Topical Questions

Question

Does the Chancellor recognise that it is his responsibility to deliver what people want, which is a fair tax system where everybody plays by the same rules? Will he disclose how many Government Ministers have personally benefited from non-dom tax status over the years, and how many have used overseas offshore trusts to reduce the taxes that they owe Britain?

Question

I noted the Financial Secretary's earlier comments about the implementation of the OECD's global minimum corporation tax, but can she or the Chancellor provide some kind of clarity over the plans for the dispute resolution mechanism under pillar two and, importantly, say something about the assurances that will be given to businesses that will be affected by it in the next financial year?

Question

Last week, Shell announced profits of £32 billion, the highest in its 115-year history. Today, BP announced profits of £23 billion, the highest in its history. Meanwhile, energy bills for households will go up by £500. The cost of living crisis is far from over, so will the Government follow our lead and impose a proper windfall tax to keep people's energy bills down.

Question

There we go again: the Government shielding the energy companies and asking ordinary families and businesses to pay more. Shell has spent more on share buybacks than it has invested in renewables. Last year, BP's dividends and share buybacks were 14 times higher than investment in low carbon energy. The Government are allowing energy companies to make profits that are the windfalls of war, while ordinary families and businesses pay the price. Is it not the case that the Tories cannot solve the cost of living crisis because they are the cost of living crisis?

Question

The Financial Conduct Authority is currently advertising for a personal assistant to its chief executive, to work alongside another PA, a chief of staff, a head of office, three private secretaries and a PA to the chief of staff. Given the largesse in their own affairs, what is my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary doing to hold financial service regulators to account?

Question

It has been two weeks since it was revealed that the Treasury provided special dispensation for a sanctioned Russian warlord to use British lawyers to threaten a British citizen, Eliot Higgins. What has the Chancellor done in that time to get to the bottom of this outrageous scandal of the Treasury undermining sanctions and aiding our enemies to use aggressive lawfare tactics designed to intimidate those exposing the truth?

Question

I only have to look at the Bench behind my right hon. Friend to know that the needs of Torbay will be at the centre of the Treasury's thinking. What fiscal steps will he take in response to the “Communities on the Edge” report produced by the Coastal Communities Alliance?

Question

Last year's register of overseas entities was meant to crack down on corrupt elites using the UK to launder illegal wealth, but today's BBC and Transparency International report shows that it is clearly not working, with less than half the required firms making declarations and others fudging it. That brings into question the Government's commitment to tackling illegal wealth and wealth inequalities. What will the Government do about this?

Question

The Chancellor was right to argue last autumn that the NHS needs to help people into work. Will he bring forward more thinking on this as part of his inactivity review or in the Budget?

Question

According to the Resolution Foundation, the previous Prime Minister's unfunded tax cuts cost the economy £30 billion. Will the Chancellor confirm that he will not capitulate to her allies who are calling for the reintroduction of tax cuts for their wealthy cronies in next month's Budget?

Question

Businesses that had to renegotiate their energy contracts in the second half of last year did so at the top of the market, so how can we prioritise those businesses in particular for energy efficiency measures?

Question

The recent inquiry by the child of the north all-party parliamentary group found that, under this Government, children in the north live in greater poverty, many in destitution, and that that problem is likely to keep growing. Why is it that, when it comes to children, this Government's mission is always to level down rather than level up?

Question

Given the serious condition of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, does the Chancellor agree that it would be better value for money to build a new hospital rather than to patch this one up? Will the Treasury back the plan by the Department of Health and Social Care to do just that and include it in the new hospitals programme?

Question

The Public Accounts Committee has expressed concerns about the difficulties taxpayers face in getting timely responses and action from His Majesty's Revenue and Customs. My constituent Kirsty Lloyd and her former employer Llion James have missed out on thousands of pounds-worth of statutory maternity pay support, which they feel is because of delays and poor communication with HMRC. Their case has now timed out. Would the Treasury consider extending the time during which a claim can remain active in cases where there is a dispute with HMRC?

Question

My hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie) has run a tenacious campaign for a freeport. Can my right hon. Friend confirm that the benefits of such a freeport would be felt across north Wales and comment on the benefits that students in my own constituency might feel when considering a future career in north Wales?

Question

As the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) said, some businesses have bought in energy at a very high rate because of when they sealed their contract. Many of my local pubs and hospitality businesses will go bust in the beginning of the next financial year because their bills are so out of kilter; they say they would have to charge £15 a pint to survive. Even in London—even in Shoreditch—that is just not feasible. What extra support is the Treasury even considering as we approach the financial statement next month?

Question

The Treasury Committee recently published a report titled 'Fuel Duty: Fiscal forecast fiction' because we do not think the Chancellor will really be able to raise fuel duty by 12p, as is currently baked into the Office for Budget Responsibility numbers. Will the Chancellor be able to respond to our report before the Budget?

Question

Interest in purchasing electric vehicles has escalated significantly and is expected to escalate further in the next 12 to 18 months. Will the Minister undertake to ensure that greater provision of public-facing EV charging points is rolled out right across the United Kingdom?

Question

May I appeal to the Treasury team to do everything they can in the forthcoming Budget to prevent people on fixed-rate mortgages from facing financial disaster when the fixed-rate term comes to an end?

Question

It would cost around £1 billion to give nurses an inflation-matching pay rise. Scrapping the non-dom tax avoidance scheme used by the super-rich would raise more than £3 billion. Why, then, is the Chancellor putting non-doms before nurses?

Question

When the Chancellor acceded to the Treasury throne, he appointed a panel of four advisers drawn from the City. Has the panel met, has he added anybody from small business or industry, and where can we find the minutes, please?