Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many public contracts awarded by her Department since 5 July 2024 have been awarded to companies with offshore tax arrangements.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Where it makes business sense to do so, HM Treasury procures goods and services via Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework agreements. Suppliers on those agreements must comply with the requirements of Procurement Policy Note 03/2014.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many procurement contracts awarded by her Department since 5 July 2024 have been awarded without competitive tendering.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
No contracts covered by the Public Contracts Regulations have been awarded by HM Treasury since 5 July 2024 without competitive tendering.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the (a) effectiveness of the processes put in place by HMRC to register private schools for VAT and (b) adequacy of the time taken for those schools to receive a VAT number.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government is committed to supporting private schools to ensure that the VAT registration process is as smooth as possible for them, and to ensuring they have the necessary support in order to be able to correctly charge VAT and remit it to HMRC.
HMRC has put in place additional resource to process VAT registrations and, on 10 October, published bespoke guidance for schools, which can be found on GOV.UK. HMRC published initial guidance ahead of the Budget to maximise the amount of time schools had to prepare for this policy taking effect.
Currently more than 80% of VAT registration applications are being processed within 20 working days, exceeding HMRC’s published service standard of 80% within 40 working days
HMRC has also hosted online webinars to answer any queries that schools may have and can be contacted via a dedicated mailbox in the event of any technical queries about registering.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of private schools have been provided with a VAT number.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMRC publishes data on the VAT population by sector on an annual basis. The latest statistics can be found here: Value Added Tax (VAT) annual statistics - GOV.UK
The point at which private schools need to register for VAT depends on their individual circumstances and fee schedules. A significant number were registered for VAT before the announcement that, from 1 January 2025, all education and boarding services provided by a private school or connected person will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%.
HMRC is also supporting schools through the registration process via webinars, its helpline and a dedicated technical query mailbox which can be used by schools, their representative bodies and tax advisors.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of private schools have been provided with a VAT number.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMRC publishes data on the VAT population by sector on an annual basis. The latest statistics can be found here: Value Added Tax (VAT) annual statistics - GOV.UK
The point at which private schools need to register for VAT depends on their individual circumstances and fee schedules. A significant number were registered for VAT before the announcement that, from 1 January 2025, all education and boarding services provided by a private school or connected person will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%.
HMRC is also supporting schools through the registration process via webinars, its helpline and a dedicated technical query mailbox which can be used by schools, their representative bodies and tax advisors.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what businesses have made representations to her about the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq
Ahead of the Autumn Budget, the Treasury received 633 written representations from stakeholders. Ministers and officials also met with a broad range of businesses and representative bodies. This includes meetings that the Chancellor and Financial Secretary had with Heads of the Federation of Small Businesses, Confederation of British Industry, Institute of Directors, British Chambers of Commerce and Make UK.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of court cases has HMRC won in each of the last five years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HMRC publishes its litigation outcomes every year within it’s Annual Report. The latest report for 2022-2023 together with links to previous years’ reports can be found at:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, What estimate his Department has made of the average cost to businesses of successfully defending a court case brought by HMRC in each of the last five years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HMRC does not estimate or collect customer data on the costs incurred by businesses who seek to contest an assessment through the courts.More detail of the department’s litigation strategy can be found on GOV.UK at www.gov.uk/government/publications/litigation-and-settlement-strategy-lss