Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what volume of ferrous scrap was imported into the UK in each of the last three calendar years, broken down by country of origin and by grade or category of scrap.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The data on imports of ferrous scrap is given in table 1. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com ). | |||
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Table 1: UK import volumes (kg) of Ferrous Scrap |
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Country | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Not Declared | 100,666,973 | 119,323,136 | 110,711,763 |
Ireland | 58,409,303 | 62,163,906 | 54,568,750 |
Belgium | 10,620,084 | 11,853,794 | 385,988 |
Germany | 6,447,914 | 11,121,900 | 392,921 |
Netherlands | 3,600,562 | 5,603,047 | 1,460,658 |
UK | 1,783,716 | 4,873,692 | 705,830 |
United States | 451 | 137,270 | 2,211,158 |
France | 128,252 | 375,242 | 107,888 |
Canada | 2,880 |
| 372,743 |
Costa Rica | 106,506 |
| 25,000 |
Iceland | 110,610 | 9,610 | 6,490 |
Panama | 44,000 | 40,000 | 20,000 |
Spain |
| 2,003 | 99,660 |
Italy | 12,133 | 41,211 | 41,752 |
Malta | 24,100 | 41,760 |
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Norway |
| 51,060 |
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Czechia | 14,272 | 11,114 | 25,097 |
Israel |
| 48,830 |
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Lithuania |
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| 48,711 |
Estonia |
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| 29,241 |
Latvia |
| 24,000 |
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Congo (Dem. Rep) | 15,000 |
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Switzerland | 7,120 | 5,530 | 331 |
China | 158 | 2,041 | 4,380 |
Slovakia |
| 52 | 2,971 |
Sweden |
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| 2,674 |
Falkland Islands | 2,540 |
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India | 869 | 582 | 209 |
Jamaica |
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| 637 |
Oman | 228 |
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Comoros |
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| 180 |
Singapore |
| 54 |
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Somalia |
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| 15 |
Taiwan | 3 |
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Hungary | 1 |
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Grand Total | 181,997,675 | 215,729,834 | 171,225,047 |
Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics / UK TradeInfo.com | |||
Notes |
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• Data for 2023-2025 are for calendar years | |||
• HS8 72044110, 72044191, 72043000, 72044199, 72044910, 72044930, 72044990, 72045000 | |||
• Import trade is on a country of origin basis | |||
• 2025 is an open year and is therefore provisional and is subject to change | |||
• Country of origin is not required on trade declared through the Intrastat system | |||
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what volume of iron ore imports into the UK there was in each of the last three calendar years, broken down by (1) fines, (2) pellets, (3) lump ore and (4) other iron-bearing feedstocks, and by country of origin.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The data on imports of ferrous scrap is given in table 1.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com ).
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Table 1: UK import volumes (kg) of Iron ore per year, from 2023 to 2025 | |||
Country | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Sweden | 944,860,000 | 650,899,243 | 909,881,920 |
Brazil | 1,293,175,122 | 524,445,534 | 598,107,272 |
Canada | 1,290,465,000 | 496,900,000 | 565,870,677 |
Norway | 1,187,212,714 | 368,949,807 | 27,807,184 |
United States | 596,604,115 | 492,035,282 | 215,978,363 |
South Africa | 745,243,000 | 16,017,200 | 188,157,000 |
Mauritania | 315,269,000 | 248,684,000 | 356,403,000 |
Liberia | 379,172,000 | 243,407,200 |
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India | 127,150,000 | 71,500,000 |
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Vatican City | 158,257,000 |
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Egypt | 92,702,000 | 46,135,000 |
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Uruguay | 47,868,000 | 82,184,000 |
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Libya | 49,597,000 | 47,248,000 |
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Netherlands | 329,102 | 78,165,633 | 278,805 |
Trinidad:Tobago |
| 43,061,000 |
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Australia | 35,718,811 |
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Turkey | 117,089 | 258,720 | 282,240 |
France | 27,193 |
| 1,920 |
Germany | 23,086 |
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Spain |
| 3,018 | 6,178 |
UK | 2,397 | 3,560 | 1,550 |
Chile | 450 |
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Sierra Leone |
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| 233 |
Ukraine |
| 203 |
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Italy |
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| 95 |
Ireland | 14 |
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China |
| 2 |
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Grand Total | 7,263,793,093 | 3,409,897,402 | 2,862,776,437 |
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| Source: HMRC Overseas Trade Statistics / UK TradeInfo.com |
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Notes |
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• Data for 2023-2025 are for calendar years |
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• HS8 26011100, 260112000, 26012000 |
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• Import trade is on a country of origin basis |
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• 2025 is an open year and is therefore provisional and is subject to change | |||
• Country of origin is not required on trade declared through the Intrastat system | |||
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the value and volume of steel imported into the UK in each of the last three calendar years, broken down by country of origin; and what percentage of total steel imports each country accounted for in each year.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The data on imports of steel is given in the attached tables in Annex A (volume) and Annex B (value).
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com ).
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what comparative analysis they have undertaken of total visitor costs in the UK versus competitor destinations; and what assessment they have made of the potential impact of an overnight visitor levy on the UK’s relative attractiveness to international tourists.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
On the 26th of November 2025, the Government opened a consultation seeking views on the design of a new Mayoral power to create visitor levies on overnight stays in England. It contained questions on who will be granted this power, which powers will be devolved, the allocation and use of revenue funds, consultation and consent requirements, administration of the levy, its scope and the rate structure. The consultation closed on the 18th of February 2026.
The Government has engaged with the tourism sector through the consultation process. Evidence from international and domestic schemes suggested modest rates have minimal impact on visitor numbers. Mayors will need to decide whether to implement a levy, and, if so, consult on specific proposals. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is invested.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have benchmarked the UK’s overall tax burden on visitors against that of other major international tourism markets prior to considering the introduction of an overnight visitor levy.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
On the 26th of November 2025, the Government opened a consultation seeking views on the design of a new Mayoral power to create visitor levies on overnight stays in England. It contained questions on who will be granted this power, which powers will be devolved, the allocation and use of revenue funds, consultation and consent requirements, administration of the levy, its scope and the rate structure. The consultation closed on the 18th of February 2026.
The Government has engaged with the tourism sector through the consultation process. Evidence from international and domestic schemes suggested modest rates have minimal impact on visitor numbers. Mayors will need to decide whether to implement a levy, and, if so, consult on specific proposals. This will inform their decisions regarding whether and how a levy will be applied and how any revenue is invested.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the review of the impact of increased rateable values on hotels.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has heard concerns from hotels about how they are valued for business rates and has committed to reviewing this. The review will report in time for any decisions that follow to be implemented for the 2029 revaluation.
The Government will set out more detail of the review in due course. Hotels will continue to benefit from the £4.3 billion support package announced at the Budget, including the transitional relief scheme which will cap bill increases.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they plan to introduce to support businesses in the light of business rates increases.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
To support with bill increases, at the Budget in November 2025, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, while ensuring that warehouses used by online giants will pay more.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consulted representatives of the hospitality and pub sectors before finalising the changes to business-rates multipliers and reliefs contained in the 2025 Budget; and what plans they have to engage with industry bodies on this subject.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government carried out engagement with a range of stakeholders on business rates ahead of the budget and continues to do so.
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
Without Government support, pubs would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. However, because of the support the Government has put in place, this has fallen to just 4%.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of analysis conducted by UKHospitality indicating that, over the next three years, the average pub will pay an additional £12,900 in business rates.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government carried out engagement with a range of stakeholders on business rates ahead of the budget and continues to do so.
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
Without Government support, pubs would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. However, because of the support the Government has put in place, this has fallen to just 4%.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the correlation between employment levels and economic activity over the past year.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Employment measures the number of people in paid work or who had a job that they were temporarily away from. GDP is a measure of economic activity and measures the size and growth of the economy over a given period.
Real GDP (GDP adjusted for inflation) has grown by 1.3% across the past year (Q3 2024 - Q3 2025). In Q3 2025 the 16+ employment level rose from 33.8 million in Q3 2024 to 34.2 million in Q3 2025, based on data from the Labour Force Survey.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) continue to advise caution when interpreting changes in the Labour Force Survey over the past two years due to the effects of methodological changes.