Written questions by Hall.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that banks do not apply blanket restrictions on providing banking services to legitimate blockchain and cryptoasset businesses.

The Government is aware that cryptoasset firms are facing challenges associated with access to banking services, and we are engaged with the sector on these matters.Whilst the Government recognises that decisions around the provision of banking services are largely commercial in nature, we also expect businesses to be treated fairly. That is why the Government has already taken action in this space, including bringing forward legislation to enhance relevant protections in cases where a business has their bank account terminated by their provider.The Government has also laid legislation to create a financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets in the UK. Under this regime, firms will need to be licensed by the FCA to provide relevant cryptoasset services, and the Government would not expect such licensed firms to be subject to restrictions by banking services providers simply because of the sector they belong to.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the 2024 changes to Employer National Insurance Contributions on job creation and retention in the hospitality sector.

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts. The hospitality sector makes significant contribution the exchequer, the UK economy, and society and we are determined to support hospitality businesses to succeed. The Government protected the smallest hospitality businesses from the recent changes to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500.We have also taken a number of other steps to support the hospitality industry. This includes:Introducing a permanently lower business rates multiplier for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, the government extended the RHL relief for 2025-26 at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.Establishing the Licensing Taskforce and issuing a call for evidence on a National Licensing Policy Framework which will set out national direction for licensing authorities to consider economic growth and cultural value,Protecting hospitality businesses from upward only rent clauses through the English Devolution Bill, and;Introducing a strong new ‘Community Right to Buy’ to help communities safeguard valued community assets – such as pubs.

If she will consider introducing the maximum business rates discount for hospitality properties with a rateable value under £500,000 to support high street recovery.

In April 2026, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RVs) below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure eligible RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government is sustainably funding this by introducing a higher tax rate on properties with RVs of £500,000 and above. The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates 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.

Whether she will consider extending Employer NICs exemptions to young people and those returning to work from welfare to support employment growth in sectors such as hospitality.

Businesses can claim a number of employer NICs reliefs including those for under-21s and under-25 apprentices. This means employers will pay no employer NICs for apprentices under 25 or employees under 21 on earnings up to £50,270. There are a wide range of factors to take into consideration when introducing or expanding a tax relief. These include how effective the relief would be at achieving the policy intent, how targeted support would be, whether it adds complexity to the tax system, and the cost. The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process. The Chancellor will announce any changes to the tax system at fiscal events in the usual way.

Whether she will consider reducing VAT on hospitality services to 12.5% to encourage investment and support the sector.

The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK. VAT is a reserved tax, applying UK wide. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services, including alcohol, whether served in hospitality establishments or sold in supermarkets. HMRC estimate that the cost of a 5 per cent reduced rate for accommodation, hospitality and tourist attractions would be around £10 billion this financial year. If the scope were also to include alcoholic beverages, the cost would be approximately £3 billion greater.The Government is supporting the hospitality sector through the business rates system. To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026/27. Ahead of these changes being made, we have prevented RHL relief from ending in April 2025 by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.

Whether she will consider exempting larger hospitality venues from the business rates surcharge as part of her Department’s review of support for high street and community-based businesses.

In April 2026, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RVs) below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure eligible RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government is sustainably funding this by introducing a higher tax rate on properties with RVs of £500,000 and above. The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates 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.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the 20% VAT rate on the competitiveness of the UK hospitality and tourism sectors compared with European nations with rates of 10–13%.

The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK. VAT is a reserved tax, applying UK wide. VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services, including alcohol, whether served in hospitality establishments or sold in supermarkets. HMRC estimate that the cost of a 5 per cent reduced rate for accommodation, hospitality and tourist attractions would be around £10 billion this financial year. If the scope were also to include alcoholic beverages, the cost would be approximately £3 billion greater.The Government is supporting the hospitality sector through the business rates system. To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026/27. Ahead of these changes being made, we have prevented RHL relief from ending in April 2025 by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the carbon border adjustment mechanism supports the international competitiveness of businesses.

The CBAM is an environmental policy designed to support decarbonisation and mitigate the risk of carbon leakage. It will be introduced on 1 January 2027. Carbon leakage can undermine efforts to reduce global emissions and curtail private investment in decarbonisation – compromising efforts to reach net zero and limit global warming to 1.5°C. The CBAM will ensure highly traded, carbon intensive products from overseas face a comparable carbon price to those produced here so that UK decarbonisation efforts lead to a true reduction in global emissions rather than simply displacing carbon emissions overseas. It will give industry confidence to invest in the UK knowing their decarbonisation efforts will not be undermined.

What steps her Department plans to take to help ensure that the carbon border adjustment mechanism will support a reduction in carbon leakage in all the sectors in scope of the legislation.

The carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) will be introduced on 1 January 2027 to address the risk of carbon leakage. Carbon leakage occurs when production and associated emissions shift from one country to another due to different levels of decarbonisation effort, for example, as a result of carbon pricing and climate regulation. The CBAM will place a carbon price on specific industrial goods imported to the UK from the aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen and iron & steel sectors that are at risk of carbon leakage, to ensure they face a comparable carbon price to those produced in the UK.This will support UK decarbonisation efforts to lead to a true reduction in global emissions rather than simply displacing carbon emissions overseas, and give industry confidence to invest in the UK knowing their decarbonisation efforts will not be undermined.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the UK are subject to clear and robust regulation.

On 29 April, HM Treasury published draft legislation for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets. The draft legislation includes a new regulated activity for operating a cryptoasset trading platform, meaning firms carrying on this activity and dealing directly or indirectly with UK consumers will need to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Government is seeking to bring forward final legislation before the end of this year.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that individuals holding a registered Power of Attorney can access banking services on behalf of people with conditions such as dementia without undue delay or administrative barriers.

Ensuring all individuals have access to the appropriate financial services and products they need is a key priority for Government. Like all service providers, banks and building societies are bound under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments, where necessary, in the way they deliver their services. This may include allowing for a carer or deputy to act for the disabled person. A Lasting Power of Attorney must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) in order for it to be used. Whilst the OPG does not have statutory powers to tell banks or financial institutions how to manage their customers’ accounts, they do work closely with them to help improve their understanding of the role of OPG and how Powers of Attorney should be recognised and supported. OPG regularly engages with the finance sector and finance membership groups to discuss any issues experienced with the use of OPG products. Recently, OPG have been working with the UK Regulators Network (UKRN) on updating joint guidance to help improve the understanding of LPAs with their members, including the banking sector. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates the financial services sector, recently completed a review of retail banks’ Power of Attorney services. They recognised several areas for improvement in how banks allowed customers to manage the finances of the person for whom they were the Attorney, particularly highlighting the current limitations of app-based and online banking for attorneys. Following this, the FCA wrote to the banks involved, setting out their findings and the expected next steps for firms to follow. The Government is supportive of this work.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of anti-money laundering regulations on the ability of small businesses to make large legitimate payments without disruption.

The government recognises the importance of minimising administrative friction around payments for people, banks, and businesses, while maintaining strong safeguards against the growing threat to the economy from money laundering and economic crime. The department keeps the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) under regular review, and the MLRs require banks to take a proportionate approach commensurate with their assessment of the risk. The MLRs are being amended in a forthcoming Statutory Instrument, with various changes intended to reduce unnecessary checks on legitimate transactions while maintaining robust controls targeted at higher-risk activity; policy development is ongoing and next steps will be set out in due course.

Whether her Department plans to review thresholds for mandatory reporting of large cash withdrawals or transfers by banks under anti-money laundering regulations.

The government recognises the importance of minimising administrative friction around payments for people, banks, and businesses, while maintaining strong safeguards against the growing threat to the economy from money laundering and economic crime. The department keeps the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) under regular review, and the MLRs require banks to take a proportionate approach commensurate with their assessment of the risk. The MLRs are being amended in a forthcoming Statutory Instrument, with various changes intended to reduce unnecessary checks on legitimate transactions while maintaining robust controls targeted at higher-risk activity; policy development is ongoing and next steps will be set out in due course.

What steps she is taking to reduce administrative friction in transferring large sums between personal accounts while maintaining robust fraud prevention and anti-money laundering measures.

The government recognises the importance of minimising administrative friction around payments for people, banks, and businesses, while maintaining strong safeguards against the growing threat to the economy from money laundering and economic crime. The department keeps the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) under regular review, and the MLRs require banks to take a proportionate approach commensurate with their assessment of the risk. The MLRs are being amended in a forthcoming Statutory Instrument, with various changes intended to reduce unnecessary checks on legitimate transactions while maintaining robust controls targeted at higher-risk activity; policy development is ongoing and next steps will be set out in due course.

What steps she is taking to ensure that renters can include regular rent payments in credit reports to support access to credit and financial products.

Ensuring individuals have access to the appropriate financial products and services they need is a key priority for the Government. This is why I have committed to publish a Financial Inclusion Strategy later this year which will seek to tackle a range of barriers individuals face, including how to increase access to affordable credit for underserved consumers. Credit reference agencies (CRAs) have traditionally only collected data on consumers’ credit agreements, so rental payments made under tenancy agreements are not typically recorded on credit reports. However, since the Government’s Rent Recognition Challenge in 2017, various third-party services have emerged to make it possible for rental payments to be reported to CRAs and subsequently appear on individuals’ credit reports.

What steps her Department has taken to ensure that the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment reduces carbon leakage in relevant sectors.

The UK government is introducing a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) to address the risk of carbon leakage, which occurs when production and associated emissions shift from one country to another due to different levels of decarbonisation effort (for example through carbon pricing and climate regulation). The UK CBAM will place a charge on the carbon emissions embodied in certain highly traded, carbon intensive goods imported to the UK from the aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen and iron & steel sectors. By placing a carbon price on imported goods, the UK aims to ensure that these goods face a carbon price that is comparable to that which the goods would have faced, if they had been produced in the UK. Therefore, the UK CBAM will ensure highly traded, carbon intensive products from overseas face a comparable carbon price to those produced here so that UK decarbonisation efforts lead to a true reduction in global emissions rather than simply displacing carbon emissions overseas.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce levels of (a) poverty and (b) economic inequality in the North West; and what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of regional disparities in (i) income and (ii) living standards.

The Government has set out a Plan for Change that includes raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom. To deliver this, we have taken action to support households facing the greatest hardships by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.7%, introducing a Fair Repayment Rate to cap deductions from Universal Credit, uplifting the Universal Credit standard allowance to 5% above CPI by 2029-30, and expanding the Warm Homes Discount to every billpayer on means-tested benefits. Furthermore, at the Spending Review we expanded Free School Meals to lift 100,000 children out of poverty, funded the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, provided £1bn a year (including Barnett impact) for a new Crisis and Resilience Fund, and extended the £3 Bus Fare Cap in England. This is in addition to investing in 350 deprived communities across the UK, to fund interventions including regeneration, community cohesion and improving the public realm. The Government is also investing in infrastructure in the North West to spur economic growth, boost wages and increase living standards, providing £4.1bn to the North West via the Transport for City Regions fund. It has recommitted to £160m of funding over 10 years for Investment Zones in Greater Manchester and Liverpool, and reconfirmed support for Liverpool City Region Freeport. Local partners expect Greater Manchester Investment Zone to deliver £1.1 bn in private sector investment and 32,000 jobs, and expect Liverpool City Region’s Investment Zone to generate £320m in private investment and 4,000 jobs. The latest Office for National Statistics data shows that in 2022 Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) per head was £19,752 in the North West compared to £22,789 for the UK. The Plan for Change sets out that living standards at a regional level is measured by regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head. The latest ONS data shows that GDP per head, in real terms (2022 prices), was £33,170 per head in the North West and £37,135 per head for the UK in 2023. GDP per head was £23,555 per head in the North West in 1998 compared to £28,570 for the UK.

What steps her Department has taken to ensure that the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment does not adversely impact business competitiveness.

The UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will give UK industry confidence to invest in their decarbonisation efforts. The CBAM will ensure highly traded, carbon intensive products from overseas face a comparable carbon price to those produced here so that UK decarbonisation efforts lead to a true reduction in global emissions rather than simply displacing carbon emissions overseas. To ensure the costs of complying with the UK CBAM are proportionate, the UK CBAM will only apply to those importing CBAM goods valued at £50,000 or more over a rolling 12-month period. We estimate that will exclude 80% of CBAM goods but retain over 99% of imported emissions within the scope of the tax. Of those removed, over 70% are SMEs. An assessment of CBAM impacts on the economy and businesses will be provided when the policy is final or near final, in the form of a tax information and impact note. A draft version of this is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-legislation-carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism/draft-tax-information-and-impact-note

Whether her Department plans to provide longer-term capital funding settlements for Government departments to support the (a) maintenance and (b) renewal of public service facilities.

The government has, for the first time, announced long-term maintenance budgets for the health, education, and justice estates as part of the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy. This protects departments’ maintenance budgets in real terms, delivering at least £10 billion per year by 2034-35 to maintain and repair health, education and justice infrastructure. This is in addition to significant investment in rebuilding assets and delivering additional capacity where it is needed – such as almost £20 billion in the School Rebuilding Programme and up to £24 billion in the New Hospital Programme over the next 10 years.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the (a) financial oversight and (b) delivery assurance of major infrastructure projects.

The government oversees some of the UK’s largest and most complex infrastructure projects. We are committed to enhancing the oversight and assurance of these projects through a series of reforms, including streamlining approvals and strengthening assurance. It will be better integrated and carried out by multi-disciplinary teams at critical stages of projects. For mega projects in particular, the government has announced new budgeting and governance arrangements to ensure better planning and transparency of our biggest, transformational projects, in line with recommendations from the Office for Value for Money. We are also improving transparency around investment decisions by publishing business cases for major projects and programmes. These changes, set out in the 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy, will support better value for money and more consistent, reliable delivery across major infrastructure projects.