Written questions by Bool.

How much Government funding to the National Wealth Fund is unspent.

Awaiting answer.

What estimate her Department has made of the cost of spirits duty, business rates, VAT, and employer National Insurance contributions paid by pubs in the last 12 months.

HMRC does not hold readily available data on revenue from spirits duty, VAT, and employer National Insurance contributions paid by pubs. HMRC does not hold information on business rates which are administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

What data her Department holds on the proportion of spirits duty revenue generated from UK-produced spirits sold in pubs.

HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs. Alcohol duty is paid at the point of production or import and would not generally be paid directly by pubs. Statistics on alcohol duty are published in the Alcohol Bulletin - GOV.UK. Estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics for the period 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2025 indicate around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade and around 85% off-trade.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the spirits duty revenue at risk from pub closures.

HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs. Alcohol duty is paid at the point of production or import and would not generally be paid directly by pubs. Statistics on alcohol duty are published in the Alcohol Bulletin - GOV.UK. Estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics for the period 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2025 indicate around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade and around 85% off-trade.

What recent estimate she has made of the revenue generated from spirits duty paid by on-trade premises compared to off-trade retailers.

HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs. Alcohol duty is paid at the point of production or import and would not generally be paid directly by pubs. Statistics on alcohol duty are published in the Alcohol Bulletin - GOV.UK. Estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics for the period 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2025 indicate around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade and around 85% off-trade.

What assessment her Department has made of UK spirits duty rates for the on-trade compared to equivalent rates in (a) Ireland, (b) France, (c) Germany, and (d) other EU member states.

The UK’s alcohol duty system balances protecting the public finances and promoting health. There is significant variation in alcohol taxation policy amongst European countries. The World Health Organization recently published a comparison of alcohol taxes across the WHO European Region, which can be found here.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57938 on Investment: Fraud, whether her Department has considered establishing a centralised redress mechanism for victims of investment fraud that fall outside the scope of the Faster Payments System or the PSR reimbursement regime.

In October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced a mandatory reimbursement regime for authorised push payment (APP) scams which take place over the Faster Payments system, as required by the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2023. The PSR’s regime requires payment service providers to reimburse victims for losses up to £85,000. FSMA 2023 also gave the PSR powers to take action to require reimbursement for other payment systems which have been designated by HMT. The details of the reimbursement regime and its enforcement are a matter for the independent PSR, but it has committed to carry out an independent evaluation of the reimbursement requirement after the rules have been in place for 12 months, including considering the maximum level of reimbursement.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57938 on Investment: Fraud, what steps her Department is taking to ensure consistency and transparency in how Payment Service Providers determine eligibility for reimbursement under the APP scam regime.

In October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced a mandatory reimbursement regime for authorised push payment (APP) scams which take place over the Faster Payments system, as required by the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2023. The PSR’s regime requires payment service providers to reimburse victims for losses up to £85,000. FSMA 2023 also gave the PSR powers to take action to require reimbursement for other payment systems which have been designated by HMT. The details of the reimbursement regime and its enforcement are a matter for the independent PSR, but it has committed to carry out an independent evaluation of the reimbursement requirement after the rules have been in place for 12 months, including considering the maximum level of reimbursement.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57938 on Investment: Fraud, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the £85,000 reimbursement cap for victims of investment fraud where losses significantly exceed this threshold.

In October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced a mandatory reimbursement regime for authorised push payment (APP) scams which take place over the Faster Payments system, as required by the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2023. The PSR’s regime requires payment service providers to reimburse victims for losses up to £85,000. FSMA 2023 also gave the PSR powers to take action to require reimbursement for other payment systems which have been designated by HMT. The details of the reimbursement regime and its enforcement are a matter for the independent PSR, but it has committed to carry out an independent evaluation of the reimbursement requirement after the rules have been in place for 12 months, including considering the maximum level of reimbursement.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57939 on Investment: Fraud, what criteria HMRC uses to determine whether a tax liability arising from an investment scheme promoted through fraudulent means constitutes a genuine tax liability.

I refer the honorable Member to the response to UIN 57939. Where an individual disagrees with HMRC’s decision on their tax liability, they can appeal by requesting HMRC reviews the decision, use an Alternative Dispute Resolution process in appropriate cases, or by making an appeal to the independent tax tribunal. HMRC appreciates and recognises dealing with tax, financial hardship, or debt can lead to pressure on people. All HMRC advisers are given training and guidance on how to identify customers who need extra help and how to provide tailored support themselves or refer the customer to HMRC’s specialist extra support provision. In January HMRC published its approach to dealing with agents, which has established the Standard for Agents, and is currently consulting on enhanced powers to tackle non-compliance facilitated by tax agents. It will publish guidance shortly, which will set out its approach to preventing and addressing intermediary harm and also support customers to identify signs of harmful intermediary behaviour, including fraud. In April HMRC launched a new Compliance Interactive Guidance Tool on GOV.UK to help customers more easily find guidance on compliance checks and extra support available, particularly for unrepresented customers and those with extra support needs.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57939 on Investment: Fraud, what steps HMRC is taking to improve (a) communication (b) access to specialist caseworkers, (c) financial hardship assessments and (d) other support to individuals facing tax demands linked to fraudulent investment schemes.

I refer the honorable Member to the response to UIN 57939. Where an individual disagrees with HMRC’s decision on their tax liability, they can appeal by requesting HMRC reviews the decision, use an Alternative Dispute Resolution process in appropriate cases, or by making an appeal to the independent tax tribunal. HMRC appreciates and recognises dealing with tax, financial hardship, or debt can lead to pressure on people. All HMRC advisers are given training and guidance on how to identify customers who need extra help and how to provide tailored support themselves or refer the customer to HMRC’s specialist extra support provision. In January HMRC published its approach to dealing with agents, which has established the Standard for Agents, and is currently consulting on enhanced powers to tackle non-compliance facilitated by tax agents. It will publish guidance shortly, which will set out its approach to preventing and addressing intermediary harm and also support customers to identify signs of harmful intermediary behaviour, including fraud. In April HMRC launched a new Compliance Interactive Guidance Tool on GOV.UK to help customers more easily find guidance on compliance checks and extra support available, particularly for unrepresented customers and those with extra support needs.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57939 on Investment: Fraud, whether HMRC has a formal process for reviewing tax demands issued to individuals who have been identified as victims of financial fraud.

I refer the honorable Member to the response to UIN 57939. Where an individual disagrees with HMRC’s decision on their tax liability, they can appeal by requesting HMRC reviews the decision, use an Alternative Dispute Resolution process in appropriate cases, or by making an appeal to the independent tax tribunal. HMRC appreciates and recognises dealing with tax, financial hardship, or debt can lead to pressure on people. All HMRC advisers are given training and guidance on how to identify customers who need extra help and how to provide tailored support themselves or refer the customer to HMRC’s specialist extra support provision. In January HMRC published its approach to dealing with agents, which has established the Standard for Agents, and is currently consulting on enhanced powers to tackle non-compliance facilitated by tax agents. It will publish guidance shortly, which will set out its approach to preventing and addressing intermediary harm and also support customers to identify signs of harmful intermediary behaviour, including fraud. In April HMRC launched a new Compliance Interactive Guidance Tool on GOV.UK to help customers more easily find guidance on compliance checks and extra support available, particularly for unrepresented customers and those with extra support needs.

Whether HMRC has issued tax liability demands to people who have been victims of investment fraud; and what steps she is taking to review such cases to avoid penalising victims of financial crime.

HMRC is responsible for managing the tax system and is required by law to collect tax due. It must apply the law correctly and individuals are responsible for their own tax affairs.Where individuals find themselves with unexpected tax bills as a result of taking bad advice from a third party on an investments scheme, this does not mitigate any tax that is legally due.HMRC works with individuals to understand the facts of each case and only pursues tax where there is a genuine tax liability. It tailors its approach to individual circumstances and takes a supportive and proportionate approach to recovering tax due, including offering ‘Time to Pay’ instalment arrangements where appropriate, and providing extra support for customer who need it.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of redress mechanisms for victims of investment fraud.

Protecting the public and businesses from fraud requires a unified and co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and industry. The Government committed in its manifesto to introduce an expanded Fraud Strategy, and will set out further details in due course. To better protect consumers from fraud, in October 2024 the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced a mandatory reimbursement requirement for authorised push payment (APP) scams, which may include investment scams, that take place over the Faster Payments System. This regime requires all Payment Service Providers in scope to reimburse victims of APP scams up to the value of £85,000. The PSR has noted that in the first three months of the regime, 86% of money lost to APP scams was returned to victims.

What fiscal steps she plans to take to support small businesses in market towns.

Small businesses are vital to high streets and communities, and essential to the success of the government’s growth mission.At the 2024 Autumn Budget, Government announced generous tax reforms to support small businesses. Most notably, more than doubling the employment allowance to £10,500; commitments in the Corporate Tax Roadmap to maintain the Small Profits Rate and marginal relief at their current rates and thresholds; and freezing the small businesses multiplier for 2025/26.The Government also announced changes to inheritance tax, including reforms to business property relief (BPR). The Government has protected smaller family businesses from BPR changes, providing a very significant level of relief with the first £1 million of business assets continuing to receive 100% relief and then 50% thereafter.The Government has also committed £250m in 2025-26 for the British Business Bank’s small business loans programmes, including Start Up Loans and the Growth Guarantee Scheme.We have also extended funding for Growth Hubs across England in 2025-26, meaning businesses in market towns can access free expert advice and support.

With reference to the British Hair Council's report entitled Securing the future of UK hairdressing and beauty: the economic, fiscal & societal case for VAT reform, published in February 2025, whether she has made an assessment of the potential economic benefits of reducing the VAT rate to ten per cent for labour-based services .

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is also the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of VAT on the financial sustainability of hair and beauty salons.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is also the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing VAT rate on hair and beauty salons.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is also the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.

What assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the report entitled Avoiding the Cliff Edge: Considering possible options for a VAT threshold smoothing mechanism, published on 9 January 2024.

The Government will continue to bear in mind businesses’ views of this threshold. At £90,000, the UK has a higher VAT registration threshold than any EU Member State and the second highest in the OECD. This keeps the majority of UK businesses out of VAT altogether. The Government will continue to bear in mind businesses’ views of this threshold.

If she will conduct a review of the VAT system as it applies to (a) the hair and beauty sector and (b) other labour-intensive industries.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is also the UK’s second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.