Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ben Lake this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 319 · this parliament
How many UK VAT registration numbers have been identified as having been used in customs declarations submitted under PVA (Postponed VAT Accounting) after the registration was cancelled, and what steps HMRC took to
HMRC does not hold information on de-registered VRNs being used in customs declarations. Since June 2025 it has not been possible for entities who have cancelled their VAT registration to continue to use that registration number (VRN) to use Postponed VAT...
With reference to the answer of 29 April 2026 to question 129483, how many (a) individual consignments and parcels were covered by BIRDs declarations under CPC 0020 21V submitted via the Customs Declaration Service
The information requested is not available. BIRDs declarations submitted under CPC 0020 21V and declarations submitted via the legacy CHIEF system are aggregated, with a single declaration covering multiple consignments or parcels using a reduced dataset....
What guidance HMRC has issued to freight forwarders and customs agents on the steps they should take to verify the genuine UK establishment status of importers before submitting indirect customs declarations; and wh
HMRC has published GOV.UK guidance which allows businesses to check if they meet the criteria for UK establishment for customs purposes: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-established-in-the-uk-or-eu-for-customs. This guidance is intended to suppo...
What consideration has been given to providing freight forwarders and customs agents with real-time access to the current VAT registration status of importers, so that agents can verify eligibility for Postponed VAT
HMRC provides a free online service which allows businesses, freight forwarders and customs agents to verify whether an importer or business is VAT registered at Check a UK VAT number - GOV.UK. Postponed VAT accounting (PVA) is not available where an inva...
How many addresses in the United Kingdom are currently registered as the VAT address of 100 or more businesses; and what processes HMRC has in place to verify that such addresses represent legitimate serviced office
As of Tuesday 19 May 2026, there are 165 UK addresses that are currently registered as the VAT address of 100 or more businesses.HMRC undertakes a range of checks to ensure that business addresses provided for VAT registration purposes are appropriate. As...
Since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 came into force, how many companies have been (a) investigated by Companies House for filing dormant accounts whilst conducting active tradi
Companies House does not hold data that matches the specified categories requested. However, since the introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, intelligence led targeted activity has been used to identify companies filing do...
With reference to the answer of 29 April 2026 to question 129483, what (a) the declared trade value of goods imported under BIRDs declarations across all procedure codes and both CDS and CHIEF, (b) HMRC's estimate o
(a) The trade value and number of declarations from the Bulk Import Reduced Data Set (BIRDS) under the Customs Declaration Service and Low-Value Bulking of Imports (LVBI) under the legacy CHIEF system are in the following table:YearLVBI Trade value (£bn)L...
How many BIRDs declarations submitted in each year between 2022 and 2025 were associated with (a) UK-incorporated companies that had been registered at Companies House for fewer than 24 months at the time of submiss
The information requested is not available.
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of Companies House address verification procedures in preventing overseas entities from registering UK companies at virtual office addresses, residential pro
Companies House is continuously improving its ability to detect and prevent the misuse of addresses on the companies register.The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 enhanced the Registrar’s powers to query and challenge addresses before th...
Since January 2021, how many applications for UK VAT registration from companies incorporated in the UK within the previous 24 months have been (a) accepted without a compliance check, (b) accepted following a compl
HMRC introduced a new VAT Registration Service in August 2022. The previous registration service did not include incorporation date data, so figures are only available from August 2022 to 1 January 2026.The figures below relate to UK VAT registration appl...
How many freight forwarders and customs agents have received demands from HMRC for unpaid import VAT or customs duty in respect of declarations submitted on behalf of importers who were subsequently found to be (a)
HMRC systems do not record, in a readily extractable format, the number of freight forwarders or customs agents issued demands for unpaid import VAT or duty linked to importers who are not UK established, use fraudulent or virtual VAT registrations, or ar...
How many BIRDs-authorised traders have had authorisation (a) suspended, (b) withdrawn, (c) reviewed following compliance investigations and (d) referred to HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service since the introduction o
HMRC does not systematically record data on the number of BIRDs authorised traders whose authorisation has been suspended, withdrawn, reviewed following compliance activity, or referred to the Fraud Investigation Service, and this information could only b...
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the answer of 28 April 2026 to question 128431, what her Department considers to be an adequate landline alternative.
Landlines are not being removed. The technology underpinning the landline network, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), is being upgraded to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).As per the response to Question 128431 on 28 April, I can rei...
How HMRC reconciles BIRDs import declaration data with (a) online marketplace order data, (b) VAT returns submitted by sellers and marketplaces and (c) the Customs Declaration Service consignee and importer data for
The purpose of BIRDS is to allow operators to comply with customs requirements. There is a separate VAT regime.Given the scope of the data, HMRC does not typically reconcile BIRDS declaration data with data from online marketplaces, VAT return data or Cus...
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the answer of 28 April 2026 to question 128431, whether her Department verifies claims by major communication providers that no existing PSTN customers will be left wi
Landlines are not being removed. The technology underpinning the landline network, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), is being upgraded to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).As per the response to Question 128431 on 28 April, I can rei...
Food and Rural Affairs, what the amount of seeds imported into the UK from EU countries was by weight in each year since 2020.
This is the volume (kgs) of notifiable seed from EU countries declared to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) based on risk categorisation: 2025: 18,899,370.212024: 9,235,173.432023: 10,551,652.022022: 16,197,085.562021: 7,905,863.802020: TBC There ...
Food and Rural Affairs, what the amount of seeds imported into the UK from non-EU countries was by weight in each year since 2020.
This is the volume (kgs) of notifiable seed from non-EU countries declared to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) based on risk categorisation: 2025: 3,800,221.642024: 3,702,498.582023: 4,464,313.202022: 6,478,940.932021: 6,292,767.162020: 4,173,602...
Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the volume of seed imported into the UK via online marketplaces in each year since 2020.
Seed import applications do not capture data on how these imports are sourced.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has considered the potential impact of the re-introduction of the Places of Destination scheme on the home garden seed sector.
There are no plans to re-introduce the Place of Destination Scheme and therefore there been no assessment of the impact its re-introduction would have on the home garden seed sector.
What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Stockholm 3 (S3) diagnostic test for prostate cancer; and whether he will consider its inclusion within the routine NHS diagnostic pathway fo
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the health and care system on best practice. NICE’s HealthTech programme provides the route for providing independe...