Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of UK spirits duty rates for the on-trade compared to equivalent rates in (a) Ireland, (b) France, (c) Germany, and (d) other EU member states.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK’s alcohol duty system balances protecting the public finances and promoting health.
There is significant variation in alcohol taxation policy amongst European countries. The World Health Organization recently published a comparison of alcohol taxes across the WHO European Region, which can be found here.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of spirits duty, business rates, VAT, and employer National Insurance contributions paid by pubs in the last 12 months.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold readily available data on revenue from spirits duty, VAT, and employer National Insurance contributions paid by pubs.
HMRC does not hold information on business rates which are administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate she has made of the revenue generated from spirits duty paid by on-trade premises compared to off-trade retailers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs. Alcohol duty is paid at the point of production or import and would not generally be paid directly by pubs.
Statistics on alcohol duty are published in the Alcohol Bulletin - GOV.UK.
Estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics for the period 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2025 indicate around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade and around 85% off-trade.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data her Department holds on the proportion of spirits duty revenue generated from UK-produced spirits sold in pubs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs. Alcohol duty is paid at the point of production or import and would not generally be paid directly by pubs.
Statistics on alcohol duty are published in the Alcohol Bulletin - GOV.UK.
Estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics for the period 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2025 indicate around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade and around 85% off-trade.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate her Department has made of the spirits duty revenue at risk from pub closures.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs. Alcohol duty is paid at the point of production or import and would not generally be paid directly by pubs.
Statistics on alcohol duty are published in the Alcohol Bulletin - GOV.UK.
Estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics for the period 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2025 indicate around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade and around 85% off-trade.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57938 on Investment: Fraud, whether her Department has considered establishing a centralised redress mechanism for victims of investment fraud that fall outside the scope of the Faster Payments System or the PSR reimbursement regime.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced a mandatory reimbursement regime for authorised push payment (APP) scams which take place over the Faster Payments system, as required by the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2023. The PSR’s regime requires payment service providers to reimburse victims for losses up to £85,000. FSMA 2023 also gave the PSR powers to take action to require reimbursement for other payment systems which have been designated by HMT.
The details of the reimbursement regime and its enforcement are a matter for the independent PSR, but it has committed to carry out an independent evaluation of the reimbursement requirement after the rules have been in place for 12 months, including considering the maximum level of reimbursement.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57938 on Investment: Fraud, what steps her Department is taking to ensure consistency and transparency in how Payment Service Providers determine eligibility for reimbursement under the APP scam regime.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced a mandatory reimbursement regime for authorised push payment (APP) scams which take place over the Faster Payments system, as required by the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2023. The PSR’s regime requires payment service providers to reimburse victims for losses up to £85,000. FSMA 2023 also gave the PSR powers to take action to require reimbursement for other payment systems which have been designated by HMT.
The details of the reimbursement regime and its enforcement are a matter for the independent PSR, but it has committed to carry out an independent evaluation of the reimbursement requirement after the rules have been in place for 12 months, including considering the maximum level of reimbursement.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57938 on Investment: Fraud, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the £85,000 reimbursement cap for victims of investment fraud where losses significantly exceed this threshold.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced a mandatory reimbursement regime for authorised push payment (APP) scams which take place over the Faster Payments system, as required by the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2023. The PSR’s regime requires payment service providers to reimburse victims for losses up to £85,000. FSMA 2023 also gave the PSR powers to take action to require reimbursement for other payment systems which have been designated by HMT.
The details of the reimbursement regime and its enforcement are a matter for the independent PSR, but it has committed to carry out an independent evaluation of the reimbursement requirement after the rules have been in place for 12 months, including considering the maximum level of reimbursement.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57939 on Investment: Fraud, what steps HMRC is taking to improve (a) communication (b) access to specialist caseworkers, (c) financial hardship assessments and (d) other support to individuals facing tax demands linked to fraudulent investment schemes.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
I refer the honorable Member to the response to UIN 57939.
Where an individual disagrees with HMRC’s decision on their tax liability, they can appeal by requesting HMRC reviews the decision, use an Alternative Dispute Resolution process in appropriate cases, or by making an appeal to the independent tax tribunal.
HMRC appreciates and recognises dealing with tax, financial hardship, or debt can lead to pressure on people. All HMRC advisers are given training and guidance on how to identify customers who need extra help and how to provide tailored support themselves or refer the customer to HMRC’s specialist extra support provision.
In January HMRC published its approach to dealing with agents, which has established the Standard for Agents, and is currently consulting on enhanced powers to tackle non-compliance facilitated by tax agents. It will publish guidance shortly, which will set out its approach to preventing and addressing intermediary harm and also support customers to identify signs of harmful intermediary behaviour, including fraud.
In April HMRC launched a new Compliance Interactive Guidance Tool on GOV.UK to help customers more easily find guidance on compliance checks and extra support available, particularly for unrepresented customers and those with extra support needs.