Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate HM Treasury has made of total annual tax receipts generated by economic activity in Hemsby, Norfolk, including (a) income tax, (b) National Insurance contributions, (c) VAT, and (d) business rates.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue and Customs has not made estimate of total annual tax receipts generated by economic, employment or tourism related activity in Hemsby, Norfolk.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by her Department in the last financial year.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
In financial year 2024/25, HM Treasury spent £16,103.50 on a LinkedIn contract as part of the department’s advertisements of external job vacancies. There was no other HM Treasury spend on other LinkedIn fees or subscriptions.Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
We currently have fewer than 5 staff on leave for six months or more for mental health related sickness absence. We do not reveal the medical details for individual ill health.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many telephone operators work on the HMRC employers general enquiries line by the nationality of those operators.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not have information readily available identifying the nationality of staff working on specific telephone enquiry lines. Obtaining this information would require a manual process which would exceed the cost threshold for answering parliamentary questions.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many telephone operators work on the HMRC self-assessment line by the nationality of those operators.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not have information readily available identifying the nationality of staff working on specific telephone enquiry lines. Obtaining this information would require a manual process which would exceed the cost threshold for answering parliamentary questions.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will implement a review of HMRC helplines to (i) lower hold times and (ii) improve customer service.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC.
In 2024-25, HMRC handled 71.5% of adviser attempts across their helplines and had an average call answer time of 18 minutes 38 seconds. So far this year (April –September 2025), they have handled 83.8% of adviser attempts and call wait times have decreased to 13 minutes 30 seconds.
HMRC are taking steps to make sure more of their services are digital, so customers can self-serve online. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access and receive high customer satisfaction ratings. As more people use HMRC online services, advisers are freed up to support those with more complex queries and those who are digitally excluded.
The below table provides details of abandoned calls on the Self Assessment helpline over the past five years. Abandoned calls refers to calls that reach the queue for the helpline and the customer hangs up before their call is answered. Customers may hang up before their call is answered for a number of reasons – for example, they may have had their query answered by HMRC’s recorded messages, they may have found the information they require online or they may have decided to call back another time. So far in 2025-26, there have been 192,659 abandoned calls on the SA helpline (8.8% of overall calls)
Financial year | Number of abandoned calls on the Self Assessment helpline | Percentage of abandoned calls as a proportion of overall calls on the Self Assessment helpline |
2020-21 | 611,544 | 11.2% |
2021-22 | 689,007 | 14.4% |
2022-23 | 1,144,135 | 20.3% |
2023-24 | 704,546 | 16.8% |
2024-25 | 523,645 | 11.1% |
2025-26 – Year to date | 192,659 | 8.8% |
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 86041 on Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services, how many and what proportion of calls to the HMRC self-assessment line dropped in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC.
In 2024-25, HMRC handled 71.5% of adviser attempts across their helplines and had an average call answer time of 18 minutes 38 seconds. So far this year (April –September 2025), they have handled 83.8% of adviser attempts and call wait times have decreased to 13 minutes 30 seconds.
HMRC are taking steps to make sure more of their services are digital, so customers can self-serve online. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access and receive high customer satisfaction ratings. As more people use HMRC online services, advisers are freed up to support those with more complex queries and those who are digitally excluded.
The below table provides details of abandoned calls on the Self Assessment helpline over the past five years. Abandoned calls refers to calls that reach the queue for the helpline and the customer hangs up before their call is answered. Customers may hang up before their call is answered for a number of reasons – for example, they may have had their query answered by HMRC’s recorded messages, they may have found the information they require online or they may have decided to call back another time. So far in 2025-26, there have been 192,659 abandoned calls on the SA helpline (8.8% of overall calls)
Financial year | Number of abandoned calls on the Self Assessment helpline | Percentage of abandoned calls as a proportion of overall calls on the Self Assessment helpline |
2020-21 | 611,544 | 11.2% |
2021-22 | 689,007 | 14.4% |
2022-23 | 1,144,135 | 20.3% |
2023-24 | 704,546 | 16.8% |
2024-25 | 523,645 | 11.1% |
2025-26 – Year to date | 192,659 | 8.8% |
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of how much money was sent abroad in remittance payments in 2024 by destination country.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury does not collect or report data on the flow of remittances out of the UK and has not under previous governments.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an estimate of annual tax loss from untaxed remittances sent abroad by non-UK nationals.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK imposes taxes based on individual’s residence status. Individuals who are resident in the UK are typically taxable on their income and gains that arise worldwide. Remitting funds outside of the UK is not generally considered to be a chargeable event for individuals. It should also be noted that funds being remitted will often have already been subject to UK tax, such as income tax, if funded from earnings.Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the administrative cost of collecting Inheritance Tax as a proportion of total revenue.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The figure for the cost of collecting Inheritance Tax (pence per pound collected) for 2024/25 is 0.78. This means as a proportion of total Inheritance Tax revenue, the administrative cost of collecting Inheritance Tax was 0.78% in that year.