Speeches by Murray.

“That is a conversation we are going to have to have with HMRC. I can definitely discuss it and write to you about that.”

“There is an efficiency gain we have made already.”

“I do not know, because I have only been there with both hats on.”

“It was not with my chair of the board hat on. It was a ministerial consultation, but when that decision went public and everyone around this table knew about it my involvement was in the past. As soon as it is public, it is all signed off by everyone including the PM.”

“Shall I discuss it with HMRC and come back to you on that? I do not want to get any stats wrong on that.”

“He has been appointed.”

“Yes, but there was a different person in one of them. I would feed back my thoughts on the candidates and maybe any areas I thought would be worth focusing on in the interviews. That was the end of my involvement at that stage. Then it went over into the formal process, and they came back with recommendations and so on…”

“The process for recruiting a new Permanent Secretary involves a thing called a fireside chat. There is no fireside as far as I can tell; it is just a chat where I as Minister will chat to potential applicants. There is a commissioner watching as well to make sure it is all recorded and done in a very fair, recorded way…”

“To take the decision that we took, we had the information that we needed.”

“Just to be really clear in terms of the very specific question around inheritance tax, what is relevant there is HMRC data on claims. All the other features of the farm or the business that sits behind the inheritance tax claim do not tell you the ultimate question, which is around the value of the claim, because that …”

“My questions over that are why, when we came into office, I did not immediately say, “Yes, we are behind this April 2026 deadline”, because I wanted to interrogate it myself before I was happy to stand behind it. A lot of the work that I have been doing with the people directly delivering the programme and overseeing i…”

“It is a pleasure to speak in this debate with you as Chair, Dr Allin-Khan. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) on securing this debate. Likewise, he is always thoughtful in his contributions, so I am always glad to hear from him and indeed the interventions that he allowed d…”

“I have only a few moments, so I will make progress. The Leader of the Opposition has made it clear that she would prioritise that tax break within the public finances, but we do not believe it is fair or sustainable to maintain such a large tax break for such a small number of the wealthiest claimants, given the wider …”

“I am just about to come on to the details of the reforms that we have made to agricultural property relief and business property relief. If the hon. Gentleman waits a moment, he will see some of the reasoning behind the decisions that we took. The Government recognise the role that the reliefs play, particularly in sup…”

“I will give way maybe once or twice, but I do not have much time.”

“My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made an important point about diversification, but whatever category the assets fall into, a couple can pass on up to £3 million to their children or grandchildren free of inheritance tax; that applies across agricultural and business property relief. The point I was making i…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy) on securing the debate. I very much recognise and have seen the work she has done over the years to raise the profile of responsible consumer credit practices and effective debt advice. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Mrs Russell) for…”

“I am sure that Treasury officials and the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Tulip Siddiq), will be in close contact with the sector about any proposals they have. It is important to emphasise that because of the regulations we are consulting on for the new regime,…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that constituency case and highlighting the important work that that organisation does for his constituents. I cannot comment from the Dispatch Box on individual funding decisions, but he underlines the importance of tailoring to local need. Although there may be a national priority t…”

“It is a pleasure to close this debate on the Crown Estate. May I wish you, Madam Deputy Speaker, a happy new year? I am grateful to the shadow Minister for his comments today, as well as for the contributions of all my hon. Friends. I am particularly grateful for the Opposition’s support for the Bill in general, which …”