Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an estimate of the (a) value of and (b) tax lost from the black economy in (i) England, (ii) Greater Manchester and (iii) Oldham.

HMRC estimates the size of the tax gap, which is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. The tax gap statistics are published annually and are available at: Measuring tax gaps - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Within the tax gap, HMRC publishes an illustrative breakdown by behaviour. For the 2023 to 2024 tax year, the estimated value of the hidden economy was £2.6 billion.