Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jesse Norman and Treasury officials gave evidence to the Treasury Committee on Monday 18 January on topics including the tax policymaking process, business and personal tax after the pandemic and how the tax system can raise revenue without hindering growth.

The UK and EU agreed a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on Christmas Eve. This was passed by the UK Parliament on 30 December and took effect at the end of the following day as the UK left the single market and customs union at the end of the Brexit transition period (also known as the implementation period). While the agreeing of a deal (even a fairly limited one) has been widely welcomed, the rushed process, requiring businesses to adopt new ways of working at a few days notice, has faced criticism.

HMRC got a grilling from peers about the fallout of the loan charge, with suggestions that the tax authority is causing hardship, poor at communicating with affected people and lacking in imagination in combating tax avoidance. But HMRC countered that it is improving their service to taxpayers and sought to explain why taxpayers may find their handling of the loan charge saga hard to understand. The committee of peers also heard from experts and those affected who gave their various takes on one of the most controversial areas of tax administration in recent years.

The Welsh Government published its draft budget for 2021-22 on Monday 21 December.