Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of 15 July 2026 to Questions 16435 and 16436 on Taxation: Debt Collection, what proportion of lower-value debts returned unsuccessfully by debt collection agencies relate to taxpayers in each income decile; what proportion have previously been identified by HM Revenue and Customs as requiring extra support; and whether anonymised distributional data will be published alongside the consultation response.

The proposals aim to maintain fairness in the tax system and address a gap in existing debt enforcement tools, by collecting lower value tax debts from taxpayers who can pay but do not engage. The consultation on proposals to tackle lower value tax debts closed on 28 August. The Government is currently analysing responses received and will use this to inform next steps, including whether and how the proposal should be taken forward.