Lucy Rigby MP: speeches

Speeches

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Clause 45 and schedule 4 will make changes to the pay-as-you-earn notification process that enables employers to give provisional in-year tax relief to globally mobile employees, including those eligible to claim overseas workday relief. The majority of changes made by the clause and schedule are minor, technical changes that will help the legislation relating to the PAYE notification process to operate as originally intended, but a few are more substantial. For example, treaty non-resident employees—that is to say, UK residents who are covered by a double taxation agreement between the UK and another country—have been permitted to benefit from provisional in-year tax relief by concession, so they are now being added to the legislation to formalise that treatment. We will also specify that if the employer’s best estimate of qualifying employment income for an employee eligible for overseas workday relief is more than 30%, it must be limited to 30%. That should ensure that in most cases the provisional overseas workday relief received in-year does not exceed the relief that the employee can claim when they file their tax return. These changes will place the treatment of treaty non-residents on a statutory basis, prevent excessive in-year provisional overseas workday relief and ensure that the PAYE legislation operates as intended. I commend clause 45 and schedule 4 to the Committee.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  Clause 49 modernises and simplifies the UK’s law on permanent establishments, which governs how the UK taxes non-residents who are carrying out business here. Specifically, the changes made by clause 49 reduce uncertainty over how profit should be attributed to permanent establishments under UK law. The greater clarity provided by these changes, in the same way as the previous clause, will assist taxpayers and HMRC by offering greater clarity. I commend clause 49 and schedule 7 to the Committee.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (Second sitting) · Hansard source

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  I hope that what I am about to say will provide a good deal of reassurance to the shadow Minister. The purpose of the reform was to simplify the legislation and bring the regime into the corporation tax framework. There is no intention at all to change the scope of the regime. I appreciate that the question as to when the reforms will come into effect is of some importance. I can confirm that they will take effect for chargeable periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026. For prior periods, the diverted profits tax will continue to apply. The shadow Minister asked how many companies would be affected. I am afraid that I do not have the statistics to hand, but I can investigate and confirm them to him in writing. Question put and agreed to. Clause 46 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Schedule 5 agreed to. Clause 47 Transfer pricing reform Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 27 Jan 2026 · FTSE 100 Index · Hansard source

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  I can confirm that I am indeed hearing that. Last week’s introduction of the new prospectus rules will mean faster execution, reduced complexity and a simplified route to capital raising. Together with the three-year UK listing relief announced at the Budget, these initiatives will make the UK the most attractive destination for companies to start, scale, list and stay.

• 27 Jan 2026 · FTSE 100 Index · Hansard source

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  It is definitely right to say that the FTSE 100 performed strongly in 2025, during which it rose faster than key benchmarks, the United States and the European stock markets, and hit 10,000 points as we entered the new year. The UK is one of the world’s leading global financial hubs, and this Government are committed to the sector’s enduring leadership.

• 27 Jan 2026 · FTSE 100 Index · Hansard source

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  I could not disagree more with the shadow Minister. He is constantly talking this country down. The package of reforms that this Government are making to our capital markets are strengthening those markets, and they are beginning to bear fruit.

• 27 Jan 2026 · FTSE 100 Index · Hansard source

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  The entrepreneurship package in the Budget was incredibly important. The aim of that package, which includes the UK listing relief—the three-year stamp duty holiday that I referred to in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Alison Taylor)—is designed to make the UK the best place to start, scale and list a company.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member has referred to the motor finance redress situation. As the House would expect, we are monitoring that very closely, and we want to see the issues resolved in an efficient way that provides certainty for consumers and for firms. As the hon. Member knows, seeking to change the rules on corporation tax would mean deviating from our commitment to certainty and predictability in the tax system, as set out in our corporate tax road map.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The Government of course recognise the importance of in-person banking services and access to cash, as the hon. Member and I have discussed. As she knows, in-person services are provided through traditional bank branches, banking hubs, post offices and other means, and I will continue to monitor the situation. As she knows, I have listened very carefully to her concerns, and I am happy to do so again.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Government-backed Loans: SMEs · Hansard source

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  On the Government’s policies vis-à-vis businesses as a whole, we support the sort of businesses the hon. Member refers to in a whole range of ways. On businesses in his area, 80% of the recent deployment of the growth guarantee scheme was outside London.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Government-backed Loans: SMEs · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member may well know that, at the spending review, we increased the financial capacity of the British Business Bank to £25.6 billion. There are a number of ways in which the British Business Bank will support companies like the one she referred to.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Government-backed Loans: SMEs · Hansard source

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  The Government provide a wide range of loan support for SMEs through the British Business Bank. This includes the start up loans programme and the growth guarantee scheme, the latter of which recently supported over 4,000 businesses and over 65,000 jobs right across the country.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Government-backed Loans: SMEs · Hansard source

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  It is absolutely right that we have increased the amount of funding going into the National Wealth Fund. On my hon. Friend’s specific question, my understanding is that we have not set a date, but I am more than happy to write to her with further information—to the extent that it exists.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Government-backed Loans: SMEs · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is a tireless champion of businesses in Bassetlaw, and I wish her a happy birthday for yesterday. In the recent spending review, the Government extended the growth guarantee scheme, enabling £5 billion-worth of loans over the next four years. This will support businesses like the one she mentioned, and I would be more than happy to meet her to talk about how her constituent might access that support.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Research and Development Bonds · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the hon. Member for his question. Indeed, he and I have discussed this issue previously. We are due to meet to discuss it later this month, and I am very much looking forward to that discussion.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Research and Development Bonds · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises an important point. This Government are investing an extra £29 billion in our national health service. I would be happy to meet him to discuss it further.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Research and Development Bonds · Hansard source

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  Innovation is a key driver of long-term economic growth, higher productivity and improved living standards. That is why this Government are investing more in R&D and why we are committed to maintaining the generosity of R&D tax reliefs. We remain open to new and innovative debt instruments and we review options regularly, but clearly new instruments need to meet a range of criteria, including value for money.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member for North West Norfolk made a series of important points. I come back to the fact that the Government have opened a call for evidence on tax in this area. The Committee will come to the enterprise investment scheme and venture capital trusts scheme, which the call for evidence also covers. Importantly, the call for evidence covers the changes we have made to the enterprise management incentives scheme. All of those changes, as well as the clauses we are about to discuss, are important to the Government’s objective of making sure that the UK is the best place in the world to start and grow a business, and I encourage any views to be fed into that call for evidence. The hon. Member referred to an important report from TheCityUK and PwC; I attended its launch yesterday. I am pleased to tell him that the Government’s objectives on the growth of financial services very much align with that report. Our objectives and the report have much in common, but most importantly, we share the sense of urgency and ambition that it outlines. The hon. Member for Maidenhead referred to his desire to see more companies remain in the UK. That is imperative, and it is behind the Government’s reforms to a series of tax incentives in this area. We believe that the UK is already the best place in the world to start a company, and we have to make sure that it continues to be, but it must also be the best place to scale and to list a company. That is why the reforms are so important—so that companies stay. Amendment 37 agreed to. Amendment made: 38, in clause 13, page 7, line 38, for “(7)” substitute “(8)”.— (Lucy Rigby.) This amendment is consequential on the addition of a new subsection by Amendment 37. Clause 13, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 14 Enterprise investment scheme: increase in amounts and asset requirements Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Watford about the impact of these measures. In relation to clause 31, if only the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for North West Norfolk, had the TIIN to hand; if he did, he might have been aware that we estimate that the payments for the surrender of expenditure credits will have an impact on roughly 12,000 claimants of R&D expenditure credit, audiovisual expenditure credit and video games expenditure credit. The shadow Minister asked about the impact on video games companies: I think it is fair to say that if a company has a game that switches from the video games tax relief to the video games expenditure credit, it simply needs to make sure that it uses the modified version of step 2 when calculating how much credit it is entitled to. This will affect only games that are already in development and need to switch reliefs. There are no figures available to show the impact on companies; it is normally in the tax line, so it is not treated as taxable by most companies. I think that answers all of his questions. Question put and agreed to. Clause 31 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 32 and 33 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 34 R&D undertaken abroad: Chapter 2 relief only Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I beg to move amendment 5, in clause 24, page 28, line 25, at end insert— “61Z2 Disclosures to liable persons (1) Subsection (2) applies where an officer of Revenue and Customs considers that a person is, or may be, jointly and severally liable to pay an amount as a result of this Chapter. (2) The officer may at any time disclose to the person such information as the officer considers appropriate (whether or not such a disclosure would otherwise be permitted under section 18(2)(a) of CRCA 2005 or any other enactment) for the purposes of informing the person about that liability (‘the joint liability’) including— (a) the identity of any person who is an umbrella company, a purported umbrella company or the worker in relation to the arrangements to which the joint liability relates, and (b) information about the nature and extent of the liability of an umbrella company or a purported umbrella company that (by virtue of this Chapter) results, or may result, in the joint liability. (3) Information disclosed in reliance on subsection (2) may not be further disclosed without the consent of the Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (which may be general or specific). (4) Where a person contravenes subsection (3) by disclosing information relating to a person whose identity— (a) is specified in the disclosure, or (b) can be deduced from it, section 19 of CRCA 2005 (offence of wrongful disclosure) applies in relation to the disclosure as it applies in relation to a disclosure in contravention of section 20(9) of that Act. (5) In this section ‘CRCA 2005’ means the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.” This amendment permits disclosures (whether or not permitted as a result of provision elsewhere) to persons who may be jointly and severally liable as a result of new Chapter 11 of Part 2 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  On the shadow Minister’s final question, I am afraid that I do not know what discussions have taken place with the organisation he referred to, but I can write to him and let him know. Ultimately, whether to use an umbrella company when supplying a worker to a client is a commercial decision for agencies. That commercial decision has been incentivised not just by the ability to outsource administration to umbrella companies, but by the shielding from exposure to tax risk that that model provides. It is good to hear the shadow Minister welcome the impetus behind the changes in that regard. The current legal framework provides few incentives for agencies to ensure that the umbrella companies they use are compliant. We think it—and it sounds like the shadow Minister agrees—that that has contributed to the proliferation of non-compliance in the umbrella company market. It is important that agencies take steps to ensure that their labour supply chains are compliant, and some agencies already do. HMRC has published guidance on how to undertake checks. The shadow Minister asked about which agencies may be treated as umbrella companies, given the breadth, or otherwise, of the definition. We are, of course, aware that some agencies engage workers as employees, and where that is the case, and they meet the other conditions of the legislation, they will be treated in the same way as umbrella companies and this measure will apply. Employment is a fundamental characteristic of how most umbrella company workers are engaged and is the key aspect in determining when this legislation will apply. I think that will be the key legal test. Amendment 5 agreed to. Amendments made: 6, in clause 24, page 29, line 31, leave out “a ‘relevant party’ for the purposes” and insert “jointly and severally liable to pay an amount as a result”. This amendment makes sure that HMRC can use their power to make determinations about PAYE income in relation to persons who are jointly and severally liable to amounts of PAYE income under new section 61Z1 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. Amendment 7, in clause 24, page 29, line 32, leave out from “ITEPA” to end of line 33 and insert “(umbrella companies)—”. This amendment is consequential on Amendment 6. Amendment 8, in clause 24, page 29, line 34, leave out from first “to” to “as” in line 35 and insert “that amount”.— (Lucy Rigby.) This amendment is consequential on Amendment 6. Clause 24, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 25 Loan charge settlement scheme

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Clauses 25 to 27 provide for the Government to create a settlement opportunity in line with their response to the independent review of the loan charge, and to encourage those who have not yet settled with HMRC to come forward and do so. Clause 25 sets out some of the main features of the scheme, including how the new settlement amount will be calculated. Clause 26 will ensure that inheritance tax is not charged as part of any settlement where it relates to disguised remuneration arrangements in scope of the loan charge. Clause 27 makes supplementary provision for the settlement scheme to ensure that it can operate as intended. In some places, the Government have gone further than the review recommended. In addition to removing late payment interest and inheritance tax, and allowing for generous tax deductions to represent amounts assumed to have been paid to promoters, the Government will also write off the first £5,000 of each individual’s liability. Because of these changes, around 30% of people within scope of the review could see their liabilities removed entirely, while most other individuals will see their liabilities reduced by at least half. Turning to Government amendments 9 to 11, HMRC is aware of a number of promoters who have made use of their own disguised remuneration schemes and would be within scope of the settlement opportunity. I am very clear that it would be wrong for those individuals to be able to access the generous settlement terms on offer rather than paying every penny that they owe. Clause 25 makes provision for the exclusion of tax avoidance promoters from the settlement opportunity. Amendments 9 and 10 tighten those provisions to ensure that HMRC is able to prevent the controlling minds behind promoter companies from inappropriately accessing the settlement opportunity, in line with the Government’s announcements at the Budget. Amendments 9 to 11 also clarify that where an employer still exists, it can enter into a settlement on behalf of its employees who used disguised remuneration schemes. New clauses 25 and 26, which would require HMRC to publish a report on the operation and scope of the loan charge settlement opportunity and a report on the treatment of disguised remuneration arrangements falling outside the scope of the loan charge, are unnecessary. The Government published a comprehensive response to the review, setting out our position, at the Budget. That outlined the decisions the Government made to help draw this matter to a close for those impacted, and explained why the scope of the review had been set as it had. It explained that the settlement opportunity will apply to disguised remuneration use between December 2010 and April 2019, because that is the period to which the loan charge applies. While people who used tax avoidance schemes outside that period will not be able to access the scheme, HMRC will work sensitively and pragmatically to help people to resolve their cases, including by taking account of people’s means and offering generous payment terms where appropriate. I am sure that everyone will be aware that the loan charge is already subject to significant parliamentary scrutiny. HMRC officials and Treasury Ministers routinely provide updates on their work to the Treasury Committee and the Public Accounts Committee, and the Treasury Committee asked the HMRC permanent secretary about this topic just last month. I therefore urge the hon. Member for Maidenhead not to move his new clauses, and commend clauses 25 to 27, and Government amendments 9 to 11, to the Committee.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I am very pleased to be opening the first debate in this Finance Bill Committee. Clause 11 sets the charge for corporation tax for the financial year commencing in April 2027 and sets the main rate at 25%. Clause 12 sets the small profits rate at 19% for the same period. The Government are committed to a stable and predictable tax system for businesses, and we are supporting businesses by creating the economic stability and fiscal sustainability needed for future growth. That is why we are delivering on our commitment, set out in the 2024 corporate tax road map, to cap corporation tax at 25% for the duration of this Parliament. The changes made by clauses 11 and 12 will establish the right of the Government to charge corporation tax for the financial year beginning in April 2027.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  Clause 24 will make changes to ensure that recruitment agencies are responsible for accounting for pay-as-you-earn on payments made to workers that are supplied via umbrella companies. Many umbrella companies operate diligently and support their employees, but a significant number are used to facilitate non-compliance, including tax avoidance and fraud. Clause 24 is intended to encourage increased due diligence among businesses that choose to use umbrella companies to engage workers. It will do so by introducing joint and several liability for the PAYE taxes that umbrella companies are required to remit to HMRC. Government amendments 5 to 8 will ensure that the legislation works as intended by making a small technical change. This will ensure that HMRC is able to recover underpayments of tax from businesses that are within scope of the new rules because they purport to be umbrella companies, in the same manner that underpayments will be recovered from the other businesses that are within scope of the new rules. Amendment 5 will ensure that HMRC is able to keep taxpayers informed about its investigations concerning sums to which they are jointly and severally liable. That will help taxpayers to take action to mitigate their exposure to unpaid liabilities. I commend clause 24, together with Government amendments 5 to 8, to the Committee.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Finance (No. 2) Bill (First sitting) · Hansard source

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  I beg to move amendment 37, in clause 13, page 7, line 37, at end insert— “( ) In section 169I(7D)(b) of TCGA 1992 (material disposal of business assets)— (a) for ‘tenth ’ substitute ‘specified’; (b) at the end insert ‘(with “specified anniversary” having the meaning given in section 529(2A) of that Act)’.” This amendment to TCGA 1992 would reflect the changes made to section 529 of ITEPA 2003 by clause 13 of the Bill.