Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the annual cost to the logistics industry of the proposed pay-per-mile electric vehicle charging scheme.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that electric vehicles (EVs) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. The taxation of motoring is a critical source of funding for public services and investment in infrastructure.
All UK-registered electric and plug-in hybrid cars will pay eVED. Other vehicle types such as vans, buses, coaches, motorcycles and HGVs will be out of scope of the tax upon its introduction. This is because the transition to electric for these vehicle types is less advanced than for cars at this stage.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many taxpayers were owed repayments by HMRC in each year since 2020.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The tax system is designed to give repayments to taxpayers in a number of circumstances, for example where a customer claims an allowance or an expense, or where a company is due a VAT repayment. The tax revenue repayable by HMRC each year is published as part of HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts. This information is available on GOV.UK:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025
There are many factors that influence whether a repayment is owed or not, such as a taxpayer instructing HMRC to retain credits to offset a future liability.
To calculate how many taxpayers were owed repayments by HMRC in each year since 2020 would exceed the cost threshold for answering parliamentary questions as the information (where it is available) is held on a number of different systems that would require separate interrogation and analysis to produce.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much uncollected tax has been written off as unrecoverable by HMRC in each year since 2020.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes the amount of tax written off each year in its Annual Report and Accounts. This information is available on GOV.UK.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of fuel margins on household finances and poverty levels.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government recognises that households are still struggling with the impact of the cost of living on their finances. The Government notes the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) annual road fuel monitoring report found that fuel margins remain persistently high and are not explained by operating costs. This indicates that competition in the road fuel retail market remains weak.
To address this, the Government is implementing Fuel Finder and extending the 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026, with rates then gradually returning to March 2022 levels by March 2027.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many taxpayers received repayment interest from HMRC in each year since 2020.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people paid late payment interest to HMRC in each year since 2020.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much late payment interest was paid to HMRC in each year since 2020.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much repayment interest was paid by HMRC in each year since 2020.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information is not held in the form requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to allow Further Education colleges to reclaim VAT.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that Further Education (FE) funding is vital to ensure people are being trained in the skills they need to thrive in the modern labour market. The 2025 Spending Review provided an additional £1.2 billion per year by 2028-29 for skills and £1.7 billion of capital funding to help colleges maintain the condition of their estate. In addition, the Government is providing £375 million of capital investment to support the FE system to accommodate increasing student numbers.
For their non-business activity, FE colleges are unable to reclaim VAT incurred. We operate several VAT refund schemes for schools and academies. FE colleges do not meet the criteria for either scheme.
In relation to business activity, FE colleges enjoy an exemption from VAT which means that they do not have to charge VAT to students, but cannot recover it either. The Government is not currently planning to introduce a VAT refund scheme for FE institutions.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned imposition of customs duties on low value imports from March 2029 on the logistics industry.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Following an estimated tripling of low value import volumes between 2021 and 2024, with the rapid rise in cross-border e-commerce, the Chancellor has reviewed the existing customs arrangements for low value imports to determine whether they are fit for purpose. The rapid growth in low value imports is hurting our high streets and retailers. The government is taking action to address the difference in treatment between low value imports and goods shipped by high street retailers, and ensure these goods are adequately controlled.
At Budget 2025, the government announced that it is removing the customs duty relief on goods imported into the UK worth up to £135, making them subject to customs duty, and consulting on a new set of customs arrangements for these goods. The consultation covers the design and implementation of the new low value import customs arrangements, including what data could be collected, how customs duty should be applied, and whether to apply an additional fee to fund administration activity.
The government recognises that these proposals will require changes and is inviting stakeholders, including the logistics industry, to provide input on how the new arrangements can be implemented to ensure changes are delivered as smoothly as possible, ensure goods are appropriately controlled, and address the tariff treatment between online retailers who ship directly to the UK and high street retailers who import goods in bulk.