Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with EU counterparts on EU regulations preventing the use of red diesel to power private leisure boats in the context of the maritime tourism industry.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Officials in my department regularly speak to EU counterparts on a range of issues.
Private Pleasure Craft (PPC)) across the UK incur the full duty rate on fuel used for propulsion (52.95 pence per litre (ppl)) and the rebated rate (10.18 ppl) for non-propulsion use.
PPC that refuel in Great Britain can use red diesel provided they pay a top up to reflect the difference in duty between the red diesel rate and the full duty rate to cover their propulsion use. PPC in Northern Ireland are not permitted to refuel with red diesel, but a relief scheme is in place to cover diesel used for non-propulsion purposes (e.g. heating and lighting the boat).
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had any discussions with relevant stakeholders on lowering the VAT rate on hot takeaway foods.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ministers and officials receive representations on a variety of VAT issues. The Government engages regularly with a wide range of stakeholders, including businesses and representative bodies, to inform the policy development process.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the standard rate of 20 per cent applies to most goods and services. VAT is forecast to raise around £180 billion in 2025-26.
Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations. The Government keeps all taxes under review, and decisions on VAT rates are taken by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will exempt people over 80 from self assessment for taxes.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Many pensioners will pay tax via PAYE and some will receive a Simple Assessments from HMRC. Generally only those with more complex affairs may need to do a Self Assessment. We have no plans to change this.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many additional people will pay the higher income child benefit charge in this financial year.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Statistics on the number of people paying the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) are published each year as part of the Child Benefit Statistics annual release. The latest figures are available here:
Child Benefit Statistics: annual release, August 2024 - GOV.UK
The next release is due to be published this Spring. Figures are produced with a time lag due to Self-Assessment deadlines.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people paid the Higher Income Child Benefit Charge in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Statistics on the number of people paying the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) are published each year as part of the Child Benefit Statistics annual release. The latest figures are available here:
Child Benefit Statistics: annual release, August 2024 - GOV.UK
The next release is due to be published this Spring. Figures are produced with a time lag due to Self-Assessment deadlines.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people moved into the additional tax band in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The number of individuals moved into the additional rate of Income Tax is published in Table 3.19 of the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook, linked below:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) online and (b) postal CA8421 certificate applications are currently overdue for processing and how long the backlog for applicants is for each.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Due to increased demand for National Insurance services ahead of the 5 April 2025 deadline for making voluntary contributions, there have been delays in processing A1 applications.
As of 2 December 2025:
HMRC is aware of the impact of these delays on customers and is taking steps to improve processing times. HMRC is training 700 more National Insurance advisers and expect to meet their SLAs on this work by the end of December 2025.
HMRC encourages customers to apply online for A1 certificates as these are quicker to deal with.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she expects HMRC to bring processing times for A1 forms back within service standards.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Due to increased demand for National Insurance services ahead of the 5 April 2025 deadline for making voluntary contributions, there have been delays in processing A1 applications.
As of 2 December 2025:
HMRC is aware of the impact of these delays on customers and is taking steps to improve processing times. HMRC is training 700 more National Insurance advisers and expect to meet their SLAs on this work by the end of December 2025.
HMRC encourages customers to apply online for A1 certificates as these are quicker to deal with.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) online and (b) postal A1 form applications are currently overdue for processing and how long the backlog for applicants is for each.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Due to increased demand for National Insurance services ahead of the 5 April 2025 deadline for making voluntary contributions, there have been delays in processing A1 applications.
As of 2 December 2025:
HMRC is aware of the impact of these delays on customers and is taking steps to improve processing times. HMRC is training 700 more National Insurance advisers and expect to meet their SLAs on this work by the end of December 2025.
HMRC encourages customers to apply online for A1 certificates as these are quicker to deal with.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department is meeting its service standards for the processing and issuing of A1 forms.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Due to increased demand for National Insurance services ahead of the 5 April 2025 deadline for making voluntary contributions, there have been delays in processing A1 applications.
As of 2 December 2025:
HMRC is aware of the impact of these delays on customers and is taking steps to improve processing times. HMRC is training 700 more National Insurance advisers and expect to meet their SLAs on this work by the end of December 2025.
HMRC encourages customers to apply online for A1 certificates as these are quicker to deal with.