Written questions by Hollinrake.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact unresolved Covid Business Interruption claims expiring without payment on hospitality and leisure businesses.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the independent regulator for financial services, sets the conduct standards required of insurance firms. This includes rules requiring insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly. The FCA meets with a wide variety of organisations in the course of delivering its statutory objectives. Queries about such engagements can be addressed directly to the FCA. The Supreme Court published its final judgment in the FCA’s Business Interruption Insurance test case in 2021. At the time of the judgment, the FCA set out its expectation that insurers should communicate to all impacted policyholders what the judgment meant for their claim and should move quickly to resolve claims as determined by the judgment. The FCA court case did not cover all potential issues with business interruption policies. The FCA has been clear that, in the event of further court rulings, insurers will need to consider carefully how the rulings impact claims they have already decided. The FCA is continuing to supervise firms to ensure they are meeting their expectations and has robust powers to take action where necessary.

How much of the funding allocated for compensating Equitable Life With-Profits Annuitants has been spent up to and including 2024-25; and how much was forecast to be spent on both a cash and discounted basis.

The previous Conservative Government allocated £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Before it ceased operations in 2016, the Scheme had issued £1.12 billion in tax-free payments to nearly 933,000 policyholders. The remainder of the £1.5 billion has been set aside for future payments to the With-Profits Annuitants. Further information is available in the Final Report on the Scheme. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/equitable-life-payment-scheme-final-report). The total value of payments made by the Scheme stood at £1.35 bn as of 30 May 2025, and the Scheme is on track to pay out the remainder.

Pursuant to the answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 97528 on Electronic Cigarettes: Public Houses, whether a pub vaping ban would constitute a material change of circumstances for the purposes of the Valuation Office Agency’s valuation of pubs.

A vaping ban in pubs would not constitute a material change of circumstance that would impact the rating assessment of a property. Section 14 of the Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 in England, and in Wales, The Valuation for Rating (Prescribed Assumptions) (Wales) Regulations 2023, determined that any subsequent changes to legislation, government advice or policy could not be taken into account when determining the rateable value of a property.

What is the mean Rateable Value of a public house in (a) 2025-26 under the current Rating List and (b) 2026-27 under the draft Rating List in each billing authority in England.

The Valuation Office Agency published data relating to your request which can be found here.

Whether her Ministerial residence is registered with Westminster City council as a primary residence.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer pays full council tax on the flat above 10 Downing Street as her primary residence.

How Politically Exposed Persons and their families can complain about unreasonable withdrawal of services by companies which are not financial services institutions and not regulated by the Financial Services Ombudsman.

A wide range of business activities, not limited to financial services, are regulated under the Money Laundering Regulations. Relevant businesses must identify and carry out enhanced due diligence on Politically Exposed Persons and their close relatives or business associates. Guidance for different sectors makes clear that these checks should be proportionate to the risks posed on a case-by-case basis. Individual businesses will be subject to various regulatory and accountability arrangements depending on the nature of the services they provide. Consumers are normally encouraged to direct any complaints first to a business’s own complaints department before escalating if necessary to the relevant ombudsman or equivalent organisation which is empowered to consider complaints.

Pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92033 on Ministers: Second Homes, whether her official ministerial residence is classified as a second home.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer pays full council tax on the flat above 10 Downing Street as her primary residence.

What estimate she has made of the number of households who will have (a) Married Couple’s Allowance and (b) marriage allowance reduced as a result of freezing of income tax thresholds.

HMRC does not produce household-level analysis for either the Marriage Allowance or the Married Couple’s Allowance. Data on the number of Marriage Allowance claimants up to 2022-23 can be found here:Non-structural tax reliefs - GOV.UK Published estimates of the number of Married Couple’s Allowance claimants up to 2024-25 can be found here:Structural tax reliefs - GOV.UK

Whether the departing direct ministerial appointments in the Office for Value for Money will receive exit payments.

The Office for Value for Money (OVfM) successfully delivered on its remit.Its functions have been embedded within the Treasury, leaving a legacy of value for money improvements across the public sector. OVfM was made up of a combination of HM Treasury employees and people on loan from other departments or public bodies. Staff on loan have returned to their home organisations and the permanent HM Treasury employees have either taken up new roles internally or left the department for new employers. The independent Chair's contract ended alongside the closure of OVfM. An exit payment was not made.

Whether any staff (a) have and (b) will be made redundant following the closure of the Office for Value for Money.

The Office for Value for Money (OVfM) successfully delivered on its remit.Its functions have been embedded within the Treasury, leaving a legacy of value for money improvements across the public sector. OVfM was made up of a combination of HM Treasury employees and people on loan from other departments or public bodies. Staff on loan have returned to their home organisations and the permanent HM Treasury employees have either taken up new roles internally or left the department for new employers. The independent Chair's contract ended alongside the closure of OVfM. An exit payment was not made.

Pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 89480 on Jeffery Epstein, whether those records are held in (a) electronic and (b) hard copy format; and whether Ministerial private office records for 2009-10 are searchable electronically.

HM Treasury’s private office records for 2009-10, including for ministerial meetings and correspondence, are held within HM Treasury’s archives in both digital and paper formats, and those in electronic format are searchable electronically.

What estimate she has made of the number of households who will have child benefit reduced as a result of freezing of income tax thresholds.

At Budget 2025, the Government announced that it will maintain the income tax Personal Allowance at £12,570 and higher rate threshold at £50,270 from April 2028 to April 2031. The additional rate threshold remains at £125,140 from April 2028 to April 2031. These decisions have no impact on entitlement to Child Benefit or liability to the High Income Child Benefit Charge.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on future VCT fundraising by reducing upfront VCT Income Tax relief from 30% to 20% from April 2026; and when her Department will publish that impact assessment.

At Budget, the government announced a comprehensive package of entrepreneurship tax measures designed to provide substantially enhanced support for scaling businesses across the UK. This includes doubling the maximum amount that a company can raise through the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Venture Capital Trust (VCT) scheme. These increases will lead to around £100 million per year of extra investment into the most successful scaling companies, supporting their further growth and development. The Government recognises that there may be other ways we could support companies to scale in the UK. We have therefore launched a Call for Evidence on tax policy support for investment in high-growth UK companies to gather views and evidence from founders, entrepreneurs, scaling companies and investors. This will assess the impact, accessibility, and generosity of existing schemes, and explore potential policy options to go-further. A Tax Information and Impact Note published at Budget outlines the policy rationale and impacts of these measures. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/enterprise-investment-scheme-eis-and-venture-capital-trusts-vct-changes/venture-capital-trusts-enterprise-investment-scheme-investment-limit-increase-and-restructureThe Policy Costings document contains further information on the costing methodology. This can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/692872fd2a37784b16ecf676/Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf

What recent discussions she has had with representatives of the drinks industry about the potential impact of spirits taxation on pub profitability.

Alcohol duty is charged at the point of production or importation of drinks, and is therefore not generally paid directly by pubs. Further, the United Kingdon has an international obligation under WTO rules to treat imported and domestic products fairly. A duty-based tax incentive that applied only to domestic spirits producers is likely to be inconsistent with these legal obligations. To support spirits producers, the Government has:agreed a trade deal with India which will reduce tariffs on gin and whisky exports from 150% to 75% initially, and then 40% over time;ended the alcohol duty stamps scheme on 1 May 2025, reducing the administrative burden on spirit producers and importers, including Scotch Whisky distilleries;invested £5m in the Spirits Drink Verification Scheme (SDVS) to enable HMRC to cut the fees it charges producers for its verification service. Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

What recent estimate her Department has made of the average spirits duty paid annually by a typical community pub.

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.

Whether she has considered introducing tax incentives for pubs that promote UK spirits producers.

Alcohol duty is charged at the point of production or importation of drinks, and is therefore not generally paid directly by pubs. Further, the United Kingdon has an international obligation under WTO rules to treat imported and domestic products fairly. A duty-based tax incentive that applied only to domestic spirits producers is likely to be inconsistent with these legal obligations. To support spirits producers, the Government has:agreed a trade deal with India which will reduce tariffs on gin and whisky exports from 150% to 75% initially, and then 40% over time;ended the alcohol duty stamps scheme on 1 May 2025, reducing the administrative burden on spirit producers and importers, including Scotch Whisky distilleries;invested £5m in the Spirits Drink Verification Scheme (SDVS) to enable HMRC to cut the fees it charges producers for its verification service. Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on pubs with significant spirits sales.

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.

Pursuant to the answer of 17 November 2025, to Question 89478, on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, if she will list each date that she has met representatives of the Chinese Government.

As stated in my previous answer, the Chancellor has engaged with the Chinese Government on a number of occasions to discuss economic and financial issues. Data on ministers' overseas travel and meetings with external individuals and organisations is published every quarter. This can be found here and here.

Under what terms was Katie Martin appointed.

Katie Martin was appointed as a special adviser to the Chancellor on 5th July 2024. She has now resigned from that position, with her employment formally ending on 17th December 2025. From January 2026, she will become Business Adviser to the Chanceller. Details of that appointment will be made public in due course.

Whether the Treasury has approved a severance payment for Lord Mandelson.

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.