimming lessons. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sport-supplies-that-are-vat-exempt-notice-70145#an-overview-of-the-exemption-for-sporting-and-physical-education-services

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of VAT rates on (a) pubs, (b) brewers and (c) consumers in Rushcliffe.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

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 are limited and must be balanced against their impact on the public finances.

HMRC estimates that the cost of changing the 20 per cent Standard Rate of VAT on all accommodation and food and beverage services to the Reduced Rate of 5 per cent would be around £17 billion in 2026-27, rising to £19.5 billion in 2030-31.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will make an assessment of the feasibility of publishing an annual report on the net fiscal contribution of migration.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the Government's official forecaster responsible for assessing the UK economic and fiscal outlook.

In producing their economic and fiscal forecasts they consider migration levels amongst a wide range of factors.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what analysis he has undertaken on the reasons for variations in regional productivity; and what steps he is taking to reduce those variations.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

Office for National Statistics data indicates that both London and the South East had productivity levels above the UK average in 2023 (the most up-to-date available data). All other regions had productivity levels lower than the UK average, with the lowest levels in Wales (15.1% lower than average) and West Midlands (14.8% lower than average).

Differences in productivity reflects a number of factors, including differences in historical infrastructure and capital investment and the sectoral composition of a region's economy.

The Government is committed to supporting regional growth: fundamentally rewiring the way our country works, transferring greater powers, funding and accountability to the local leaders who know what it takes to drive growth in their areas. In support of this, the government is investing in the infrastructure needed to support our city regions and growth corridors to grow, including an up to £45bn commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail. The Government is maintaining momentum on our broader Northern and Oxford-Cambridge Growth Strategies, including a new £150m scale-up fund aimed at the fastest growing businesses in the North of England, delivered by the British Business Bank.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HM Treasury annual report and accounts 2025 to 2026, HC 424, July 2026, page 51, for what reason 40% of Ministerial correspondence replies to hon. Members were within the 20 working day deadline.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

HM Treasury fully recognises the important role Parliament has in holding Government to account and the need for ministers to provide full and timely responses to requests for information.

Treasury ministers received significant volumes of correspondence during 2025 to 2026 with a further spike at Autumn Budget, resulting in a backlog of cases. In response officials worked with Private Offices and Special Advisers to clear outstanding cases as quickly as possible. Additional resource has been secured to assist ministers’ offices with drafting and clearances and further actions are underway to improve our performance.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential long-term fiscal impact of social housing construction on Universal Credit housing element expenditure.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Government is providing the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation through a £39 billion successor to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme. On 25 August, the Government confirmed initial allocations of £9.58 billion to support the delivery of more than 73,000 social and affordable homes across England, with nearly two-thirds of those homes for Social Rent.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help support residents with the cost of living in Devon.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

We know that people across the country are struggling with the cost of living. Making life more affordable for families and households is a top priority for this government.

We have already taken action to reduce energy bills by removing VAT from household electricity from October 1, taking around £45 off the yearly Ofgem price cap and benefitting millions of households this winter. This is on top of the £150 removed from bills at the last Budget. From January 2027, single bus tickets in England outside London will be capped at £2, saving millions of people up to a third off a single journey. And to help motorists, the 5p cut to fuel duty has been extended until the end of the year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of extending official fiscal forecast horizons beyond five years on long-term capital investment planning.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The government updated the Charter for Budget Responsibility in 2024 to require that where capital investment, or other new policies, may have material impacts beyond the forecast horizon, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) should, where appropriate and subject to receiving sufficient information from the Treasury to do so, analyse and report on these at the relevant forecast. The OBR estimates that the combined supply-side effects of policy announced across the Parliament will raise the level of GDP by over 0.6% after 10 years.

The government has taken a long-term approach to capital investment in the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, published in 2025. The Strategy set out the UK government’s long-term plan to provide greater certainty for infrastructure investment to support growth, resilience and high-quality public services.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to protect public sector net investment allocations from short-term spending adjustments during fiscal consolidations.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Government’s new investment fiscal rule has supported a sustained increase in investment while maintaining sound public finances. This change has enabled over £120 billion of additional capital investment over the Parliament compared with previous plans. At Spending Review 2025, the Government also set departmental budgets for capital investment to 2029-30, giving departments greater certainty to plan effectively, secure value for money and deliver long-term projects and public services successfully.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 28 August 2026, to Question 10205, on Ministry of Defence: Public Expenditure, in which financial year will the 3% target be met.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Government has committed to reaching 3% of GDP on defence in the next Parliament, with further details to be set out at the next Spending Review.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the structural alignment between his Department's budgeting frameworks and the delivery goals of the Modern Industrial Strategy.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Modern Industrial Strategy is the Government’s long-term framework to increase business investment, unlock productivity growth, support high-quality jobs and drive economic growth across the UK.

The 2025 Spending Review allocated multiyear resource and capital budgets to align with the Government’s growth priorities. For instance, the Industrial Strategy is underpinned by billions of public investment in innovation and access to finance, including public R&D funding rising to £22.6bn by 2029-30, an increase in British Business Bank capacity to £25.6bn, targeted support for priority sectors including advanced manufacturing with £4bn and £2.3bn provided over ten years for Drive 35 and the Aerospace Technology Institute, respectively, and a £400m UK Defence Innovation programme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 1 September 2026 to Question 18691 on Office for Road and Rail, if he will list each public body which is required to submit a quarterly efficiency report to his Department.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The central government departments, set out in Table 1.1 of the published Departmental Efficiency Plans, are expected to report efficiencies to HM Treasury on a quarterly basis, in line with the Government Efficiency Framework.

The small and independent departments, set out in Table 2.18 (Section 19) of the published Departmental Efficiency Plans, are required to submit efficiency reports to HM Treasury on a bi-annual basis, rather than a quarterly basis, using a proportionate process. Reporting arrangements for small and independent bodies are subject to bespoke agreements that reflect their resource constraints.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether a determination has been made of the split between the MOD and FCDO of the cost of the 99 year Chagos Treaty obligations.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

No payments are due under the terms of the UK-Mauritius agreement until the Treaty has been ratified.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve labour productivity in the public sector.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is taking a range of steps to improve labour productivity in the public sector - that is, to increase public services output per hour worked. I will touch on a few of them.

Central to this is investment in artificial intelligence and technology to reduce administrative burden and free up staff time for frontline delivery.
More broadly, the government is investing in productivity-enhancing reform across public services, including up to £10 billion for NHS technology and digital transformation, £2.1 billion to modernise HM Revenue and Customs' information technology and data infrastructure, and £1.9 billion for cross-cutting digital transformation across government.

The government is also committed to improving Civil Service productivity. This includes reducing bureaucracy by adopting digital technology and AI tools, streamlining approval processes, and establishing a higher-skilled civil service with stronger accountability for performance.

Through automation of routine administrative tasks, we are freeing up civil servants to focus on high-value casework and delivering better services to the public. For example, the incubator for AI (i.AI) tool "Consult", has publicly supported 38 consultations across 10 departments, saving tens of thousands of administrative hours and millions of pounds.

The Cabinet Secretary is also leading a wide-ranging review of the permanent Civil Service to set out a vision for its future as an efficient, world class institution serving the elected government of the day. The review will report before summer 2027. Its final report will include proposals to strengthen accountability and capability across the Civil Service, with a focus on delivery, innovation and productivity, and public trust.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of the UK's support to the government of Ukraine in the current financial year.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine poses a direct threat to UK and European prosperity and security. We are proud to be a leading partner in providing vital support to Ukraine since the onset of the war in 2022, and we will continue to do so.

This calendar year, the UK has provided up to £5.6bn to date in support to Ukraine. We track support across a calendar year rather than the financial year to align with Ukrainian budget timescales. Ukrainians are defending their country against Russian aggression at immense personal cost, and their fight is in our national security interests. Supporting Ukraine helps to deter further Russian aggression across Europe, and protect the security and prosperity of the United Kingdom.

In total, the UK has committed up to £25bn for Ukraine since Russia’s illegal invasion: this includes £16bn in military support, £3.5bn cover limit in UK export finance and up to £5.6bn in non-military support including bilateral assistance, humanitarian and fiscal support.

This Government has pledged to sustain £3 billion a year in military aid to Ukraine until 2030 to 2031 and for as long as it takes until a just peace is achieved.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the reappointment of Alex Depledge, announced by HM Treasury on 7 September 2026, whether the Entrepreneurship Advisor has made a declaration of political activity; how many days a month the adviser is working; and on what matters is the adviser recused from.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

Alex Depledge MBE was re-appointed by the Chancellor as Entrepreneurship Advisor to the Treasury through the Direct Ministerial Appointment process. The role has a time commitment of two to three days per week, as needed.

As set out in the Terms of Reference, a full declaration of interest process has been conducted in the usual way for direct ministerial appointments (this includes a declaration of political activity) and mitigations have been agreed to minimise any potential, actual or perceived conflicts.

The postholder will comply with the measures and mitigations set out by HM Treasury's Permanent Secretary and will remove herself from the discussion or determination of matters in which she has a conflict or financial interest.

The Department handles personal information, including any declarations of political activity, in accordance with data protection requirements. For direct ministerial appointments, personal information including political activity is protected.

The published Terms of Reference can be found online at Gov.uk: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a9ea2f95a0c25165ae469d7/ToR_-_ADP_Re-appointment.pdf

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of allowing the National Wealth Fund to issue independent debt instruments.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

The National Wealth Fund (NWF) currently has £27.8bn of financial capacity and is focused on deploying this existing capitalisation.

There are no current plans to allow the National Wealth Fund to issue independent debt instruments. Once the NWF exhausts its existing financial capacity, HM Treasury will assess the most value-for-money approach for further capitalising the NWF.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to increase HMRC compliance and enforcement capacity regarding ultra-high-net-worth individual tax liabilities.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

HMRC’s compliance approach focuses on preventing non-compliance, promoting good compliance and responding to those who choose not to pay what they legally owe, including wealthy individuals. HMRC is increasing activity to tackle offshore tax evasion, including that carried out by the wealthy. This includes recruiting and redeploying 400 additional staff by 2030 to tackle wealthy offshore non-compliance.

As part of that commitment, in 2025-2026 HMRC recruited and redeployed over 200 staff across compliance teams to manage the risk. That includes 20 external experts with specific commercial or sectoral knowledge. The majority of these have been placed in the Complex Cross Tax and Offshore team (CCTO). The team takes a holistic view of wealthy individuals and their structures, targeting cross-tax risks among customers with the highest wealth, risk and complexity.

HMRC has also allocated a Customer Compliance Manager (CCM) to every billionaire with a UK tax footprint over the summer. CCMs are allocated to customers according to wealth, complexity and risk.

For more information, visit HMRC Transformation Roadmap: update 2026 - GOV.UK. HMRC will also publish its plan for tackling wealthy non-compliance by the end of 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of expanding local business rates retention flexibilities for non-devolved local authorities.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Government’s vision for devolution in England was set out in the joint cabinet statement, ‘Rewiring the state’ published in July. This committed to greater retention of business rates revenue for both strategic authorities and local councils. The long-term certainty of funding via taxation will provide more flexibility and enable greater investment to fund interventions that will deliver a return. The Government will consider how these growth incentives can be balanced with the need for fairness between places, recognising that there will be different starting points across the country.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Capital Gains Tax annual exempt allowance tapers on private equity investment in early-stage businesses.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The government sets out the impacts of specific policies in the Tax Impact and Information Notes which are published alongside tax policy changes at each Budget.

The TIIN for the exempt amount changes is set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reducing-the-annual-exempt-amount-for-capital-gains-tax

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason Vehicle Excise Duty for motorcycles is calculated on engine size rather than vehicle weight; and if he will make it his policy to commission a review of motorcycle VED.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

Vehicle Excise Duty for motorcycles is currently based on engine size. There are four engine size ranges, with the lowest rate applying to zero emission motorcycles and the smallest engines sized 150cc or less (currently £27 per year), and the highest rate applying to engines sized 600cc and above (currently £125 per year).

Historically, engine capacity-based rates have offered the most practical and easy-to-understand way to reflect the respective emissions levels of motorcycles. The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what responsibility No10 North has for economic policy, and what specific responsibilities previously held by HM Treasury have been transferred to No10 North.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

The Prime Minister established No10 North on the first day of the new administration, including the transfer of local economic growth and devolution strategy from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and local economic growth policy from HM Treasury, with these arrangements confirmed in a statement published on 22 July.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help reduce the impact of the hospitality VAT differential between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on cross-border hospitality business competitiveness.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Government is aware some European countries apply different VAT rates to certain goods and services, reflecting different tax systems, policy choices and wider fiscal contexts.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the VAT registration threshold on the net revenue growth of SMEs.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU country and the joint highest in the OECD. This means the majority of UK businesses are not in the VAT system at all.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the total fiscal yield generated by the Energy Profits Levy.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Office for National Statistics publishes monthly updates on public sector current receipts. Since its introduction in 2022 until July 2026, the Energy Profits Levy has raised £13.5bn on an accruals basis.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the average administrative compliance costs incurred by a business when transitioning across the VAT registration threshold.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Government set out the impacts, including administrative impacts, of specific policies in the Tax Impact and Info notes which are published alongside tax policy changes at each Budget.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what are the average waiting time for processing public requests at the Valuation Office Agency each year since 2015.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The current average wait time for the resolution of a Council Tax Formal band challenge is 2.7 months.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people affected by the Equitable Life scandal who are yet to be traced.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

In 2010 the coalition government chose to allocate up to £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme had issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders.

As the Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016, it is no longer possible to make a claim. The only remaining part of the Payment Scheme in operation is the annual payments made to eligible With-Profit-Annuitants.

There are no plans to reopen any decisions relating to the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to distribute the remainder of the funding allocation to those affected by the Equitable Life scandal.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

In 2010 the coalition government chose to allocate up to £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme had issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders.

As the Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016, it is no longer possible to make a claim. The only remaining part of the Payment Scheme in operation is the annual payments made to eligible With-Profit-Annuitants.

There are no plans to reopen any decisions relating to the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers to Questions 16435 and 16436 on 15 July 2026, on Taxation: Debt Collection, what safeguards are being considered in relation to (a) a minimum protected balance, (b) affordability assessments, (c) independent or human review, (d) notice and appeal periods, (e) errors caused by disputed liabilities and (f) people with additional support needs.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The proposals aim to maintain fairness in the tax system and address a gap in existing debt enforcement tools, by collecting lower value tax debts from taxpayers who can pay but do not engage. The consultation on proposals to tackle lower value tax debts closed on 28 August. The Government is currently analysing responses received and will use this to inform next steps, including whether and how the proposal should be taken forward.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 16436 on 15 July 2026, on Taxation: Debt Collection, whether HM Revenue and Customs has received legal advice on the compatibility of the proposed powers with the European Convention on Human Rights and data-protection law; and whether a (a) programme risk register and (b) contingency plan exist.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The proposals aim to maintain fairness in the tax system and address a gap in existing debt enforcement tools, by collecting lower value tax debts from taxpayers who can pay but do not engage. The consultation on proposals to tackle lower value tax debts closed on 28 August. The Government is currently analysing responses received and will use this to inform next steps, including whether and how the proposal should be taken forward.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 16435 on 15 July 2026, on Taxation: Debt Collection, whether HM Revenue and Customs has prepared a (a) preliminary equality impact assessment and (b) screening assessment for the proposed lower-value debt recovery powers.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The proposals aim to maintain fairness in the tax system and address a gap in existing debt enforcement tools, by collecting lower value tax debts from taxpayers who can pay but do not engage. The consultation on proposals to tackle lower value tax debts closed on 28 August. The Government is currently analysing responses received and will use this to inform next steps, including whether and how the proposal should be taken forward.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of targeted employer National Insurance contributions relief in supporting youth employment.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Government recognises the important role that employers play in providing young people with their first step into work. Businesses can therefore claim employer National Insurance contributions reliefs for employees under 21 and apprentices under 25, meaning no employer NICs are paid on their earnings up to £50,270.

HMRC published an evaluation of these measures in October 2023. It found that they reduce employment costs for employers and identified some evidence of a positive impact on youth employment, while noting that recruitment decisions are influenced by wider factors.

The Government has also announced £2.5 billion of investment in the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy over the next three years, supporting almost one million young people and helping to deliver up to 500,000 opportunities to earn or learn.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the total value paid by Police Scotland in employer’s National Insurance contributions in the financial year 2025-26.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

HMRC has a statutory duty of confidentiality to protect information held about taxpayers. HMRC's ability to disclose taxpayer information is restricted by the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (CRCA).

The information requested relates to named organisations and is therefore taxpayer information protected by the CRCA. As such, HMRC is unable to disclose the employer National Insurance contributions paid by these organisations.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of an increase in Machine Games Duty on the financial sustainability of the land-based bingo sector.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.

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Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 9 September (HL2269), why they cannot mandate the purchase of British-built buses given that funding is being provided by the HM Treasury.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

We are prevented from requiring that grant funding should be used to procure ‘British Built’ buses This prohibition is founded in long-standing World Trade Organization (WTO) law and also implements our commitments in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

However, while the Government cannot mandate the purchase of British-built buses, at the final UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) agreed to commit that a 10% minimum of social value criteria would apply in all future bus procurement exercises.  This means that when procuring buses, MCAs will consider the positive impact a manufacturer has on our society, the environment, and on the local community as part of their decision-making process.

UK-based bus manufacturers have benefited the most from the Department’s funding programmes, such as ZEBRA. It is estimated that over 60% of ZEBRA-supported buses will be procured from UK-based manufacturers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will list each programme on the PSFA High Fraud Risk portfolio, by department and public body.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The High Fraud Risk Portfolio (HFRP) provides a common view over the areas of highest fraud risk in government.

The government does not intend to list each programme on the HFRP on the basis that the risks of publication outweigh the benefits. The government however has provided the HFRP to the Public Accounts Committee for independent scrutiny and oversight.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), in partnership with HM Treasury, will continue to work closely with departments that have programmes in the portfolio to enhance their management of fraud risk.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 8 January 2026 to Question 101383, on Government Actuary's Department: Freedom of Information, if he will ask the Government Actuary's Department to update the Chagos calculation chart further to the change in the social time discount rate announced by HM Treasury on 7 September 2026.

Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip

The value of payments under the UK-Mauritius Agreement were set out by the UK government at the time of signature and have not changed. What has changed is the Social Time Preference Rate applied in the calculation of the forecast net present value, which applies to all long-term government investments of this nature. The chart was produced to calculate the forecast costs of payments under the Treaty at the time of signature. The forecast real value of payments remains £101 million per annum in today's money. There are no plans to ask the Government Actuary's Department to update the chart.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what expenditure his Department has forecast on replenishment of munitions stocks between 2026-27 and 2029-30.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

In financial years 2026-27 to 2029-30, the Department currently forecasts a total expenditure of approximately £5.72 billion on investment in munitions and weapons stockpiles. This includes investment in General Munitions, Directed Energy Weapons, LMM, ASRAAM and Spear Cap 3. This includes both core funding and funding from HMT for replenishment of stockpiles granted to Ukraine.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he plans to take to prevent the potential circumvention of the proposed ban on settlement goods through the trans-shipment, processing and re-export of goods through Israel and third countries.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The measures announced by the Foreign Secretary on 8 September will restrict the import of goods originating in illegal settlements into the UK.

The UK enforces sanctions through a coordinated cross-government approach, with specialist departments and agencies responsible for specific sanctions measures.

Our trade policies are designed to be as effective as possible - UK enforcement effort will be focused on ensuring that goods originating in illegal settlements are not allowed to be imported into the UK. This will be through a coordinated cross-government approach with specialist departments, and agencies responsible for specific sanctions measures.

Where breaches occur, bodies including OFSI (the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, within HMT), HMRC, DfT, the Home Office, OTSI (the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation, within BIST) and the NCA can use civil and criminal powers, which range from warnings and civil penalties to prosecution in the most serious cases including powers to confiscate assets held to be the proceeds of crime.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, ahead of the rolling stock procurement and infrastructure strategy on the use of alternative financing models to secure publicly owned trains.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Department for Transport officials hold regular discussions with HM Treasury officials on a range of matters, including in relation to the procurement of rolling stock. However, no discussions have taken place between the Secretary of State for Transport and the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the use of alternative financing models to fund the purchase of new trains.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions have been had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer ahead of the rolling stock procurement and infrastructure strategy on the use of alternative financing models to secure publicly owned trains.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Department for Transport officials hold regular discussions with HM Treasury officials on a range of matters, including in relation to the procurement of rolling stock. However, no discussions have taken place between the Secretary of State for Transport and the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the use of alternative financing models to fund the purchase of new trains.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to HMT, Treasury Minutes, CP1668, August 2026, para 7.2 (page 9), if she will list each of the significant challenges that have prevented the Government from updating official estimates of failed asylum seekers in the UK.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

Producing official estimates of the number of failed asylum seekers is dependent on completion of work to re-establish the assured statistical datasets required after the transition of asylum caseworking to the new Atlas system.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to HMT, Treasury Minutes, CP1668, August 2026, para 6.8 (page 8), if she will publish the comprehensive review of asylum accommodation contracts.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)

We have committed to provide further information to the Public Accounts Committee by December 2026. Consideration of what material can be published will be made in the usual way, taking account of commercial sensitivities and contractual obligations.

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Found: Department for Work and Pensions 94.554671 89.187764 Department for Education 90.525302 73.8914188373558 HM Treasury

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