My right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Alistair Darling) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am today making changes to the memorandum of understanding on royal taxation that was agreed in 1993 (as amended in 1996).

The first change is to amend, in line with the changes made to the self-assessment regime, the date by which Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales are due to provide a statement of income to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. The date will be amended to 31 October following the end of the year of assessment, in line with the self-assessment deadline for people who do not file their returns electronically.

The second is to recognise that official expenditure incurred by their Royal Highnesses Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales in the course of official duties and met by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales' income from the Duchy of Cornwall, or by Her Majesty the Queen from the Privy Purse, may be deducted in arriving at the amount of income which is charged to income tax. This is subject to the rules set out in the memorandum governing official expenditure. This change is in line with the principles of the memorandum.

In addition, there are several minor amendments to bring references in the memorandum up to date and in line with current legislation and current members of the Royal Family.

The changes take effect in relation to the tax year beginning 6 April 2009 and for subsequent years.

I am depositing copies of the amending memorandum of understanding in the Libraries of both Houses.