I am pleased to inform the House that the Government’s response to the final report of the Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner, CP 1596, has been laid in Parliament today.

On 9 December 2025 the Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner revealed in his final report, “Pursuing Recoveries and Preventing Reoccurrence”, CP 1462, the staggering amount of fraud and error across pandemic support schemes—£10.9 billion. This is money that should have funded our NHS and schools—money that belongs in our communities.

The commissioner’s report set out crucial recommendations for recovering this money, ensuring those who defrauded the state during a national crisis face justice and preventing the misuse of public funds during future crises. Over the last two years Government have been working up an ambitious plan to recover funds and prevent fraud in future national emergencies based on the commissioner’s findings. Today’s paper sets out that plan and responds in detail to each of the commissioner’s recommendations.

Righting these wrongs will not be easy. Significant time has elapsed and many of the entities involved have been dissolved, meaning some funds may still prove irrecoverable. But we are committed to putting this appalling scandal right—by recovering funds taken by fraudsters during the pandemic and putting them back into our public services, holding those responsible to account, and ensuring that taxpayer money is better protected in the future.

The report is published on gov.uk at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/final-report-of-the-covid-counter-fraud-commissioner

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Today the Government set out further reforms to simplify and modernise the tax and customs system, building on the commitment first made in His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs transformation road map, published in July 2025 and confirmed at Budget 2025.

The measures announced today simplify rules, improve taxpayer guidance, and ensure more taxpayers can benefit from high-quality digital services. The changes, consultations and proposals announced today will help people and businesses to get their tax and customs right first time, while reducing burdens and improving certainty.

The Government are acting to collect more revenue from those who do not play by the rules. This will help ensure that taxpayers and legitimate high-street businesses can compete on a level playing field. The Government are consulting on reforms to online marketplace VAT liability; further extending this liability to more effectively tackle non-compliance; bringing forward reforms to low-value imports, as first announced at Budget 2025; and taking targeted steps to tackle fraud from “sales suppression” systems, through consulting on new software standards.

Simplifying and modernising the tax system

The measures announced today support the Government’s long-term ambition for a simpler tax system, in which rules are straightforward and easy to understand, and meeting tax obligations fits into how people run their lives and businesses. Together, these measures will improve how employer payroll and expenses operate, cut down on paper processes, and improve the overall experience for small businesses.

Key measures include:

VAT treatment of land intended for social housing: The Government are today launching a consultation on the introduction of a new zero rate of VAT for the sale of land intended for the construction of social housing. It is seeking views on how the current VAT rules work and how a new zero rate would support the delivery of social housing, helping reduce barriers to building new homes and supporting more households into safe and decent homes. The consultation will also help ensure any new tax relief remains fair and affordable.

Review and uprating of benchmark scale rates and overseas scale rates: BSR and OSR are optional flat rates that employers can use to reimburse employees for the cost of meals and other travel expenses when they travel for work in the UK (BSR), and for accommodation and meals when they travel overseas (OSR), without having to check every receipt. In response to stakeholder feedback, and following engagement with industry, the Government will review HMRC’s BSR and OSR. BSR will be reviewed, with consideration given to the current costs of travel. In addition, the review will look to understand if there is scope to simplify OSR, with more alignment between BSR and OSR.

More Timely Payment for Income Tax Self-Assessment: As announced at Budget 2025, the Government are today launching a consultation on implementing more timely payments in ITSA, including reforms for ITSA customers with pay-as-you-earn income, who will be required to pay more of their forecasted self-assessment liabilities in-year through PAYE from April 2029. We are also consulting on the potential for more timely payments for other self-assessment taxpayers by reforming payments on account. Spreading tax payments through the year into smaller, regular payments will help reduce tax debt and avoid taxpayers having to pay larger, infrequent and sometimes unexpected bills.

Call for evidence on PAYE Settlement Agreements: The Government are taking proactive steps to simplify and modernise PSAs. As part of this review, HMRC is today publishing a call for evidence. The call for evidence seeks to improve understanding of how PSAs operate in practice, including how employers interpret the rules and where there may be complexity or uncertainty. The evidence gathered will allow an informed view of whether any changes are needed, with the aim of addressing unclear boundaries and inconsistent use, and helping to reduce administrative burdens for employers and advisers.

Consultation on modernising the distributions framework: The Government are today launching a consultation to explore modernising the rules that determine whether a payment to a company’s non-corporate shareholders falls within the distributions regime. This is to ensure the rules operate as intended and minimise distortions, without undermining commercial practice. The Government are consulting because of the complexity of this area of the tax system, which in many cases has not been reformed since 1965, and the need to have a clear view of potential impacts before deciding whether to proceed.

Digitising the option to tax process: Option to tax allows businesses to reclaim and charge VAT on land and buildings, which are normally exempt from VAT. In response to feedback from the Confederation of British Industry and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, and through work with the Land & Property Liaison Group—an HMRC-industry forum—the Government are improving the option to tax process by replacing paper-based routes with a new digital channel. This will incorporate industry requirements, including bulk uploads, for option to tax notifications, revocations and VAT registration cancellations.

Consultation on the tax treatment of members of US limited liability companies and other reverse hybrids: The Government launched a consultation on 10 June 2026 on new proposals to remove double taxation from investments in certain types of overseas entity—including US limited liability companies—where an unintended mismatch is resulting in high and unfair tax rates. This proposal is part of the wider work that the Government are doing to develop the UK’s offer for globally mobile talent and ensure that the UK is a great place to live and work.

First-time buyer individual savings account consultation: The Government are committed to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. To support that ambition, the Government are today launching a consultation on the implementation of a new, simpler ISA product to support first-time buyers to buy a home. Once available, this new product will be offered in place of the lifetime ISA.

Help to Save: The Government confirm that the reformed help to save scheme will be delivered through a multi-provider model. Following consultation and engagement with stakeholders, this approach will enable financial institutions to offer help to save accounts directly to eligible customers, with the aim of improving visibility and access by embedding the scheme within the mainstream savings market. The Government will continue to work with industry to support implementation of the reformed scheme.

HMRC is continuing to deliver on existing simplification commitments, including by making its guidance clearer and easier to use. To support this aim, HMRC delivered over 4,000 updates and improvements to guidance last year to help more customers digitally self-serve and minimise complexity.

HMRC has also developed interactive guidance, which has won several awards for simplifying complex areas of the system by providing customers with tailored, step-by-step journeys. Over the last four years, HMRC has built 118 of these journeys and in 2025-26, customer feedback shows that interactive guidance supports effective self-service, with nearly 80% of respondents saying they were able to complete their task. This is supported by HMRC’s data, which shows that over 96% of customers did not visit HMRC’s “Contact us” pages within five days of using interactive guidance.

HMRC is also continuing work through the Better Letters Together initiative, launched in July 2025, working with the Administrative Burdens Advisory Board to improve the clarity and quality of letters and emails sent to customers.

Simplifying and modernising the customs system

The Government are committed to building a resilient, facilitative and modern customs system that promotes trade while protecting the UK and our economy. A customs system that gets the fundamentals right and adapts to modern international trade is key to trading with ease, now and into the future.

The measures announced today support ongoing administrative improvements to the customs regime, while laying the groundwork for future innovation and change. These measures collectively simplify customs processes and systems, support digitalised trade and improve trader experience, while protecting the UK border and domestic market.

The Government remain committed to working with industry to deliver reforms and identify further opportunities to enhance the customs system.

Key measures include:

Call for evidence on customs modernisation: The Government have published a call for evidence to capture industry views on trade digitalisation, and potential opportunities and challenges for the UK customs regime. This will explore key elements of the UK customs regime in the context of technological and regulatory change, to ensure we understand evolving trader practices and needs and continue to drive international trade.

Digitalisation and artificial intelligence customs pilots: Building on successful pilots with trade and US Customs and Border Protection, the Government will test and scale innovations in the customs system. This includes design and delivery of services allowing HMRC to process electronic trade documents for customs applications, and participating in the next phase of the Department for Business and Trade’s Digital Trade Corridors programme. These initiatives will support businesses to adopt fully digitalised trade. HMRC will also test how AI can support customs caseworkers to complete real-time border documentary checks, improving border flow and strengthening compliance.

Improving the quality of our customs intermediaries: The Government are improving their support to good-quality intermediaries in the customs sector, through the launch of the previously announced standard for customs intermediaries, which was published on 3 June 2026, development of a voluntary certification scheme for the standard, and a new commitment to publish a consultation on mandating customs intermediary registration. This work will ensure the customs system is supported by a high standard of intermediary service.

Digital ATA Carnets: The Government have announced that the UK is one of the first countries to adopt digital ATA carnets, from 1 June 2026. Digitising this “passport for goods” makes it easier for businesses and touring artists to move goods between the UK and other countries temporarily without payment of import duties.

Changes to the duty reimbursement scheme for Northern Ireland goods: The Government have introduced legislative changes to make it easier for businesses to reclaim “at risk” duty paid on goods brought into Northern Ireland. The changes, which went live on 26 May 2026, are designed to enhance access to the scheme by directly addressing business concerns, and also ease the financial burden on businesses where evidence of the final destination of goods takes time to materialise.

Strengthening fairness in the tax system and helping customers get their tax and customs right.

Measures announced today also strengthen compliance and set out options to improve HMRC’s ability to collect tax that is owed. This ensures fairness for the vast majority of taxpayers who meet their obligations and supports fair competition on the high street.

Key measures include:

Reforming the customs treatment of low value imports: The Government have listened carefully to representations made by industry and decided to accelerate delivery of the reforms by six months to October 2028 at the latest. In doing this, the Government have sought to ensure all goods are adequately controlled, while balancing the need to promote fair competition between high street and online retailers, and giving businesses involved in the sales and movement of low-value goods time to prepare for the changes and avoid border disruption. To give businesses as much certainty as possible about the new customs arrangements, the Government will publish a consultation response shortly and start legislating for the reforms in this year’s Finance Bill.

Online marketplace liability: The Government want to tackle persistent VAT non-compliance among businesses selling on online marketplaces, both overseas and domestic. These businesses undermine honest businesses that pay what they owe, and it is estimated that they cost hundreds of millions in lost VAT each year. The Government are therefore consulting on how to clamp down on this non-compliance by making online marketplaces liable for VAT on both UK and overseas business sales of goods. This reform would make it harder for overseas businesses to masquerade as being UK-based to escape the current rules, and make sure UK businesses also pay what they owe. This consultation seeks views from online marketplaces, hot food delivery platforms and restaurants and sellers operating through those platforms.

Electronic sales suppression software standards: The Government are determined to tackle till fraud on the UK’s high streets, in which traders use payment systems to fraudulently under-report their income, which is unfair to legitimate high street businesses. The Government are launching a consultation on the introduction of software standards for electronic point of sale and mobile point of sale systems. This consultation seeks views from businesses, software developers and wider stakeholders on measures designed to prevent electronic sales suppression and support fair competition on the high street. The Government aim to ensure that any future approach minimises burdens on compliant businesses and delivers secure, reliable record-keeping that prevents till fraud.

Tackling lower value debts: The Government are today launching a consultation on proposals to extend existing powers to enable recovery of lower-value tax debts. This would apply to customers who can pay but have not responded to multiple contact attempts from HMRC. Each year, over 750,000 such debts, collectively worth more than £2 billion, remain uncollected after nine months, and more than 10 attempts to contact customers to pay what they owe. The proposals would enable HMRC to collect debts directly from customers’ accounts in regular instalments, supported by a comprehensive suite of safeguards to ensure the power is used fairly and proportionately. This measure will help ensure those who can pay their tax debt do so, while maintaining trust and fairness in the tax system.

The full list of publications and announcements can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/taxupdate-2026-simplification-modernisation-and-fairness

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The Government have today published a Green Paper that sets out a new strategic direction for the Government’s media policy.

At its best, our media provides the basis of a cohesive country and a healthy democracy. It has the power to advance shared understanding, shared facts, and shared experiences which help people trust and understand one another. It is this common ground on which a country is built.

However, like so many of our other civic spaces, it is facing fundamental challenges which are putting these benefits at risk. Television is undergoing a profound transformation, having moved from a system of limited broadcast channels to an environment of “content everywhere”, where the largest players are global streaming services, video sharing platforms, and social media companies. Our domestic broadcasters, including our public service media (PSM) providers, are fighting to be seen in an increasingly competitive and fragmented market. People are increasingly accessing news online, rather than through more regulated spaces like their TV sets. This is weakening the ability of trustworthy news providers to reach audiences and shape an informed public debate.

We are consulting on a comprehensive set of proposals to ensure our media, and television in particular, can continue to play its vitally important role in our society and our democracy.

First, we are proposing three interventions to support an informed society. We will explore legislative options to require social media to make trustworthy news providers—which could include national and local news publishers and broadcasters—easily discoverable. This is crucial for countering misinformation, especially during times of crisis. We will also explore a new duty on PSM providers to develop and report on media literacy strategies, leveraging their high level of public trust and reach to help people critically assess the information they encounter. Further, we will consider mechanisms to support co-ordinated media literacy efforts across public service media, and the wider media sector.

Secondly, building on the extensive stakeholder engagement already undertaken, we will consult on measures to ensure audiences can continue to enjoy universal access to trusted and high-quality television content. The UK television market is shifting from traditional broadcast platforms such as digital terrestrial TV (DTT) to internet-delivered viewing (IPTV). The Government are committed to maintaining DTT until at least the end of 2034, but we are now consulting on what will come after this. To do this, we will work with industry and audience groups to design a package of support that helps audiences transition to IPTV services, ensuring that no one is left behind. This support will aim to address challenges around affordability and accessibility, enabling viewers to make the switch with confidence and benefit from the enhanced functionality and wider choice that IPTV services can offer. Alongside this, we will bring forward a plan for the managed withdrawal of DTT services. Final decisions will be taken in response to the consultation and set out in a White Paper.

We will also undertake a separate period of stakeholder engagement to ensure the regulatory framework for TV services continues to protect audiences from harmful content, supports media providers, and allows our creative industries to thrive into the future.

Finally, the Green Paper will explore how we can support our PSM providers—the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, STV and S4C—who sit at the heart of our domestic TV ecosystem, driving growth and inward investment. PSM content needs to be easy to find on the platforms on which people watch TV. Therefore, the Green Paper examines the need for prominence on third party platforms, such as video sharing platforms. The Government’s strong preference remains for industry-led, voluntary agreements to achieve increased prominence in a sustainable and robust way that satisfies all parties. However, should these partnerships not go far enough in delivering our objectives we would need to consider legislating.

We will also consult on illustrative options for strategic reform to the PSM system with the aim of better reflecting how people consume media and to address the regulatory and economic challenges this poses. We want a system that encourages the creation of more public service content, reversing the trend of recent years which has seen the output of our PSM providers decline.

Taken together, this work will ensure that our media continues to play its vitally important roles in entertaining, educating, serving democracy and supporting social cohesion in the UK, while putting audiences first.

The consultation attached to the Green Paper will be open for 10 weeks. Following this, the Government will bring forward a White Paper later this year.

This Green Paper complements the review we are undertaking of the BBC’s royal charter. We will consider the findings and conclusions of this Green Paper alongside the BBC Green Paper published in December 2025 as part of the charter review.

In connection with the above, our Department has made the following documents available on gov.uk:

Watch this Space: A new strategic direction for UK media

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/watch-this-space-a-new-strategic-direction-for-uk-media-green-paper-and-public-consultation

Papers from the Future of TV Distribution Stakeholder Forum

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-tv-distribution-stakeholder-forum-papers

Minutes from the Future of TV Distribution Stakeholder Forum

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-tv-distribution-stakeholder-forum-minutes

Future of TV distribution—Assessing the value and alternative uses of DTT spectrum for the future of UK TV distribution

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-tv-distribution-assessing-the-value-and-alternative-uses-of-dtt-spectrum-for-the-future-of-uk-tv-distribution

I will also deposit a copy of “Watch this Space” in the Libraries of both Houses.

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The UK has a leading role to play in supporting global efforts to tackle deforestation. Implementing an updated regime across the UK is critical to strengthen environmental protections, grow trade in sustainably produced commodities, and contribute to global efforts to halt deforestation—one of the most effective measures to address climate change and biodiversity loss.

This Government recognise that healthy forests are essential to climate stability, sustainable economic growth and the livelihoods of communities at home and abroad. Protecting and restoring these ecosystems strengthens our collective resilience, allowing us to secure supply chains, food and water resources, and long-term prosperity.

Around 90% of global deforestation is driven by agriculture, much of which is to produce internationally traded commodities. In 2023, UK consumption of agricultural commodities was associated with 29,000 hectares of deforestation worldwide and 9.4 million tonnes of associated carbon emissions.

UK companies have been global leaders in taking strong voluntary action to address deforestation in their supply chains, but they have also been clear that voluntary measures alone cannot deliver the consistency and certainty needed to tackle this global challenge.

A mandatory due diligence framework for timber has been in place across the UK since 2013. Building on this existing framework, we now intend to go further to decouple UK consumption from global deforestation.

We will therefore launch a consultation later this year to seek views on our Great Britain deforestation policy proposals from businesses, civil society and international partners.

We will consult on our aim to introduce regulations, including under the Environment Act 2021, alongside legislation that will strengthen the UK timber regulation. The aim of our proposals will be to require businesses in Great Britain with an annual turnover of over £1 million that use forest risk commodities and wood products, to carry out due diligence to ensure these are produced in compliance with relevant local laws.

In parallel, the Government are also confirming that the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products will apply in Northern Ireland as part of arrangements which ensure Northern Ireland’s unique access to the EU single market is maintained. The regulation is due to apply in phases from 30 December 2026.

To ensure coherence across the UK internal market, and recognising the Government’s manifesto commitment to protect the UK internal market and remove barriers to trade with the EU, we aim, subject to consultation, for due diligence requirements in Great Britain to apply to the same commodities and for businesses to be required to hold and pass down the supply chain broadly the same information as under the EUDR.

This approach is intended to avoid duplication of business burdens and disincentives to trade between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the EU, so as to ensure that the measures announced today for Great Britain operate effectively alongside the EUDR.

In due course, the Government’s ambition is to transition to a deforestation-free standard.

The Government’s aim is to strengthen the approach to tackling deforestation, ensuring that any measures support the UK’s objectives on promoting economic growth, securing sustainable supply chains and advancing our international climate and nature ambitions.

This action also helps us deliver on the UK’s commitment under the Glasgow leaders’ declaration on forests and land use, agreed at COP26, to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.

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On 21 October 2024, I spoke to the House confirming that on 15 October 2024, a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been reached with the Government of St Helena so that any new migrants arriving on the British Indian Ocean Territory would be transferred to St Helena, recalling that in practice no new migrants have arrived on Diego Garcia since 2022. The intention was for that MoU to last until a treaty between the UK and Mauritius came into force.

Given the need to ensure this arrangement continues to operate effectively moving forward, on 21 May 2026, we reached a further understanding with the Government of St Helena to extend the MoU until 30 April 2028.

Although we do not anticipate the arrangement with St Helena being required for its full term, we and the Government of St Helena agreed it would be prudent to settle on a maximal timeframe, negating the need for any further extensions.

We are hugely grateful to the Government of St Helena for their continued commitment to the border security of both the United Kingdom and BIOT.

As part of the arrangement and within existing FCDO budget allocations, the UK Government have committed to provide a one-off investment of £8 million in St Helena to improve health and education outcomes, and improve telecommunications and renewable energy infrastructure. This is consistent with our long-term support to the sustainable development of St Helena. Other technical support and costs remain, as I said to the House on 21 October 2024.

In further recognition of St Helena’s valued place within the British family, the UK Government also commit to provide a one-off ex gratia payment of £250,000 to St Helena.

We thank the community of St Helena for its willingness once again to support fellow members of the British family. This extension underlines the strength of our modern partnership with every one of our overseas territories.

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Section 55(1) of the National Security Act 2023 requires the Secretary of State to report to Parliament as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of every relevant three-month period on the exercise of their STPIM powers under the Act during that period.

STPIMs were introduced through the 2023 Act and came into force on 20 December 2023. There have been no STPIM cases imposed to date.

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