Written questions by Pinkerton.

What estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of a UK-EU mutual recognition agreement for manufactured goods on (a) GDP trade volumes and (b) regulatory costs for UK businesses.

Awaiting answer.

What methodology his Department used to assess the economic benefits of a UK EU mutual recognition agreement on manufactured goods.

Awaiting answer.

How many Certificates of Origin were granted to UK businesses for goods destined for the EU in 2025.

HMRC does not hold information on how many Certificates of Origin were granted to UK businesses for goods destined for the EU in 2025.

What is the average cost to businesses for securing Certificate of Origin documentation.

HMRC does not hold information about the average cost to businesses of securing origin documentation.

What the average length of time taken to issue A1 forms to touring musicians was in each year since 2021.

The Government recognises the importance of touring to the UK’s world‑leading music sector and continues to work closely with industry to support musicians performing in the European Union. A1 Forms HMRC has not made an estimate, jointly or separately with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), of any additional costs incurred by musicians as a result of delays in the issuance of A1 forms since 2021. While musicians may use the CA3837 A1 application form, this form is also used by many other self‑employed individuals. HMRC does not record applicants’ occupations within the A1 process, and the systems used do not capture or store any information that would allow us to identify touring musicians as a distinct group. It is therefore not possible to provide data on processing times or outstanding applications specifically for musicians for any of the years requested. HMRC recognises how important it is for customers to receive their A1 certificates promptly and is strengthening the service to support this.

How many A1 form applications from touring musicians were outstanding at the end of each year since 2021.

The Government recognises the importance of touring to the UK’s world‑leading music sector and continues to work closely with industry to support musicians performing in the European Union. A1 Forms HMRC has not made an estimate, jointly or separately with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), of any additional costs incurred by musicians as a result of delays in the issuance of A1 forms since 2021. While musicians may use the CA3837 A1 application form, this form is also used by many other self‑employed individuals. HMRC does not record applicants’ occupations within the A1 process, and the systems used do not capture or store any information that would allow us to identify touring musicians as a distinct group. It is therefore not possible to provide data on processing times or outstanding applications specifically for musicians for any of the years requested. HMRC recognises how important it is for customers to receive their A1 certificates promptly and is strengthening the service to support this.

Whether her Department has made an estimate with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport of the additional costs incurred by musicians seeking to perform in the European Union due to delays in the issuance of (a) A1 forms and (b) Musical Instrument Certificates since 2021.

The Government recognises the importance of touring to the UK’s world‑leading music sector and continues to work closely with industry to support musicians performing in the European Union. A1 Forms HMRC has not made an estimate, jointly or separately with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), of any additional costs incurred by musicians as a result of delays in the issuance of A1 forms since 2021. While musicians may use the CA3837 A1 application form, this form is also used by many other self‑employed individuals. HMRC does not record applicants’ occupations within the A1 process, and the systems used do not capture or store any information that would allow us to identify touring musicians as a distinct group. It is therefore not possible to provide data on processing times or outstanding applications specifically for musicians for any of the years requested. HMRC recognises how important it is for customers to receive their A1 certificates promptly and is strengthening the service to support this.

What assessment has been made of the impact of potential changes to the childminder tax agreement (BIM 52751) on the financial sustainability of childminders in Surrey.

Childminders play a vital role in childcare. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers.At Budget 2025 the Government confirmed that the standard rules for calculating income tax would apply to childminders who are mandated into Making Tax Digital (MTD). HMRC engaged with stakeholders including Coram PACEY ahead of Budget 2025. We will phase in this change between 2026 and 2028, in line with the MTD income thresholds. The threshold from April 2026 is £50,000 of qualifying income, reducing to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. Childminders not within MTD can continue to use existing arrangements if they wish.Childminders within MTD can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business. Childminders may be better off deducting actual costs, if deductions under the existing arrangements are lower than their actual expenses.HMRC will publish updated guidance for childminders in early 2026. Guidance on business expenses and on MTD for Income Tax is already available on GOV.UK. The Government will closely monitor the impacts of the policy over the course of the first year.The Chancellor discusses a range of policy matters with Ministerial colleagues.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential impact of changes to childminder tax arrangements on the delivery of funded childcare hours.

Childminders play a vital role in childcare. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers.At Budget 2025 the Government confirmed that the standard rules for calculating income tax would apply to childminders who are mandated into Making Tax Digital (MTD). HMRC engaged with stakeholders including Coram PACEY ahead of Budget 2025. We will phase in this change between 2026 and 2028, in line with the MTD income thresholds. The threshold from April 2026 is £50,000 of qualifying income, reducing to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. Childminders not within MTD can continue to use existing arrangements if they wish.Childminders within MTD can continue to claim tax relief for wear and tear by deducting the actual cost of buying, repairing or replacing items. They can also deduct the cost of business expenses such as utilities, cleaning and equipment. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business. Childminders may be better off deducting actual costs, if deductions under the existing arrangements are lower than their actual expenses.HMRC will publish updated guidance for childminders in early 2026. Guidance on business expenses and on MTD for Income Tax is already available on GOV.UK. The Government will closely monitor the impacts of the policy over the course of the first year.The Chancellor discusses a range of policy matters with Ministerial colleagues.

What steps she plans to take through the tax system to help reduce the number of disabled and sick people in poverty in Surrey Heath constituency.

Support for disabled people is predominantly provided through the welfare system, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP) which can be worth over £9,500 a year to assist with extra costs individuals may face. Focusing support through the welfare system ensures those who earn below the Personal Allowance tax threshold fully benefitThe Government is also investing £1 billion a year in employment support for disabled people by 2029-30. This will help disabled people enter and succeed in work, boosting their income.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of extending freezes on income tax and national insurance thresholds on working people in Surrey Heath constituency.

The government has published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) setting out the impact of maintaining income tax and equivalent National Insurance contributions thresholds.

What fiscal steps she is taking to encourage private sector investment in Surrey Heath constituency.

The government is focused on strengthening the UK economy long term by building resilient local economies and supporting household prosperity. Central to this is ensuring that places such as Surrey Heath are well placed to attract private sector investment. Our stable fiscal rules and competitive tax system enable firms to invest confidently. For example, we uphold key aspects of the corporate tax framework, including:a main rate of Corporation Tax at 25% – the lowest in the G7;a flexible and competitive regime for intangible assets;the Patent Box; andone of the most generous and competitive capital allowances regimes in the world. This government is also taking wider steps to strengthen the UK’s overall investment environment. We are reforming regulation to cut costs for businesses and regulate for growth, with measures announced last month expected to save businesses nearly £6bn by the end of the Parliament. This will free up funds for businesses to invest more in productivity, innovation and jobs.The government has increased the capacity of public financial institutions such as the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank by 40% to £137 billion this Parliament, using loans, equity and guarantees to support investment. This support for investment also means improving local infrastructure. Surrey will receive £38 million in Local Transport Grant funding to deliver transport improvements such as zero‑emission buses, upgraded cycleways, better accessibility and measures to tackle congestion which is a four‑fold increase in local transport funding in 2029‑30 compared with 2024‑25.By backing all regions of the UK through measures like these, the government is creating the conditions for private sector investment and high‑quality jobs in every part of the country, including Surrey Heath. This approach is already delivering results, at the first Regional Investment Summit in October, over £10 billion of investment commitments were announced, and nearly 1,000 high‑quality jobs are set to be created. Since coming into government, firms have committed over £340 billion of private investment into the UK.

What steps she is taking through the tax system to support pensioners with the cost of living in Surrey Heath constituency.

We are committed to helping pensioners with the cost of living and ensuring financial security in retirement. The State Pension will remain the foundation of retirement income and, in line with the government’s commitment to the Triple Lock for the duration of this parliament, over 12 million pensioners benefit from a 4.8% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2026, worth up to £575 a year. This follows a substantial increase in 2025/26, when those on the full new State Pension received a £360 boost. The Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee will also increase by 4.8% in April 2026, from £227.10 to £238 a week for single pensioners and from £346.60 to £363.25 for couples, protecting the poorest pensioners. Pensioners also benefit from free eye tests, NHS prescriptions and bus passes, and some may qualify for means‑tested benefits such as Housing Benefit and Cold Weather Payments. To help with ongoing cost of living pressures, the government will remove around £150 on average of household energy bills across Great Britain from April 2026 and the government is expanding the Warm Home Discount to an additional 2.7 million households, meaning around 6 million low-income households will receive £150 support with their energy bills. Through our Warm Homes Plan we are supporting insulation and low carbon heating, upgrading millions of homes this Parliament. At the recent Budget we announced £1.5 billion in new funding to support households facing fuel poverty, on top of the £13.2 billion announced at Spending Review 2025.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to business rates on the hospitality sector in Surrey Heath constituency.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.To respond to those who are seeing large increases, Government has already acted to limit increases in bills, announcing a support package worth £4.3 billion package at the Budget.From April, every pub and live music venue will get 15% off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget and then bills will be frozen in real terms for a further two years.

What modelling her Department has done of the potential impact of deeper UK–EU regulatory cooperation on services trade and employment.

The Government is committed to providing appropriate analysis of any agreement made with the EU, but we will not be able to provide a full assessment of the impacts whilst detailed negotiations are ongoing. We have made a choice to align in some areas where it makes sense to do so in our national interest. For example, to unlock the SPS and carbon pricing agreements, which will add up to £9 billion a year to the UK economy by 2040. The carbon pricing deal also avoids the risk of taxes on £7bn worth of UK exports to the EU. Where we agree to dynamically align, we will have decision-shaping rights, as well technical adaptations and phasing in to make this deal work for the UK. The details of these are subject to negotiation.

What modelling her Department has done on the potential impact of a UK–EU youth mobility scheme on (a) employment levels, (b) productivity, and (c) economic growth.

The Government has agreed that it will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU, which will be good for the economy, good for growth and good for business.The impact of a youth experience scheme will be appropriately analysed and will depend on the parameters that are ultimately agreed. We will not provide an assessment of the impacts while negotiations are ongoing.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of her fiscal policies on low income households in Surrey Heath constituency.

HM Treasury’s ‘Impact on households’ publication, produced alongside the Budget 2025, shows that the impacts of this Government’s tax, welfare and public spending decisions from Autumn Budget 2024 onwards are progressive and benefit households in the lowest income deciles the most, on average.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of extending the freeze on Income Tax thresholds on working people in Surrey Heath constituency.

The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028. This government is making fair and necessary choices on tax so it can deliver on the public's priorities, including by maintaining personal tax thresholds until April 2031. Everyone is being asked to contribute to support these goals, but the government is keeping the contribution as low as possible by pursuing a programme of reform to fix longstanding issues in the tax system - modernising it, and addressing unequal and unfair treatment, while ensuring the wealthiest contribute more. The government has published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) setting out the impact of maintaining income Tax and equivalent National Insurance contributions thresholds.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support entrepreneurs in Surrey Heath constituency.

The government took steps at Budget 2025 to support founders and high-growth companies across the UK, as set out in the Entrepreneurship Prospectus, including on tax incentives, the procurement regime, R&D funding and expanding the role of the British Business Bank (BBB). This follows the BBB’s work to date supporting SMEs with its Start Up Loans programme. Between the scheme’s inception in 2012 and June 2025, 105 businesses in Surrey Heath have received loans, totaling £1,249,215 of funding.

What assessment HMRC has made of the causes of customs delays affecting parcels entering the UK from the European Union during the period 1 November 2024 to 31 January 2025.

HMRC understands the importance of consumers receiving their parcels on time and has robust procedures alongside Border Force to help maintain the flow. HMRC have confirmed there were no significant system outages during the period requested but has not conducted an assessment of what factors may have negatively influenced clearance times during that period. Whilst HMRC does have average customs clearance times for declarations made on the Customs Declaration Service, it is not able to identify parcels specifically from this data and does not hold data on the average customs clearance time for parcels imported by the UK’s designated postal operator, Royal Mail.