Written questions by West.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a legal right to basic banking services for charities.

Charities make a valuable contribution across the country, and it is important that they can access suitable banking services. Decisions about the provision of banking services, including whether to offer accounts to particular organisations, are primarily commercial matters for banks who must meet strict financial crime and customer diligence obligations. Charities and community groups often have more complex account structures (for example, multiple trustees), making their banking needs more expensive and operationally demanding. The varying complexity and features of non-personal accounts, together with financial crime obligations, mean there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for the sector. At the Government’s encouragement, however, UK Finance - working with banks and charity representative groups - have produced the Voluntary Organisation Banking Guide, which supports charities and community groups in accessing banking services. This includes an account finder tool for charities and community groups. The Government continues to monitor evidence on access to banking services, including for charities and community groups, while recognising the need to balance customer protection with providers’ obligations to prevent financial crime and maintain the integrity of the financial system.

What assessment has she made of the potential impact of the patent box tax relief on levels of private sector (a) investment and (b) innovation.

HMRC published an evaluation of the Patent Box in 2020. The evaluation concludes that the Patent Box has had a positive impact on investment by companies, with an increase of around 10% in assets held by companies that use the Patent Box compared to similar companies that do not use the Patent Box since it was introduced.

With reference to page 11 of the Bank of England's report entitled Financial Stability Report - December 2025, published on 2 December 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the concentration of net borrowers in the gilt repurchase agreements market on the economy.

The UK gilt market is deep and liquid, with a well-diversified investor base. Gilt repo markets play an important role in supporting the functioning, liquidity and resilience of the wider gilt market.We work closely with the Debt Management Office, the Bank of England and financial regulators, to monitor developments in the gilt and gilt repo markets.Most recently, in September 2025 the Bank of England, with input from HM Treasury and the UK Debt Management Office, published an exploratory discussion paper evaluating the effectiveness and impact of a range of potential reforms to enhance the resilience of the gilt repo market.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that trainees on the HMRC Tax Specialist Programme are able to be awarded a Skilled Worker Visa to maintain the Right To Work in the UK.

HMRC values the contribution of all trainees on the Tax Specialist Programme (TSP) and recognises the importance of maintaining the Right to Work in the UK.At present, the Tax Specialist Programme (TSP) is not designated as a role eligible for sponsorship because it does not meet HMRCs internal criteria for sponsorship, which prioritise roles that are demonstrably hard to fill.