Written questions by Mierlo.

Whether she has had discussions with the Environment Agency on their decision to remove opposition to new housing developments that would be connected to the Oxford Sewage treatment works in Oxfordshire.

Awaiting answer.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that individuals and businesses contacting HMRC by telephone receive a good standard of customer service.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of consumer protection and reimbursement for victims of authorised push payment and investment frauds that occurred before 7 October 2024.

Awaiting answer.

When HMRC plans to move from Government Gateway to One Login.

HMRC detailed its ambitions for moving to GOV.UK One Login in its Transformation Roadmap which was published in July 2025. This can be found here: HMRC's Transformation Roadmap - GOV.UK HMRC entered public beta testing for new individual customers (those without a Government Gateway account) in February 2026 and controlled numbers of new users can now sign up to access HMRC digital services through GOV.UK One Login. This public beta is scheduled to run until June 2026, prior to a full go-live for new individual customers later this year. This will be followed by existing individuals (those with a Government Gateway account) and agents and organisations, as set out in the Transformation Roadmap.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of setting a maximum settlement reduction of £70,000 under the revised loan charge settlement arrangements.

The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to bring the matter to a close for those affected, ensure fairness for all taxpayers and ensure that appropriate support is in place for those subject to the loan charge. Because of the decisions the Government has taken, around 30 percent of people within scope of the review could have their liabilities removed entirely. Most other individuals will see their liabilities reduced by at least half. The most serious cases within scope of the Loan Charge review include instances where an individual has avoided more than £5 million of tax through disguised remuneration use. The Government does not believe it is right to offer this group further substantial reductions to their liabilities. The £70,000 cap was introduced to ensure fairness for all taxpayers, including the vast majority who have never used disguised remuneration schemes. Over 80% of individuals that are within scope of the settlement opportunity will not be affected by the cap.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of legal sale mileage blockers on the proposed pence-per-mile charge of 3p per mile in addition to the standard Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) starting in April 2028.

As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that electric vehicles (EVs) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. The Government is considering options to mitigate against odometer tampering, including whether any legislative, regulatory or technical changes are necessary to strengthen compliance and enforcement. The Government intends to engage with manufacturers, the leasing industry and insurers to minimise fraud. The eVED consultation provides further detail on how eVED will work and seeks views on its implementation, including the approach to compliance. The consultation is available at GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-introduction-of-electric-vehicle-excise-duty-eved.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of delaying business rates revaluations for hospitality businesses.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the Rateable Value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency, 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 remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base. The next revaluation will take effect from 1 April 2026 based on values from 1 April 2024.

What steps she is taking to improve decision making times at the Valuation Office Agency.

The VOA is meeting the majority of its performance targets. In the areas where it isn’t, it has robust service recovery plans in place. These include moving staff to where there is the greatest customer demand and upskilling its workforce in a wider range of casework, to ensure greater flexibility. It continues to prioritise any cases where a customer is facing financial hardship. The VOA reports monthly on performance to the HMRC Executive Committee and Board. The decision to move the VOA’s functions into HMRC next year will strengthen direct accountability to ministers. Integration is being carefully managed by a joint HMRC and VOA team, with detailed transition plans in place and appropriate oversight from my department.

What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on reforms to the tax and benefits system for young people in supported accommodation.

The Chancellor regularly engages with Cabinet colleagues across a wide range of policy issues including tax and welfare.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of raising the VAT registration threshold from £90,000; and whether she plans to conduct a review of the impact of current thresholds on SMEs.

With a VAT registration threshold of £90,000, the UK’s threshold is higher 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. The Government’s approach to the VAT threshold aims to balance potential impacts on small businesses, including their growth and financial sustainability, the economy as a whole, and tax revenues. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.

What (a) guidance, (b) funding, (c) accounting assistance and (d) other support her Department is providing to small businesses that become VAT-registered.

HMRC provides extensive guidance on GOV.UK to support VAT registered businesses including essentials that every business needs, up to more complex areas. Additional individual support is available from their helplines. HMRC has published an online VAT Registration Estimator for businesses approaching VAT registration. This helps them understand their basic obligations, work out what their liability may be should they need to register, and provides links to relevant guidance. There are schemes available to small businesses to support their cash flow and simplify the requirements for accounting for VAT. This includes the annual accounting scheme and cash accounting scheme, available for businesses with a turnover up to £1.6m. The Flat Rate Scheme is also available for those with a turnover up to £230k. This simplifies the calculation of VAT liability by applying a sector-specific percentage to sales, rather than recording VAT on each transaction.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of keeping the personal allowance at £12,570 on pensioners’ tax liability.

The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of the support available to them. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full new State Pension is currently projected to go up by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast. The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.

If she will hold discussions with HMRC on the difference between the loan charge settlement terms offered to (a) large companies and (b) other people.

The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers. The Government will respond by Autumn Budget 2025. HMRC applies the law fairly and consistently in accordance with its published Litigation and Settlement Strategy (LSS). This ensures every taxpayer, no matter who they are, pays the tax due under the law. Central to the LSS is that HMRC will not settle a dispute by agreement for an amount which is less than it would reasonably expect to obtain from litigation. HMRC’s Litigation and Settlement strategy can be found on gov.uk: www.gov.uk/government/publications/litigation-and-settlement-strategy-lss

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the tax-free childcare system on levels of administration for early years providers.

HMRC continually assesses the administrative impact of Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) on childcare providers, including those focused on early years provision, via customer feedback and internal system reviews. For many providers, once they have registered for TFC they will receive TFC payments made by parents directly into their bank account, just as they would when receiving non-TFC payments. In 2024, HMRC improved the administration for childcare providers by streamlining the TFC registration process and introducing a mechanism for TFC payments to be made via external payment providers used by some childcare providers. These changes are designed to improve the registration and payment functions of TFC, making the service more user friendly, efficient and accessible.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of recent changes to stamp duty thresholds on the number of first time buyers entering the property market.

Recent changes to stamp duty thresholds on 1 April 2025 were the result of policy introduced by the previous government. HMRC analysis estimates that there will be 4,000-6,000 fewer first-time buyer transactions per year between 2025/26-2029/30 as a result. At Budget 2024, the Government increased the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for additional dwellings by two percentage points from 3% to 5%. This measure will help to ensure that those looking to move home, or purchase their first property, have a greater advantage over second home buyers, landlords, and companies purchasing residential property. The OBR certified costing estimates that increasing the higher rates of SDLT by two percentage points is expected to result in 130,000 additional transactions over the next five years by first-time buyers and other people buying a primary residence.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of Macquarie Bank’s involvement in UK infrastructure development; and what steps she plans to take to ensure the stability and sustainability of essential services.

The government is committed to delivering a cross-cutting 10 Year Strategy for the UK’s social, economic and housing infrastructure to support a flourishing modern economy, drive growth, deliver net zero and support improved public services. The government has been engaging openly with industry as it develops this Strategy to ensure that it is credible and deliverable.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting (a) GP surgeries, (b) social care providers, (c) hospices, (d) NHS dentists, (e) charitable providers, and (f) pharmacies from the increase in employer's National Insurance contributions.

The Government has taken a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability after the situation we inherited from the previous administration. The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer National Insurance costs only. This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by central or local government.This is the usual approach Government takes to supporting the public sector with additional employer NICs costs, as was the case with the previous government’s Health and Social Care Levy. As a result of this measure, along with others announced at Budget, the NHS will receive an extra £22.6 billion increase in resource spending which will benefit employers.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce the levels of tax evasion by of cash-only high street businesses and (b) support small businesses to adopt card payment systems.

HMRC is committed to ensuring the tax system operates fairly and efficiently, creating a level playing field for compliant businesses. Most businesses pay what they owe, but a minority fail to register or only declare a portion of their earnings for tax. This minority deprives our vital public services of funding, affects fair competition between businesses, and places unfair burdens on everyone else.Cash is a legitimate means of paying for goods and services and continues to be used by many people across the UK. The Government’s position is that individuals and businesses can choose whether to accept or decline any form of payment, and this choice can be based on factors such as customer preference and cost. If a person or business receives cash payments, it is their responsibility to ensure they meet their tax obligations, including registering for and paying the right taxes.At the autumn budget in October 2024 the government introduced the most ambitious package ever to close the tax gap, raising £6.5 billion in additional tax revenue per year by 2029-30. The government built on this at Spring Statement in March 2025, announcing a package of measures to further close the tax gap and raise over £1 billion in additional gross tax revenue per year by 2029-30.HMRC’s approach to tax compliance includes a range of activities that aim to both detect and tackle current non-compliance and change future behaviours. We aim to help and support customers to understand their tax obligations and promoting compliance by simplifying policies and procedures, providing clear guidance to make it easy for them to get things right, providing accessible digital services to make it easier to register to pay the appropriate taxes, providing targeted support and guidance, and intervening early to reduce mistakes.HMRC are making it increasingly difficult for people and businesses to hide their income, using improved targeting with new data sources, third-party data and focused compliance activity. We will not hesitate to use stronger sanctions against those who deliberately choose not to comply. This includes potential criminal prosecutions for the most serious cases involving tax evasion.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the overseas scale rates.

The Overseas Scale Rates are an administrative easement and do not limit the amount an employee can claim for. They reduce the need to provide evidence to support an employee’s claim for tax relief.Employees travelling overseas for work have the same entitlement to tax relief whether they use the rates or not. An employee can claim tax relief on a higher value if that is appropriate, with the only distinction being they must provide receipts.There will be occasions where OSR may not reflect the current prices in a particular location. In these cases, the employer can choose to reimburse the full expenses incurred by their staff, if receipts are kept. Should the employer choose not to reimburse all the actual expenses, the employee may claim tax relief on the difference from HMRC.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure adequate (a) financial and (b) other support for communities with a building society but not a banking hub.

The Government recognises the value that building societies bring to their members in local communities across the country, and the value of their 30% share of the UK’s branch network. However, I recognise that most building societies do not provide current accounts or serve businesses. The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets and is committed to championing sufficient access to all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs, which allow businesses and individuals to deposit and take out cash, across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 200 hubs have been announced so far, and over 100 are already open. Further, the Financial Conduct Authority has introduced rules which seek to ensure individuals and business have reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. Under these rules, LINK will assess the impact of a closure or material change of a cash service on the local community and recommend new services if necessary. Assessments can also be requested by the local community. As part of its process, LINK considers what services are already available in the area, including any existing branches, and whether they meet the needs of the local community. Alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking and via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.