Written questions by Mullan.

What recent assessment they have made of the adequacy of the existing membership fee threshold for participants in the CASC scheme.

Awaiting answer.

If she will adjust the method of assessment for vehicle excise duty rates in the next fiscal year.

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a tax on car ownership. The tax system encourages the uptake of cars with low carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to help meet the UK’s legally binding climate change targets. Cars first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pay VED annually according to CO2 emissions. From 1 April 2017, a reformed VED system was introduced for new cars. Under the reformed VED system, zero emission models currently pay nothing on first registration, whilst the most polluting pay over £2,600. In subsequent years, most cars move to a standard rate, currently set at an annual rate of £190. However from April 2025, electric cars will begin to pay VED in the same way as petrol and diesel vehicles, whilst an incentive is maintained for electric cars at the point of purchase. Revenue from motoring taxes helps ensure we can continue to fund the vital public services and infrastructure that people and families across the UK expect. The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy. As with all taxes, the Government welcomes representations from the public on how the tax system can be improved. Following the spending audit, the Chancellor has been clear that difficult decisions lie ahead on spending, welfare and tax to fix the foundations of our economy and address the £22 billion hole the government has inherited. Decisions on how to do that will be taken at the Budget in the round.

If she will re-band aviation duty.

Air Passenger Duty (APD) exists to ensure that aviation makes a fair contribution to the public finances and applies to UK-departing flights. Reforms to APD took effect in April 2023. These included the introduction of the new domestic band for domestic flights, initially set at half the rate for short-haul international flights (except for larger private jets). The domestic band applies to all flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and for 2024/25 is set at £7 for economy passengers. These reforms also introduced a new ultra long-haul band covering flights that are greater than 5,500 miles from London. This ensures that those who fly furthest, and have the greatest impact on emissions, incur the greatest duty. The Government keeps all tax policy under review. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy in the round at fiscal events in the context of public finances and any changes will be announced at Budget.

If she will increase domestic aviation duty.

Air Passenger Duty (APD) exists to ensure that aviation makes a fair contribution to the public finances and applies to UK-departing flights. Reforms to APD took effect in April 2023. These included the introduction of the new domestic band for domestic flights, initially set at half the rate for short-haul international flights (except for larger private jets). The domestic band applies to all flights between airports in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and for 2024/25 is set at £7 for economy passengers. These reforms also introduced a new ultra long-haul band covering flights that are greater than 5,500 miles from London. This ensures that those who fly furthest, and have the greatest impact on emissions, incur the greatest duty. The Government keeps all tax policy under review. The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy in the round at fiscal events in the context of public finances and any changes will be announced at Budget.

Whether she has received representations on an increase to the standard rate of vehicle excise duty in the next fiscal year.

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a tax on car ownership. The tax system encourages the uptake of cars with low carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to help meet the UK’s legally binding climate change targets. Cars first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pay VED annually according to CO2 emissions. From 1 April 2017, a reformed VED system was introduced for new cars. Under the reformed VED system, zero emission models currently pay nothing on first registration, whilst the most polluting pay over £2,600. In subsequent years, most cars move to a standard rate, currently set at an annual rate of £190. However from April 2025, electric cars will begin to pay VED in the same way as petrol and diesel vehicles, whilst an incentive is maintained for electric cars at the point of purchase. Revenue from motoring taxes helps ensure we can continue to fund the vital public services and infrastructure that people and families across the UK expect. The Government annually reviews the rates and thresholds of taxes and reliefs to ensure that they are appropriate and reflect the current state of the economy. As with all taxes, the Government welcomes representations from the public on how the tax system can be improved. Following the spending audit, the Chancellor has been clear that difficult decisions lie ahead on spending, welfare and tax to fix the foundations of our economy and address the £22 billion hole the government has inherited. Decisions on how to do that will be taken at the Budget in the round.

What data her Department holds on the (a) number of applications for valuations of any type by the District Valuer that took longer than (i) three, (ii) six and (iii) 12 months to be completed from the point of application, by type of valuation and (b) the average timeframe for processing applications, in the latest period for which data is available; and if she will make a comparative estimate of the average timeframe for processing requests from NHS organisations.

The Valuation Office Agency's (VOA) District Valuer Services (DVS) provides independent, impartial, valuation and professional property advice across the entire public sector, and where public money or public functions are involved. In 2023-24 in total DVS received around 24,500 separate case requests, spread across 139 different case types. The length of time taken to complete a case varies depending on case type and complexity. The VOA does not hold data broken down into timeliness figures for the timeframes specified and as a comparison across all case types.In 2023-24 the VOA handled around 3,400 cases relating to NHS premises, including over 2,900 cases relating to reimbursement of GP premises costs. Specifically, for cases related to reimbursement of GP premises costs, 55% were completed by DVS in under 3 months, 26% were completed between 3 and 6 months, 15% completed between 6 and 12 months, and 4% took over 12 months to complete. On average it took 121 days to complete a reimbursement of GP premises cost case, including negotiations with GPs and their advisers, so timeframes are not solely within the VOA’s control.