Commons
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
3 contributions
Forth Valley: Industry
As my hon. Friend will know, last year the Government signed a £100 million Falkirk and Grangemouth growth deal with the Scottish Government. At the Budget this year, we further recognised Grangemouth’s centuries of history as a key UK industrial site by announcing additional investment of up to £14…
Education and skills policy, including the funding and operation of colleges, is fully devolved to the Scottish Government. That means that it is for Scottish Ministers to decide how to support Forth Valley college with the overall settlement. As my hon. Friend will know, the spending review provide…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
3 December 2025
22 contributions
OBR: Resignation of Chair
Last week, the “Economic and fiscal outlook” was accessed prematurely ahead of the Budget. The Office for Budget Responsibility took full responsibility for this and conducted a review into what had happened. That report was published on Monday, and I came to this House to make a statement. The repo…
I thank the shadow Chancellor for his questions. As I made clear in my opening remarks, the decision for Richard Hughes to resign was a matter for Mr Hughes himself. I referred in my earlier remarks to the media reporting of the letter that the OBR published. The publication of that letter was agree…
+20 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
2 December 2025
5 contributions
Budget Resolutions
I thank my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for opening the debate.
Of course, today’s debate follows yesterday’s publication of the OBR’s report into the early release of the “Economic and fiscal outlook” and the subsequent resignation of Richard Hughes. Let me b…
The changes that we have set out to agricultural property relief are a fair way forward. They represent generous relief for people, while raising money for the public finances. In this Budget, the Chancellor announced that any unused £1 million allowance for the 100% rate of agricultural property re…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
1 December 2025
55 contributions
Office for Budget Responsibility Forecasts
I would like to make a statement to the House on two separate but related matters. The first is regarding communication with the public in the lead-up to the Budget. I understand that this is a topic that has held much interest and speculation over the weekend and I would like to take this opportuni…
I was unclear from what the shadow Chancellor said at the beginning of his comments whether he, like us, values the role of the OBR in the Budget-setting process. We value its independence and we value its integrity. That is why we take what happened last Wednesday with the utmost seriousness, and w…
+53 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
34 contributions
Budget: Press Briefings
Every Minister in this Government takes their obligations to this House very seriously. There has been much speculation, as is usual ahead of a Budget, but the Chancellor will come to this House on 26 November and deliver a Budget that will protect the NHS and public services. It will support growth…
Thank you, Mr Speaker; I can reassure you that every Minister in this Government takes their responsibility to this House very seriously.
I will not engage with speculation or comment on the ongoing Budget process, but everyone in this House and beyond can be very clear of what the Chancellor’s pri…
+32 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
12 November 2025
14 contributions
Taxes
I thank the shadow Chancellor for opening today’s debate. It is two weeks until Budget day, and it is just over two weeks since the last motion tabled by the official Opposition that sought to debate the content of the Budget before it is announced. We know that Conservative shadow Ministers want th…
As a Treasury Minister, what I am very used to in the run-up to a Budget is members of the media and Opposition Members finding more and more convoluted ways of trying to work out what is going to happen in the Budget. My answer would be the same at every turn: they simply have to wait until 26 Nove…
+12 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
4 November 2025
8 contributions
Topical Questions
At the spending review, we enabled better investment in temporary accommodation stock and strengthened local authorities’ financial position. Those changes will support local authorities to increase the supply of good-quality temporary accommodation and drive down day-to-day spend on such accommodat…
At the spending review, as announced earlier this year by my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bristol North West (Darren Jones), we set out record investment into the farming and rural communities right across this country. That is only possible because of the choices that we have ma…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
4 November 2025
2 contributions
Incomes of Working Families: Newcastle
I thank my hon. Friend for her question; I know she is a tireless champion for working families in Newcastle. We know that for too long, people have felt that they are putting too much in and not getting enough back. That is why this Government have increased the national living wage by £1,400 this …
My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the Conservatives’ record in office, and she is right that in her constituency there are fantastic, passionate and productive workers who need a Government—which they now have—who will invest in good jobs and skills, and who will put workers’ rights on a …
Commons
Oral Questions
4 November 2025
4 contributions
Business Rates: Affordability for SMEs
More than 700,000 small businesses across the UK pay no business rates at all as they receive 100% small business rate relief. We are transforming business rates over this Parliament. We are cutting bureaucracy, too—removing the need for the owners of small businesses such as family-run cafés to sub…
We very much recognise the role that grassroots music venues play in constituencies right across our country. In our reforms, on which we will set out more detail at the Budget on 26 November, we will have permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure premises, with rateable v…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
28 October 2025
12 contributions
Stamp Duty Land Tax
I thank the shadow Chancellor for opening today’s debate with characteristic theatricality. I know that Opposition Members are desperate to forget their time in office. They are desperate for us all to forget the damage that they caused to the economy and to public services on their watch. Surely, h…
The right hon. Lady is attempting to bring some humour to the Chamber by pretending that the Opposition have some kind of a plan for their proposal. To call their motion half-baked would be not to go far enough. In fact, it shows the recklessness in their approach to the economy. It may be Halloween…
+10 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
9 September 2025
4 contributions
Topical Questions
The Government are investing £100 million to improve hospice facilities and a further £26 million of revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices this year. That is the biggest investment in hospices in a generation. Details about the funding arrangements for 2026-27 will be set o…
As set out at the last Budget, we will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with rateable values below £500,000. The relief that we inherited from the previous Government was due to end entirely in April of this year. We extended it for one year to giv…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
9 September 2025
5 contributions
Better Futures Fund
In July, the Chancellor announced the better futures fund—the largest social outcomes partnership fund in the world—to break down barriers to opportunity for up to 200,000 vulnerable children and young people. The fund will boost pupil achievement, and could fund programmes to reduce reoffending or …
I thank my hon. Friend for his support of what we are seeking to achieve through the better futures fund. He is absolutely right that the fund will be designed to ensure that the money goes where it is most needed and where it will have the biggest impact—principles I think we can all agree on. As I…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
9 September 2025
5 contributions
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief: Impact on Farming
In my former role as the Minister with responsibility for the UK tax system, and on the Chancellor’s behalf, I have met farming representatives and farmers. Those discussions have included the National Farmers Union, the Tenant Farmers Association, the Country Land and Business Association, the Cent…
The hon. Gentleman talks about good causes. I assume he would agree that the NHS is a good cause, that public services are a good cause, and that a stable economy that encourages investment in our country is a good cause to pursue. As hon. Members have said many times already, the Opposition parties…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
9 September 2025
3 contributions
Critical Infrastructure Funding: Maintenance and Repair
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Through the spending review and the 10-year infrastructure strategy, the Government are funding at least £725 billion of infrastructure over the next decade. That includes investment in critical assets, such as £24 billion over the next four years to maintain and im…
As was set out in the 10-year infrastructure strategy, £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 has been allocated to National Highways, which is the organisation responsible for maintaining the M48 Severn bridge. The funding includes £1 billion to enhance local road networks and c…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Proceedings
3 September 2025
14 contributions
Property Taxes
I thank the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride) for opening the debate. I can tell that he spent his summer polishing some of his rhetorical flourishes, which he has shared with us today, but I suggest that he could have spent his time rather better.
Thank you for your words of con…
I am not going to engage in speculation about tax measures or any of the mechanics around them. The hon. Member and his hon. Friends will simply have to wait until 26 November to hear the specifics of the Budget. At that point, I am sure that he and his colleagues will have plenty to say.
+12 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
15 July 2025
Taxes
I listened very carefully to the shadow Minister. He has clearly been taking theatrical lessons from his colleague the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride). Indeed, I have listened to all his colleagues during this debate, and frankly they have quite some cheek…
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
1 July 2025
4 contributions
Topical Questions
There is £200 million available, and the Government will look at all proposals for investing it.
My hon. Friend will have seen the Prime Minister’s work to reset relations with the EU. She mentions the single trade window, and it is the Government’s intention to deliver that. More widely, the Government are committed to minimising the administrative burdens and frictions experienced by business…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
1 July 2025
3 contributions
Tax Evasion: High Street Businesses
The year before we came to power, the tax gap stood at £47 billion. That is unacceptable, which is why we announced the most ambitious-ever package of tax gap measures in the Budget, and went even further in the spring statement. We are now forecast to raise £7.5 billion from the tax gap in 2029-30,…
My hon. Friend is a powerful campaigner and advocate for tackling those who do not play by the rules. While I am unable to comment on individual taxpayer affairs because of my position, I very much recognise the issue. We are determined to tackle this problem, and HMRC is working across Government o…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
1 July 2025
3 contributions
Betting and Gaming Duty: Horseracing
We very much recognise the social and cultural value of horseracing, which is why on-course betting is exempt from duty, and horseracing is the only sport to receive a Government mandated levy. We are consulting on measures to simplify gambling duty and improve compliance. No decision will be made o…
It is excellent to hear my hon. Friend speak so passionately about Doncaster racecourse and the wider sector, and I reassure her that we will absolutely continue close dialogue with the horseracing industry on these proposals. I and my officials are working closely with the horseracing sector to ide…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
1 July 2025
4 contributions
Clean Energy: Funding
The spending review announced significant investment into clean energy to strengthen our energy security and our economy. That includes over £8.3 billion for Great British Energy and Great British Energy Nuclear and £14.2 billion for Sizewell C.
My hon. Friend is an excellent advocate for her constituents in Ealing Southall, and I am sure that many of them will benefit from our warm homes plan, which will see £13.2 billion invested across this Parliament. That investment will be allocated to schemes to support the roll-out of heat pumps, al…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
1 July 2025
4 contributions
High Net Worth Individuals
His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs uses a range of data sources to monitor the wealthy population. International exchanges of information, including the common reporting standard and US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act data, offer opportunities to develop deeper insight into the international finan…
When considering fiscal measures or financial changes, the figures that matter are those provided by the Office for Budget Responsibility. The OBR has certified that the non-dom reforms that the Government have implemented will raise £33.8 billion in total revenue, and that figure accounts for some …
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 June 2025
6 contributions
VAT Registration Threshold: SMEs
It is a pleasure to speak with you as Chair, Mr Vickers. I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire for securing this debate. I feel that I am letting the side down by not having a quote from Napoleon to open my remarks, but I listened carefully to the hon. Member’s contribution to the de…
I will turn to the questions that the hon. Gentleman and other hon. Members have raised about VAT reliefs in a moment, but I will first finish the point about where the VAT registration threshold is set, because that is an important part of the debate.
It is worth reflecting on the fact that views …
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 June 2025
5 contributions
Business Rates Relief: High-street Businesses
It is a pleasure to speak in this debate with you in the Chair, Ms Jardine. I thank hon. Members for their warm welcome.
I want to extend my thanks, as many others have, to the right hon. Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge (Sir Gavin Williamson) for securing this debate—and, indeed, for h…
The permanently lower tax rates will come in in April 2026, so the intervening year is the year that we are currently in. That rate has been set by the Chancellor. The Chancellor makes announcements about rates at fiscal events. The autumn Budget is where she sets out those rates, in the same way th…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
3 June 2025
5 contributions
Inheritance Tax: Family-owned Businesses
It is a pleasure, Sir John, to speak in this debate with you as Chair, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray) on securing it—I notice that the debate is being opened and closed by a Murray.
I know that some Members are very concerned about the impact of forthcoming…
My hon. Friend is a great champion of businesses and farmers in her constituency. When we were deciding how to reform agricultural property relief and business property relief, we made sure that generous tax reliefs still existed in the tax system precisely because we want to continue to support sma…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Treasury
20 May 2025
2 contributions
Topical Questions
We are determined to go further and faster to reform business rates, which is why we will publish an update paper in the summer. I am also glad that we can work with councils such as Ipswich to ensure that we can turn around town centres after years of Conservative decline.
I am sorry to hear about the experience of the hon. Lady’s constituent. To reassure her and her constituent, one of my priorities as chair of the HMRC board is to improve HMRC’s day-to-day performance. We have seen the percentage of telephony adviser attempts handled go from 59% last March to 80% th…