Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress she has made on implementing the findings of the Green Book Review 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chancellor has listened to regional leaders who have said that, for too long, the Green Book has downplayed the importance of local outcomes and the potential of targeted regional investment. The Chancellor commissioned a new review of the Green Book.
The conclusions of that review were published in June, setting out a new approach to public sector appraisal that will deliver a more effective assessment of place-based interventions. This includes the introduction of place-based business cases that will galvanise departments across Whitehall and highlight the reinforcing effects of different investments within an area.
Liverpool, Plymouth, Port Talbot and Birmingham will be the first early adopters of place-based business cases. HM Treasury will also publish an updated Green Book at the start of 2026.
A cross-government taskforce has been established to develop the approach to place-based business cases and oversee their implementation. This taskforce is currently comprised of the Second Permanent Secretary of HM Treasury responsible for regional growth and devolution, the Director General for Local Government, Growth and Communities in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Director General for Public Transport and Local Group in the Department for Transport, and the CEO of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of improving access to low-interest loans for councils delivering affordable homes via the Public Works Loan Board.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government recognises the vital role that local authorities play in delivering affordable homes. The Public Works Loan Board provides councils with cost-effective loans for investment and service delivery, including affordable housing. We will continue to ensure the PWLB continues to meet local authorities’ financial needs and long-term strategies.Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government will consider introducing VAT relief on construction costs for sub-market housing developments.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services; this includes most construction works. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
To stimulate the construction of new homes, the Government currently maintains a zero rate of VAT on new-build residential buildings. Additionally, residential renovations are subject to a reduced rate of VAT of five per cent if they meet certain conditions. These include conversions of buildings from one residential use to another, conversions from commercial to residential use, and the renovation of properties that have been empty for two or more years. These reliefs apply to all residential buildings, including sub-market housing.
To support the delivery of 1.5 million new homes over the course of this parliament, the Government has confirmed a new 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme to kickstart social and affordable housebuilding at scale across the country. This is the biggest long-term investment in social and affordable housing in recent memory.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing an electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme for civil service departments.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Currently electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes are not available for central Civil Service departments. HM Treasury approval would be required for any such scheme to be implemented. HM Treasury keeps all policies under review and will consider carefully any requests which are made for scheme expansion.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to tackle the backlog of cases at the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is non-governmental body and is independent from the Treasury.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s rules on how the FOS should handle complaints state that ‘the ombudsman will attempt to resolve complaints at the earliest possible stage’. The FOS should deal with all cases in a timely manner.
Ensuring timely outcomes is one of the FOS’s main priorities for 2025-26, as outlined in its annual Plans and Budget published on 1 April 2025. A number of factors may affect the time it takes for the FOS to resolve complaints that are referred to it. In 2023-24, the FOS resolved over half of its cases within three months.
The FOS regularly publishes data on its casework, including progress against its annual performance targets. The latest complaints data is available at https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/data-insight/our-insight and its Annual Reports and Accounts can be found at https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/who-we-are/governance-funding/annual-reports-accounts
My officials will continue to raise the important issue of waiting times in their regular meetings with the FOS.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what regulatory safeguards are in place to protect consumers from excessive premium increases following the transfer of life insurance policy liabilities.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Insurers make commercial decisions about the pricing of insurance policies following an assessment of the relevant risks. However, the Government expects that insurers deliver good outcomes to consumers and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules.
These rules require firms to ensure their products offer fair value. This means the price paid by consumers must be reasonable compared to the benefits they receive. The FCA monitors firms and has robust powers to act against firms that breach its rules.
The FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority review the terms of transfers of business between insurance providers to ensure an appropriate degree of consumer protection, and the views of both regulators are considered by the Courts as part of the transfer process. The FCA would, for example, expect to see evidence that policyholders would not be adversely affected by any changes to the way their policies will be administered (including with respect to pricing) after a transfer.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to regulate the pricing of legacy life insurance policies following provider transfers.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Insurers make commercial decisions about the pricing of insurance policies following an assessment of the relevant risks. However, the Government expects that insurers deliver good outcomes to consumers and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules.
These rules require firms to ensure their products offer fair value. This means the price paid by consumers must be reasonable compared to the benefits they receive. The FCA monitors firms and has robust powers to act against firms that breach its rules.
The FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority review the terms of transfers of business between insurance providers to ensure an appropriate degree of consumer protection, and the views of both regulators are considered by the Courts as part of the transfer process. The FCA would, for example, expect to see evidence that policyholders would not be adversely affected by any changes to the way their policies will be administered (including with respect to pricing) after a transfer.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with energy companies on the potential merits of policy cost rebalancing on energy bills to incentivise the uptake of low-carbon technologies.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Treasury Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sector, including energy companies, on an ongoing basis.