Written questions by Reynolds.

If she will take steps to ensure that community gyms and fitness facilities are not excluded from business rates relief schemes designed to support retail, hospitality and leisure businesses.

The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000.On 16 October 2025, the Government published legislation and accompanying guidance detailing the eligibility criteria for the new multipliers. To ensure the new tax rates are appropriately targeted, only properties that are wholly or mainly used for providing RHL activity (as defined in legislation) to visiting members of the public are eligible for the new multipliers.This includes community gyms and fitness facilities with rateable values below £500,000 that are open to members of the public. Further details on what is meant by “visiting members of the public” can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/business-rates-multipliers-qualifying-retail-hospitality-or-leisure.

Whether she plans to introduce tax incentives for businesses to upgrade their cyber security infrastructure.

The government is committed to strengthening cyber security across the UK. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides a range of tools, guidance and support to businesses to improve their cyber security. At last year's Spending Review, the government increased the Single Intelligence Account's budget by £1 billion over the Spending Review period, which funds the critical cybersecurity work conducted by NCSC. The existing tax regime already provides relief for IT and digital expenditure. Day-to-day IT costs are deductible at 100% rate as revenue expenditure. Longer-term investments may qualify for capital allowances, including full expensing and the Annual Investment Allowance, which provide 100% relief over the costs in the year of expenditure, or the Intangibles Fixed Assets regime, which also provides 100% relief over time. The Government keeps all taxes under review.

What estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of cyber attacks in 2025.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to UIN 102698.

Whether the Government will exempt leaseholders in unmortgageable properties from the higher rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax when purchasing alternative accommodation.

The circumstances under which higher Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) rates must be paid in respect of additional property purchases, as well as information on the availability of reliefs and refunds, is available on gov.uk: Higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax - GOV.UK If the previous main home is sold or given away within three years of the purchase of the additional home, an application can be made for a refund of the higher SDLT rate part of the bill. HMRC are able to consider exceptional circumstances and extend the period a refund is available for, if the three-year period is insufficient to sell or give away the previous main home. The Government is not considering further exemptions at this time.

What steps her Department has taken to explore alternatives to business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure premises; and whether she has considered implementing a Commercial Landowner Levy based on land value.

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. The Call for Evidence, published at Budget, focuses on how reform of the business rates system can be used to incentivise and secure more investment by Britain’s businesses. This Call for Evidence builds on the findings of the Transforming Business Rates: Discussion Paper and asks stakeholders for more detailed evidence on how the business rates system influences investment decisions. Any reforms taken forward will be phased over the course of the Parliament.

How many pubs closed in England in each of the last three years; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of business rates increases on pub closure rates.

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. Without our support, the pub sector as a whole would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, this has fallen to just 4%. 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. We are 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. The National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities, including those in the hospitality sector, will either gain or see no change this year. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside changes to employer NICs.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the (a) reduction in business rates relief, (b) 2026 rates revaluation and (c) increase in employer National Insurance contributions announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget on pubs and breweries.

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. Without our support, the pub sector as a whole would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, this has fallen to just 4%. 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. We are 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. The National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities, including those in the hospitality sector, will either gain or see no change this year. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside changes to employer NICs.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the reduction in business rates relief and the 2026 rates revaluation on pubs and breweries.

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. Without our support, the pub sector as a whole would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, this has fallen to just 4%. 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. We are 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. The National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities, including those in the hospitality sector, will either gain or see no change this year. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside changes to employer NICs.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of pub closures in the last 12 months; and what fiscal measures she plans to take to support that sector.

The Government recognises the important role pubs play on our high streets and in community spaces and we want to see them thrive. That’s why the Government is investing £440,000 with Pub is The Hub to help rural pubs diversify, aiming to support rural communities, create new jobs and services. In recognition of the economic and cultural importance of pubs, as well as the wider hospitality sector, at Autumn Budget 2024 the Government cut alcohol duty on qualifying draught products by 1.7% in cash terms. This duty reduction, worth over £85m a year, covers approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs and is equivalent to a 1p duty reduction on a typical pint. As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with ratable values below £500,000 from 2026/27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that small hospitality businesses, such as pubs, benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government keeps all areas of the tax system under review. Any changes to the tax system are announced as part of the annual Budget process.

If she will take steps to reduce business rates for (a) hospitality businesses, (b) pubs and (c) breweries.

As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000 from April 2026. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible RHL businesses, including hospitality venues and pubs, benefit from much-needed certainty and support. Breweries that are wholly or mainly open to visiting members of the public (for instance, mainly used as a bar or for providing tours to the public) will also benefit from the lower multipliers. The rates of the new multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the Government can factor the revaluation outcomes, as well as the broader economic and fiscal context into decision-making. Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, the Government prevented RHL business rates relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, and froze the small business multiplier. By extending the relief, the Government has saved the average pub, with a RV of £16,800, over £3,300.

What her Department's priorities are for the forthcoming UN Tax Convention negotiations.

The UK is committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure inclusive and effective international tax cooperation, and has been actively engaging in negotiations at the UN over a future Framework Convention, including the recent informal sessions for the technical workstreams. The UK believes that a UN Tax Framework Convention has the potential to further advance international tax cooperation, but to be successful, it needs to be clear in its aims, avoid duplicating initiatives, and seek to secure the broad support and participation of members.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of extending the expensive car supplement to electric vehicles registered on the affordability of low-emission vehicles; and whether she plans to increase the threshold in line with inflation.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will consider the merits of raising the threshold for zero emissions cars only at a future fiscal event. The government keeps all taxes and thresholds under review.

What steps her Department is taking to support the night-time economy; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) VAT reductions, (b) business rates reform and (c) National Insurance threshold adjustments on the sustainability of late-night venues.

The Government recognises the importance of the night-time economy and the challenges faced by late-night venues. At the Autumn Budget, a package of measures was introduced to support the hospitality sector, including those operating at night. The Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities will either gain or see no change this year. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside changes to employer NICs, and the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts employment levels to increase over the coming years. The small business multiplier has been frozen for 2025-26, and retail, hospitality and leisure business rates relief has been extended for one year at 40 per cent, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. The Government intends to introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27, providing much-needed certainty and support for RHL businesses. The rates for these new multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the revaluation outcomes, as well as the economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements. The Government keeps all areas of the tax system under review and changes to the tax system are made at fiscal events, in line with usual practice.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of defined benefit pension schemes for public sector workers on the public purse; and whether she plans to review the balance between defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes across the (a) public and (b) private sectors.

In line with the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission’s report in 2011, the Government’s central measure of the affordability of public service pensions is long-term public service pension spending as a share of GDP. In its Fiscal Risk and Sustainability Report 2024, the OBR projects that this measure will fall from 1.9% in 2023-24 to 1.4% in 2073-74. The Government has established a new Pensions Commission, to support a strong, sustainable and fair pension system that secures a financially secure retirement for millions of private sector pensioners into the middle of this century.

What estimate she has made of the additional level of funding that would be required to enable HM Revenue and Customs to answer all telephone calls.

HMRC’s published historic data series includes figures for 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. This data sets out the number of telephony contacts and the percentage of total call attempts handled by HMRC Contact Centres. These figures, along with the length of time which callers waited before ending their call without speaking to an adviser, are set out in the table below: Telephony2014-152015-162016-17Contacts 64,781,97860,804,09249,865,940% of total call attempts handled by Contact Centres71.971.691.7Average length of time that callers to HMRC waited before ending their call without speaking to an adviser (minutes and seconds)10:1814:336:53 The percentage of total call attempts handled by contact centres includes calls handled by an adviser and calls where the query was resolved without speaking to an adviser, for example, after listening to a recorded informational message. HMRC’s telephone service standard is to answer 85 per cent of phone calls to advisers. This has been the primary telephony target since 2022-23, and there is published performance against this metric since 2020-21, which can be found in HMRC’s historic data series on Gov.uk. A target of 85 per cent of adviser attempts handled was reviewed and confirmed as part of HMRC's funding settlement at the Spending Review in June 2025. HMRC has not made an assessment of the additional level of funding that would be required to enable HMRC to answer all telephone calls. The target of answering 85 per cent of calls to advisers, which was agreed at the Spending Review in June 2025, strikes the necessary balance between delivering a good service and providing value for money to taxpayers.

How many telephone calls were received by HM Revenue and Customs in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016.

HMRC’s published historic data series includes figures for 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. This data sets out the number of telephony contacts and the percentage of total call attempts handled by HMRC Contact Centres. These figures, along with the length of time which callers waited before ending their call without speaking to an adviser, are set out in the table below: Telephony2014-152015-162016-17Contacts 64,781,97860,804,09249,865,940% of total call attempts handled by Contact Centres71.971.691.7Average length of time that callers to HMRC waited before ending their call without speaking to an adviser (minutes and seconds)10:1814:336:53 The percentage of total call attempts handled by contact centres includes calls handled by an adviser and calls where the query was resolved without speaking to an adviser, for example, after listening to a recorded informational message. HMRC’s telephone service standard is to answer 85 per cent of phone calls to advisers. This has been the primary telephony target since 2022-23, and there is published performance against this metric since 2020-21, which can be found in HMRC’s historic data series on Gov.uk. A target of 85 per cent of adviser attempts handled was reviewed and confirmed as part of HMRC's funding settlement at the Spending Review in June 2025. HMRC has not made an assessment of the additional level of funding that would be required to enable HMRC to answer all telephone calls. The target of answering 85 per cent of calls to advisers, which was agreed at the Spending Review in June 2025, strikes the necessary balance between delivering a good service and providing value for money to taxpayers.

How many and what proportion of telephone calls to HM Revenue and Customs were answered in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016.

HMRC’s published historic data series includes figures for 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. This data sets out the number of telephony contacts and the percentage of total call attempts handled by HMRC Contact Centres. These figures, along with the length of time which callers waited before ending their call without speaking to an adviser, are set out in the table below: Telephony2014-152015-162016-17Contacts 64,781,97860,804,09249,865,940% of total call attempts handled by Contact Centres71.971.691.7Average length of time that callers to HMRC waited before ending their call without speaking to an adviser (minutes and seconds)10:1814:336:53 The percentage of total call attempts handled by contact centres includes calls handled by an adviser and calls where the query was resolved without speaking to an adviser, for example, after listening to a recorded informational message. HMRC’s telephone service standard is to answer 85 per cent of phone calls to advisers. This has been the primary telephony target since 2022-23, and there is published performance against this metric since 2020-21, which can be found in HMRC’s historic data series on Gov.uk. A target of 85 per cent of adviser attempts handled was reviewed and confirmed as part of HMRC's funding settlement at the Spending Review in June 2025. HMRC has not made an assessment of the additional level of funding that would be required to enable HMRC to answer all telephone calls. The target of answering 85 per cent of calls to advisers, which was agreed at the Spending Review in June 2025, strikes the necessary balance between delivering a good service and providing value for money to taxpayers.

What the service level target is for HM Revenue and Customs for answering telephone calls; and when that target was last reviewed.

HMRC’s published historic data series includes figures for 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. This data sets out the number of telephony contacts and the percentage of total call attempts handled by HMRC Contact Centres. These figures, along with the length of time which callers waited before ending their call without speaking to an adviser, are set out in the table below: Telephony2014-152015-162016-17Contacts 64,781,97860,804,09249,865,940% of total call attempts handled by Contact Centres71.971.691.7Average length of time that callers to HMRC waited before ending their call without speaking to an adviser (minutes and seconds)10:1814:336:53 The percentage of total call attempts handled by contact centres includes calls handled by an adviser and calls where the query was resolved without speaking to an adviser, for example, after listening to a recorded informational message. HMRC’s telephone service standard is to answer 85 per cent of phone calls to advisers. This has been the primary telephony target since 2022-23, and there is published performance against this metric since 2020-21, which can be found in HMRC’s historic data series on Gov.uk. A target of 85 per cent of adviser attempts handled was reviewed and confirmed as part of HMRC's funding settlement at the Spending Review in June 2025. HMRC has not made an assessment of the additional level of funding that would be required to enable HMRC to answer all telephone calls. The target of answering 85 per cent of calls to advisers, which was agreed at the Spending Review in June 2025, strikes the necessary balance between delivering a good service and providing value for money to taxpayers.

What the average length of time was that callers to HM Revenue and Customs waited before ending their call without speaking to an adviser in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016.

HMRC’s published historic data series includes figures for 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. This data sets out the number of telephony contacts and the percentage of total call attempts handled by HMRC Contact Centres. These figures, along with the length of time which callers waited before ending their call without speaking to an adviser, are set out in the table below: Telephony2014-152015-162016-17Contacts 64,781,97860,804,09249,865,940% of total call attempts handled by Contact Centres71.971.691.7Average length of time that callers to HMRC waited before ending their call without speaking to an adviser (minutes and seconds)10:1814:336:53 The percentage of total call attempts handled by contact centres includes calls handled by an adviser and calls where the query was resolved without speaking to an adviser, for example, after listening to a recorded informational message. HMRC’s telephone service standard is to answer 85 per cent of phone calls to advisers. This has been the primary telephony target since 2022-23, and there is published performance against this metric since 2020-21, which can be found in HMRC’s historic data series on Gov.uk. A target of 85 per cent of adviser attempts handled was reviewed and confirmed as part of HMRC's funding settlement at the Spending Review in June 2025. HMRC has not made an assessment of the additional level of funding that would be required to enable HMRC to answer all telephone calls. The target of answering 85 per cent of calls to advisers, which was agreed at the Spending Review in June 2025, strikes the necessary balance between delivering a good service and providing value for money to taxpayers.

How many people HMRC has identified as being liable for the Loan Charge who have not yet (a) paid and (b) settled to avoid it (i) in total and (ii) by Parliamentary constituency.

HMRC has previously estimated that around 40,000 individuals and 5,000 employers were liable to the Loan Charge and were yet to settle with HMRC, including those who had settled some but not all of their liabilities. This information is not available at parliamentary constituency level. Between Budget 2016 and 31 March 2024, HMRC agreed just over 25,000 settlements with employers and individuals of their disguised remuneration schemes, bringing into charge around £4.2 billion in revenue.