Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of increases in employer National Insurance contributions on the financial sustainability of domiciliary care providers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. That means more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change this financial year.
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
To support social care authorities to deliver key services, in light of pressures, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes a £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant. This is part of an overall increase to local government spending power of 6.8% in cash terms.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what role external organisations, including the Resolution Foundation, have played in advising the her Department on policy relating to self-employment taxation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government engages regularly with a wide range of external organisations, including the Resolution Foundation, to inform and strengthen the policymaking process.
In the lead‑up to each Budget, HM Treasury operates the Budget representation portal, through which individuals, interest groups, and representative bodies can submit written representations directly to the Treasury. These submissions allow stakeholders to comment on existing government policies and propose new policy ideas for consideration in the forthcoming Budget. This engagement provides valuable evidence and insights on a variety of issues, including the taxation of self‑employment.
As evidenced at Budget 2025, the Government is making fair and necessary choices on tax so it can deliver on the public’s priorities. Everyone is being asked to contribute to support these goals, but the government is keeping the contribution as low as possible by pursuing a programme of reform to fix longstanding issues in the tax system – modernising it, and addressing unequal and unfair treatment, while ensuring the wealthiest contribute more.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to require Banking Hubs to accept and process cheque deposits as part of the provision of basic banking services.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Banking is changing, with many customers benefiting from the convenience and flexibility of managing their finances remotely. However, the Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking services to communities and is committed to supporting sufficient access for customers across the country.
In addition to traditional bank branches, the financial services industry is committed to rolling out 350 banking hubs across the UK by the end of this Parliament. Over 240 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 200 are already open.
Banking hubs provide access to everyday counter services through Post Office staff, including cash withdrawals and deposits, balance enquiries and bill payments. They also contain dedicated rooms where customers can see community bankers from their own bank to carry out other banking services.
The range of services available through Post Office counters in banking hubs, including whether cheque deposits are accepted and processed, is determined by the commercial arrangements between individual banks and the Post Office. A significant number of retail banks continue to offer cheque depositing services through Post Office counters.
Where cheque depositing is not available at a hub counter, customers continue to have alternative options to pay in cheques, including at bank branches where available, by post, or digitally via mobile banking apps using cheque imaging technology. Banks may also provide postal options for customers who are unable to travel to a branch or for whom digital banking is not suitable.
The Government continues to engage with the banking industry to improve the consistency and functionality of services provided through banking hubs, including through recent discussions with banks, Cash Access UK and UK Finance.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will reconsider the decision to withdraw the childminder tax agreement BIM 52751.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Childminders play a vital role in childcare. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers.
At Budget 2025 the Government confirmed that the standard rules for calculating income tax would apply to childminders who are mandated into Making Tax Digital (MTD). We will phase in this change between 2026 and 2028, in line with the MTD income thresholds. The threshold from April 2026 is £50,000 of qualifying income, reducing to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028.
HMRC’s Business Income manual page BIM52751 is not being withdrawn. A revised version will be published in early 2026 to reflect the Government’s confirmation at Budget 2025 that the standard rules for calculating income tax will apply to childminders within Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. The guidance will also be clarified for childminders that work from non-domestic premises.
Childminders can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2026 to Question 107489 on Child Benefit: Maladministration, what records her Department holds on weekly management information and feedback from the compliance teams working the cases, in the context of page 10 of Data Protection Impact Assessment 15489.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As set out in the Data Protection Impact Assessment, HMRC teams share management information and feedback on a weekly basis. This helps teams ensure that processes run as smoothly as possible.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 105764 on Child Benefit: Maladministration, and with reference to the Data Protection Impact Assessment 15489, if she will make an assessment of why issues were not identified earlier, in the context of page 10 of the DPIA stating that weekly meetings would take place to identify issues.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Of the 23,794 Child Benefit enquires opened between August and October 2025 to confirm claimant’s residency status, 346 (1.5%) were issued to Northern Ireland claimants.
HMRC does not hold a breakdown of the categories of error and fraud for those customers that were found to be non-compliant.
As HMRC has explained, when issues were identified it took swift action to resolve the position for affected customers and HMRC has also strengthened the process and safeguards going forward for this exercise.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2026 to Question 104272 on Child Benefit, how many and what proportion of the 1,109 cases due to (a) fraud, (b) claimant error and (c) official error.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Of the 23,794 Child Benefit enquires opened between August and October 2025 to confirm claimant’s residency status, 346 (1.5%) were issued to Northern Ireland claimants.
HMRC does not hold a breakdown of the categories of error and fraud for those customers that were found to be non-compliant.
As HMRC has explained, when issues were identified it took swift action to resolve the position for affected customers and HMRC has also strengthened the process and safeguards going forward for this exercise.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2026 to Question 104272 on Child Benefit, how many and what proportion of the 23,794 cases relate to families in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Of the 23,794 Child Benefit enquires opened between August and October 2025 to confirm claimant’s residency status, 346 (1.5%) were issued to Northern Ireland claimants.
HMRC does not hold a breakdown of the categories of error and fraud for those customers that were found to be non-compliant.
As HMRC has explained, when issues were identified it took swift action to resolve the position for affected customers and HMRC has also strengthened the process and safeguards going forward for this exercise.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of families, who had their child benefit reinstated following the review into those who were suspended during the period of data-sharing between HMRC and the Home Office, were found to be eligible as a result of PAYE checks.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As HMRC informed the Treasury Select Committee in its letter dated 14 November 2025, it is unable to completely disaggregate the number of cases where eligibility was confirmed via a subsequent PAYE check from those where evidence was provided by the customer.
The information from the pilot remains HMRC’s best assessment of the effectiveness of the activity using international travel data to reduce error and fraud.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at what level was the decision made to remove the PAYE checks after the Child Benefit compliance pilot.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As HMRC’s First Permanent Secretary explained to the Treasury Select Committee on 13 January, the PAYE check was removed to streamline the process at an operational level, with a view to employment status being tested as part of any subsequent customer enquiry.
The Department has apologised for removing the PAYE check and the impact on some of its customers of this change.
HMRC has taken swift action to reinstate the check, put things right for affected customers and make further improvements to the process. Lessons learned for the future include strengthening the governance from pilots to business as usual activities.