Written questions by Holden.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 July 2024 to Question 1811 on Taxation, what the tax gap of (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2022-3 is adjusted for inflation in (i) 2005-06 and (ii) 2022-23 real terms.

The UK tax gap in 2022-23 is estimated to be 4.8% of total theoretical tax liabilities, or £39.8 billion in absolute terms. The tax gap has fallen from 7.4% of total theoretical liabilities in 2005-06, or £32.4bn in absolute terms.The 2005-06 and 2022-23 tax gap estimates can be adjusted for inflation using the published GDP deflators available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/gdp-deflators-at-market-prices-and-money-gdp-june-2024-quarterly-national-accountsThe government is committed to tackling the tax gap, through increasing HMRC's compliance staff, investing in HMRC’s technology infrastructure, and making policy changes to tackle tax non-compliance. The government will set out further details at the budget.

What the average take home pay was of someone aged 23 working full-time on the minimum wage in (a) cash terms and (b) adjusted for inflation in the financial year (i) 2000-01, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2023-24.

The statistics requested can be calculated for a typical worker on the minimum wage using the following data sources: average hours from ONS dataset HOUR01; inflation from ONS CPI series D7BT; historic Income Tax liabilities from HMRC, “Income Tax Personal Allowances and Reliefs”; historic National Insurance liabilities from HMRC, “Main Features of National Insurance Contributions”.

What plans she has to consult on ending the VAT exemption and business rates relief for private schools.

As the Chancellor announced on 29 July, as of 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training supplied by a private school in the UK for a charge will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%. Boarding services closely related to such a supply will also be subject to VAT at 20%. Any fees paid from 29 July 2024 pertaining to the term starting in January 2025 onwards will be subject to VAT. Furthermore, where a school in England has charitable status, the government will legislate to remove their eligibility to business rates charitable rates relief. This is intended to take effect from April 2025, subject to parliamentary passage. This was a tough but necessary decision that will secure additional funding to help deliver the government’s commitments relating to education and young people, including opening 3,000 new nurseries, rolling out breakfast clubs to all primary schools, and recruiting 6,500 new teachers. The Government engages with a wide range of stakeholders with an interest in Government policy, including VAT, as part of the policy development and implementation process as a matter of course. A technical note setting out the details of these two tax policies has been published online here: VAT on Private School Fees & Removing the Charitable Rates Relief for Private Schools - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Draft VAT legislation has also been published alongside this technical note. A technical consultation on the legislation and technical note will run from 29 July 2024 until 15 September 2024.

What the tax gap was in the (a) 2005-06 financial year and (b) latest financial year for which data is available; what steps her Department is taking to close the tax gap; and whether she has set a target for closing the tax gap.

The tax gap is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and the amount that is actually paid. In 2005-06 the tax gap was estimated to be 7.4% (£32.4bn). The latest estimates, published in June 2024, show the tax gap at 4.8% (£39.8bn) in 2022-23.The government is committed to tackling the tax gap, through increasing HMRC's compliance staff, investing in HMRC’s technology infrastructure, and making policy changes to tackle tax non-compliance. The government will set out further details at the budget.

What the total Government underspend is for this financial year; and what the underspend is for each Department.

As the Chancellor set out in her statement on July 29, there is a forecast Resource DEL overspend of £21.9 billion against the plans set out for departments at Spring Budget 2024. This already factors in the Treasury’s assessment of a £7.1bn fallaway over the course of the year, as set out in Table 1 of Fixing the foundations: public spending audit 2024-25.

What information was provided to her on the public finances prior to taking office; whether she has received any additional information since taking office; and what her policy is on the provision of information to prospective future governments prior to elections.

The process for access talks is set out in the Cabinet Manual. Access talks are initiated with permission from the Prime Minister of the day and are confidential. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place between Cabinet ministers and officials is not shared publicly.

What information was provided to the Prime Minister on the public finances prior to taking office; whether he has received any additional information since taking office; and what his policy is on the provision of information to prospective future governments prior to elections.

The process for access talks is set out in the Cabinet Manual. Access talks are initiated with permission from the Prime Minister of the day and are confidential. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place between Cabinet ministers and officials is not shared publicly.

If she will take steps to repeal the Pensions Increase (Pension Scheme for Keir Starmer QC) Regulations 2013.

The 2013 regulations were introduced to ensure the Director of Public Prosecutions’ pension scheme is uprated in line with other public service pension schemes. There are no plans to repeal the regulations.

What the annual deficit was (a) in percentage of GDP, (b) in 2010 real terms and (c) as a proportion of government spending in the financial year (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2023-24.

The annual deficit in 2009-2010 was 10.3% of GDP and 4.5% of GDP in 2023-24. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) does not publish the annual deficit in real terms. In order to remove the effects of inflation and provide an indication of a country’s ability to service borrowing and debt, it is typical to compare fiscal aggregates as a percentage of GDP, which represents the scale of the aggregate in comparison to the size of the economy at the relevant time. In nominal terms, the annual deficit was £160.9bn in 2009-2010 and £122.1bn in 2023-24. As a proportion of government spending, the annual deficit was 22.2% in 2009-2010 and 10.0% in 2023-24. More information is available on the ONS’ website under “Public sector finances, UK Statistical bulletins”.

If she will take steps to ensure the availability of free access to cash.

The Government is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses. The Financial Conduct Authority is the regulator responsible for access to cash further to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, with powers to seek to ensure the reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities for individuals and businesses, including free withdrawal services for individuals. The FCA has recently published its final rules setting out its regulatory approach to protecting access to cash. These can be found here: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/policy/ps24-8.pdf

What assessment her Department has made of the impact of differential duty for draught beer on (a) pubs and (b) clubs.

Under the new alcohol duty system, Draught Relief provides a 9.2% duty reduction on draught beer and cider products below 8.5% alcohol by volume. The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the recent reforms, including Draught Relief, that took effect on 1 August 2023. It is essential for this evaluation process to allow sufficient time to understand the impacts on the alcohol market, and for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data with which to assess the effects of the reform. As with all taxes, the Government keeps the alcohol duty system under review during its yearly Budget process.

What compulsory retirement ages exist in the public sector; what changes have been made to compulsory retirement ages in the public sector in the last ten years; and whether the Government plans to (a) introduce and (b) change mandatory retirement ages in the public sector.

The judiciary have a compulsory retirement age of 75, which was increased from age 70 by the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022. For the Armed Forces, each service has responsibility for setting retirement ages but in all cases, there is discretion to extend service beyond this age. There are no compulsory retirement ages in the NHS, Teachers, Police, Fire, Local Government or Civil Service public service workforces. The Police previously had a compulsory retirement age of 60 for constables, sergeants and inspectors, and a compulsory retirement age of 65 for higher ranks, although officers could serve beyond these ages with agreement. The Police Pension Scheme Regulations 2015 (SI 2015, No.445) introduced new pension arrangements from 1 April 2015 that no longer provide compulsory retirement ages. The government has no plans to introduce or change mandatory retirement ages for the public service workforces.