Written questions by Griffith.

When the Interim Chief Executive of the Financial Ombudsman Service plans to respond to the letters of 29th April 2026 and 10th June 2026 in relation to a constituent.

Awaiting answer.

When she intends to respond to the letter of 14 April 2026 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs on a constituent's complaint about the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The letter of 14 April from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs is currently receiving urgent attention under reference MC2026/08512. HM Treasury will respond in due course.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 February on the Double Contributions Convention with the Republic of India, HCWS1327, if he will commission an an economic impact assessment on the Double Contributions Convention.

The Office for Budget Responsibility will certify the impact of the Double Contributions Convention in the usual way at a fiscal event, once it has been ratified.

With reference to the Explanatory Memorandum on the Double Contributions Convention with the Republic of India, Command Paper No 1513, how much public funding will be required to meet the obligations for managing the treaty.

The project to implement the Double Contributions Convention, including work required by Article 20 to scope and implement a system of electronic information exchange between the UK and India, is still on-going. A full estimate is therefore not available. The system under development will be a step towards the modernisation of international social security processes in HMRC.

When the Chief Secretary to the Treasury plans to respond to the correspondence of 15 January 2026 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.

The correspondence from the hon. Member is receiving attention, and a response will be issued in due course.

What is the (a) gross and (b) net revenue raised for her Department from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme in the 2024-25 financial year, broken down by auction receipts, administrative costs, and any revenue recycling and hypothecation.

Receipts from auctioning of UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) allowances accrue to the exchequer. The Economic and Fiscal Outlook (November 2025) published by the OBR confirms the ETS outturn for 2024-25. The administrative cost of the UK ETS can be found in the National Audit Office’s report on the UK ETS. The UK does not hypothecate revenue from the UK ETS, which is subject to a floating carbon price which changes frequently. All receipts from the UK ETS accrue to the consolidated fund, and go to funding government priorities, which includes decarbonisation support for ETS participants.

When she plans to respond to correspondence of (a) 10 December 2025, (b) 6 January 2026 and (c) 20 January 2026 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.

The correspondence from the Rt Hon Member for Arundel and South Downs has been transferred from HM Treasury to HMRC. HMRC will respond in due course.

What estimate her Department has made of the proportion of import consignments that require remedial action due to documentation or compliance errors.

To address the dynamic nature of import risk, HMRC continually enhances its capabilities to identify errors and address non-compliance, ensuring that interventions are proportionate and targeted—rather than creating and relying on static estimates. HMRC’s policies, processes, and systems are designed to facilitate legitimate access to the customs regime, promote strong compliance, and make it difficult to circumvent the rules. As a result, the vast majority of consignments move seamlessly in and out of the UK with minimal disruption.

What estimate she has made of the proportion of UK firms that have undergone post-clearance verification processes in each of the last three years.

HMRC takes a risk-based approach to compliance, focusing on areas where there is the greatest risk of tax going unpaid. The number of businesses involved in international trade activities is published annually as the “Customs Importer and Exporter Population” (GOV.UK). HMRC carries out post-clearance verification on customs declarations for reasons other than compliance, including at the request of other customs authorities and to support applications for customs authorisations. This supports the UK Governments international obligations, including those under Free Trade Agreements. YearNumber of PCA’s2022/236,7272023/249,2462024/2510,357 These figures may include multiple verifications per business, and the business may not be headquartered or established in the United Kingdom. It should also be noted that the verification may not be in the same year that a customs declaration was made.

Pursuant to the answer of 4 December to Question 95961 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, if she will modify the Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Factsheet, published on 28 November, to reflect that the calculation for the applicable Transition Relief cap for 2026/27 is made from the base liability for 2025/26 before RHL relief has been applied.

No, I will not modify the Budget 2025: RHL Factsheet. It is correct.

When negotiations on the double contribution convention with India will conclude.

In a side letter to the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), agreed in July 2025, the UK and India committed to concluding the negotiations to allow for the Double Contributions Convention to enter into force at the same time as the CETA.

When HMRC plan to respond to the correspondence of (a) 13 March, (b) 10 June and (c) 10 July from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.

A response was issued on 30 July 2025.

What discussions she has had with business groups on the impact of increases to employer's National Insurance contributions.

Ministers and officials from multiple Government departments have had meetings with organisations which have covered this matter since Autumn Budget 2024.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 the changes to employer NICs 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.

What discussions she has had with business groups on the impact of changes to Business Property Relief.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. Ministers and officials have had a number of meetings with organisations on this matter since Autumn Budget 2024. After listening, the Government believes the approach set out is an appropriate one.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2024 to Question 65661 on Wealth: Taxation, whether this will include an exit tax payable upon persons ending their UK tax residency.

HMRC publishes estimates of the direct impacts of illustrative tax changes in its Direct effects of illustrative tax changes publication. The Government does not routinely publish costings for hypothetical tax changes outside of this. The Government is committed to ensuring that the wealthiest in society pay their fair share of tax. The reforms announced at Autumn Budget 2024 were designed to help repair the public finances in a fair and balanced way.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2024 to Question 65664 on Taxation: Overseas Residence, whether the Government has conducted such hypothetical tax change costings for an exit tax payable upon person ending their residency in the United Kingdom.

HMRC publishes estimates of the direct impacts of illustrative tax changes in its Direct effects of illustrative tax changes publication. The Government does not routinely publish costings for hypothetical tax changes outside of this. The Government is committed to ensuring that the wealthiest in society pay their fair share of tax. The reforms announced at Autumn Budget 2024 were designed to help repair the public finances in a fair and balanced way.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2024 to Question 65661 on Wealth: Taxation, whether this will include a wealth tax.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 65661.

When she plans to publish Ministerial transparency data on hospitality in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Transparency data on hospitality received by HM Treasury Ministers can be found on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/register-of-ministers-gifts-and-hospitality

If she will make an assessment of the fiscal impact of introducing a wealth tax.

The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible.  These and other decisions announced at the Budget will help repair the public finances and fund public services such as the NHS and education.

If she will make an assessment of the potential fiscal impact of introducing an exit tax payable upon persons ending their UK tax residency.

HMRC publishes regular estimates of the direct impacts of illustrative tax changes in its Direct effects of illustrative tax changes publication. However, the Government does not routinely publish costings for hypothetical tax changes outside of this.