Written questions by Raja.

Whether HMRC provides any equivalent specialist or prioritised telephone service to PD1 to taxpayers with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

Awaiting answer.

What the average call waiting time was for (a) the standard HMRC helpline and (b) the Public Department 1 specialist helpline in each of the last five years.

Awaiting answer.

How many taxpayers are currently registered to use the HMRC Public Department 1 helpline on the basis of holding a Gender Recognition Certificate; and what the total number of taxpayers registered to use that service is on all grounds combined.

Awaiting answer.

Under which provisions of the Equality Act 2010 HMRC grants holders of a Gender Recognition Certificate preferential access to the Public Department 1 helpline ahead of others with protected characteristics.

Awaiting answer.

What steps HMRC is taking to reduce call waiting times on its helplines.

Awaiting answer.

With reference to the Answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 123235, whether her Department held discussions with garage owners or representative bodies on the practicality and administrative feasibility of conducting annual electric vehicle mileage checks prior to the announcement of Electric Vehicle Excise Duty at Budget 2025.

As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, to create a fair tax system whilst also taking steps to ensure that driving an electric vehicle (EV) remains an attractive choice for consumers. The Government published a consultation which set out further detail on how eVED will work and sought views on its design and implementation. This included a commitment to engage with garages on the costs of mileage checks and MOT fees. As part of the consultation process, the Government has undertaken a programme of engagement involving a range of stakeholders, including garages, and is committed to continuing to engage closely on the implementation of eVED in the lead up to April 2028. The consultation closed on 18 March 2026. The Government is considering responses and will publish a response in due course.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of postponing the proposed increase in fuel duty, given the current situation in the Middle East.

The Government is already taking action to ensure that fuel at the pump remains affordable. At Budget 2025, the Government extended the 5p-per-litre cut for a further five months, until the end of August this year. The Government has also cancelled the increase in line with inflation for 2026/27; instead, rates will only gradually return to early 2022 levels by March 2027. Since Autumn Budget 2024, the Government's decisions to freeze fuel duty will save the average motorist over £90 – or 8-11 pence per litre – compared to the plans inherited from the previous government. As the Chancellor has set out, a rapid de-escalation in the Middle East remains the best way to keep prices low at the pump. As with all taxes, the Government keeps fuel duty under review.

What steps her Department is taking to protect consumers from being charged additional fees for withdrawing cash from ATMs.

The Government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups, and is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses. Under the Financial Services and Markets Act (2023) the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has responsibility and powers to protect access to cash withdrawal and deposit facilities, including free facilities for personal current account holders. The FCA’s most recent data shows that 99.2% of the urban population live within 1 miles of a free to use cash access point offering withdrawals. In rural areas, 98.5% of people live within 3 miles of a free to use cash access point offering withdrawals LINK, the UK’s not-for-profit, independently governed ATM operator, publish data on the number of ATMs nationally and across each parliamentary constituency. This includes a breakdown of the number of pay-to-use ATMs operated by the LINK network. LINK data estimates that in 2025, there were 42,403 ATMs in the UK, including 8,693 pay-to-use ATMs. This data can be found at https://www.link.co.uk/data-research/the-atm-network Customers can also access everyday cash and banking services at Post Office branches. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers of participating banks to withdraw and deposit cash; for personal customers this service is free. Customers are also able to check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at over 10,000 Post Office branches across the UK.

How much and what proportion of Vehicle Excise Duty receipts was (a) allocated to and (b) spent on road repair and maintenance in the 2024-25 tax year.

The Consolidated Fund receives the proceeds of Vehicle Excise Duty along with most other tax revenues to support public services and investment in infrastructure, including vehicle infrastructure and road maintenance. The Government is going well beyond its promise to fix an additional one million potholes per year, by providing funding to fix the equivalent of more than seven million extra potholes in 2025/26 in England.

Whether her Department is taking steps to help reduce the rate of Air Passenger Duty for (a) domestic flights and (b) flights to European destinations.

The government is committed to securing the long-term future of the aviation sector in the UK and recognises the benefits of the connectivity it creates between the UK and the rest of the world. The rate of Air Passenger Duty (APD) in part depends on destination. There are four destination bands, including a domestic band (for destinations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), and Band A (which includes all destinations in the EU and EEA and other European destinations). From 1 April 2026, the reduced rates for domestic and Band A flights will be £8 and £15 respectively. This compares with rates of £102 and £106 for Bands B and C respectively (which apply to destinations further away from London). Following recent increases to APD rates to account for higher-than-expected levels of inflation, at Budget 2025, the government announced it will uprate APD rates in line with RPI from 1 April 2027 and round to the nearest penny. This constitutes a real terms freeze. This will ensure that airlines continue to make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty.

Whether her Department has any plans to make (a) Universal Credit, (b) Employment and Support Allowance, and (c) Housing Benefit taxable state benefits.

Means-tested benefits that are designed to meet specific costs, such as Universal Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and Pension Credit, are not taxable, and the government has no current plans to alter this.

What was the evidential basis for the decision to freeze the student loan repayment threshold for graduates; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of this on graduates' disposable incomes.

The fiscal situation this government inherited means we’ve had to make tough but fair choices, including on student loan repayment threshold freezes. Student loan borrowers repay a portion of their income (typically 9%) above the repayment threshold. A Plan 2 graduate earning £30,000 will repay only around £4 a month in FY2026–27. The student finance system is heavily subsidised by government, and lower-earning graduates will always be protected, with any outstanding loan and interest cancelled at the end of the repayment term. It is right that those who are able to repay do so. The Department for Education has published analysis of the impact of the repayment threshold freeze on total repayments here.

What criteria were applied in the Spending Review for assessing proposed rail infrastructure projects.

Rail infrastructure projects are carefully considered to assess their value for money. This includes consideration of strategic, economic, social and environmental factors, the local context and regional distribution of projects, as well as affordability and the government’s wider fiscal position.

Whether she has made an estimate of the number of pubs that will close in (a) Leicester East and (b) the United Kingdom as a result of employer National Insurance contribution rises.

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 Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change. It means employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage without paying employer NICs. Businesses will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under-21s and under-25 apprentices.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a phased approach to stamp duty increases for those in pre-agreed property transactions.

The increase of the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings (HRAD) by two percentage points at the Autumn Budget 2024, will impact transactions on or after 31 October 2024.The rate increase will not apply to transactions where contracts have been exchanged prior to 31 October but have not yet completed. This means that those who have already committed to a purchase, by exchanging contracts, won’t pay more tax than they were expecting to pay when they agreed to buy the property.The timing of implementation of tax increases is a balanced judgement which requires a comprehensive evaluation of a variety of factors including, but not limited to, complexity, fairness, and simplicity for the taxpayer. The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the usual tax policy making process and welcomes representations to help inform future decisions on tax policy.

What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the levels of funding for grassroots sports.

Government funding is being considered in the usual way as part of the Spending Review. The outcome of this review will be communicated in due course.

Whether there are fiscal incentives for businesses looking to invest in creative industries in the UK; and whether she plans to take steps to encourage such investments.

The creative industries play a key role in driving economic growth. The Government is committed to supporting them and will implement a creative industries sector plan as part of the Industrial Strategy, creating good jobs and accelerating growth in film, music, gaming, and other creative sectors. One of the ways that the Government incentivises investment in the sector is through the creative industry tax reliefs, which provide generous support for production costs of theatres, orchestras, museums and galleries and film, TV and video games companies. The reliefs delivered £2.2 billion of support to these industries in financial year 2022-23. The government also provides a range of grant support.