theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-02)

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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps is she taking to support the development of electric vertical take off and landing vehicles in (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland. \p Keir Mather: The Department for Transport (DfT) is committed to the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry and to delivering on the future of flight objectives, which include piloted commercial electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) operations from 2028.

The Future Flight Challenge was a £300m investment programme designed to support the development of new aviation systems — including electric and autonomous aircraft, drones, advanced airspace management, and supporting infrastructure. This year, over £4.4m of investment is funding projects to demonstrate progress towards commercialisation of Future of Flight technologies. These investments included projects in devolved administrations, such as SATE 1 and SATE 2, which explored the application of eVTOL aircraft.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-02)

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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Future of Flight Industry Group will consider air taxi routes in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Scotland. \p Keir Mather: Future of Flight Industry Group is the joint government and industry group for the future of flight in the UK. It acts as a senior decision-making body and provides insights to support the delivery of Future of Flight policy and recommendations on how to address challenges and opportunities facing the industry. One of the group’s aims is to deliver the objective of commercial electric vertical take-off and landing operations from 2028.

Whilst civil aviation is a reserved matter for the UK government, local transport is devolved.

Decisions on specific routes will be taken by industry, in consultation with devolved administrations, regional bodies and local authorities, within a framework that ensures accountability and supports the development of Future of Flight in a way that benefits communities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-02)

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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of moving rail functions from Transport Focus to the new passenger watchdog on integration between train and bus. \p Keir Mather: The Passenger Watchdog will be grown out of Transport Focus, which will be given significantly stronger powers to become a more effective passenger champion in rail. Therefore, no rail functions are being moved out of Transport Focus. The watchdog will be multi-modal from the start and continue to cover Transport Focus’ existing watchdog functions covering trams, buses, coaches and England's strategic road network. This ensures it can monitor transport user experience across these modes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-02)

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Ruth Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of the potential impacts of (a) low car ownership and (b) difficulties in accessing rail travel on economic opportunities for deprived communities in Islwyn. \p Keir Mather: The Department for Transport recognises the importance of improving connectivity for communities with low car ownership and limited access to rail services. Through the Wales Rail Board, we are working in close partnership with the Welsh Government to develop future rail service improvements for communities across Wales, including Islwyn.

Supporting this collaboration, the 10-year Infrastructure Strategy will deliver at least £445 million of UK Government investment in Welsh rail infrastructure, demonstrating our commitment to enhancing services and improving access to economic opportunities.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of intercity fares are in the unregulated category; and what the average percentage increase was in those fares over the last five years. \p Keir Mather: The ORR publish annual statistics measuring the change in prices charged by train operating companies to rail passengers, normally introduced in March of each year. According to ORR data regulated fares make up around 30 per cent of rail expenditure. On intercity routes this includes season tickets, where they are offered, and off-peak returns. Where there are no return fares, the off-peak single fare is regulated.

Between 2019/20 and 2024/25, nominal regional unregulated standard fares have risen by 24 per cent with regional unregulated first-class fares rising by 26 per cent. Over the same period nominal regional regulated standard fares have risen by 21 per cent.

Over the same period, nominal Long Distance unregulated standard fares have risen by 24 per cent with long distance unregulated first-class fares rising by 33 per cent. Over the same period nominal Long Distance regulated standard fares have risen by 24 per cent.
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Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Great British Railways Retail will be required to comply with the statutory Code of Practice on retail market conduct managed by the Office of Rail and Road. \p Keir Mather: The retail industry code of practice announced in the Government's response to the Railways Bill consultation will incorporate clear requirements for how Great British Railways (GBR) should interact with all market participants. The code of practice will be owned and managed by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). GBR’s licence will require it to comply, with the ORR able to demand corrective action if it considers that GBR has not done so.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-02)

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Ian Roome:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding her Department has allocated to improving the resilience of passenger rail services on the North Devon branch line in each of the last 10 years. \p Keir Mather: Network Rail has spent £2.9 million between 2017/18 and 2024/25 on scour protection works on bridges and retaining walls along the North Devon line. In addition, an average of £18,000 per year has been spent over the past ten years carrying out maintenance works to structure inverts, scour protection and removing tree debris trapped against bridges following a flood.
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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the cost of a standard-class annual rail season ticket from (a) Lostwithiel, (b) Bodmin Parkway, (c) Liskeard and (d) Saltash to London Paddington in 2010. \p Keir Mather: The cost of an annual season ticket in 2010 between London Paddington and b) Bodmin Parkway was £15,036, c) Liskeard was £15,036. There was no season ticket between London Paddington and a&d) Lostwithiel and Saltash in 2010, these season tickets were introduced in 2016.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-02)

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Antonia Bance:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the cost of a standard-class annual rail season ticket from (a) Coseley, (b) Bescot, (c) Tipton, and (d) Dudley Port stations to Birmingham New Street in 2010. \p Keir Mather: The Department does not hold information on the cost of these annual season tickets directly. Transport for West Midlands should be able to provide this.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-02)

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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost of an off peak return ticket between Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station and London Euston Railway Station was in each of the last 15 years. \p Keir Mather: The cost of an off-peak return ticket in each of the last 15 years between Stoke-on-Trent and London Euston was:

2010

£54.50

2011

£57.70

2012

£61.20

2013

£63.80

2014

£65.80

2015

£67.40

2016

£68.00

2017

£69.20

2018

£71.60

2019

£73.80

2020

£75.90

2021

£77.90

2022

£80.90

2023

£85.70

2024

£89.90

2025

£94.00
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of unregulated peak-time fares on intercity rail services on modal shift and environmental goals. \p Keir Mather: Over the past 30 years, privatisation has complicated fares leading to pricing cliff edges and to the inefficient and unacceptable situation where some ‘peak’ trains run nearly empty while some ‘off-peak’ trains are overcrowded. This is why we are overhauling it and are already making positive progress.

We are supporting London North Eastern Railway (LNER) with trialling a new fares structure which introduces more flexible products for passengers, making it easier to choose cheaper, less busy trains, putting passenger choice first and tackling overcrowding.

LNER regularly report on the trial to demonstrate it is meeting its commitment to ensure more affordable tickets are available to passengers.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress Network Rail has made in carrying out rail infrastructure safety assessments required by the Office of Rail and Road. \p Keir Mather: The department looks to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), as the independent rail safety regulator, to ensure that Network Rail is held to account for safety-related matters. ORR has assessed Network Rail’s progress in carrying out structural assessments and is assured that it is on target to complete most of the first phase by the deadline agreed with ORR. A small number of these assessments are not expected to be completed by the deadline and will be monitored on a case-by-case basis.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether vehicle rentals at airports are in scope of the definition of airport operations for the purposes of Government targets to achieve net zero for UK airport operations. \p Keir Mather: The Government is supporting the transition to greener aviation, including work on sustainable aviation fuels, airspace modernisation, and low-emission technologies. We are considering the role an airport operations emissions target could play as part of our broader approach to decarbonising aviation. Vehicle rentals are not typically included in the definition of airport operations; however, this would be subject to the scoping of any potential future target. We will set out next steps in due course.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the difference between regulated commuter fares and unregulated intercity fares on passengers; and whether she plans to review that distinction. \p Keir Mather: In general, commuter fares such as season tickets and shorter-distance peak returns are regulated, alongside intercity off-peak returns. These are the fares that DfT currently controls, as part of an overly complex system that was designed 30 years ago and which currently does not make sense.

We are already taking important steps to address some of these challenges. Through the LNER trial on some of the long-distance network, we are moving away from the inefficient and unacceptable situation where some “peak” trains run nearly empty whilst some “off-peak” trains are crowded. We aim to make more flexible products available to passengers, and making it easier to choose cheaper, less busy trains, putting passenger choice first and tackling overcrowding.

LNER regularly report on the trial to demonstrate they are meeting their commitment to ensure more affordable tickets are available to passengers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-02)

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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a regulatory cap on intercity rail fares equivalent to that applied to regulated commuter fares. \p Keir Mather: In general, commuter fares such as season tickets and shorter-distance peak returns are regulated, alongside intercity off-peak returns. Those are the fares that DfT currently controls, as part of an overly complex system that was designed 30 years ago.

As we set up GBR, we’re untangling this complex system of fares and ticketing, and bringing it into the 21st century. We know, for example, that the way in which people travel, including the types of routes on which they commute, has changed over time.

We are already taking important steps to address some of these challenges.

This includes reforming long distance fares, as demonstrated through the LNER trial on some of their long-distance network, to move away from the inefficient and unacceptable situation where some “peak” trains run nearly empty whilst some “off-peak” trains are crowded. At the heart of this is making more flexible products available to passengers, and making it easier to choose cheaper, less busy trains, putting passenger choice first and tackling overcrowding.

LNER regularly report on the trial to demonstrate they are meeting their commitment to ensure a greater number of affordable tickets are available to passengers.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of dynamic pricing on intercity rail routes on fare predictability and passenger affordability; and if she will consider introducing statutory limits on such pricing. \p Keir Mather: We are taking important steps to reform long distance fares, as demonstrated through the LNER trial on some of their long-distance network. This includes moving away from the inefficient and unacceptable situation where some “peak” trains run nearly empty whilst some “off-peak” trains are crowded. At the heart of this trial is making more flexible products available to passengers, and making it easier to choose cheaper, less busy trains, putting passenger choice first and tackling overcrowding

LNER regularly report on the trial to demonstrate they are meeting their commitment to ensure more affordable tickets are available to passengers.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of passenger rail performance in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Keir Mather: Performance across the South Western Railway network, including in the Surrey Heath constituency, has been below the standard that passengers deserve. Under public ownership and with new leadership, South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex are working together to address the issues inherited from the previous operator.

On the Ascot to Ash Vale line which serves the Surrey Heath constituents, the top recent cause for cancellations is the availability of traincrew. To address this, South Western Railway has accelerated its driver recruitment. By the end of December 2025, South Western Railway will have recruited 124 trainee drivers in the calendar year, up from 67 the year before.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the transport system supports economic growth in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Lilian Greenwood: My officials hold regular meetings with Surrey County Council to discuss transport in Surrey. We will shortly announce the regional allocations for the majority of the transport funding announced in the Spending Review. We have informed Surrey County Council of their allocation of the Local Transport Grant which is £38.19 million for the period from April 2026 to April 2030 for local transport improvements.
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has taken place of the effectiveness of measures to tackle the resale of dangerous part worn tyres. \p Simon Lightwood: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s Market Surveillance Unit works closely with local Trading Standards teams to carry out checks on garages selling part worn tyres, enforcing sanctions where necessary.

Any retailer selling part-worn tyres which fail to meet these requirements is breaking the law under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and could be subject to a substantial fine or prison sentence.

Tyres are safety-critical components and are checked as part of the MOT test, ensuring tyres have adequate tread depth and are free from cuts or bulges. Any vehicle with defective tyres will fail an MOT test and is not permitted to be driven on the road.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-02)

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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the government has plans to improve parking, access and customer experience at Mills Hill and Moston train stations; and whether there any plans to bring forward a programme to reopen previously closed stations such as the former Middleton Junction station. \p Keir Mather: The Rail North Partnership between the Department and Transport for the North has regular discussions with Northern, which manages Mills Hill and Moston train stations, on its performance, customer experience and improving services.

There are no proposals or plans regarding the reintroduction of Middleton Junction station. Between 2022-23 and 2026-27, we are providing £1.07bn of City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement funding to Greater Manchester to invest in their local transport network. Beyond that, we have confirmed a £2.5billion Transport for City Regions settlement for Greater Manchester providing funding up to 2031-32. It is for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to decide how to invest the funding locally.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration has been given to extending customer service opening hours for HMRC. \p Dan Tomlinson: Most HMRC helplines are available Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm. Helplines have previously been open during the evenings and at weekends, but the majority of customers continued to contact HMRC during office hours. HMRC therefore made an informed choice to provide helpline services at times which best match customer demand.

HMRC encourages customers to self-serve online where possible. HMRC online services accessed via GOV.UK and the HMRC app offer 24/7 convenience and consistently receive high customer satisfaction ratings. Earlier this year, HMRC published a transformation roadmap which includes details about new digital services that will mean a better experience for taxpayers, agents, and businesses. Further details are available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-transformation-roadmap

While HMRC’s ambition is to provide a digital experience for most customers, they recognise that this is not appropriate for everyone, for example the digitally excluded, those who require extra help, or those with more complex enquiries. HMRC will always provide a service to meet the needs of these customers, including through non-digital channels. For those customers who need extra help and meet the criteria, HMRC provide tailored support via their Extra Support team. This team can also signpost customers to voluntary and community organisations, who can offer free advice and support.
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Sir Christopher Chope:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will place in the Library a copy of each of the representations made by the Rt hon. and hon. Members to which she refers in the Budget statement. \p Dan Tomlinson: The Stakeholder Representation Portal was open from 3 September 2025 until 15 October 2025 to allow members of the public, MPs and organisations to submit their views ahead of the fiscal event. HM Treasury does not publish individual representations on behalf of respondents.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Government Procurement Card spend over £500 - April 2025, Spending by Business Units no longer part of Cabinet Office, published on 29 May 2025, what the spending on TasteTheLove on 28 April 2025 was for, including what food or drink was purchased. \p James Murray: The relevant expense was for catering a cross-government (including visitors from academia and the private sector) event.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 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. \p Dan Tomlinson: 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.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2025 to Question 85352 on Airports: Business Rates, what the rateable value is for each civil airport in England and Wales. \p Dan Tomlinson: The VOA published the draft 2026 Rating List valuations on 26 November 2025; the compiled list will come into effect on 1 April 2026.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will the 10% increase in the size of the Welsh Government's (a) annual capital borrowing limit (b) cumulative capital borrowing (c) overall limit on the size of the Wales Reserve, (d) annual limit for drawing down from the Wales reserve for day-to-day spending and (e) annual limit for drawing down from the Wales reserve for capital spending, as announced in the Autumn Budget 2025, fully restore the real terms value losses that these limits have experienced to due inflation since they were initially fixed in cash terms. \p James Murray: The updates to the Welsh Government’s Fiscal Framework announced at Autumn Budget 2025 increase the real value of the Welsh Government’s budget management tools.

The annual uprating of the limits from 2027-28 will maintain the real value of the Welsh Government’s capital borrowing and Wales Reserve.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) pubs, (b) cafes, (c) restaurants and (d) hotels have had their rateable value (i) increased and (ii) reduced by the Valuation Office Agency during the 2026 business rate revaluation. \p Dan Tomlinson: The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025. The accompanying statistical commentary reflects changes by sector and location, compared to the previous 2023 valuation. The revaluation will take effect from 1 April 2026.

A rise in rateable value does not automatically mean a similar rise in bills. Bills are calculated using an agreed multiplier and any additional reliefs a ratepayer qualifies for. For those seeing bill increases, reflecting many sectors’ post-Covid recovery, the current government is providing a new support package for business rate payers worth £4.3 billion over the next 3 years.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has she made of the impact of the additional Barnett Formula consequential funding for the Welsh Government announced at the Autumn Budget 2025 on the average annual growth of the Welsh Government’s capital budget between 2025-26 and 2029-30. \p James Murray: The additional funding that the Welsh Government will receive as a result of decisions at Autumn Budget 2025 and through the operation of the Barnett Formula increases the average annual growth of the Welsh Government’s capital budget between 2025-26 and 2029-30 compared to the settlements provided at Spending Review 2025.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of inflation on the real terms value of the £505 million in Barnett Formula consequential funding for the Welsh Government announced at the Autumn Budget 2025. \p James Murray: Welsh Government block grant funding is growing in real terms between 2024-25 and 2028-29.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has her department made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2025 on the forecasts for (a) living standards (b) Real Household Disposable Income in Wales, as compared to the pre-Autumn Budget 2025 forecasts. \p James Murray: HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. Forecasts, including for RHDI per person, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

In their November forecast, after accounting for the effects of policy, the OBR forecasts real household disposable income per person to rise by 2.9% over this Parliament.
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Kirsty Blackman:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Budget Statement of 26 November 2025, what was the evidential basis for the decision to allocate £820 million to the Scottish Government over the Spending review period through the Barnett formula. \p James Murray: The additional funding referenced is a result of the operation of the Barnett formula based on the decisions taken at the Autumn Budget.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Treasury has approved a severance payment for Lord Mandelson. \p James Murray: The termination of Lord Mandelson’s contract was subject to normal HR processes within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Where appropriate, severance payments for FCDO employees are reported in the departmental annual reports and accounts.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's press release entitled Levy on overnight trips will help mayors invest in local growth of 25 November 2025, what assessment she has made of the cumulative impact of (a) VAT, (b) corporation tax, (c) National Insurance for employers, (d) business rates and (e) the overnight visitor levy on (i) the economic viability of the British hospitality sector and (ii) the cost of a domestic family holiday. \p Dan Tomlinson: The impacts of visitor levies will largely be determined by local decisions.

Mayors will need to decide whether to implement a levy, and, if so, consult on specific proposals. Giving this power to local leaders who best understand their region enables them to tailor it to growing their local region.

Individuals and organisations will have the opportunity to engage with Mayors on these decisions throughout the consultation period and beyond.

The precise design and scope of the power for Mayors to introduce a visitor levy is still under development and the Government welcomes engagement from the hospitality sector through the consultation process.

On business rates, many hospitality businesses have seen their independent valuations go up since the pandemic. For properties seeing bills go up our support package will cap most increases at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest. We've also reduced tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties to rebalance the system for good.

On employer National insurance contributions, in the Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) which set out the impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 changes. 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.
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Kirsty Blackman:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what correspondence she has received from Anas Sarwar MSP between 1 July 2025 and 26 November 2025 on (a) the Budget and (b) the decision to allocate £820 million to the Scottish Government over the Spending review period through the Barnett formula. \p James Murray: The government listens to a wide range of representations to help shape the Budget, including those from Scottish Labour.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate her Department has made of the average spirits duty paid annually by a typical community pub. \p Dan Tomlinson: 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.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the volume of egg imports into the United Kingdom from Ukraine in the last 12 months. \p Dan Tomlinson: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited Official Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com)

From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria including imports from Ukraine.

Goods moving to and from the UK are identified by commodity codes. To build a table you will need to know the commodity code of the goods imported. These codes are available in the UK Tariff at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. The commodity code for eggs can be found in Chapter 04.

If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact xxx@xxx.xx.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on pubs with significant spirits sales. \p Dan Tomlinson: The government published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) which set out the impact of the changes, including for businesses, to employer NICs alongside the introduction of the Bill.

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.

At Budget 2025, the government asked licensing authorities in England and Wales to explicitly consider the need to promote growth and deliver economic benefits in their decisions and set this out in the first National Licensing Policy Framework.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will revise forward-looking forecasts for revenue from alcohol duty. \p Dan Tomlinson: Alcohol duty receipts for the period March 2025 to October 2025, following the February 2025 rate increase, totalled £7.8 billion, down 4.5% from the same period in 2024 when receipts totalled £8.1 billion. This is driven by an underlying fall in alcohol consumption. Likely factors causing this decline, as identified in the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook report published in November 2025, are a growing trend of alcohol moderation and a response to higher prices, as well as a potential impact from demographic changes. You can find the report here: https://obr.uk/economic-and-fiscal-outlooks/

New forecasts for alcohol duty have been produced for Autumn Budget 2025, as shared in the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (1) individuals and (2) organisations have been (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted for fraud in relation to COVID-19 funds since 2020. \p Dan Tomlinson: HMRC have interpreted ‘COVID-19 funds’ as the ‘HMRC administered COVID-19 support schemes’, including Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), Eat Out to Help Out (EOHO), the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) (previously the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy until 2023) administered Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS).

Although you have requested the data be broken down into individuals and organisations, HMRC do not hold the data at that level of detail. SEISS claims relate to individuals, whereas CJRS involves payroll, however, CJRS may also fall within the Income Tax (IT) or Corporation Tax (CT) regime. To add complexity, all charges for recovery of overpayments on the HMRC schemes are raised under IT legislation.

By the end of March 2025, HMRC had opened 53 criminal investigations into suspected fraud within the schemes and made a total of 99 arrests. There have been 4 convictions so far. Further ongoing criminal investigation activity has yet to be concluded within the criminal justice system and is subject to those timescales.

In this timeframe, HMRC also carried out more than 47,000 compliance checks using civil powers, where the amount claimed was out of step with other information. The risk that the claim was incorrect may have been due to a range of reasons from an honest mistake through to fraud.

DBT has worked with enforcement partners to tackle fraud linked to COVID-19 loan schemes. This includes the National Investigation Service (NATIS) and the Insolvency Service (INSS). To date, the Insolvency Service has obtained disqualifications against 2,595 directors, bankruptcy restrictions against 381 individuals and 82 successful criminal convictions in respect of COVID-19 financial support scheme misconduct. The Agency has also helped to secure more than £6 million in compensation related to COVID-19 financial support scheme abuse. Since 2020, NATIS has opened a total of 254 investigations covering both individuals and organisations. NATIS has secured 14 convictions up to November 2025.
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of potential lost tax revenue from international corporations importing large product volumes operating on a direct to consumer basis. \p Dan Tomlinson: The Government does not hold data to estimate tax revenue losses specifically from international corporations importing large product volumes operating on a direct to consumer basis.

Such economic activity can give rise to a range of different taxes and duties, including Corporation Tax, VAT, customs duty and excise duty, and the impact would depend on the specific circumstances of each business and transaction.

HMRC actively monitors compliance with UK tax and customs obligations and uses a range of tools, including risk-based audits and data analytics, to tackle non-compliance.

The Chancellor has reviewed the existing customs arrangements for Low Value Imports, and as a result, the Chancellor announced at Autumn Budget 2025 the removal of the customs duty relief on goods imported into the UK worth less than £135. In addition to the relief removal, the government is reforming the way these goods are declared into the UK to ensure all goods are appropriately controlled. These changes will come into effect from March 2029 at the latest and are expected to raise c. £500m p.a. in each of the final two years of the scorecard period.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of additional people who will paying the (a) basic rate and (b) higher rate of income tax broken down by country, in the context of the extension of the income tax threshold freeze announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 \p Dan Tomlinson: The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts, linked below:

https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1764165511

The previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the expected distributional impact is of the 2025 Budget measures on households in the North West of England. \p Dan Tomlinson: The government is committed to growing living standards in all parts of the country in a fair and progressive manner, and has acted at Budget 2025 to cut the cost of living for households across the nation.

HM Treasury’s ‘Impact on households’ publication, produced alongside the 2025 Budget, shows that the impacts of government tax, welfare and public service spending decisions from Autumn Budget 2024 onwards. This analysis can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69269c6222424e25e6bc31bb/Impact_on_households.pdf

HM Treasury does not produce a distributional assessment of policy decisions at a subnational level.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the increase in National Insurance contributions on costs to consumers. \p Dan Tomlinson: The government published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) which set out the impact of the changes to employer NICs, including impacts for individuals, alongside the introduction of the Bill.

The government is cutting inflation next year to bear down on the cost of living, and support price stability, with measures taken at Budget 2025 cutting CPI inflation by 0.4 percentage points in 2026-27.
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John Lamont:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to review (a) tax and (b) energy cost burdens facing small quarrying businesses in rural constituencies. \p Dan Tomlinson: The government keeps all tax under review as part of the policy making process.

The government is bearing down on business energy prices more widely by reducing Great Britain’s reliance on volatile international gas prices, and through a new framework to scrutinise energy levies, ensuring they are affordable and value-for-money.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has assessed the potential merits of (a) introducing National Insurance credits for periods spent in full-time higher education and (b) allowing individuals to make voluntary National Insurance contributions for student-year gaps that fall outside the standard six-year window. \p Dan Tomlinson: Qualifying years of National Insurance on an individual’s NI record can be built in several ways; by paying National Insurance contributions (NICs) while working (employed or self-employed); by being credited with NI credits; or by paying voluntary NICs.

Individuals can usually pay voluntary NICs for the past six years. This time limit has been in place for over forty years and is a vital part of the National Insurance system. It is in place to prevent individuals from deferring payment until just before they are due to retire and effectively buying an enhanced pension, or a pension from scratch, which would be unfair to the majority who contribute throughout their lives.

In line with legislation, HMRC can only extend the time limit if an individual exercised due care and diligence but due to factors not in their control, they were unable to pay. If they believe exceptional circumstances stopped them from paying, they can ask us to extend the usual six-year deadline.

NI credits recognise the non-financial contributions that individuals make to society and/or the economy. There are no National Insurance credits available to protect a person’s future State Pension entitlement as a result of them being in higher or advanced education.

Most individuals under the age of 50 will only need 35 qualifying years over a possible working life of 50 years to get the full rate of the new State Pension. This flexibility allows individuals to take time out of the workplace, including gap years, without harming their State Pension position.
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Sorcha Eastwood:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her department will conduct an assessment into the feasibility of exempting tips from income tax. \p Dan Tomlinson: Employees pay tax on all payments that reward them for the work they do. This includes wages, tips, gratuities, or any share of a service charge that they receive. Whether National Insurance contributions are due on tips depends on how tips are managed in the workplace. More information on how tips are taxed can be found here: Tips at work: Tips and tax - GOV.UK'.

The Chancellor will announce any changes to the tax system at fiscal events in the usual way.
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Nadia Whittome:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed higher business rates multiplier for properties above £500,000 on cultural venues. \p Dan Tomlinson: The Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto.

The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including cultural venues with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.

These new tax rates must be sustainably funded and so the Government is also introducing a higher rate on properties with rateable values of £500,000 and above. This represents around only 1 per cent of properties.