Asked by: Michelle Scrogham (Labour - Barrow and Furness)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of whether the receipts and expenditure method used to determine the rateable value of renewable energy generation assets, including hydroelectric schemes, supports the Government's clean power mission.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
At the Budget 2025, the Valuation Office announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
The Valuation Office's statutory role is to determine a Rateable Value (a rental value) of every non-domestic property in England and Wales. In assessing the value, the Valuation Office will take into account all the inherent qualities of the property and the existing legislation at the valuation date. The Valuation Office adopts a range of professionally recognised valuation methods to do this, including Receipts & Expenditure and market rental evidence.
The Government makes use of a range of levers to deliver on our ambitious plan to decarbonise our electricity system and support energy infrastructure. This includes the Contracts for Difference scheme, which some hydroelectric schemes are eligible for, where the Government delivered the most successful renewables auction in history last year by contracting a record-breaking 8.4 gigawatts of offshore wind. The Government is committed to working with the private sector to radically increase investment in the clean energy sector to accelerate deployment of onshore wind, solar power, and offshore wind.
Asked by: Michelle Scrogham (Labour - Barrow and Furness)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Loan Charge cases remain open with HMRC for the latest date for which figures are available.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
As of March 2025, HM Revenue and Customs estimates that approximately 32,000 individuals and 5,000 employers have liabilities that have not been paid in full and are therefore considered to be in scope of the review. Some taxpayers will have more than one liability.
The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to bring the matter to a close for those who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The Government accepted all but one of the independent review’s recommendations and in some cases is going further. Around a third of people will have their liabilities written off entirely. Most will see reductions in their liabilities of at least 50%.
The legislation for the Loan Charge Settlement Scheme came into force on the 05 August 2026, HMRC is now writing to customers inviting them to settle under the new settlement scheme.