Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 2:47 pm on 7 July 2025.
Lord Sikka
Labour
2:47,
7 July 2025
My Lords, between 2010 and 2024, HMRC failed to collect around £500 billion of tax. I therefore welcome the additional investment, but I am really concerned about the trajectory. Page 95 of the spending review shows that the HMRC budget for 2025-26 is to be £6.8 billion, rising to £7.3 billion for 2026-27. After that, there is a real-terms cut: the budget will be £7.1 billion for 2027-28, and £6.9 billion for 2028-29. Does the Minister agree that a real cut to the HMRC budget is not conducive to a sustained fight against organised tax avoidance?
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
