Written questions by Dewhirst.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2025 to Question 86245 on Alex Chisholm and Simon Case, what was the business case for the approval of the severance payment for Simon Case in March 2025.

The severance payment for Simon Case was made in line with his contract of employment, and guidance concerning special severance payments as defined in HM Treasury’s Managing Public Money.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025, to Question 93748, on 10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance, how much has been spent from public funds by Cabinet Office, HM Treasury or the Government Property Agency on the Chancellor’s official Ministerial residence in 10 Downing Street since 4 July 2024.

Following the departure of previous occupants, the official Ministerial residence was provided unfurnished. To address this, £19,759.61 was spent since 4 July 2024 on furnishings which remain government property and will be retained for future occupants.

If she will publish the names of the members of the Council of Economic Advisers, and state whether they are (a) civil servants, (b) special advisers or (c) direct ministerial appointments; and which are (i) paid and (ii) unpaid.

The Chancellor’s Council of Economic Advisers consists of three paid Special Advisers — Neil Amin-Smith, Spencer Thompson and Emily Fry — and one paid direct ministerial appointee, David Sturrock.

Whether she has determined the source of the leak of the policies within the Autumn Budget 2025 to the media.

As the Chancellor set out to the Treasury Select Committee on 10/12/25, a leak inquiry is underway. In addition, the Permanent Secretary of the Treasury is conducting a wider review of Budget security, which he aims to conclude in advance of the Spring Statement..

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2025, to Question 96894, on Treasury: Public Appointments, and pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025, to Question 94701, on Baroness Shafik, in relation to the publication of remuneration details, if she will publish the remuneration of each of the seven direct ministerial appointments.

Further to the Answer of 8 December 2025 to Question 96894, the annual remuneration of the paid direct ministerial appointments is: Alex Depledge, Entrepreneurship Adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer – a daily rate of £565.50 for two days per week.David Sturrock, Economic Adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and member of the Council of Economic Advisers – £117,362 per annum, full time. All other direct ministerial appointments listed are unpaid. Direct ministerial appointments are temporary appointments made to provide time limited advice and support to Ministers.

Whether she has accepted the recommendations in the report by the Office for Value for Money entitled The OVfM report, published on 26 November 2025.

The government has accepted the recommendations set out by the Office for Value for Money. This was set out in paragraph 1.7 of the OVfM report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-office-for-value-for-money-report.

Pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 88684 on Government Department: Cost Effectiveness, whether efficiency savings are reported to her Department.

Departments report efficiency savings to HM Treasury every quarter, as set out in the Government Efficiency Framework.

With reference to the report by the Office for Value for Money entitled The OVfM report, published on 26 November 2025, if she will provide a breakdown and profile of the £14 billion of efficiency savings per year by 2028-29; and whether those savings are (a) in cash terms and (b) cumulative.

The full breakdown of the £14 billion in total annual efficiency gains by 2028-29 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/departmental-efficiency-delivery-plans/departmental-efficiency-plans

Pursuant to the answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 78296 on Public Sector: Pay, which departments or public bodies had senior pay cases rejected outright.

Between July 2024 and October 2025, three cases were rejected through the senior pay approvals process. Individual salaries of senior civil servants are available through the annual reports and accounts of their employing body.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2025, to Question 96894, on Treasury: Public Appointments, if she will publish the annual remuneration of each of the direct ministerial appointments listed.

Further to the Answer of 8 December 2025 to Question 96894, the annual remuneration of the paid direct ministerial appointments is: Alex Depledge, Entrepreneurship Adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer – a daily rate of £565.50 for two days per week.David Sturrock, Economic Adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and member of the Council of Economic Advisers – £117,362 per annum, full time. All other direct ministerial appointments listed are unpaid. Direct ministerial appointments are temporary appointments made to provide time limited advice and support to Ministers.

Pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2025, to Question 88682, on Civil Service: Redundancy Pay, whether departmental spending from the exit fund, and numbers of civil servants who will leave, have to be reported by departments to HM Treasury.

Information on how much departments have spent and the number of leavers resulting from exit schemes will be published in Department’s Annual Report and Accounts.

For what reason the requirement to provide work experience is a key performance indicator for the HMRC's Unity Programme Delivery Partner contract with Accenture.

It is a requirement that social value should form a component of all central government major contracts, alongside a range of performance indicators. Under the Unity Delivery Partner contract, Accenture deliver a variety of social value initiatives including work experience opportunities for young people. In accordance with transparency reporting requirements, their performance in offering these opportunities is measured and published on GOV.uk. Work experience placements can offer younger people an insight into employment and can help enhance their skills and future employability.

How many people subscribed to (a) cash and (b) stocks and shares ISAs; and how many subscribed the maximum £20,000 in the latest year for which data is available.

In the 2022 to 2023 tax year, 7.12 million people subscribed to a Cash ISA only, and 3.07 million people subscribed to a Stocks and Shares ISA only. 1.46 million individuals subscribed the full £20,000 to Cash ISAs, while 0.84 million individuals subscribed the maximum £20,000 to Stocks and Shares ISAs. In 2022 to 2023, there were 0.74 million people who subscribed to both Cash and S&S ISAs, and 0.19 million of these dual‑subscribers subscribed the maximum £20,000.

Pursuant to the answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95649 on Inflation, whether any public body undertakes assessments of the adequacy of GDP deflator forecasts.

Forecasts for the UK economy, including assessments of the impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR publishes its forecast in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. The OBR’s EFO includes a forecast of the GDP deflator. The OBR is required to produce a Forecast Evaluation Report (FER) each year under the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act (2011). The OBR is required to explain reasons for divergence between its forecasts and subsequent outturns, to support future forecast improvements. The latest Forecast Evaluation Report can be found here: Forecast evaluation report 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility . Evaluation of the GDP deflator can be found on pages 29-30.

With reference to the Business appointment rules return - September 2025, published on 16 December 2025, for what reason the former Director of Financial Services was given a six month lobbying ban.

The Business Appointment rules are designed to uphold the core values in the Civil Service Code. The aim of the rules is that when a civil servant takes up an outside appointment or employment there should be no cause for justified public concern, criticism, or misinterpretation. These aims were considered in this case, and appropriate mitigations were put in place in line with standard HM Treasury practice and in accordance with the Business Appointment rules.

Further to Table A.7 of the OBR, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2025, CP1439, 26 November 2025, what is HM Treasury’s estimate of the cost of the EU financial settlement in each year from 2024-25 to 2030-31; and whether this includes any fiscal consequences of recent changes to the EU-UK relationship.

Please refer to The European Union Finances Statement 2024 (EUFS) for the most complete analysis of the Financial Settlement. The EUFS figures are prepared on a different basis to those published by the OBR. These differences are explained in Annexes A.4 and A.5 of the EUFS.

Whether the Spending Review has allocated funds for new payments to the European Union, over and above those commitments in treaties from the last Parliament.

Payments into the EU budget are governed by two treaties signed during the last Parliament, the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) and Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).Payments under the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) are as classified as Annually Managed Expenditure and are therefore beyond the scope of Spending Review 2025 (SR25).On 17 December 2025 the government announced the UK would join the Erasmus+ programme in 2027. As usual, any changes to Departmental Expenditure Limits will be included in a future OBR fiscal forecast.

What estimate she has made of the potential financial impact on overseas residents of the removal of Class 2 National Insurance Contributions in relation to their UK state pension entitlement.

The previous rules around voluntary National Insurance Contributions (NICs) allow those with a limited connection to the UK to build UK State Pension entitlement at a very cheap rate. At Budget 2025 the Government took two immediate steps to fix the most unfair elements of these rules. From April 2026 we are removing most access to Class 2 voluntary NICs for periods abroad. This will prevent thousands of people who are not in the UK from building entitlement to a UK State Pension far more cheaply than working people here. Secondly, we are strengthening the link a person needs to have to the UK before they can build their National Insurance record abroad. A person will now need to have spent 10 years living or building their NI record in the UK, up from three years. A Tax Information and Impact Note for these changes will be published alongside the introduction of legislation.

What discussions she has had with regulators and industry on updating the financial infrastructure that underpins the movement of funds during property transactions.

The Government regularly engages with lenders and regulators to discuss the housing market, including lenders’ mortgage lending practices which support property transactions. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is currently consulting on reforms to the home buying and selling process. The Government has made clear its objectives that reform should support faster, more reliable transactions and reduced fall throughs and risks.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of fragmented payment processes in property transactions on levels of fraud risk.

The Government regularly engages with lenders and regulators to discuss the housing market, including lenders’ mortgage lending practices which support property transactions. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is currently consulting on reforms to the home buying and selling process. The Government has made clear its objectives that reform should support faster, more reliable transactions and reduced fall throughs and risks.