Speeches by Paul.

“ This feels like quite a challenge for HMRC, because all these things add up, don’t they? Do you have the resources to cope with the increasing number of taxpayers?”

“ Thank you. I am going to move on to the tax gap. HMRC estimates that the tax gap—the difference between the amount of tax that should be paid to HMRC and what was actually paid—has increased from £38.1 billion to £39.8 billion. Obviously, there has been an announcement that we will try to close that gap; 5,000 co…”

“ What will their focus be, though? Obviously, closing loopholes is incredibly difficult—more difficult than people tend to realise—but helping the taxpayer not to make errors, and preventing problems before they arise, is easier. Will those 5,000 compliance staff be largely focused on helping taxpayers avoid makin…”

“ How are you going to measure success? Are you going to set some very specific targets and measure against them? Is that something that we would expect to see at some point?”

“ I asked about the measurement piece because it will be key to making sure the balance is right as well. When I look at the accounts, I can see that in statutory reviews of automated penalties and default surcharges, quite a low percentage—in 2023-24 only 26%—of HMRC original decisions were upheld. So as you bring…”

“ Thank you; that is really helpful. Moving on, the proportion of the tax gap made up by small businesses has increased every year from 37% to 60%, between 2017-18 and 2022-23. I am interested in your perspective on what you think has caused that and what can be done to try to reverse that trend.”

“I would say that flood risk on our roads is really important. It feeds into the point that I was making on the community infrastructure levy. That can be used for drainage improvements. When you are doing road maintenance, that is the ideal time to make sure that your drainage is sorted out. We really need to bring all…”

“It is quite a challenge, when we are already in a situation where our roads are not up to standard and we have potholes that are dangerous.”

“The Asphalt Industry Alliance’s data from local authorities shows that the maintenance backlog is growing. In 2019, it was £9 billion, and now, in 2024, it is estimated to be £15.6 billion. I know that we talked about this a little bit before. It seems like this issue is clearly getting worse, and our current approach …”

“I certainly welcome the fact that you are looking at this, and I would definitely suggest that traffic volume should be seriously considered, because it is intrinsically linked with economic activity going on. We would get substantial value from improving those networks that are highly used. According to the Report, ar…”

“In the light of the geographical disparity that we have in road condition, do you have a view on where investment in local road maintenance would have the greatest impact? Are you starting to see trends? Have you done any work around where the need is greatest?”

“I am aware of the consultation that was conducted, and the 63% that you referenced, but one of the important things that we do here is take a fact and evidence-based approach to how we allocate funds. It is always good to get people’s views but, as you rightly said, when there are winners and losers, there is going to …”

“You have talked about responsibility for roads maintenance sitting with local authorities, but I would suggest that, although that is true, our local authorities are hamstrung. First, there is not enough money. Secondly, there is the short-term funding point that we have just talked about. When you layer on top the fac…”

“I would like to disclose that I am a county councillor at Surrey county council. First, I want to say that the roads are not in good condition. It is something that comes up a huge amount. The data piece is really important, but we also need to get the balance right. We know we have a massive backlog, and a huge amount…”

“Anyone who is a councillor will be aware of it, but I find that, quite often, people in government are not necessarily aware of it.”

“An exercise to look at whether that can be part of the solution would be really valuable.”

“In my local area, I am seeing increased incidences of flooding on the highway, which undermines road integrity. Water ingress is part of the reason why we end up with potholes. Dame Bernadette, what are you doing to help local authorities adapt and make their roads more resilient to the impacts of climate change? Have …”

“It is really important that we keep the holistic picture in mind, given that there are quite ambitious targets around this. We need to make sure that we are building all of that into the plans that we have for our roads. Although it sounds that you are not overly concerned, I would imagine that, if people change over t…”

“We cannot be saying that it needs to meet the needs of unsafe roads. Surely, that cannot be what we are suggesting. Our roads need to be up to standard.”

“The pothole piece is really important, because you are right: when the general public talk about potholes, they are talking generally about their dissatisfaction with the roads, but it is really important that, as a Department, you differentiate. I can look at those funds and see the word “pothole” quite a lot. A lot o…”