Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Employees Travelling Outside the UK: Expenses Rate

14 July 2026 · 1 other contributor · 2,200 words

Opened by Peter Lamb Lab Crawley

Responding minister: Dan Tomlinson

TaxationEmployment

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Peter Lamb raised concerns about employees travelling outside the uk: expenses rate in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Concerns raised about outdated and underfunded subsistence rates for employees travelling outside the UK, last updated significantly in 2014.
  • The minister acknowledged concerns and committed to reviewing overseas scale rates and benchmark scale rates to reflect current inflation levels.
  • Officials are engaging with businesses for input on potential changes to simplify the system while balancing support for businesses and fairness in the tax system.

Key requests to Government

I urge the Government to undertake a full review of overseas scale rates and ensure they reflect current costs, particularly in light of significant inflation over the past decade. I hope that the review will address concerns raised by employers like Virgin Atlantic regarding destinations where safety restrictions necessitate higher subsistence costs.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Peter Lamb Lab Crawley

I am concerned about the outdated and underfunded subsistence rates for employees travelling outside the UK. These rates, last updated significantly in 2014, fail to reflect current inflation levels and have led to significant erosion of real value over time. For example, in Amsterdam, where the rate was set at €71 in 2013, it should now be more than €96 due to inflation, but remains unchanged. In Budapest, the rates are over 40% lower than they should be due to compounded inflation of 67%. The worst example is Ankara, where the current rate is a tenth of what it should be given Turkey's average annual inflation of 22.5%. This situation leads to under-compensation for workers, particularly cabin crew and pilots who are losing out on subsistence payments.

Other contributors (1)
  • John Milne Lab Horsham

    I represent Horsham and experience similar problems as mentioned, with many cabin crew in my area facing issues. One individual is struggling to get leave to remain due to complications from visa applications involving travel abroad. Intervened to express support for his colleague and highlighted the need for updating the OSRs, emphasizing fairness and administrative ease.

Government Response

Dan Tomlinson

Acknowledged the concerns raised by MPs about the outdated overseas scale rates (OSRs) system. The Government will review both OSRs and benchmark scale rates to ensure they reflect current inflation levels, considering a simplification of the system into broader bands or categories. Officials have begun engagement with businesses for input on potential changes, aiming to balance support for businesses with fairness in the tax system while maintaining administrative simplicity.

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