Written questions by Chowns.

With reference to the acknowledgement of my letter of 7 January 2026, its referral in error to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the subsequent allocation of reference MC2025/27941 on 16 March 2026, (a) what steps her Department is taking to improve the handling of and response times to correspondence received from Members and (b) when she will provide a full written response to that letter.

HM Treasury recognises the important role Parliament has in holding the Government to account and the need to provide full and timely responses to requests for information. Treasury Ministers have received significant volumes of correspondence since the Budget, which has led to a backlog. In response, officials are working with Ministers’ offices to prioritise and clear outstanding cases as quickly as possible. Additional resource has been secured to assist Ministers’ offices with drafting and clearances. The Treasury correspondence unit has also recently recruited two additional drafting officials to ensure appropriate resourcing of this important function and are working across the department to prioritise responses. A response to case MC2025/27941 was issued on 27th April 2026 to the hon. Member for North Herefordshire.

With reference to her email of 7January 2026 acknowledging receipt of my letter ref MC2025/27941, whether she will set out (a) the reasons for the widely differing changes to rateable values and (b) her Department’s longer-term projections for reliefs to reduce the business rates burden on the hospitality sector.

At the Budget, the Valuation Office (VO) announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. The VO are independent and are happy to talk to ratepayers if they have queries about how a rateable value has been assessed. Ratepayers can also challenge their rateable value through the online Check and Challenge process if they believe it is incorrect. The Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect ratepayers against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. This means most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15 per cent or less in 2026/27, or £800 for the smallest. The Government has also introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and benefit over 750,000 properties. In addition, this year, every pub and live music venue is receiving 15 per cent off its business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget. Bills will then be frozen in real terms for a further two years.

When HMRC will publish the detailed guidance firms will need in order to comply with the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers'.

HMRC has published guidance on GOV.UK to support tax advisers who are required to register with HMRC. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-and-when-you-need-to-register-as-a-tax-adviser-with-hmrc Further guidance will be published before May 2026 and HMRC is working with key industry stakeholders to get the detail of this guidance right.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on the smooth functioning of the property market, of the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers'.

The government has consulted extensively with stakeholders about plans to require the registration of tax advisers who interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients. This includes the 2024 consultation ‘Raising standards in the tax advice market: strengthening the regulatory framework and improving registration’ and a technical consultation on draft legislation published in summer 2025. HMRC will continue to work with the industry ahead of implementation and consider concerns raised by stakeholder groups, including conveyancers. HMRC has released a tax information and impact note on GOV.UK. The note details how the measure is expected to affect businesses that provide professional tax services and interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mandatory-tax-adviser-registration-with-hmrc/tax-advisers-to-register-with-hmrc-and-meet-minimum-standards

Whether the assessment of the number of estates impacted by the changes to Inheritance Tax on unused pension funds and death benefits (published in the relevant Policy Paper on 21 July 2025) took into consideration the increase in asset values over the coming years.

Most unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will form part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027. This removes distortions resulting from changes that have been made to pensions tax policy over the last decade, which have led to some pensions being openly used and marketed as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth, rather than as a way to fund retirement. These reforms also remove inconsistencies in the inheritance tax treatment of different types of pensions The Government will continue to incentivise pension savings for their intended purpose of funding retirement, with ongoing tax reliefs on both contributions into pensions and on the growth of funds held within a pension scheme. Pensions continue to benefit from very significant tax benefits, with gross income tax and National Insurance contributions relief costing £78.2 billion in 2023-24. It is therefore crucial to ensure that tax reliefs on pensions are being used for their intended purpose – to encourage saving for retirement and later life – rather than for passing on wealth free of inheritance tax Estates will continue to benefit from the normal nil-rate bands, reliefs, and exemptions available. For example, the nil-rate bands mean an estate can pass on up to £1 million with no inheritance tax liability and the general rules mean any transfers, including the payment of death benefits, to a spouse or civil partner are fully exempt from inheritance tax. More than 90 per cent of UK estates will continue to have no inheritance tax liability in 2030-31 following these changes and the reforms will only affect a minority of those with inheritable pension wealth As is standard practice, the costing and the assessment of the number of estates expected to be impacted by the reforms take account of the forecasts for changes in asset values. For example, pension wealth is grown over time using the equity prices determinant from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) economic forecast. The OBR published detailed information on 30 January 2025 and this is available at https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/IHT-on-pensions-supplementary-release-Jan-2025.pdf.

What consideration has been given to the potential risk that the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers' may mislead consumers to assume their conveyancer or solicitor is providing full tax advice, which they are not authorised to give.

Guidance on whether you need to register as a tax adviser is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-and-when-you-need-to-register-as-a-tax-adviser-with-hmrc

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers' on costs for consumers.

The government has consulted extensively with stakeholders about plans to require the registration of tax advisers who interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients. This includes the 2024 consultation ‘Raising standards in the tax advice market: strengthening the regulatory framework and improving registration’ and a technical consultation on draft legislation published in summer 2025. HMRC will continue to work with the industry ahead of implementation and consider concerns raised by stakeholder groups, including conveyancers. HMRC has released a tax information and impact note on GOV.UK. The note details how the measure is expected to affect businesses that provide professional tax services and interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mandatory-tax-adviser-registration-with-hmrc/tax-advisers-to-register-with-hmrc-and-meet-minimum-standards

What assessment she has made of the potential risk that changes to Inheritance Tax on unused pension funds and death benefits could discourage private savings for pensions.

Most unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will form part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027. This removes distortions resulting from changes that have been made to pensions tax policy over the last decade, which have led to some pensions being openly used and marketed as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth, rather than as a way to fund retirement. These reforms also remove inconsistencies in the inheritance tax treatment of different types of pensions The Government will continue to incentivise pension savings for their intended purpose of funding retirement, with ongoing tax reliefs on both contributions into pensions and on the growth of funds held within a pension scheme. Pensions continue to benefit from very significant tax benefits, with gross income tax and National Insurance contributions relief costing £78.2 billion in 2023-24. It is therefore crucial to ensure that tax reliefs on pensions are being used for their intended purpose – to encourage saving for retirement and later life – rather than for passing on wealth free of inheritance tax Estates will continue to benefit from the normal nil-rate bands, reliefs, and exemptions available. For example, the nil-rate bands mean an estate can pass on up to £1 million with no inheritance tax liability and the general rules mean any transfers, including the payment of death benefits, to a spouse or civil partner are fully exempt from inheritance tax. More than 90 per cent of UK estates will continue to have no inheritance tax liability in 2030-31 following these changes and the reforms will only affect a minority of those with inheritable pension wealth As is standard practice, the costing and the assessment of the number of estates expected to be impacted by the reforms take account of the forecasts for changes in asset values. For example, pension wealth is grown over time using the equity prices determinant from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) economic forecast. The OBR published detailed information on 30 January 2025 and this is available at https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/IHT-on-pensions-supplementary-release-Jan-2025.pdf.

Pursuant to question 25666 answered on 30 January 2025, what her planned timetable is for amending the rules on Gift Aid.

The government is pleased to confirm that charities will continue to be eligible for Gift Aid following implementation of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. While new tax legislation may be necessary in due course, HMRC will shortly publish interim guidance setting out that where subscriptions are currently eligible under existing Gift Aid rules, they will remain so.

Pursuant to WPQ 80434 answered on 17 October 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the proposals on the (a) minimum share rule, (b) upper limit on relief and (c) transferrable allowance in that report.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.As announced at Budget 2025, any unused £1 million allowance for the 100% rate of agricultural property relief and business property relief will be transferable between spouses and civil partners, including if the first death was before 6 April 2026.The report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) sets out its other potential amendments to the policy are not, in its own words, a “silver bullet”. For example, CenTax acknowledge the proposal for a minimum share test is less effective than the Government’s reforms in raising revenue from the wealthiest estates, could be exposed to tax planning opportunities, would not necessarily prevent wealthy individuals buying land for inheritance tax purposes, and would mean double the number of estates being affected by the reforms (and largely estates below £2 million).

Pursuant to the Answered of 27 May 2025 to question 53743 on Taxation: Overpayments, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of improving HMRC’s data collection systems to record more detailed information on enquiries received from hon. Members, including whether those enquiries (a) related to overpaid or overcharged tax and (b) resulted in repayment.

HMRC recognises that understanding the nature of enquiries from hon. Members, including those relating to overpaid or overcharged tax and whether they resulted in repayment, could provide useful insight. While no formal assessment has been undertaken, HMRC keeps its data capabilities under review to ensure they can respond effectively to stakeholder needs.

With reference to HMRC's publication entitled Benefits of Making Tax Digital, last updated on 23 April 2025, what the evidential basis is that Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Self Assessment will (a) help small businesses manage their tax affairs and (b) support business growth.

Making Tax Digital (MTD) modernises the tax system and will help businesses and landlords keep on top of their tax affairs. It places small businesses on a more digital footing helping to reduce errors and making annual tax returns easier. HMRC has published evaluation of the wider benefits of MTD for VAT, which is already in place for over 2m users. This found users experienced a range of benefits including increased confidence in managing their VAT. Many experienced time savings, estimated at 26–40 hours per business per year freeing up resources for core business activities, and supporting their productivity and growth. This research can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/estimating-the-wider-economic-benefit-of-making-tax-digital/making-tax-digital-estimating-the-wider-economic-benefit

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of quarterly reporting requirements under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Self Assessment on (a) landlords’ administrative costs and (b) rent levels for tenants.

HMRC has undertaken detailed assessments of the potential impact of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax on compliance costs and administrative requirements across different taxpayer groups, including seasonal workers, self-employed individuals, small businesses, and landlords. The latest published assessment is available at: Extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment to sole traders and landlords - GOV.UK HMRC has worked to ensure that MTD for Income Tax works well for all kinds of businesses. In-year, quarterly updates are not like full tax returns.They are simple, unadjusted summaries of income and expenditure, acting as a snapshot of quarterly trading activity. They will be populated automatically through software and can be submitted easily. This process has been designed to be simple for users and quick to complete. Quarterly updates reduce the risk of error by moving record-keeping closer to real time. They also make preparing the tax return easier, as much information is already captured and categorised. Updates can help inform estimates of tax liability and prompts to help taxpayers get their tax right. The Government has taken steps to minimise costs to businesses resulting from MTD, including work with the software industry to ensure free software is available for those with simple affairs. Following MTD’s introduction in April 2026, HMRC will support MTD users with fully-trained advisers in sufficient numbers to manage anticipated demand. In advance of MTD’s rollout, nearly 5,000 volunteers have signed up to test the service. HMRC’s dedicated teams are working to ensure the new systems and processes operate as planned and the right guidance and training is in place for both advisors and users. As a major government programme, HMRC routinely evaluates MTD’s value for money in line with mandatory Government Major Project Portfolio (GMPP) requirements, which include demonstrating affordability, cost-effectiveness, and delivery of benefits throughout its lifecycle to ensure efficient use of public funds. The latest assessment is at: Making Tax Digital Programme Accounting Officer Assessment (updated) - GOV.UK

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that HMRC's Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Self Assessment represents good value for money.

HMRC has undertaken detailed assessments of the potential impact of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax on compliance costs and administrative requirements across different taxpayer groups, including seasonal workers, self-employed individuals, small businesses, and landlords. The latest published assessment is available at: Extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment to sole traders and landlords - GOV.UK HMRC has worked to ensure that MTD for Income Tax works well for all kinds of businesses. In-year, quarterly updates are not like full tax returns.They are simple, unadjusted summaries of income and expenditure, acting as a snapshot of quarterly trading activity. They will be populated automatically through software and can be submitted easily. This process has been designed to be simple for users and quick to complete. Quarterly updates reduce the risk of error by moving record-keeping closer to real time. They also make preparing the tax return easier, as much information is already captured and categorised. Updates can help inform estimates of tax liability and prompts to help taxpayers get their tax right. The Government has taken steps to minimise costs to businesses resulting from MTD, including work with the software industry to ensure free software is available for those with simple affairs. Following MTD’s introduction in April 2026, HMRC will support MTD users with fully-trained advisers in sufficient numbers to manage anticipated demand. In advance of MTD’s rollout, nearly 5,000 volunteers have signed up to test the service. HMRC’s dedicated teams are working to ensure the new systems and processes operate as planned and the right guidance and training is in place for both advisors and users. As a major government programme, HMRC routinely evaluates MTD’s value for money in line with mandatory Government Major Project Portfolio (GMPP) requirements, which include demonstrating affordability, cost-effectiveness, and delivery of benefits throughout its lifecycle to ensure efficient use of public funds. The latest assessment is at: Making Tax Digital Programme Accounting Officer Assessment (updated) - GOV.UK

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of quarterly reporting requirements under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Self Assessment on seasonal businesses.

HMRC has undertaken detailed assessments of the potential impact of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax on compliance costs and administrative requirements across different taxpayer groups, including seasonal workers, self-employed individuals, small businesses, and landlords. The latest published assessment is available at: Extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment to sole traders and landlords - GOV.UK HMRC has worked to ensure that MTD for Income Tax works well for all kinds of businesses. In-year, quarterly updates are not like full tax returns.They are simple, unadjusted summaries of income and expenditure, acting as a snapshot of quarterly trading activity. They will be populated automatically through software and can be submitted easily. This process has been designed to be simple for users and quick to complete. Quarterly updates reduce the risk of error by moving record-keeping closer to real time. They also make preparing the tax return easier, as much information is already captured and categorised. Updates can help inform estimates of tax liability and prompts to help taxpayers get their tax right. The Government has taken steps to minimise costs to businesses resulting from MTD, including work with the software industry to ensure free software is available for those with simple affairs. Following MTD’s introduction in April 2026, HMRC will support MTD users with fully-trained advisers in sufficient numbers to manage anticipated demand. In advance of MTD’s rollout, nearly 5,000 volunteers have signed up to test the service. HMRC’s dedicated teams are working to ensure the new systems and processes operate as planned and the right guidance and training is in place for both advisors and users. As a major government programme, HMRC routinely evaluates MTD’s value for money in line with mandatory Government Major Project Portfolio (GMPP) requirements, which include demonstrating affordability, cost-effectiveness, and delivery of benefits throughout its lifecycle to ensure efficient use of public funds. The latest assessment is at: Making Tax Digital Programme Accounting Officer Assessment (updated) - GOV.UK

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that HM Revenue and Customs has sufficient capacity to support taxpayers during the implementation of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Self Assessment.

HMRC has undertaken detailed assessments of the potential impact of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax on compliance costs and administrative requirements across different taxpayer groups, including seasonal workers, self-employed individuals, small businesses, and landlords. The latest published assessment is available at: Extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment to sole traders and landlords - GOV.UK HMRC has worked to ensure that MTD for Income Tax works well for all kinds of businesses. In-year, quarterly updates are not like full tax returns.They are simple, unadjusted summaries of income and expenditure, acting as a snapshot of quarterly trading activity. They will be populated automatically through software and can be submitted easily. This process has been designed to be simple for users and quick to complete. Quarterly updates reduce the risk of error by moving record-keeping closer to real time. They also make preparing the tax return easier, as much information is already captured and categorised. Updates can help inform estimates of tax liability and prompts to help taxpayers get their tax right. The Government has taken steps to minimise costs to businesses resulting from MTD, including work with the software industry to ensure free software is available for those with simple affairs. Following MTD’s introduction in April 2026, HMRC will support MTD users with fully-trained advisers in sufficient numbers to manage anticipated demand. In advance of MTD’s rollout, nearly 5,000 volunteers have signed up to test the service. HMRC’s dedicated teams are working to ensure the new systems and processes operate as planned and the right guidance and training is in place for both advisors and users. As a major government programme, HMRC routinely evaluates MTD’s value for money in line with mandatory Government Major Project Portfolio (GMPP) requirements, which include demonstrating affordability, cost-effectiveness, and delivery of benefits throughout its lifecycle to ensure efficient use of public funds. The latest assessment is at: Making Tax Digital Programme Accounting Officer Assessment (updated) - GOV.UK

What discussions she has had with the Bank of England on other members of the Network for Greening Financial Services (NGFS) incorporating climate tipping points into NGFS scenarios.

The Chancellor’s 2024 remit and recommendations letter to the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) sets out that the Committee should “consider how climate-related risks could impact financial stability over the near and long term, including, where appropriate, through its stress testing frameworks, ensuring that risks stemming from possible and severe global climate scenarios are reflected in its analysis on climate risks, and that sufficient time horizons are considered”. The remit letter also sets out that the Committee should “continue to consider the materiality of nature-related financial risks for its primary objective”. The Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England meet regularly to discuss the financial stability outlook. However, the FPC and the UK’s financial regulators are operationally independent from government in terms of how they carry out their specific responsibilities. This model is important for maintaining public trust and ensuring that our expert regulators are able to act flexibly to address evolving risks.

With reference to the Answer of 16 October 2025 to Question 79904 on Carbon Emissions, if she will make it her policy to require the Bank of England to undertake a nature stress test.

The Chancellor’s 2024 remit and recommendations letter to the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) sets out that the Committee should “consider how climate-related risks could impact financial stability over the near and long term, including, where appropriate, through its stress testing frameworks, ensuring that risks stemming from possible and severe global climate scenarios are reflected in its analysis on climate risks, and that sufficient time horizons are considered”. The remit letter also sets out that the Committee should “continue to consider the materiality of nature-related financial risks for its primary objective”. The Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England meet regularly to discuss the financial stability outlook. However, the FPC and the UK’s financial regulators are operationally independent from government in terms of how they carry out their specific responsibilities. This model is important for maintaining public trust and ensuring that our expert regulators are able to act flexibly to address evolving risks.

With reference to the Answer of 16 October 2025 to Question 79904 on Carbon Emissions, if she will require the Bank of England to undertake a climate stress test that incorporates lessons learned from the Climate Biennial Exploratory Scenario test conducted in 2021.

The Chancellor’s 2024 remit and recommendations letter to the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) sets out that the Committee should “consider how climate-related risks could impact financial stability over the near and long term, including, where appropriate, through its stress testing frameworks, ensuring that risks stemming from possible and severe global climate scenarios are reflected in its analysis on climate risks, and that sufficient time horizons are considered”. The remit letter also sets out that the Committee should “continue to consider the materiality of nature-related financial risks for its primary objective”. The Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England meet regularly to discuss the financial stability outlook. However, the FPC and the UK’s financial regulators are operationally independent from government in terms of how they carry out their specific responsibilities. This model is important for maintaining public trust and ensuring that our expert regulators are able to act flexibly to address evolving risks.

If she will make it her policy to instruct the Bank of England to publish a strategy detailing how it will support the UK’s (a) climate and nature goals and (b) green energy mission.

The Government is committed to integrating climate and nature into economic and financial decision making. The remits for the Financial Policy Committee, Prudential Regulation Committee and Monetary Policy Committee all set out the government’s economic strategy, which includes accelerating the transition to a climate resilient, nature positive and net zero economy. Climate-related considerations are therefore embedded across the Bank of England’s work, including in relation to its statutory objectives for price and financial stability. The Bank published its Climate Transition Plan in June 2023, and it also publishes annual climate-related financial disclosures. These annual reports set out the climate risks to which the Bank is exposed, the emissions associated with the Bank’s own financial and physical operations and the Bank’s work on climate change.