Esther McVey MP: written questions
4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026
How these years work
Our reporting years run from 4 July to 3 July, starting with the 2024 general election. They are not official parliamentary sessions. Office costs keep IPSA’s April–March financial years. Records may cover only part of a year; a missing record does not mean no work was done.
Read what this MP said, asked and contributed in Parliament.
15 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Unpaid TaxesTreasuryTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 14819More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money that is owed to HMRC by a) businesses and b) taxpayers has not been collected as a percentage over the previous five years.
Answer: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes information on the total amount of tax debt owed to it, but does not publish a breakdown of the debt balance between businesses and individual taxpayers. The Government is taking significant action to reduce tax deb...
Answered 10 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordUnpaid TaxesTreasuryTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 14818More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money is owed by a) businesses and b) taxpayers to HMRC i) this financial year, and ii) in the previous financial year, and when that money is expected to be paid back.
Answer: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publishes information on the total amount of tax debt owed to it, but does not publish a breakdown of the debt balance between businesses and individual taxpayers. The Government is taking significant action to reduce tax deb...
Answered 10 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordBank Services: BusinessTreasuryTabled 22 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11633More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will ensure the FCA reports on the number of businesses which close down each year due to a lack of banking facility, broken down by sector.
Answer: Generally speaking, it is economically beneficial for banks to provide business bank accounts, as this provides an important source of funding for their activities, such as funding their costs in relation to providing mortgages, consumer and business cred...
Answered 29 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordBank Services: BusinessTreasuryTabled 22 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11632More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will ensure the FCA reviews every business bank account closure before it is allowed to proceed.
Answer: Generally speaking, it is economically beneficial for banks to provide business bank accounts, as this provides an important source of funding for their activities, such as funding their costs in relation to providing mortgages, consumer and business cred...
Answered 29 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordBank Services: BusinessTreasuryTabled 22 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11631More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the FCA allows banks to close down business bank accounts.
Answer: Generally speaking, it is economically beneficial for banks to provide business bank accounts, as this provides an important source of funding for their activities, such as funding their costs in relation to providing mortgages, consumer and business cred...
Answered 29 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordBank Services: BusinessTreasuryTabled 22 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11630More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many business bank accounts each bank regulated by the FCA closed down in each of the last three years.
Answer: Generally speaking, it is economically beneficial for banks to provide business bank accounts, as this provides an important source of funding for their activities, such as funding their costs in relation to providing mortgages, consumer and business cred...
Answered 29 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordBank Services: BusinessTreasuryTabled 22 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11629More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of businesses who had a bank account closed in each of the last 5 years by reason for closure.
Answer: Generally speaking, it is economically beneficial for banks to provide business bank accounts, as this provides an important source of funding for their activities, such as funding their costs in relation to providing mortgages, consumer and business cred...
Answered 29 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordTreasury: Written QuestionsTreasuryTabled 17 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 10593More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times her Department has responded to a written parliamentary question saying that the information is not held in 2026.
Answer: The information requested can be found at https://questions-statements.parliament.uk.
Answered 25 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSoft Drinks: TaxationTreasuryTabled 26 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116143More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the increased cost to businesses as a result of the expansion of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), including directly through paying the increased SDIL and indirectly thr
Answer: The changes to SDIL announced at Budget 2025 were confirmed following extensive industry engagement through the ‘Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ consultation, which was open from 28 April to 21 July 2025. Representations from businesses, and ...
Answered 5 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordVAT: RepaymentsTreasuryTabled 12 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 113072More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2025 to Question 98773 on VAT: Repayments, how many of the (a) VAT repayment returns, (b) complaints received relating to VAT repayments and (c) complaints received directly rel
Answer: Between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC processed around 600,000 VAT repayment returns that were under £1,000 in value. HMRC are unable to confirm how many of the 162 and 119 complaints referenced in PQ answer 98773 relate to VAT refunds which are under ...
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordVAT: RepaymentsTreasuryTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98773More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints HMRC have received in the last 6 months about VAT refunds to businesses because the refund was a) not received and b) delayed.
Answer: Between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC processed around 1.4 million VAT repayment returns, with around 93% paid promptly following initial risking.Based on the information held on HMRC’s complaints database, between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC rece...
Answered 19 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordVAT: RepaymentsTreasuryTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98772More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many VAT refunds to businesses in the last six months a) have not been refunded and b) have been delayed.
Answer: Between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC processed around 1.4 million VAT repayment returns, with around 93% paid promptly following initial risking.Based on the information held on HMRC’s complaints database, between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC rece...
Answered 19 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordFuels: Excise DutiesTreasuryTabled 24 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 93701More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of continued fuel duty freezes on (a0 supporting economic growth and (b) supply chain stability in the North West.
Answer: At Budget 2025, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026. Rates will then gradually return to previous levels. The planned increase in line with inflation...
Answered 1 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordSelf-Assessment: FinesTreasuryTabled 4 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 87720More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to ensure that HMRC does not impose (a) penalties and (b) interest on (i) people and (ii) businesses who make inadvertent errors on their tax returns.
Answer: Financial penalties encourage taxpayers to comply with their obligations and act as a sanction for those who fail to comply. HMRC recognises that people may make inadvertent errors and does not charge a penalty provided the customer has not failed to take...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGambling: Excise DutiesTreasuryTabled 7 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 65683More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposals for a Remote Betting & Gaming Duty on (a) levels of investment in the UK, (b) consumer costs and (c) levels of illegal gambling.
Answer: The Government is consulting on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system by merging the three current taxes that cover remote (including online) gambling into one. The Government welcomes views from stakeholders, as part of the consultation p...
Answered 15 Jul 2025
Original Parliament record
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4 Jul 2025–3 Jul 2026. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
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