Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of employers' National Insurance contribution rates on the financial viability of (a) pubs and (b) breweries in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government closely monitors the health of different sectors across the UK economy and regularly engages with the hospitality sector.
The Government protected the smallest hospitality businesses from the recent changes to employer National Insurance through increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500.
We have also taken a number of other steps to support the hospitality industry. This includes:
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support pensioners who reach the end of their mortgage term and face difficulties in refinancing in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The pricing and availability of mortgages, including the extension of additional facilities post maturity or eligibility for suitable later life lending products, are commercial decisions for mortgage lenders in which the Government does not intervene.
However, the Government is regularly in contact with mortgage lenders on all aspects of their business, including the provision of finance to different cohorts of borrowers.
The UK benefits from a competitive later life lending market and there are various options available to later life borrowers, depending on their circumstances. Prospective borrowers should speak to a later life lending mortgage broker, who will be able to assist them in identifying any products for their circumstances. Where individuals are concerned about their ability to make their mortgage repayments, they should contact their lender to understand what options are available to them. There are significant measures in place to protect vulnerable mortgage borrowers, the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments in order to provide tailored support.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had recent discussions with mortgage lenders on later-life lending for pensioners with outstanding borrowing at the end of their mortgage term.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The pricing and availability of mortgages, including the extension of additional facilities post maturity or eligibility for suitable later life lending products, are commercial decisions for mortgage lenders in which the Government does not intervene.
However, the Government is regularly in contact with mortgage lenders on all aspects of their business, including the provision of finance to different cohorts of borrowers.
The UK benefits from a competitive later life lending market and there are various options available to later life borrowers, depending on their circumstances. Prospective borrowers should speak to a later life lending mortgage broker, who will be able to assist them in identifying any products for their circumstances. Where individuals are concerned about their ability to make their mortgage repayments, they should contact their lender to understand what options are available to them. There are significant measures in place to protect vulnerable mortgage borrowers, the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments in order to provide tailored support.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support adults with debt difficulties in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting people who are experiencing financial difficulties and to helping them manage and reduce their debts.Through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), the Government funds a range of national and community-based services to support individuals and families across England. People in Surrey Heath are able to access this support through MaPS and its network of local delivery partners. MaPS is continuing to expand access by strengthening its digital capabilities and working in partnership with local organisations to ensure support is available to those most in need. To expand access to debt advice, the Government has allocated over £100 million from a levy on industry to MaPS for 2025-26, an increase of over 10%.
The Government also continues to support the Breathing Space scheme, which provides borrowers with legal protections from most enforcement action, interest, and charges for 60 days while they engage with professional debt advice.
In addition, the Government has recently published its Financial Inclusion Strategy, which sets out the broader range of measures and initiatives being taken to improve access to financial services and support. This includes a dedicated chapter on ‘Tackling Problem Debt’, outlining the actions the Government is taking forward to address problem debt across all constituencies. The Strategy is available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of salary sacrifice schemes on the (a) affordability and (b) uptake of electric vehicles among (i) lower and (ii) middle-income drivers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes annual statistics which provide information about the company cars provided as benefits in kind to employees by employers, including the proportion of the company car stock which is electric. The most recent statistics were published in June 2024 for the tax year 2022-23, which showed that 220,000 company cars were fully electric, or 29% of the total company car stock, an increase from 50,000 in 2020-21.
The Government recognises that Company Car Tax Regime and salary sacrifice exemption for ultra-low and zero emission vehicles continues to play an important role in the EV transition. The Government is committed to supporting the transition to electric vehicles, and generous company car tax rates for electric cars have been a key incentive for increasing their number on the road. Electric company cars also play a significant role in supporting the used EV markets. At the end of their lease company cars are sold into the used markets, which is where the majority of car sales take place in the UK.
More widely, the UK has a range of measures to support people to transition to zero emission vehicles, including the plug-in grant for vans and support for charging infrastructure across all of England.
The Government has more recently announced the new Electric Car Grant, which supports drivers to purchase ZEVs with grants of up to £3,750. The grant will help save drivers money and get more of them buying EVs, whilst helping the Government to deliver its environmental commitments.
The Government keeps all taxes including benefit in kind taxation of electric vehicles under review.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of reviewing the treatment of electric vehicles under the benefit-in-kind system.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes annual statistics which provide information about the company cars provided as benefits in kind to employees by employers, including the proportion of the company car stock which is electric. The most recent statistics were published in June 2024 for the tax year 2022-23, which showed that 220,000 company cars were fully electric, or 29% of the total company car stock, an increase from 50,000 in 2020-21.
The Government recognises that Company Car Tax Regime and salary sacrifice exemption for ultra-low and zero emission vehicles continues to play an important role in the EV transition. The Government is committed to supporting the transition to electric vehicles, and generous company car tax rates for electric cars have been a key incentive for increasing their number on the road. Electric company cars also play a significant role in supporting the used EV markets. At the end of their lease company cars are sold into the used markets, which is where the majority of car sales take place in the UK.
More widely, the UK has a range of measures to support people to transition to zero emission vehicles, including the plug-in grant for vans and support for charging infrastructure across all of England.
The Government has more recently announced the new Electric Car Grant, which supports drivers to purchase ZEVs with grants of up to £3,750. The grant will help save drivers money and get more of them buying EVs, whilst helping the Government to deliver its environmental commitments.
The Government keeps all taxes including benefit in kind taxation of electric vehicles under review.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the link between business rates and town centre economic activity in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the personal allowance for pensioners in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government remains committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.
Through our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, over 12 million pensioners benefitted from a 4.1% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2025. Over the course of this Parliament, the full yearly rate of the new State Pension is expected to increase by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast.
The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.
The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process. The Chancellor will announce any changes to the tax system at fiscal events in the usual way.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of change in Agricultural Property Relief on farms in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
Information from claims is not recorded to enable regional or national breakdowns of the number of estates expected to be affected. However, the Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
The Government published a tax information and impact note on 21 July 2025 and this is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
The Government will invest more than £2.7 billion a year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27 until 2028-29. This includes the largest financial investment into nature-friendly farming ever.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of refund processing times by HMRC on (a) cash flow and (b) trading viability for small construction businesses in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC recognises the importance of tax repayments in supporting business cash flow and prioritises their processing.
In 2024/25, £156.6 billion in repayments were issued, including £17.3 billion in Income Tax.
For Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) claims, additional checks and increased volumes have extended processing times, with some cases taking longer than expected. HMRC is actively working to improve turnaround times through increased staffing and automation.
HMRC’s correspondence service standard is to respond to 80% of priority post within 15 working days.
Monthly performance against this standard is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-monthly-performance-reports
HMRC’s online services include a ‘Where’s my reply’ tool which provides estimated response times. The tool is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-when-you-can-expect-a-reply-from-hmrc
HMRC is always looking at ways to improve customer experience. Their recently published transformation roadmap sets out how they will deliver improved services which will mean a better experience for taxpayers, agents, and businesses.