Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the justification for aggregating a range of welfare benefits in the annual tax statements now being published rather than differentiating between different categories.

The categories in the tax summary are based on those used in the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA), which are internationally recognised categories. Based on customer research, some headings have been simplified to make them easier to understand, such as the inclusion of social protection in welfare. ‘State pensions’ was separated from the ‘welfare’ category because it is a substantial area of spend.