Speeches by Caliskan.

“There is a tax gap estimate at the moment. In your view, will the steps that you are outlining and the proposals that are being considered at the moment improve that estimate?”

“That is really helpful. I want to ask about the length of time, but is there something that you wanted to come in with before then, Lloyd?”

“Let me ask you about that. The majority of the population understand that, for wealthier individuals, their tax affairs are complicated. They recognise that they would have an agent or an accountant in the way that the majority of people, and certainly my constituents, are unable to pay for. They recognise that, for HM…”

“In your analysis of where you might minimise the risk, so setting out the risks that you identify, your interaction with the agents will be a really key component in being able to make sure that you prevent non-compliance in the first place, which, presumably, for HMRC is a much better and more effective approach than …”

“Yes.”

“I am going to ask a bit more about tax agents and the associated risks. Nearly a quarter of wealthy individuals use agents, who are, basically, accountants, for the ordinary person who might not be able to afford an accountant. I want to understand a bit more about non-compliance and your assessment. In your view, is i…”

“Could one of the factors be that there are fewer penalties being issued to the super rich?”

“We know how many people there are on PAYE, for instance.”

“I am glad that the spending review was a positive outcome for HMRC. We will be watching tightly the procurement process so that can be swiftly implemented.”

“That does not mean, though, that it is a good formula.”

“I am pleased that there has been some movement and it sounds like there will be some change. Very finally, we heard from HMRC that one of the challenges with speaking to customers is the security of being able to exchange communication and customers being able to send you documents, for example. We did not understand w…”

“I am pleased to hear that, because, of all the things we heard, that was the one I think Members were most exercised about. It is one thing having to wait more than half an hour on the phone, but then being cut off after you have spent an hour is quite poor customer service.”

“The speed at which a phone call is answered is very important. There is a strong sense from this Committee that it was an important target, particularly because it was the case that, after 60 minutes, over 40,000 people had been cut off. I think that it was just in an 11-month period. I am unclear whether that is still…”

“Do you have a target then, but you are just not willing to say it publicly?”

“John-Paul, you referred to a 10-minute average waiting time. Therefore there has been an improvement, because the average core waiting time when you spoke to the Committee previously was a 23-minute wait.”

“What is the percentage at the moment?”

“Thank you to panel members for joining the session. As some background for context, members of the Committee and panel members will recall that, in the Public Accounts Committee’s January 2025 report on HMRC’s customer service accounts, the Committee concluded that there were some issues with the telephone services and…”

“I thank the Minister for outlining the support available to households with high energy bills. Some 6,000 households in my constituency benefit from the warm home discount, but many in Barking and Dagenham, alongside almost 2 million other households in this country, are dealing with high energy debt. What plans are un…”

“T7. Thousands of my constituents in Barking receive their energy via a heat network provided by their landlord or a housing association. In many cases, they are not eligible for the warm home discount. What plans do the Government have to make sure that those constituents receive the support they need?”

“20. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of extending the warm home discount to all households in receipt of means-tested benefits on people receiving those benefits.”