Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of a 5 pence per litre rise in fuel duty on (a) GDP and (b) levels of employment in the logistics sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2025, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026. Rates will then gradually return to previous levels. The planned increase in line with inflation for 2026-27 will not take place, with the government increasing fuel duty rates in line with RPI from April 2027. This will save the average van driver £100 next year compared to previous plans, and the average HGV driver more than £800.
The Government considers the impact of fuel duty on the economy, including households and businesses, with decisions on rates made at fiscal events.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February of Question 29769 on Museums, what the cost of the VAT Refund Scheme was in 2024; and whether she plans to change the funding for the VAT Refund Scheme.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Under section 33A of the VAT Act 1994, certain museums and galleries are eligible to reclaim VAT incurred on the non-business costs associated with providing free admission to the public. Further information about the scheme and its eligibility conditions can be found in VAT Notice 998: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-refund-scheme-for-museums-and-galleries-notice-998.
Museums and galleries provide estimates of their likely VAT reclaims when applying to join the scheme, to ensure costs are managed. But they are not required to provide figures on particular costs within their VAT returns on an ongoing basis, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden. The information requested is therefore not available.
Whilst the Government keeps all taxes under review, the Government is not planning any changes to the scheme.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average wait time is for calls to be answered by HMRC; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce this.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMRC telephony performance data, including the average speed of answering a customer’s call, is published on a monthly basis and can be accessed at:
HMRC received additional funding last year to recruit more customer service advisers to help improve telephony performance. HMRC are also investing in digital services and the HMRC app. These can often provide customers with faster resolutions for straightforward matters. By encouraging more customers to self-serve online, HMRC advisers will be freed up to focus on those customers who need the most support.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to increase the availability of (a) cash and (b) ATMs in Bromsgrove constituency.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups, and is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced regulatory rules for access to cash in September 2024. Its rules require the UK’s largest banks and building societies to assess the impact of a closure or material alteration of a relevant cash withdrawal or deposit facility, putting in place a new service if necessary.
Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this parliament. Over 200 hubs have been announced so far, and over 100 are already open.
Where a resident, community organisation or other interested party feels access to cash in their community is insufficient, they can submit a request for a cash access assessment. Further information about submitting a cash access request can be found at the following link: https://www.link.co.uk/helping-you-access-cash/request-access-to-cash
LINK publishes data on the number of ATMs across each parliamentary constituency. LINK’s most recent data (December 2024) identifies 56 ATM cash access points, including 43 that are free-to-use in the constituency of Bromsgrove.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of linking vehicle excise duty to vehicle weight.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), sometimes known as 'road tax' or ‘car tax’, is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads. Different rates apply to cars, vans, and motorcycles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as its date of first registration, weight, or CO2 emissions.
Specifically for cars, from 1 April 2017, a reformed VED system was introduced for new cars. Under the reformed VED system, new cars pay a variable first year rate according to the emissions of the vehicle, and zero emission models currently pay nothing.
As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, from 1 April 2025, the VED first year rates are changing to further support the take-up of electric vehicles. The changes announced will freeze the lowest rate for zero emission cars at £10 until 2029-30, and introduce higher rates for higher emitting hybrid and petrol/diesel cars. These changes will only affect those purchasing a new car from 1 April 2025.
After the first year, most cars move to a standard annual rate, currently set at £190. At the moment, hybrid cars receive an annual discount of £10 off this rate, and zero emission cars pay nothing. From 1 April 2025, the standard annual rate will rise to £195 in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI), and the exceptions for zero emission and hybrid cars will end as they begin to pay the standard rates alongside petrol and diesel cars.
The government has no current plans to change the VED treatment for cars to be based on weight. The government keeps all taxes under review and any changes are announced at fiscal events.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to increase the minimum threshold at which the Expensive Car Supplement is levied on vehicle excise duty.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Expensive Car Supplement is an additional VED charge for new cars with a list price of £40,000 or more, which is payable in year 2 – 6 of a car’s lifecycle.
As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the government recognises the disproportionate impact of the current VED Expensive Car Supplement threshold for those purchasing zero emission cars and will consider raising the threshold for zero emission cars only at a future fiscal event, to make it easier to buy electric cars.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the merits of increasing the maximum level of deposit protection afforded by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Eligible deposits held by UK banks, building societies and credit unions that are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £85,000, with joint accounts protected up to £170,000. This limit is set by the PRA. The PRA is required to independently review the limit every five years, and its next review is due by the end of 2025. Any changes to the limit must be approved by the Treasury and the Government would carefully consider any changes proposed by the PRA.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the merits of increasing the maximum Premium Bond holding deposit.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government keeps the Premium Bond investment limit under review, to ensure that the limit continues to reflect the interests of savers, taxpayers, and the wider financial sector.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to agricultural property relief on the domestic dairy farming industry.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 gets the balance right between supporting farms and fixing the public finances in a fair way. 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.
The reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, in 2026-27 paying more inheritance tax. This means 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.
In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy on the dairy industry.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) is a tax on pre-packaged soft drinks with added sugar. Drinks without added sugars, such as plain cow’s milk, are not in scope of SDIL.
At Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced a review of SDIL, including the current exemption from the levy for milk-based drinks.
The current exemption applies to milk-based drinks containing at least 75ml of milk per 100ml.
Due to the high sugar content of some milk-based drinks, the Government is reconsidering the evidence justifying the exemption. As young people only get 3.5% of their calcium intake from milk-based drinks, it is likely that the health benefits do not justify the harms from excess sugar.
The review will consider a variety of evidence, including the potential impacts to the diary industry, and no decisions have yet been made. The Government expects the review will conclude in Spring 2025.
More details of the review can be found on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/soft-drinks-industry-levy-review/hmt-hmrc-soft-drinks-industry-levy-review