Written questions by Anderson.

What criteria HMRC will use to prioritise enforcement on high-risk tax areas.

HMRC uses a risk-based approach to identify individuals and businesses for investigation, applying civil and criminal powers to tackle avoidance, evasion, and error. In 2024–25, this approach helped protect an estimated £48 billion in tax revenue. Its Strategic Picture of Risk combines data analytics and expert insight to assess key compliance risks. This informs HMRC’s planning, resource allocation, and case selection, using data from tax returns and third-party sources (e.g. banks, online platforms, other departments). Compliance activity is tailored to taxpayer groups such as large businesses, individuals, and suspected tax avoiders or criminals. HMRC prioritises interventions based on their wider impact on tax compliance, economic objectives, and societal harm. HMRC’s compliance approach, Prevent, Promote and Respond, focuses on preventing non-compliance from happening in the first place, and helping customers get their tax right before they submit their return or claim.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement on trade for small and medium-sized enterprises in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Although the Department for Business and Trade has made no such specific assessment, it continuously monitors the impact of leaving the EU on costs to businesses across the UK through our business surveys, ONS reports, and other intelligence sources, as well as through regular direct engagement with exporters. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement allows UK businesses to access the EU market and the EU-UK summit earlier this year identified areas where this can be enhanced.Alongside this, DBT continues to offer a range of support for SMEs, with our Small Business Plan setting out the most comprehensive package of support for SMEs in a generation. This includes Unlock Europe, a programme from UK Export Academy designed to help businesses build relationships with European customers and increase exporting potential to the EU.

What steps his Department plans to take to identify UK priority sectors for trade expansion with Brazil.

The UK’s new Industrial Strategy sets out ambitious plans for eight growth-driving sectors - Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Defence, Digital and Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Professional and Business Services. I am keen to integrate the Industrial Strategy with the Trade Strategy so as to build export markets for our key growing sectors. These sectors are also the focus of my department’s work with Brazil. The Department’s new Ricardo Fund – announced in the Trade Strategy – is funding interventions on Offshore Wind and in the Life Sciences sector to help create new opportunities for UK exporters, and I signed agreements on customs and regulatory cooperation aimed at boosting UK exports on my recent visit to Brazil, where I met with several UK businesses who are keen to expand their work in the country.

What plans his Department has to monitor UK export growth arising from agreements made during President Trump's state visit in September 2025.

The US is the UK’s largest single country export market and President Trump’s State Visit was a valuable opportunity to further strengthen our economic relationship with the US. We launched a new technology partnership that will build on the foundations of the economic deal we agreed in May and announced a record breaking £150 billion of new US investment into the UK. It is too early to detect specific increments, but the Department for Business and Trade continues to monitor the level of exports with all countries, and through our Trade Strategy, Industrial Strategy, and Small Business Plan, we are putting in place the policies, support, and services needed to drive export-led business growth.

How HMRC will measure the potential impact of its digital services on levels of taxpayer compliance.

HMRC has a strategy to become a digital-first organisation with a minimum of 90% of interactions undertaken digitally by 2029 to 2030, as set out in the HMRC Transformation Roadmap. HMRC's Transformation Roadmap - GOV.UKAnnex A of the Roadmap sets out the metrics that will be used to measure progress, including on compliance, and these will be reported in HMRC’s Annual Report and AccountsAnnex A: HMRC's Transformation Roadmap metrics - GOV.UK

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed UK-Brazil trade measures on small and medium-sized businesses in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

The Government is committed to putting small and medium sized businesses at the heart of our Growth Mission. Our recently published plan for small and medium sized businesses sets out a long-term approach for how we will help small and medium sized businesses to grow and realise their export potential. I recently visited Brazil to strengthen our bilateral trade relationship and sign agreements on customs, regulatory cooperation and export credit. We expect these agreements and future collaboration with Brazil to benefit businesses of all sizes across the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed water-saving measures on water availability in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

We are consulting on tighter water efficiency standards for new homes in Building Regulations. Within this we have assessed the policy’s impact on home construction and will be considering developer responses to enable a smooth transition. Our assessment considered the policy at a national level and not specifically its impact on Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. Industry research found the cost of water efficiency is low for developers in comparison with the cost of development blockages caused by subsequent water scarcity. The cost of retrofitting water efficient devices is around £40-100 and can be offset by the incentives offered to developers by water companies.The proposed measures will unlock stalled developments in areas of water scarcity and could unlock 1,000 homes for every 5,250 built, while saving households over £100 a year on bills. The Government response to the consultation will outline how we propose to monitor and evaluate the final policy.

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.

Food and Rural Affairs, how she plans to monitor compliance with proposed water efficiency standards.

We are consulting on tighter water efficiency standards for new homes in Building Regulations. Within this we have assessed the policy’s impact on home construction and will be considering developer responses to enable a smooth transition. Our assessment considered the policy at a national level and not specifically its impact on Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. Industry research found the cost of water efficiency is low for developers in comparison with the cost of development blockages caused by subsequent water scarcity. The cost of retrofitting water efficient devices is around £40-100 and can be offset by the incentives offered to developers by water companies.The proposed measures will unlock stalled developments in areas of water scarcity and could unlock 1,000 homes for every 5,250 built, while saving households over £100 a year on bills. The Government response to the consultation will outline how we propose to monitor and evaluate the final policy.

Food and Rural Affairs, what metrics her Department will use to assess the effectiveness of water-saving measures in new homes.

We are consulting on tighter water efficiency standards for new homes in Building Regulations. Within this we have assessed the policy’s impact on home construction and will be considering developer responses to enable a smooth transition. Our assessment considered the policy at a national level and not specifically its impact on Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. Industry research found the cost of water efficiency is low for developers in comparison with the cost of development blockages caused by subsequent water scarcity. The cost of retrofitting water efficient devices is around £40-100 and can be offset by the incentives offered to developers by water companies.The proposed measures will unlock stalled developments in areas of water scarcity and could unlock 1,000 homes for every 5,250 built, while saving households over £100 a year on bills. The Government response to the consultation will outline how we propose to monitor and evaluate the final policy.

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.

How many new UK-US regulatory alignment agreements he plans to make in the next 12 months.

Following the landmark economic deal with the US which we signed in May, we are continuing talks on a wider UK-US Economic Deal which will look at addressing specific non-tariff barriers, increasing digital trade, and unlocking new commercial opportunities that benefit both nations. We cannot comment on the specifics of live negotiations, but we are discussing mutual recognition agreements. We will only make any mutual recognition agreements if we believe they benefit UK businesses.

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 assessment his Department has made of the potential barriers to UK investment in Singapore.

UK companies and investors experience relatively few barriers to investment in Singapore. At the end of 2023, the stock of Foreign Direct Investment from the UK in Singapore was £15.9 billion, a 23% increase on the end of 2022. UK investors can benefit from provisions in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which provides guarantees on market access and treatment they will receive when accessing and operating in Singapore. This includes ensuring that they are not discriminated against relative to domestic investors. The Government continues to invite business views and feedback regarding any potential barriers.

What mechanisms exist for monitoring mutual recognition of professional qualifications between the UK and EU under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement contains provisions which allow the UK and EU to agree recognition of professional qualifications arrangements for specific sectors where this is jointly proposed by UK and EU regulators. The annual Trade Specialised Committee on Services, Investment and Digital Trade oversees the implementation of these provisions. In the recent UK-EU Common Understanding, the UK and EU committed to setting up dedicated dialogues on the implementation of the recognition of professional qualifications provisions within the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. These dialogues will provide a dedicated space for deeper UK-EU collaboration on the recognition of professional qualifications.

What mechanisms his Department has put in place to track the potential impact of UK-Singapore co-operation on digital trade.

The UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA), and associated Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), support cooperation on key themes of digital trade. We monitor impact via regular dialogue with the Singaporean government, as part of the UK-Singapore free trade agreement subcommittee, and through regular engagement with businesses. Recent business engagement resulted in analysis (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/identifying-new-growth-opportunities-within-the-uk-singapore-dea/identifying-new-uk-growth-opportunities-within-the-uk-singapore-dea-and-future-digital-partnerships) showing that stakeholders believe these MoUs support collaboration and lead to tangible benefits as seen, for example, in pilot projects conducted under the Digital Trade Facilitation MoU. For more on the DEA’s impact on reducing non-tariff barriers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer to UIN 44934: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.

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 criteria his Department applied to define deprived areas for the provision of free dental products in early years settings in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

National supervised toothbrushing programme funding and free dental products are based on the Office for National Statistics’ Indices of Multiple Deprivation mid-2020 population estimates. These were used to identify the number of three to five-year-olds living in the 20% most deprived Lower Super Output Areas of local authorities, including Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council.

What estimate he has made of the potential return on funding for the the supervised brushing scheme in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Supervised toothbrushing is an evidence-based intervention. The most recent assessment suggests that supervised toothbrushing schemes have a five-year return on investment of £3.06 for every £1 spent where the rate of decayed, missing due to decay, and filled teeth is two or greater. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-the-oral-health-of-children-cost-effective-commissioning

What funding his Department has provided for supervised tooth brushing in early years settings in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Funding for 2025/26 has been allocated at upper tier local authority level. For Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council this was £61,842.36 for supervised toothbrushing in early years settings. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-grants-to-local-authorities-2025-to-2026