Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on the potential merits of building in safeguards against fraud in the development of account-to-account payment systems.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this appalling crime.
In the National Payments Vision, the Government set out its ambitions for a trusted, world-leading payments ecosystem delivered on next-generation technology, where consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs. As part of this, the Government set out its ambition for account-to-account payments to be developed as a ubiquitous payment method.
In November, the Payments Vision Delivery Committee published its strategy to guide the development of the future retail payments infrastructure. This includes setting as a strategic outcome that consumers and businesses can trust that their payments are protected from fraud and wider financial crime.
To achieve this and 'design out' financial crime, the future infrastructure must enable: advanced prevention, detection and resolution capabilities; robust authentication mechanisms; appropriate protection across payment methods; and secure and efficient data access and sharing.
The Retail Payments Infrastructure Board, chaired by the Bank of England and with representation from across the payments ecosystem, is working to translate this strategy into the design of the future infrastructure, in line with the Government’s vision.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Payment Systems Regulator's document entitled Specific Direction 17 on expanding Confirmation of Payee, published in October 2022, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that Direction on trends in the level of fraud.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to tackling fraud and protecting victims from this appalling crime. The Government has recently introduced a new and expanded Fraud Strategy and is determined to turn the tide on fraud and better protect the public and businesses.
Specific Direction 17 was issued by the independent Payment Systems Regulator in October 2022 under the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013. It requires certain payment service providers, including some participants in Faster Payments and CHAPS, to use Confirmation of Payee. This is a name-checking service designed to reduce certain types of authorised push payment fraud and accidentally misdirected payments.
As Specific Direction 17 is made and overseen by the independent Payment Systems Regulator, this is a matter for the PSR.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department holds data on how many times in 2025 the provisions of the Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024 were used; and what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) value of attempted authorised push payment frauds that were interrupted as a result.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024 allows payment service providers to delay the execution of certain payment transactions by an additional 72 hours where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty, and where more time is needed to contact the customer. Use of these provisions is a matter for payment service providers and considered on a case-by-case basis.
Under these Regulations, the FCA is the responsible regulator. HMT regularly discusses with the FCA the effectiveness of policy, including measures to tackle fraud and ensure the framework in place supports both strong consumer protection and the efficient functioning of the UK’s payments ecosystem, but does not collect data on it.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of use of The Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024 allows payment service providers to delay the execution of certain payment transactions by an additional 72 hours where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty, and where more time is needed to contact the customer. Use of these provisions is a matter for payment service providers and considered on a case-by-case basis.
Under these Regulations, the FCA is the responsible regulator. HMT regularly discusses with the FCA the effectiveness of policy, including measures to tackle fraud and ensure the framework in place supports both strong consumer protection and the efficient functioning of the UK’s payments ecosystem, but does not collect data on it.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her department has concluded its review into the Energy Saving Materials Framework; and when a decision is expected regarding the extension of its current sunset clause of March 2027.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government is committed to improving the quality and sustainability of our housing stock, through improvements such as low carbon heating, insulation, solar panels and batteries. This will be vital to making the UK more energy resilient and meeting our 2050 Net Zero commitment.
Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent.
In 2023, the Government ran a call for evidence on areas of reform that could help the relief meet its intended objectives more effectively, including the inclusion of additional technologies. The outcome can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/vat-energy-saving-materials-relief-improving-energy-efficiency-and-reducing-carbon-emissions/outcome/summary-of-responses
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has she made of the potential merits of standardising cash and banking services in the next iteration of the Banking Framework between Post Office and the banking industry.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking and access to cash, including vulnerable customers and those with specific needs, can continue to access essential services. That is why, as announced on the 14 May, the Government is commissioning an independent Review into Access to Banking Services.
The Review will identify who is affected by declining access to in-person banking services and how many people are affected. It will also look at what kinds of banking services are important for people to be able to access. The Review is designed to inform future decisions by the Government and regulators as to whether further action is needed and what this might look like, and the Government intends to take a power in the upcoming Financial Services and Markets Bill to take action should this be necessary.
The Government remains committed to supporting the financial services industry’s roll-out of 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament. Importantly, this number is a floor, not a ceiling, and Cash Access UK will deliver a banking hub wherever LINK has recommended one.
The Post Office plays a key role in supporting access to banking services. Under the Banking Framework, a commercial agreement between the Post Office and 30 banking firms, most personal and business customers can withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at over 10,500 Post Office branches across the UK, subject to banks’ commercial agreements on services provided. The Government protects the Post Office network by setting minimum access criteria. These include ensuring that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a Post Office and 90% of the population within one mile.
On 21 January, the Government held joint discussions between the Post Office and the banking sector to explore where continued collaboration, on a commercial and voluntary basis, would allow all parties to better meet the needs of individuals and businesses.
The specific services provided under the Framework are subject to commercial negotiations between individual banks and the Post Office, and the Government has no formal role in deciding what these arrangements are.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) the roll-out of banking hubs and (b) post offices to meet in-person banking needs beyond cash.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking and access to cash, including vulnerable customers and those with specific needs, can continue to access essential services. That is why, as announced on the 14 May, the Government is commissioning an independent Review into Access to Banking Services.
The Review will identify who is affected by declining access to in-person banking services and how many people are affected. It will also look at what kinds of banking services are important for people to be able to access. The Review is designed to inform future decisions by the Government and regulators as to whether further action is needed and what this might look like, and the Government intends to take a power in the upcoming Financial Services and Markets Bill to take action should this be necessary.
The Government remains committed to supporting the financial services industry’s roll-out of 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament. Importantly, this number is a floor, not a ceiling, and Cash Access UK will deliver a banking hub wherever LINK has recommended one.
The Post Office plays a key role in supporting access to banking services. Under the Banking Framework, a commercial agreement between the Post Office and 30 banking firms, most personal and business customers can withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at over 10,500 Post Office branches across the UK, subject to banks’ commercial agreements on services provided. The Government protects the Post Office network by setting minimum access criteria. These include ensuring that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a Post Office and 90% of the population within one mile.
On 21 January, the Government held joint discussions between the Post Office and the banking sector to explore where continued collaboration, on a commercial and voluntary basis, would allow all parties to better meet the needs of individuals and businesses.
The specific services provided under the Framework are subject to commercial negotiations between individual banks and the Post Office, and the Government has no formal role in deciding what these arrangements are.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the change in business rates liability for the further education college sector in 2026/7 relative to 2024/5.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.
In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. 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.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2026 to Question 102744 on Hospitality Industry and Retail Trade: Business Rates, what estimate she has made for the total business rates liability for the current set of properties in category 159 (Local Authority Schools) in (a) 2025/6 (b) 2026/7, and (c) 2027/8.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency is responsible for assessing non-domestic properties and determining their rateable value (RV). Local authorities are responsible for calculating business rates bills using the RV, the multiplier set by parliament, and any appropriate reliefs.
The government has published guidance for estimating a property’s business rates for 2026-27: Estimate your business rates - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on Further Education Colleges of (a) business rates revaluation and (b) the new multiplier bands from April 2026.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in UIN 104727.