Written questions by Griffith.

With reference to the Explanatory Memorandum on the Double Contributions Convention with the Republic of India, Command Paper No 1513, how much public funding will be required to meet the obligations for managing the treaty.

The project to implement the Double Contributions Convention, including work required by Article 20 to scope and implement a system of electronic information exchange between the UK and India, is still on-going. A full estimate is therefore not available. The system under development will be a step towards the modernisation of international social security processes in HMRC.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 February on the Double Contributions Convention with the Republic of India, HCWS1327, if he will commission an an economic impact assessment on the Double Contributions Convention.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will certify the impact of the Double Contributions Convention in the usual way at a fiscal event, once it has been ratified.

When the Chief Secretary to the Treasury plans to respond to the correspondence of 15 January 2026 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.

The correspondence from the hon. Member is receiving attention, and a response will be issued in due course.

What is the (a) gross and (b) net revenue raised for her Department from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme in the 2024-25 financial year, broken down by auction receipts, administrative costs, and any revenue recycling and hypothecation.

Receipts from auctioning of UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) allowances accrue to the exchequer. The Economic and Fiscal Outlook (November 2025) published by the OBR confirms the ETS outturn for 2024-25. The administrative cost of the UK ETS can be found in the National Audit Office’s report on the UK ETS. The UK does not hypothecate revenue from the UK ETS, which is subject to a floating carbon price which changes frequently. All receipts from the UK ETS accrue to the consolidated fund, and go to funding government priorities, which includes decarbonisation support for ETS participants.

When she plans to respond to correspondence of (a) 10 December 2025, (b) 6 January 2026 and (c) 20 January 2026 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.

The correspondence from the Rt Hon Member for Arundel and South Downs has been transferred from HM Treasury to HMRC. HMRC will respond in due course.

What estimate her Department has made of the proportion of import consignments that require remedial action due to documentation or compliance errors.

To address the dynamic nature of import risk, HMRC continually enhances its capabilities to identify errors and address non-compliance, ensuring that interventions are proportionate and targeted—rather than creating and relying on static estimates. HMRC’s policies, processes, and systems are designed to facilitate legitimate access to the customs regime, promote strong compliance, and make it difficult to circumvent the rules. As a result, the vast majority of consignments move seamlessly in and out of the UK with minimal disruption.

What estimate she has made of the proportion of UK firms that have undergone post-clearance verification processes in each of the last three years.

HMRC takes a risk-based approach to compliance, focusing on areas where there is the greatest risk of tax going unpaid. The number of businesses involved in international trade activities is published annually as the “Customs Importer and Exporter Population” (GOV.UK). HMRC carries out post-clearance verification on customs declarations for reasons other than compliance, including at the request of other customs authorities and to support applications for customs authorisations. This supports the UK Governments international obligations, including those under Free Trade Agreements. YearNumber of PCA’s2022/236,7272023/249,2462024/2510,357 These figures may include multiple verifications per business, and the business may not be headquartered or established in the United Kingdom. It should also be noted that the verification may not be in the same year that a customs declaration was made.

Pursuant to the answer of 4 December to Question 95961 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, if she will modify the Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Factsheet, published on 28 November, to reflect that the calculation for the applicable Transition Relief cap for 2026/27 is made from the base liability for 2025/26 before RHL relief has been applied.

No, I will not modify the Budget 2025: RHL Factsheet. It is correct.

When negotiations on the double contribution convention with India will conclude.

In a side letter to the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), agreed in July 2025, the UK and India committed to concluding the negotiations to allow for the Double Contributions Convention to enter into force at the same time as the CETA.

When HMRC plan to respond to the correspondence of (a) 13 March, (b) 10 June and (c) 10 July from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.

A response was issued on 30 July 2025.

What discussions she has had with business groups on the impact of increases to employer's National Insurance contributions.

Ministers and officials from multiple Government departments have had meetings with organisations which have covered this matter since Autumn Budget 2024.A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from the changes to employer NICs by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.

What discussions she has had with business groups on the impact of changes to Business Property Relief.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. Ministers and officials have had a number of meetings with organisations on this matter since Autumn Budget 2024. After listening, the Government believes the approach set out is an appropriate one.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2024 to Question 65661 on Wealth: Taxation, whether this will include an exit tax payable upon persons ending their UK tax residency.

HMRC publishes estimates of the direct impacts of illustrative tax changes in its Direct effects of illustrative tax changes publication. The Government does not routinely publish costings for hypothetical tax changes outside of this. The Government is committed to ensuring that the wealthiest in society pay their fair share of tax. The reforms announced at Autumn Budget 2024 were designed to help repair the public finances in a fair and balanced way.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2024 to Question 65664 on Taxation: Overseas Residence, whether the Government has conducted such hypothetical tax change costings for an exit tax payable upon person ending their residency in the United Kingdom.

HMRC publishes estimates of the direct impacts of illustrative tax changes in its Direct effects of illustrative tax changes publication. The Government does not routinely publish costings for hypothetical tax changes outside of this. The Government is committed to ensuring that the wealthiest in society pay their fair share of tax. The reforms announced at Autumn Budget 2024 were designed to help repair the public finances in a fair and balanced way.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2024 to Question 65661 on Wealth: Taxation, whether this will include a wealth tax.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 65661.

When she plans to publish Ministerial transparency data on hospitality in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Transparency data on hospitality received by HM Treasury Ministers can be found on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/register-of-ministers-gifts-and-hospitality

If she will make an assessment of the potential fiscal impact of introducing an exit tax payable upon persons ending their UK tax residency.

HMRC publishes regular estimates of the direct impacts of illustrative tax changes in its Direct effects of illustrative tax changes publication. However, the Government does not routinely publish costings for hypothetical tax changes outside of this.

If she will make an assessment of the fiscal impact of introducing a wealth tax.

The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible.  These and other decisions announced at the Budget will help repair the public finances and fund public services such as the NHS and education.

What private businesses she has consulted on the business rates system.

The Government published a Discussion Paper at Autumn Budget 2024 setting out priority areas for business rates reform. This paper invited industry to help co-design a fairer business rates system that supports investment and is fit for the 21st century. The Treasury received over 160 written responses to that Discussion Paper and met with over 250 stakeholders from a range of different sectors. On 17 February, the Government published a ‘forward look’ of the expected timeline for reforms announced at Autumn Budget 2024, and how stakeholders should engage with the Government on business rates reform going forwards. In the summer, the Government will publish an interim report that sets out a clear direction of travel for the business rates system, with further policy detail to follow at Budget 2025.

Pursuant to the answer of 23 June to Question 61021 on Taxation: Domicil, how many P85 forms have been submitted in each month in the last five years.

The table below shows the number of P85 forms submitted to HMRC electronically each month between May 2020 and May 2025. P85 forms are submitted by taxpayers who are not intending to submit a self-assessment tax return. Individuals who file through Self-Assessment (e.g. those with other sources of income such as self-employment or those claiming non-domiciled status) do not need to submit a P85 form. Counts of submitted P85 forms in March 2024 and September 2024 are labelled as [x] due to incomplete data. MonthP85 iFormsMay 20202,900Jun 20202,800Jul 20203,200Aug 20204,100Sep 20205,300Oct 20204,400Nov 20204,600Dec 20204,100Jan 20214,000Feb 20212,800Mar 20213,200Apr 20213,000May 20212,500Jun 20212,300Jul 20212,600Aug 20212,800Sep 20213,300Oct 20213,300Nov 20212,900Dec 20212,400Jan 20223,200Feb 20222,300Mar 20222,500Apr 20222,200May 20222,000Jun 20221,900Jul 20222,200Aug 20222,700Sep 20222,900Oct 20223,000Nov 20222,800Dec 20222,300Jan 20233,700Feb 20232,800Mar 20233,200Apr 20233,100May 20232,900Jun 20232,800Jul 20233,400Aug 20233,400Sep 20233,800Oct 20234,100Nov 20233,700Dec 20233,200Jan 20244,500Feb 20243,400Mar 2024[x]Apr 20244,100May 20243,400Jun 20243,400Jul 20243,900Aug 20244,300Sep 2024[x]Oct 20245,800Nov 20243,400Dec 20245,000Jan 20256,400Feb 20254,900Mar 20255,500Apr 20255,300May 20254,500 Individuals can either use the online system to submit a P85 iForm or fill in a paper form and submit it by post. Postal form data for the last five years is not available. The data provided in the table above contains only customers who have submitted iForms.