Written questions by Robertson.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the standard 20% VAT rate on the international competitiveness of the (a) tourism and (b) hospitality sectors.

The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality and tourism businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. The UK’s VAT rate of 20 per cent is close to the OECD average of 19.3 per cent. The UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU country and the joint highest in the OECD, at £90,000. This keeps the majority of businesses out of the VAT regime altogether.

If she will publish a distributional impact assessment of changes to national insurance contributions on (a) low and (b) middle income workers in the hospitality industry.

The Government has set out the impacts of the policy changes from Autumn Budget 2024 in the usual way. A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.With all policies considered, this forecasts the employment level to increase from 33.6 million in 2024 to 34.8 million in 2029. The Office for Budget Responsibility published its most recent Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) in March 2025, which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances. The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from the changes to employer NICs by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.

What representations she has received on reviewing the UK’s de minimis limit for low value imports.

The Government has received a broad range of representation from stakeholders who are interested in the customs treatment of low value imports. Last week the Government announced a review of these arrangements and as part of this, Treasury Ministers and officials will engage a broad range of stakeholders, including the British Retail Consortium, to further understand their views and gather evidence to support our analysis.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the British Retail Consortium’s publication entitled Trade Community Call - De Minimis Rule, published on 11 April 2025.

The Government has received a broad range of representation from stakeholders who are interested in the customs treatment of low value imports. Last week the Government announced a review of these arrangements and as part of this, Treasury Ministers and officials will engage a broad range of stakeholders, including the British Retail Consortium, to further understand their views and gather evidence to support our analysis.

Whether she plans to meet with the British Retail Consortium to discuss its request that the UK’s de minimis limit on low value imports be reviewed.

The Government has received a broad range of representation from stakeholders who are interested in the customs treatment of low value imports. Last week the Government announced a review of these arrangements and as part of this, Treasury Ministers and officials will engage a broad range of stakeholders, including the British Retail Consortium, to further understand their views and gather evidence to support our analysis.

Whether she plans to review the de minimis limit for low value imports in the context of US tariffs.

The Government has received a broad range of representation from stakeholders who are interested in the customs treatment of low value imports. Last week the Government announced a review of these arrangements and as part of this, Treasury Ministers and officials will engage a broad range of stakeholders, including the British Retail Consortium, to further understand their views and gather evidence to support our analysis.

What her Department's policy is on whether compliance costs reported for financial regulations should be subject to periodic independent verification.

Following the announcement to cut the administrative costs of regulation on businesses by 25% by the end of this Parliament, the government is now taking forward a baselining exercise to understand how much regulation is costing and where it can be reformed to remove unnecessary burdens and achieve its policy objectives more efficiently. We are considering a range of methodologies to ensure our baselining is robust. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 requires the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to undertake and publish a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) when consulting on any proposal to make or amend rules, to analyse the likely expected costs and benefits arising from the changes. The FCA and PRA are also required to maintain CBA Panels which provide advice on the preparation of CBAs.

What estimate she has made of the total value of the (a) VAT zero-rating and (b) Insurance Premium Tax concession applied to vehicles (i) purchased or (ii) leased as part of the Motability Scheme from the most recent data available.

HMRC’s published tax relief statistics provide an estimate of the cost of the Zero Rate of VAT for Vehicles and other supplies to disabled people (vehicles only) of £1,210 million in 2023-24, see Non-structural tax reliefs - GOV.UK. Most of this cost represents vehicles in the Motability scheme, but it also includes other sales of adapted vehicles to disabled people.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed higher business rates multiplier on larger stores.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties. The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context. Tax policy and legislation is not subject to the Better Regulation Framework Guidance which requires an Impact Assessment to accompany policy decisions. Nevertheless, when the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025 – to take effect in the 2026-27 billing year – HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

What estimate she has made of the number of shops with increased business rates under proposed reforms to that system.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties. The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context. Tax policy and legislation is not subject to the Better Regulation Framework Guidance which requires an Impact Assessment to accompany policy decisions. Nevertheless, when the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025 – to take effect in the 2026-27 billing year – HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) the Autumn Budget 2024 and (b) Extended Producer Responsibility on inflation in 2025.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) publish their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) where they assess inflation, including the impact of policy. In their October 2024 EFO they assessed policies announced at Autumn Budget 2024. Since then, they have released an updated forecast on 26th March, this forecast takes Government policy, regulation, and external factors into account as well. There is an impact assessment of the Extended Producer Responsibility system published, where the systems impact on inflation can be found. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/623efc968fa8f5276d1f9ec0/epr-final-impact-assessment.pdf

If she will ensure that the proposed higher business rates multiplier for properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more is index-linked.

The Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants. The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context.

With reference to the Answer of 27 September 2024 to Question HL1114 on Treasury: Equality, how many staff in her Department have been permitted to undertake diversity-related network time during core working hours since 1 January 2025; and what proportion of working time they are permitted to spend on that activity.

Participation in staff networks is voluntary and carried out in addition to an employee’s job role.

Whether she has had discussions with the Office for Budget Responsibility on the inheritance tax changes to agricultural land and property made at the Autumn Budget 2024.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published information on the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 30 October 2024. This is available at https://obr.uk/economic-and-fiscal-outlooks/.The OBR recently published more detail on the costings at https://obr.uk/download/october-2024-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-costing-of-changes-to-agricultural-and-business-property-relief/?tmstv=1739194105.

How many (a) internal policy reviews, (b) independent reviews, (c) external reviews, (d) taskforces, (e) public consultations, (f) investigations and (g) other reviews their Department launched between 5 July 2024 and 5 January 2025; what the titles were of those reviews; and how many of those reviews have been (i) completed and (ii) published.

This Government has outlined its ambitions through the Plan for Change, which sets out a set of milestones, across the missions, for this Parliament. The Government continually reviews its work to ensure that it is delivering the best outcomes for the people of the United Kingdom, and that its policies continue to represent the best value for the taxpayer. Public reviews will be available on Gov.uk as they are published.

If she will launch a public consultation on the proposed changes to business property relief.

The Government published information about the reforms to business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. The Government will publish a technical consultation in early 2025. This will focus on the detailed application of the allowance to lifetime transfers into trusts and charges on trust property. This will inform the legislation to be included in a future Finance Bill.