Written questions by Dewhirst.

What discussions her Department has had with regulators and industry on modernising the financial infrastructure related to 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 steps she is taking to tackle vulnerabilities in property transactions, particularly in the handling and movement of large sums during settlement, in the Economic Crime Plan.

The government’s Economic Crime Plan 2 has strengthened the UK’s defences against property‑related money laundering by enhancing transparency of land and overseas property ownership, improving data‑sharing and enforcement, and targeting higher‑risk activity in the property sector to better detect, disrupt and recover illicit assets. The government’s Money Laundering Regulations ensure that those sectors most at risk of being abused for money laundering have appropriate risk-based controls in place. The regulations apply to all financial, legal and estate agency firms involved in property transactions, whether directly with the purchase, securing the funds, or setting up structures to hold property. The government intends to develop a new public-private strategy focused on anti-money laundering and asset recovery in the coming months.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the combined effect of higher rateable values and reduced business rates relief on (a) the number of hospitality businesses and (b) vacancy rates on high streets over the next three years.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base. At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties, including those on the high street. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. Treasury Ministers and officials engaged with a wide range of stakeholders across the pub and hospitality sector ahead of the Budget to discuss business rates.

What the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment in her Department.

HM Treasury makes information on its direct ministerial appointments available in line with Cabinet Office guidance on transparency. This information is available on GOV.UK and kept under review to ensure it is up to date. The arrangements for each appointment are outlined in their terms of reference published on GOV.UK. NAMEJOB TITLEPRESS RELEASEJohn Van ReenenAdviser on Economic GrowthChancellor appoints growth adviser - GOV.UKAlex DepledgeEntrepreneurship AdviserFirst ever Entrepreneurship Advisor appointed to the Treasury - GOV.UKAnna ValeroIndustrial Strategy AdviserChancellor appoints Industrial Strategy adviser - GOV.UKCatherine HowardInfrastructure and Planning AdviserChancellor appoints infrastructure and planning adviser to clear path for new investments - GOV.UKMark AustinChair, Dematerialisation Market Action Taskforce (DEMAT)Dematerialisation Market Action Taskforce - GOV.UKGeoffrey SpenceExternal expertise on project finance to HMTProject Finance Adviser appointed - GOV.UKDavid SturrockMember of the Council of Economic AdvisersThe Chancellor has appointed David Sturrock to the Council of Economic Advisors - GOV.UK

What estimate her Department has made of the volume of egg imports into the United Kingdom from Ukraine in the last 12 months.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited Official Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com) From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria including imports from Ukraine. Goods moving to and from the UK are identified by commodity codes. To build a table you will need to know the commodity code of the goods imported. These codes are available in the UK Tariff at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. The commodity code for eggs can be found in Chapter 04. If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.

What guidance her Department plans to issue to family business owners on inheritance tax reforms to agricultural and business property relief from April 2026.

As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the government will reform Inheritance Tax agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026. The government has published several documents setting out further detail on how these changes will work in practice, including a policy paper at Autumn Budget 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief A detailed explainer of the reforms, including case study examples, was published 5 November 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief On 21 July 2025, the government published draft legislation, an Explanatory Note and a Tax Information and Impact Note for the changes, alongside its response to the technical consultation on the changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief Final legislation for this measure will be included in the upcoming Finance Bill 2025-26, which will be published shortly after the Budget on 26 November. HMRC will publish full guidance and explain the changes through their communications channels, as appropriate, in due course for the changes coming into effect on 6 April 2026.

What steps her Department is taking to communicate the implications of inheritance tax reforms to business and agricultural property relief to family business owners.

As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the government will reform Inheritance Tax agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026. The government has published several documents setting out further detail on how these changes will work in practice, including a policy paper at Autumn Budget 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief A detailed explainer of the reforms, including case study examples, was published 5 November 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief On 21 July 2025, the government published draft legislation, an Explanatory Note and a Tax Information and Impact Note for the changes, alongside its response to the technical consultation on the changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief Final legislation for this measure will be included in the upcoming Finance Bill 2025-26, which will be published shortly after the Budget on 26 November. HMRC will publish full guidance and explain the changes through their communications channels, as appropriate, in due course for the changes coming into effect on 6 April 2026.

When the Lords' Commissioners of the Treasury will next meet.

There are no plans for the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury to meet. As set out in the Annual Report and Accounts, the Treasury Board met once since July 2024 and the Chancellor of the Exchequer was in attendance.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 August 2025 to Question HL9820 on Cryptocurrencies, whether the Government’s crypto-asset holdings are deemed to be held in the Consolidated Fund under the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866; and what the Government’s methodology is for valuing crypto-assets.

The Consolidated Fund is a sterling denominated fund and therefore does not hold cryptocurrencies. Departments are responsible for applying relevant accounting standards on a case by case basis to value any assets held.

Whether the proposed socio-economic duty will apply to fiscal decisions made by her Department.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity in the Cabinet Office is currently working toward commencement of the duty. This includes drafting statutory guidance which will clarify how the duty can be applied effectively.

If she will make an assessment of the number of pensioners who will need to pay back the Winter Fuel Payment through tax system, in each financial year between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2029.

From this winter 2025-26 Winter Fuel Payment eligibility will be expanded in England and Wales. Pensioners with incomes below or equal to £35,000 will benefit from Winter Fuel Payments. About 9 million individuals will benefit from a Winter Fuel Payments this winter. Winter Fuel Payments will be paid automatically meaning any pensioner receiving a State Pension or DWP benefit or who has previously received a Winter Fuel Payment will not need to make a claim. There are about 2 million individuals with an income above £35,000. Those who receive a Winter Fuel Payment will have the full amount of their Winter Fuel Payment recovered via HMRC. Pensioners do not need to take any immediate action, and those that wish to opt out of receiving the winter fuel payment can do so. Winter Fuel Payments are devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

With reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, whether she plans to raise taxes.

In the Spending Review, money was allocated to the priorities of the British people: our security, our health service and growing the economy to put more money in people's pockets. Everything the Chancellor set out in the Spending Review is costed and has been budgeted for. The OBR will produce a new forecast in the Autumn for the annual Budget, and the Chancellor will take decisions in the round based on that forecast.

If she will list the (a) topic and (b) title of each item of external research commissioned by HMRC since 4 July 2024.

Details of projects in the HMRC Research Programme are available at: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/about/research#research-activities-funded-by-hmrc The content of this webpage will be updated to include projects commissioned since 4 July 2024 as soon as possible.

If she will publish the modelling used for the proposed changes to (a) Agricultural Property Relief and (b) Business Property Relief.

I refer the Honourable Member to the PQ referenced UIN 29334 published on 5th February 2025 at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-02-05/29334.

What steps she is taking to support sole traders and small family-run businesses with the cost of (a) inflation and (b) living; and if she will review VAT thresholds and business rates for small enterprises.

The Government recognises the important role that small businesses and sole traders play in the economy, and the impact that inflation can have on them. We are putting the public finances on a sustainable path and investing in the future, creating a stable environment for growth.At the Budget we introduced a range of tax measures that benefit small businesses and sole traders. These included:• More than doubling the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities will either gain or see no change this year. • Maintaining the Small Profits Rate and marginal relief at their current rates and thresholds, as well as maintaining the £1 million Annual Investment Allowance; and• Freezing the small business multiplier for 2025/26 meaning that, taken together with Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR), over a million properties are protected from inflationary bill increases.The Budget announcements on business rates reflect the Government’s first steps to support the high street. We want to go further to modernise the system, and so, we have published a Discussion Paper setting out priority areas for reform. This paper invited industry to help co-design a fairer business rates system that supports investment and is fit for the 21st century.At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU country and the joint highest in the OECD. This means the majority of UK businesses are kept out of the VAT system.

How many retailers with a retail value of under £51,000 are based on retail parks.

The Valuation Office Agency does not hold information specific to retail parks.

How much funding her Department has allocated to Stonewall for (a) 2025/26 and (b) 2026/27.

HM Treasury has not allocated any funding for Stonewall for 2025/26 and does not anticipate allocating any funding for Stonewall in 2026/27.

What budget her Department has allocated to public sector pay rises for 2025-26 and 2026-27.

Public Sector pay rises will be funded from Departmental Budgets across the Parliament – there is no centrally provided funding available for pay rises. Departments have set out in their evidence to the Pay Review Bodies (PRBs) what is affordable for 2025-26 pay awards for their workforces. Departmental budgets for 2026-27 onwards are subject to the ongoing Spending Review.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing business rates relief for retailers that choose to leave the high street and move their businesses to retail parks.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for all retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. The rates for any new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context.

What budget her Department has allocated to public sector equality, diversity and inclusion roles for (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27.

HM Treasury has fewer than 5 staff in equality, diversity and inclusion roles for 2025/26. As the total number of individuals is less than 5, HM Treasury is unable to release salary information as doing so would mean these individuals may be identifiable. This is in line with HM Treasury's data reporting policy.The Department's budget for 2026/27 has not yet been finalised.