Written questions by Wood.

Pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 70466 on 10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance, whether (a) the Government Property Agency and (b) her Department has (i) an annual allowance and (ii) budget for works, fixtures or fittings for the Chancellor’s flat in Downing Street.

Aside from day-to-day facilities management, neither the GPA nor HMT provide an annual allowance or budget for works, fixtures or fittings to be undertaken on the Chancellor’s flat in Downing Street.

With reference to the Memorandum of Understanding: accessing HMRC information to assist honours committees in making ​recommendations​​​​​ about awarding honours to individuals, published on 19 October 2023, whether the HMRC Checking Panel’s deliberations are minuted and retained.

Under the published Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), HMRC will commission reports on the tax behaviour of nominees. The reports and risk ratings are retained in line with HMRC’s data retention policy, as set out in the MOU. Deliberations are not minuted, but the framework for decision making is published with the MOU.

With reference to her Department's document entitled Financial relationship between HM Treasury and the Bank of England: Memorandum of Understanding, published in February 2025 and pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 65148 on Bank Notes, if she will make it her policy to amend the Memorandum of Understanding to require (a) the use of historical British figures on banknotes and (b) the representation of her Department on the Banknote Imagery Advisory Group.

The Bank of England is responsible for all aspects of the design, production, and issuance of banknotes, including the selection of characters, design features, and security measures. The Bank of England is required to seek HM Treasury approval only for the introduction of new denominations, as set out in section 1(1) of the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954 and Section 9C of the Memorandum of Understanding on the financial relationship between HM Treasury and the Bank of England.The Memorandum of Understanding is reviewed every five years and was last updated in February 2025. The current version can be found here:Financial relationship between HM Treasury and the Bank of England Memorandum of Understanding The Bank of England may keep HM Treasury informed of developments on a non-statutory, informal basis, but there is no requirement for consultation with HM Treasury on matters of design or character selection. As a consequence, HM Treasury is not represented on the Bank of England’s Banknote Character Advisory Committee.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 81881 on Coinage: Design, whether the (a) Royal Mint Advisory Committee, (b) Sub-Committee on the Selection of Themes and (c) her Department have issued guidance on reflecting diversity in coinage (i) themes and (ii) designs.

The Royal Mint Advisory Committee advises the Chancellor of the Exchequer (in her capacity as Master of the Mint) and His Majesty the King on the themes and designs of new coins. Committee members are appointed for their distinguished expertise in areas including design, art, history and heritage, and apply their professional judgement when considering coin themes and designs. Recommendations to the Master of the Mint and His Majesty the King on coin themes and designs are made collectively by the Committee and Sub-Committee, drawing on the professional judgement and expertise of their members. There is no formal policy on diversity considerations as part of this process.

Pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 26828 on Cabinet Office: Revenue and Customs, what the legal basis is to permit the sharing of confidential information on ministers’ tax affairs between (a) Cabinet Office, (b) the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards and (c) HM Revenue and Customs.

Data sharing between HMRC and other departments is considered on a case-by-case basis, to comply with HMRC’s obligations under its duty of confidentiality and other information law, including the UK GDPR. HMRC supports other government departments in their awards and appointments processes by providing advice on potential tax risks, by reference to a low, medium or high rating. HMRC discloses this information as it supports its functions, including the collection and management of tax. Details of Memoranda of Understanding (“MOU”) HMRC has with other government departments for these purposes can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-awards-and-appointments. The published MOUs explain the legal basis for disclosure. The MOUs are clear that data must not be shared other than for the purpose set out in the MOU and that data may only be shared with individuals/teams explicitly named in the MOU. There is no specific data sharing agreement between HMRC and the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards.

With reference to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question HL8787 on Taxation: Electronic Government, for what reason the functionality of HMRC IT systems does not allow taxpayers to submit their Making Tax Digital reporting requirements for income tax through their online (a) personal and (b) business tax accounts.

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax requires users to use software to keep digital tax records, submit quarterly updates of income and expenditure and submit a tax return. HMRC’s Personal and Business Tax Accounts are not able to provide this level of functionality and ensuring that the software is digitally linked directly to a taxpayer account helps users avoid the errors that could occur when transposing figures manually. The government is encouraging a thriving third-party software market to support the diverse range of business that will be using MTD. This will deliver flexible and tailored ways for users to manage their tax affairs, including integration with other business software and management tools as well as free and low-cost options.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85917 on Lobbying: Official Hospitality, if she will list (a) the receptions her Department has held in the offices of consultant lobbying firms since 4 July 2024 and (b) the rationale in each case.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the department have not held any receptions in the offices of consultant lobbying firms since 4 July 2024.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85189 on National Wealth Fund: Workplace Pensions, and with reference to page 123 of her Department's document entitled National Wealth Fund Limited's Annual Report and Accounts 2024–2025, published on 31 October 2025, and paragraphs 5.2.1 and 5.8.1 of her Department's joint document entitled UK Infrastructure Bank Framework Document, published on 9 January 2024, what the name is of the pension provider for the defined contribution pension scheme for staff; and if she will list the names of the pension funds that the scheme invests in.

I refer the Honourable Member to my answer given on 4 November to PQ UIN 85189.

With reference to paragraph 2.43 of the Spring Statement 2025 and pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 81329 on Civil Service: Redundancy, how much of the £150 million government employee exit scheme fund remains unspent for which the latest data is available.

The £150m government employee exit funding was allocated at Spending Review 2025 across 2025/26 and 2026/27. Information on how much departments have spent will be published in departmental Annual Reports & Accounts.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2024 to Question 11978 on Government Departments: Cost Effectiveness, if her Department holds data that breaks down how the savings were delivered by each department.

All savings and investments announced at the July statement in 2024 were factored into the departmental budgets. Departments are responsible for managing spend within that budget.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 73352 on Government: Cryptoassets, in which accounting funds cryptocurrency assets are assigned; and whether external companies are used to hold the crypto assets.

HMT and central government do not hold any cryptoassets. The seizure, recovery and management of cryptoassets, under the Proceeds of Crime Act, is for independent law enforcement and the courts to consider.

When severance payments to (a) Simon Case and (b) Alex Chisholm were approved by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

HM Treasury applies rigorous scrutiny when approving special severance payments. (a) Simon Case’s severance payment was approved by the Chief Secretary in March 2025.(b) Alex Chisholm’s severance payment was approved by HM Treasury officials in accordance with published guidance.

How many times the Growth Mission Board has met; and on what dates she attended.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the Chair of the Growth Mission Board and has attended, and chaired, all meetings of the Board. Beyond this, it is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its committees - including mission boards - including their attendance, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.

Which organisation administers the defined contribution staff pension scheme for the National Wealth Fund; and what information her Department holds on the proportion of the funds are invested outside the UK.

The National Wealth Fund selected a pension provider adhering to Cabinet Office guidance. As an operationally independent body, the National Wealth Fund administers its pension scheme in accordance with its framework document and public sector pay guidance.

With reference to her Department's Guidance on Public Sector Exit Payments: Use of Special Severance Payments, updated on 28 July 2025, for what reason the guidance no longer requires all special severance payments to be approved by her Department.

Departments are fully accountable for ensuring that exit payments are appropriate and proportionate. HMT scrutiny will now focus on the largest and most contentious payments. This change supports greater departmental autonomy while maintaining strong standards of financial control.

With reference to the correspondence entitled DAO 02/25 Updates to Managing Public Money, published on 12 June 2025, what the business case was for the changes of guidance on (a) the propriety of using the Companies Act 2006 to establish Government-owned companies and (b) revisions permitting the setting of delegations by the Treasury for the approval of special severance payments.

The guidance contained in Managing Public Money is produced by the Treasury, and reflects the ongoing dialogue between the Treasury and the Committee of Public Accounts regarding Parliament’s expectations for the use of public money. It also includes operational guidance in the interests of effective administration. While the government has used the Companies Act and its precursors since their original passage, the position on the propriety of this, and its interaction with the 1932 PAC Concordat, was unclear. Following correspondence between the Treasury Officer of Accounts and the Public Accounts Committee in late 2024, the revised approach was incorporated into the latest edition of Managing Public Money. Similarly, the introduction of the ability to set delegations for special severance payments supports greater departmental autonomy while maintaining strong standards of financial control.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 59028 on Public Expenditure, what the monetary value is of the indicative (a) capital and (b) resource departmental expenditure limit settlement budgeted for Parliament over each year of the Spending Review; and whether this includes budgeted funding for the restoration and renewal programme.

Figures on the resource and capital outturns, estimates and forecasts for Parliamentary Bodies over the Spending Review period - including for the Restoration and Renewal of Parliament - are provided in the table below. The figures in future years can change. The budgets for Parliamentary Bodies are set by Parliament. Outturn 2023-24 (£m)*Outturn 2024-25 (£m)*Plans 2025-26 (£m)**Plans 2026-27 (£m)Plans 2027-28 (£m)Plans 2028-29 (£m)Plans 2029-30 (£m)Resource567.7602.8634.6643.7651.6657.3-Capital167.1187.1233.7257.0267.2278.0291.3*Excludes non-cash ringfence**Main Estimate, excludes non-cash ringfence

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 71214 on Permanent Secretaries: Pay, if he will publish the salaries for the two roles that were approved; and what was the business case of the exceptional salaries.

Details of senior salaries are published in individual departmental Annual Reports and Accounts.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 65148 on Bank Notes, whether (a) her Department or (b) the Bank of England has an equality, diversity and inclusion policy on the (i) design of and (ii) selection of characters to appear on banknotes.

The Bank of England is responsible for all aspects of banknote design and character selection, as set out in the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954 and the 2025 Memorandum of Understanding between HM Treasury and the Bank of England, which can be found online here: Financial relationship between HM Treasury and the Bank of England Memorandum of Understanding. As a result, HM Treasury is not involved in decisions on banknote designs or character selections. Recently, the Bank of England announced that they will be launching a new series of banknotes and over the summer concluded a public consultation on possible themes to be featured on the new series:Help us design our next series of banknotes | Bank of England

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 65150 on Royal Mint: Committees, whether the (a) Royal Mint Advisory Committee and (b) Sub-Committee on the Selection of Themes have a policy on equality, diversity and inclusion in coin designs.

The Royal Mint Advisory Committee advises the Chancellor of the Exchequer (in her capacity as Master of the Mint) on the themes and designs of new coins. While there is no formal written policy on equality, diversity and inclusion in coin designs or themes, the Committee actively encourages that the themes and designs it recommends reflect diversity in age, race, gender and other characteristics.