Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a windfall tax on current Rolling Stock companies (ROSCOs).
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Rolling stock leasing companies (ROSCOs) play an important role in the transport industry, bringing benefits to both taxpayers and passengers.
Great British Railways will work with ROSCOs and manufacturers in an effective and streamlined way. The government will also develop a long-term strategy for rolling stock, which will support manufacturing and ensure a stable pipeline of work.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what response she has to the recommendation of the October 2025 final report of the Poverty Strategy Commission that parents with No Recourse to Public Funds conditions who have children who are British citizens should have access to child-related public funds, including Child Benefit and access to support for childcare.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Child Benefit is a payment made to individuals who are responsible for a child or children irrespective of the child’s nationality. No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) is a standard condition applied to most categories of temporary immigration permission. Those with NRPF do not generally have access to public funds, including Child Benefit. The expectation of the Government is that in general migrants coming into the UK should be able to maintain and accommodate themselves and their dependents without recourse to public funds.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the amount of protection provided on single-item purchases under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of strong consumer protections in credit markets, including those provided under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. These protections help to build consumer confidence and trust, which are essential for a well-functioning credit market.
We are currently undertaking a comprehensive reform of the Consumer Credit Act to ensure it is fit for purpose in today’s modern credit landscape. Our reforms aim to simplify and modernise the framework, making it more proportionate and outcomes-focused, while ensuring that it provides robust consumer protections - such as those under Section 75. We will provide an update on the next steps in due course.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her oral evidence to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee on 22 July 2025, on what evidential basis the country has cared more about bats than about commuter times for people in Leeds and West Yorkshire.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In the past, our planning system has acted as a brake on growth, with consenting times for major infrastructure taking far too long and costing too much money. Environmental and planning compliance has meant projects like HS2 have suffered excessive costs and delays as referenced by James Stewart’s review of the problems in that programme and the approach to governance and assurance of major transport projects. This has damaged investment in the UK, costing us jobs and economic growth.
That’s why we are committed to creating a planning system that is an enabler of growth; delivering both the high-quality housing and critical infrastructure that communities need. We are reforming the National Planning Policy Framework and are taking a new growth-focused approach to the planning system with major reforms in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.
The new Nature Restoration Fund will enable developers to meet their environment obligations quicker without compromising on environmental improvement.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2025 to Question 68002 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the communication with affected businesses of the change to reliefs in April 2025; and whether he has held discussions with stakeholders on that communication and the extent to which it allowed businesses to plan for the changes.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief has been extended year-by-year by previous Governments since the pandemic, creating uncertainty for businesses and an unsustainable fiscal pressure for Government.
Without any Government intervention, RHL relief would have ended entirely in April 2025, creating a cliff-edge for businesses. Instead, the Government extended the relief at 40 per cent in 2025-26, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, ahead of our intended introduction of permanently lower rates for RHL properties from 2026-27.
As is typical with fiscal announcements, the Government announced this decision at Autumn Budget 2024, ahead of it coming into force in April 2025. On 19 November 2024, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) communicated the Budget measures to Local Authorities via a Business Rates Information Letter. On 16 January 2025, MHCLG published final scheme guidance to help local authorities implement the relief.
The Government also carried out extensive engagement with stakeholders following Autumn Budget 2024 on business rates.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information her Department holds on the cost to the public purse of gifts given by (a) the King and (b) other members of the Royal Family in their official roles since 2020.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
The public cost of gifts made by His Majesty The King and other members of the Royal Family in their official roles is covered by the Sovereign Grant, with the cost of any gifts made in relation to official international engagements recharged to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and appropriate assurance arrangements are in place.
The Royal Household is responsible for the day-to-day operations and management of The Sovereign Grant, and therefore the Treasury does not hold information requested. The Sovereign Grant is audited by the Independent National Audit Office as part of its audit of the Sovereign Grant annual report and accounts.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by the Institution of Civil Engineers entitled Paying for Britain’s Infrastructure System, published on 25 February 2025.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
The government is committed to delivering a cross-cutting 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy communicating to the public its approach to housing, economic and social infrastructure, alongside a pipeline to give industry a clear sense of the government’s long-term priorities.
The government has been engaging openly with industry – including the Institution of Civil Engineers – as it develops this Strategy to ensure that it is credible and deliverable.
As part of this engagement, in January the government published a working paper setting out the government’s plans for the Strategy and some key areas under consideration.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to (a) engage and (b) communicate with the public about major infrastructure projects.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
The government is committed to delivering a cross-cutting 10 year infrastructure strategy communicating to the public its approach to housing, economic and social infrastructure, alongside a pipeline to give industry a clear sense of the government’s long-term priorities.
The government is seeking to engage collaboratively with the public, including the construction sector, its supply chain, major investors and other key industry stakeholders as it develops the Strategy to understand how it can support investment in and the delivery of shared objectives for infrastructure.
As part of this engagement, in January the government published a working paper setting out the government’s plans for the Strategy and some key areas under consideration.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential economic (a) costs and (b) benefits of an expansion of Heathrow Airport.
Answered by Darren Jones - Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
According to the most recent study from Frontier Economics, a third runway could increase potential GDP by 0.43% in by 2050 and could create over 100,000 jobs. Over half – 60% - of that GDP boost would go to areas outside London and South-East.
The exact cost of the runway is a matter for Heathrow, the Civil Aviation Authority and the airport’s customer airlines, and the Government has been clear that the scheme will be privately financed without Government support.
Our clear expectation is that any associated surface transport costs will be financed from private funding.