Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential economic merits of UK access to the Security Action for Europe fund.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
We will only sign agreements that are in the national interest and provide value for money for the UK taxpayer.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has assessed the potential merits of replacing the High Income Child Benefit Charge with a child benefit system based on total household income.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government understands the concerns that have been raised about basing the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) on individual rather than household incomes. However, basing the charge on household rather than individual incomes would come at a significant fiscal cost if we were to ensure that no families lose out.
By withdrawing Child Benefit from high-income parents where the higher earner earns £60,000 or more, the HICBC helps to ensure the sustainability of the public finances and protect our vital public services.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take any steps to replace the high income child benefit charge with a system based on total household income.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government understands the concerns that have been raised about basing the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) on individual rather than household incomes. However, basing the charge on household rather than individual incomes would come at a significant fiscal cost if we were to ensure that no families lose out.
By withdrawing Child Benefit from high-income parents where the higher earner earns £60,000 or more, the HICBC helps to ensure the sustainability of the public finances and protect our vital public services.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to implement and administer the proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief under the inheritance tax regime; and whether this estimate will be published prior to the reforms taking effect in April 2026.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer to the answer given on 5 September 2025 at UIN 70546 :
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-08-29/70546
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing Part 6 paragraph 6.2 of the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax manual.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA do not provide estimated Council Tax bands on request because it would need to undertake a full band assessment of a property to provide an accurate estimate, and because it does not have a statutory obligation to do so.
As its policy on providing estimated Council Tax bands has not changed, and is accurately reflected in the Council Tax manual, it is not considering removing Part 6, paragraph 6.2
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the digital tax system on small businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Making Tax Digital (MTD) modernises the tax system and will help businesses and landlords keep on top of their tax affairs. It places small businesses on a more digital footing, with digital tools helping to reduce errors and making annual tax returns easier.
Through a diverse market of accessible, intuitive software, MTD encourages businesses to embrace digital solutions boosting productivity, streamlining operations, and supporting sustainable growth.
The latest published assessment of MTD for Income Tax impacts is available at:
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) import and (b) export checks have been conducted at the UK Border since 31 January 2020; and how many were undertaken in each of the five years prior to this.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HMRC and Border Force take a risk-based and intelligence-led approach to customs enforcement and have a strong track record in tackling all kinds of non-compliance.
HMRC takes a fair and proportionate approach to compliance, which considers trader behaviour, and the level of risk involved. It uses a range of data to identify customers who may need targeted support to ensure that they are meeting their obligations. HMRC takes appropriate enforcement action where cases of non-compliance or deliberate fraud are detected.
HMRC does not reveal details about its anti-smuggling or targeting methods or compliance techniques. Releasing details about such processes and arrangements and details of the checks carried out would allow opportunistic individuals or companies to arrange their activities in a way that might avoid HMRC’s checks and controls. This would prejudice HMRC's ability to collect customs duties and to prevent or detect crime, and could increase the likelihood of illicit trade.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) import and (b) export checks have taken place by (i) port of entry and (ii) commodity type since 1 January 2021.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HMRC and Border Force take a risk-based and intelligence-led approach to customs enforcement and have a strong track record in tackling all kinds of non-compliance.
HMRC takes a fair and proportionate approach to compliance, which considers trader behaviour, and the level of risk involved. It uses a range of data to identify customers who may need targeted support to ensure that they are meeting their obligations. HMRC takes appropriate enforcement action where cases of non-compliance or deliberate fraud are detected.
HMRC does not reveal details about its anti-smuggling or targeting methods or compliance techniques. Releasing details about such processes and arrangements and details of the checks carried out would allow opportunistic individuals or companies to arrange their activities in a way that might avoid HMRC’s checks and controls. This would prejudice HMRC's ability to collect customs duties and to prevent or detect crime, and could increase the likelihood of illicit trade.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the average cost of an (a) import check and (b) export check since the UK's departure from the EU.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
HMRC recently published a research report which explored the impact of border checks with around 35 traders and intermediaries. Businesses reported that moving goods across the border was generally a smooth process, and whilst this research did not ascertain data on the costs faced; their feedback is helping us explore further improvements we can make to support the flow of legitimate goods. HMRC is committed to making customs processes as simple as possible while ensuring effective checks are in place at the border.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the value of goods traded from (a) the UK to Russia via Georgia and (b) Russia to the UK via Georgia.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited Official Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com).
HMRC only collects and holds information for exports based on the initial country of destination that the goods were exported to and therefore are unable to provide an estimate for goods that are traded onwards. Exports to Georgia are published as stated below, but we do not hold information on goods that then move on to Russia from there.
Import information including country of origin (CoO) is available from www.tradeinfo.com. From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria.
These tables include country of dispatch (CoD) which gives information on the country of export. If specifically wanting information on CoO this is available in the bulk datasets archive. The data available includes value and volume/weight of imports.
If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.