Written questions by Anderson.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK–Switzerland financial dialogue on the UK’s wider financial diplomacy strategy.

Financial regulatory dialogues, including the UK-Switzerland Financial Dialogue, are important to supporting cross-border trade in financial services and managing financial stability in the global financial system. They form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July. Dialogues feed into HM Treasury’s development of international financial services policy and joint statements are typically published after meetings. The most recent UK-Switzerland Financial Dialogue was held on Thursday 9 October in Bern, where officials discussed bilateral cooperation on financial regulatory issues. Further details of the discussion can be found in the Joint Statement. Participants also discussed future opportunities to further develop the Berne Financial Services Agreement, noting that Article 12 of the Agreement commits the UK and Switzerland to enter into negotiations with a view to potentially expanding the Agreement to include sustainable finance at the appropriate time.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of discussions at the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum on UK capital markets reform.

Financial regulatory dialogues, including the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum, are important in supporting cross-border trade in financial services and managing financial stability in the global financial system. They form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July. Dialogues feed into HM Treasury’s development of international financial services policy and joint statements are typically published after meetings. The most recent Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum was held in Brussels on Wednesday 1 October, where officials discussed bilateral cooperation on financial regulatory issues including capital market reforms, where the government’s long-term vision for the UK’s world-leading markets is to encourage more retail investment to benefit our citizens, support British businesses to grow and position ourselves for the future. Further details of the discussion can be found in the Joint Statement.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the UK–Switzerland financial dialogue on financial services exports.

Financial regulatory dialogues, including the UK-Switzerland Financial Dialogue, are important to supporting cross-border trade in financial services and managing financial stability in the global financial system. They form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July. Dialogues feed into HM Treasury’s development of international financial services policy and joint statements are typically published after meetings. The most recent UK-Switzerland Financial Dialogue was held on Thursday 9 October in Bern, where officials discussed bilateral cooperation on financial regulatory issues. Further details of the discussion can be found in the Joint Statement. Participants also discussed future opportunities to further develop the Berne Financial Services Agreement, noting that Article 12 of the Agreement commits the UK and Switzerland to enter into negotiations with a view to potentially expanding the Agreement to include sustainable finance at the appropriate time.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum’s role in supporting cross-border investment between the UK and EU financial markets.

Financial regulatory dialogues, including the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum, are important in supporting cross-border trade in financial services and managing financial stability in the global financial system. They form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July. Dialogues feed into HM Treasury’s development of international financial services policy and joint statements are typically published after meetings. The most recent Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum was held in Brussels on Wednesday 1 October, where officials discussed bilateral cooperation on financial regulatory issues including capital market reforms, where the government’s long-term vision for the UK’s world-leading markets is to encourage more retail investment to benefit our citizens, support British businesses to grow and position ourselves for the future. Further details of the discussion can be found in the Joint Statement.

What steps she plans to to take to monitor the outcomes of the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum.

Financial regulatory dialogues, including the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum, are important in supporting cross-border trade in financial services and managing financial stability in the global financial system. They form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July. Dialogues feed into HM Treasury’s development of international financial services policy and joint statements are typically published after meetings. The most recent Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum was held in Brussels on Wednesday 1 October, where officials discussed bilateral cooperation on financial regulatory issues including capital market reforms, where the government’s long-term vision for the UK’s world-leading markets is to encourage more retail investment to benefit our citizens, support British businesses to grow and position ourselves for the future. Further details of the discussion can be found in the Joint Statement.

Whether her Department has identified any new areas of regulatory co-operation with Switzerland following the most recent financial dialogue.

Financial regulatory dialogues, including the UK-Switzerland Financial Dialogue, are important to supporting cross-border trade in financial services and managing financial stability in the global financial system. They form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July. Dialogues feed into HM Treasury’s development of international financial services policy and joint statements are typically published after meetings. The most recent UK-Switzerland Financial Dialogue was held on Thursday 9 October in Bern, where officials discussed bilateral cooperation on financial regulatory issues. Further details of the discussion can be found in the Joint Statement. Participants also discussed future opportunities to further develop the Berne Financial Services Agreement, noting that Article 12 of the Agreement commits the UK and Switzerland to enter into negotiations with a view to potentially expanding the Agreement to include sustainable finance at the appropriate time.

What metrics her Department will use to measure the success of HMRC’s transformation programme.

HMRC will use the metrics published in Annex A of HMRC’s Transformation Roadmap to measure the success of HMRC’s transformation programme. This is available online here: Annex A: HMRC's Transformation Roadmap metrics - GOV.UK

What steps her Department is taking to align dematerialisation reforms with other financial market infrastructure initiatives.

In July, the Digitisation Taskforce published its final report. The Taskforce, chaired by Sir Douglas Flint, assessed how the UK can eliminate the use of paper share certificates for traded companies, which create inefficiencies and costs for companies and investors, and improve the intermediated system of share ownership so that investors are better able to exercise rights associated with shares which intermediaries hold on their behalf.These are important steps as part of the government’s Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy to make UK capital markets more efficient, resilient and competitive. The government has recently established the Dematerialisation Market Action Taskforce, led by Mark Austin, to take forward the recommended reforms.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of dematerialisation on retail investor participation in UK capital markets.

In July, the Digitisation Taskforce published its final report. The Taskforce, chaired by Sir Douglas Flint, assessed how the UK can eliminate the use of paper share certificates for traded companies, which create inefficiencies and costs for companies and investors, and improve the intermediated system of share ownership so that investors are better able to exercise rights associated with shares which intermediaries hold on their behalf.These are important steps as part of the government’s Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy to make UK capital markets more efficient, resilient and competitive. The government has recently established the Dematerialisation Market Action Taskforce, led by Mark Austin, to take forward the recommended reforms.

How her Department will allocate the £1 billion additional funding for HMRC across tax gap initiatives.

HMRC will allocate the additional funding at Autumn Budget 2024 and Spring Statement 2025 to close the tax gap predominately to frontline staff and digital services, including: 5,500 additional frontline compliance officers2,400 additional debt management staffinvestment in debt case management systemsplacing additional tax debts with private debt collection agenciesdelivering Making Tax Digital for income tax self-assessmentdigitalising the Inheritance Tax service to provide a modern, easy-to-use system, that makes submitting returns and paying tax simpler and quicker As well as these investments, we introduced measures to:Increase the interest rate on unpaid taxChange the tax rules on liquidations of Limited Liability PartnershipsPrevent non-compliance from the transfer overseas of UK tax-relieved pension fundsModernise and mandate registration of tax practitioners interacting with HMRC

How many small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) the UK and (b) Buckingham and Bletchley constituency have exported to China in the last three years.

HMRC releases information as Official Statistics called the Trade in Goods by Business Characteristics, which is available via gov.uk. (www.uktradeinfo.com). Trade in Goods by Business Characteristics includes exports to certain pre-selected Partner Countries that includes China. This data includes exports by Business Size (Number of employees) broken down by the following categories: 0; 1 to 9; 10 to 49; 50 to 249; 250+; Unknown. The user will be able to work out SME by aggregating the first four categories in this list. Links to the relevant releases for 2021, 2022, and 2023 are below (see tab “2. Business Size” on each release): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/637ce265d3bf7f5a0b33f87f/UK_TIG_by_Business_Characteristics_2021_Country_Tables.xlsxhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6554d441d03a8d001207f9a7/UK_TIG_by_Business_Characteristics_2022_Country_Level_Tables.xlsxhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6734b5f4f6920bfb5abc7a75/UK_TIG_by_Business_Characteristics_2023_Country_Level_Tables.xlsx The release for 2024 data will be published on 27 November 2025. The breakdown by Business Size (Number of Employees) is not available for areas smaller than UK as a whole.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of allowing lenders to offer mortgages of over 4.5 times buyers’ income on the financial stability of mortgage lenders.

The loan-to-income (LTI) flow limit restricts the share of new mortgages that lenders can issue at or above 4.5 times a borrower’s income. It is set by the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC), which is responsible for identifying and addressing systemic risks to UK financial stability. In July 2025, the FPC judged that the system-wide cap—limiting high-LTI mortgages to no more than 15 per cent of all new owner-occupier lending—continues to provide appropriate protection against the build up of unsustainable household debt which could pose risks to financial stability in an economic downturn. However, to ensure the LTI flow limit is implemented proportionately and efficiently, the Committee recommended that the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) amend implementation of the flow limit to allow individual lenders to increase their share of high-LTI lending, provided the aggregate flow remains consistent with the 15 per cent limit. Details on this recommendation can be found in the FPC’s July Financial Stability Report. The government supports the FPC’s changes, maintaining resilience of the financial system while supporting responsible access to home ownership.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential economic impact of proposed business rates reforms on the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support.This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties in 2026-27 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.The Government does not hold data on how many businesses are eligible for Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) in individual constituencies. It is worth noting that, if a business expands to a second property, it retains SBRR on the first property for 12 months, and may retain it longer if certain conditions are met.The Transforming Business Rates: Interim Report published on 11 September sets out the Government’s next steps to deliver a fairer business rates system. This includes exploring a number of reforms to incentivise investment and improve the operation of the business rates system, including how SBRR could be enhanced to more effectively support investment and expansion among small businesses.

What estimate her Department has made of how many small businesses in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency are losing all Small Business Rates Relief when opening their second premises.

We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support.This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties in 2026-27 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.The Government does not hold data on how many businesses are eligible for Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) in individual constituencies. It is worth noting that, if a business expands to a second property, it retains SBRR on the first property for 12 months, and may retain it longer if certain conditions are met.The Transforming Business Rates: Interim Report published on 11 September sets out the Government’s next steps to deliver a fairer business rates system. This includes exploring a number of reforms to incentivise investment and improve the operation of the business rates system, including how SBRR could be enhanced to more effectively support investment and expansion among small businesses.

What steps she is taking to ensure that the Office for Investment: Financial Services engages systematically with (a) devolved Administrations and (b) regional investment bodies.

The Office for Investment: Financial Services is a public-private partnership between HM Treasury, the Office for Investment, the financial services regulators, and the City of London Corporation, working together to attract the world’s best financial services businesses to the UK. It was announced as part of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, published at Mansion House in July 2025. The government is committed to effective monitoring and evaluation of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy - including the Office for Investment: Financial Services - with clear indicators laid out in the Strategy focused on how growing the financial sector will support growth and investment across the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority are required by legislation to coordinate on a number of matters, for example to consult each other where there are matters of common regulatory interest where the other regulator may be expected to have relevant information or relevant expertise. The financial services regulators therefore have a close working relationship which will support the operations of the Office for Investment: Financial Services. The Office for Investment: Financial Services will proactively promote all UK nations and regions as investment destinations for the world’s most innovative, fast-growing and highest quality financial institutions. To achieve this, it will work closely with the devolved administrations and regional investment bodies.

What assessment her Department has made of the barriers to expanding the financial services provisions within existing Economic Partnership Agreements.

The Government published its Trade Strategy on 26 June, setting out its plan to stimulate economic growth in a rapidly changing global landscape. The Strategy sets out that the Government will consult with governments and businesses on expanding our Economic Partnership Agreements to include services. Any decision to expand the financial services provisions within EPAs will be guided by dialogue with partner countries and aligned with UK growth and development objectives. Financial services is one of the eight growth-driving sectors identified in the Trade Strategy. The UK’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, launched by the Chancellor on 15 July, sets out the Government’s commitment to ensuring the UK remains an open and connected financial centre, and to upholding its commitment to international regulatory standards. Strengthened partnerships with international financial centres around the world and a trade strategy that prioritises financial services and market access are essential for sustaining the UK’s leadership as a global financial hub and fostering economic growth.

What steps her Department is taking to align the implementation of Overseas Recognition Regimes with the UK's financial services trade objectives in Asia-Pacific markets.

At Mansion House, HM Treasury published revised guidance on the UK’s approach to the unilateral recognition of overseas jurisdictions’ regulation of financial services, known as Overseas Recognition Regimes (ORRs). ORRs will replace the ‘equivalence’ regimes inherited from the EU after EU exit, which were repealed by FSMA 2023. As the government progresses its programme of work to replace the existing equivalence regimes with ORRs, it is the intention to maintain all the existing decisions, including decisions in Asia-Pacific markets.As set out in the guidance document, the government’s approach to new ORR designations will be aligned with the UK’s wider objectives. Consideration of an overseas jurisdiction for a new designation under an ORR is initiated by HM Treasury, although overseas jurisdictions are welcome to indicate an interest to HM Treasury in being assessed, and these will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the regulatory co-ordination mechanisms in place between the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority to support the operations of the Office for Investment: Financial Services.

The Office for Investment: Financial Services is a public-private partnership between HM Treasury, the Office for Investment, the financial services regulators, and the City of London Corporation, working together to attract the world’s best financial services businesses to the UK. It was announced as part of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, published at Mansion House in July 2025. The government is committed to effective monitoring and evaluation of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy - including the Office for Investment: Financial Services - with clear indicators laid out in the Strategy focused on how growing the financial sector will support growth and investment across the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority are required by legislation to coordinate on a number of matters, for example to consult each other where there are matters of common regulatory interest where the other regulator may be expected to have relevant information or relevant expertise. The financial services regulators therefore have a close working relationship which will support the operations of the Office for Investment: Financial Services. The Office for Investment: Financial Services will proactively promote all UK nations and regions as investment destinations for the world’s most innovative, fast-growing and highest quality financial institutions. To achieve this, it will work closely with the devolved administrations and regional investment bodies.

Whether her Department has established metrics for evaluating the impact of the concierge service on foreign direct investment into UK financial services.

The Office for Investment: Financial Services is a public-private partnership between HM Treasury, the Office for Investment, the financial services regulators, and the City of London Corporation, working together to attract the world’s best financial services businesses to the UK. It was announced as part of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, published at Mansion House in July 2025. The government is committed to effective monitoring and evaluation of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy - including the Office for Investment: Financial Services - with clear indicators laid out in the Strategy focused on how growing the financial sector will support growth and investment across the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority are required by legislation to coordinate on a number of matters, for example to consult each other where there are matters of common regulatory interest where the other regulator may be expected to have relevant information or relevant expertise. The financial services regulators therefore have a close working relationship which will support the operations of the Office for Investment: Financial Services. The Office for Investment: Financial Services will proactively promote all UK nations and regions as investment destinations for the world’s most innovative, fast-growing and highest quality financial institutions. To achieve this, it will work closely with the devolved administrations and regional investment bodies.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of small businesses in (a) the UK and (b) Buckingham and Bletchley constituency that operate below the VAT registration threshold.

a) The total number of businesses in 2024 is estimated at 5.6 million (see Business population estimates 2024 - GOV.UK, detailed table 2). According to HMRC statistics, there were around 1.3 million business registered for VAT with turnover above the threshold in 2023-34 (see Value Added Tax (VAT) annual statistics - GOV.UK, Table T5). Thus the number of businesses with turnover below the threshold would be approximately the remainder of the 5.6 million, or 4.3 million. It should be noted that some businesses with turnover below the threshold are voluntarily registered for VAT; there were around 0.9 million such businesses in 2023-24. b) No estimate has been made of the number of small businesses operating below the VAT registration threshold at the constituency level. Any estimate would be above cost grounds.