Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on how many occasions were calls to HMRC ended before the caller was connected, during January (a) 2022, (b) 2023, (c) 2024 and (d) 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Every year, HMRC answers millions of calls. HMRC has published monthly telephony performance data which covers the requested time period. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-monthly-performance-reports
This data includes information about the number of calls received, the number of customers who wanted to speak to an adviser and the proportion of callers that got through to an adviser (adviser attempts handled – AAH).
There are several reasons why somebody calling HMRC may not speak to an adviser – the customer may have had their query answered by HMRC’s recorded messages, they may have found the information they require online or they may have decided to call back another time.
Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC.
HMRC are taking steps to make sure more of their services are digital. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access and receive high customer satisfaction ratings. As more people use HMRC online services, advisers are freed up to support those with more complex queries and those who are digitally excluded.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when will she respond to the correspondence dated 9 October 2025 from the Hon. Member for East Londonderry.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
A response to the hon. Member for East Londonderry was sent on 19 January 2026.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many of the matured Child Trust Fund accounts which were unclaimed in September 2025 have since been claimed.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold monthly data on the status Child Trust Fund account holders, therefore the requested breakdowns cannot be provided.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the approximate value of the 758,000 matured but unclaimed Child Trust Fund accounts as of September 2025.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The value of funds held in matured Child Trust Fund accounts that have not been claimed or transferred to an ISA can be found in the Child Trust Fund tables of the Annual Savings Statistics. The latest published data is up to 5 April 2025.
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2025
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the viability over the next five years of existing banking hubs.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Banking is changing, with many customers benefitting from the convenience and flexibility of managing their finances remotely. However, the Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to ensuring sufficient access for customers. The Government recognises the role that banking hubs play in supporting communities’ access to cash and basic banking services. 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.
Banking hubs were developed by the financial services sector in the context of legislation to protect access to cash under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023. Banking hubs are delivered and funded by industry through Cash Access UK (CAUK), which oversees the rollout and operation of hubs. LINK, as the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network, assesses local access needs following a branch closure or a community request, and where additional services are required, CAUK provides a suitable shared solution, such as a deposit service or banking hub, for cash users in that community. The future viability of banking hubs depends on ongoing commercial agreements between participating banks and on consumer demand for in-person banking services.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 gives the Financial Conduct Authority powers to ensure reasonable access to cash, and the Government continues to work closely with industry and regulators to monitor delivery.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate has been made of the number of people paying (a) basic rate, (b) higher rate, and (c) additional rate of Income Tax between 2020 and 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The number of individuals in each of the three main Income Tax rate bands from 2020 to 2025 is published in Table 2.1 of HMRC’s Accredited official statistics. Updated forecasts are published in Table 3.19 of the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook, linked below:
The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will consider changing air passenger duty on all passengers so that higher duty is levied on those who fly more frequently.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The distance-band structure of Air Passenger Duty (APD) already ensures that those who fly furthest, in the greatest comfort, pay the most. Similarly, given APD is charged on all UK-departing flights, those who fly most often pay more.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Financial Conduct Authority's press release entitled FCA sets out landmark package to boost UK investment culture, published on 8 December 2025, whether she plans to provide additional support for those reforms.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government wants to see more people benefit from the higher returns and long-term financial resilience that investing can provide. That is why the Chancellor has set out a series of bold measures to get Britain investing again, including the reforms to ISAs announced at Autumn Budget.
In that context, the Government welcomes the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) publication of final rules for the new Consumer Composite Investment regime. This will deliver tailored and flexible disclosure to support investors in their decision making, and will come into force from April 2026.
In addition, the Government is working closely with the FCA to launch a system of targeted support in early April 2026 to increase the support available to consumers. On 11 December, the Government confirmed it will be taking forward legislation to implement targeted support and the FCA published a policy statement setting out near-final rules for the regime.
Furthermore, the Government and FCA are working closely with the industry-led initiatives to promote the benefits of investing to the public, and to reform how firms talk about the risks and benefits of investing. Combined, these measures aim to support a thriving retail investment culture.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how she will notify SMEs that their bank is a designated bank under any scheme set up to ensure customers that are rejected for finance approval can be matched with alternatives who will offer support.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Bank Referral Scheme is an initiative dating back to 2014, which requires major lenders (designated banks) to refer SME customers that they reject for finance, with the SMEs’ permission, to finance platforms that can match the SME with alternative finance providers, in order to improve access to finance.
In the interests of public transparency, the Treasury is required under the law to publish a list of banks designated under the Scheme. The list of currently designated banks can be found at:
Under the existing regulations, SMEs also learn about their bank’s involvement in the Scheme as the law requires the bank to ask the SME whether they agree to their information being provided to finance platforms under the Scheme, in order to try and match the SME with alternative finance.
On 27th October, the Government launched a consultation and call for evidence on the Bank Referral Scheme, inviting views on a range of issues and proposals aimed at better facilitating SME access to finance through the Scheme, including on bank designations and improving awareness of the Scheme.
The consultation sets out that, at a minimum, the Government intends to improve its own information resources on the Scheme. It also explains that the Government is considering whether it would be beneficial for more information on the Scheme to be made readily available to SMEs earlier, when they are considering external finance, regardless of whether they have already applied and been rejected. The consultation is due to close on 22 December.
The Government will set out its position on any changes to the Scheme in due course.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the total in duty deferment accounts that HMRC received in the calendar year 2024 via customs duties collected as a result of trade between GB and NI affected by the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold the information in the format requested.