Taxpayers can complete their Self Assessment for the previous tax year from as early as 6 April, but many choose to wait until after Christmas to fill it in.

Last year, more than 11 million customers completed a 2016 to 2017 Self Assessment tax return, with 10.7 million completing on time. There were 4,852,744 customers who filed in January 2018 (44.8% of the total), and 758,707 on 31 January, the deadline day.

With 100 days to go before the 2017 to 2018 Self Assessment deadline on 31 January 2019, taxpayers can complete their tax return in advance, find out how much tax they need to pay, and pay the money owed by the deadline – taking away the stress from around the holiday period.

Mel Stride, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said:

“Last year, more than 11 million taxpayers completed their Self Assessment tax returns, collectively bringing in a record £32.7 billion in revenue. Revenue that has gone on to fund our vital public services.

“Self-employed workers and small businesses make up a significant proportion of our Self Assessment tax returns and the government is committed to supporting them and reducing the administrative burden they may face. The Personal Tax Account, for example, allows you to file your return and manage your tax affairs online, quickly and simply, whenever you want.”

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

“The deadline for completing Self Assessment tax returns may be 100 days away, yet many of us wait until January to start the process. Time flies once the festive period is underway, yet the ‘niggle’ to file your tax return remains.

“We want to help people get their tax returns right – starting the process early and giving yourself time to gather all the information you need will help avoid the last minute, stressful rush to complete it on time. Let’s beat that niggle.”

Tax is automatically deducted from the majority of UK taxpayers’ wages, pensions or savings. For people or businesses where tax is not automatically deducted, or when they may have earned additional untaxed income, they are required to complete a Self Assessment tax return each year.

Last year, a record 93% of customers did their return online and HMRC provides lots of support for people who need to do their tax return. There are films and webinars which show each stage of the process, with special guidance for different types of people.

Help is also available on the Self Assessment section on GOV.UK or from the Self Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310.

The deadline for paper tax returns is 31 October 2018, and the deadline for online tax returns and paying any tax owed is 31 January 2019. If customers miss the deadline, they can face a minimum £100 penalty for late submissions.

More children are getting the opportunity to learn an instrument or take part in music ensembles such as choirs and orchestras thanks to the government’s network of music education hubs.

Figures released in a new report today show more than 700,000 children were taught to play a musical instrument with their class through the 120 music hubs across the country – which are backed by £300 million government funding and run by the Arts Council of England.

The Key Data on music education hubs report also shows that in 2016/2017:

• Almost 9 out of 10 schools (89%) benefitted from the support of the music hubs – up from 84% in 2013/2014;
• 711,241 pupils received whole class ensemble teaching through the hubs, up from 596,820 in 2013/2014 (up 19%);
• 182,602 pupils continue to learn an instrument after having had whole class ensemble teaching compared to 166,529 in 2013/14; and
• choirs are the single biggest type of music making activity, making up 32% of all ensembles. Other popular types of ensemble include rock bands and woodwind ensembles.

Music, art and design, drama and dance are included in the national curriculum and compulsory in all maintained schools from the age of 5 to 14, as part of a commitment to ensure pupils to get a broad, balanced education. In 2012 we introduced a new network of music education hubs to support the teaching of music both in and out of school. These hubs are being supported by £300 million between 2016 and 2020.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said:

Learning a musical instrument opens all kinds of opportunities for children to express themselves, whether it’s being part of a band or orchestra or just playing for pleasure at home.

I believe all children, regardless of their backgrounds, should have the same opportunities and that’s why it’s so good to see that our music hubs are reaching so many, with more than 700,000 pupils learning to play instruments together in class last year.

Our continued support for the arts, which is the second highest funded element of the curriculum behind sport, will see almost £500m invested between 2016 and 2020 – with £300 million supporting the work of music hubs to make sure more and more pupils have the opportunity to learn an instrument.

Hannah Fouracre, Director of Music Education for the Arts Council of England said:

Whether it’s the boost in confidence that comes from having a creative outlet, the teamworking skills developed by being part of an ensemble, or the ways that taking part in arts activities improves performance across a child’s education, the benefits of music education are enormous.

With over 700,000 children across the country now playing an instrument thanks to music education hubs, the programme is a fantastic way to create these opportunities for as many young people as possible. Music education hubs are partnerships formed of schools, local authorities, arts organisations and voluntary organisations working together to create joined-up music education provision.

Earlier this year, the Schools Minister announced increased funding for arts education programmes, taking the total investment between 2016 and 2020 to £496 million. The extra money gives pupils across the country access to a range of cultural opportunities including:

• Almost £90 million of combined funding in 2018-20 will go to the Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) and the Dance and Drama Awards (DaDa). These funds support the most talented pupils to attend prestigious arts institutions, such as the Royal Ballet School in London and Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. Previous recipients include award-winning actor and star of the Crown, Claire Foy;
• £8 million in 2018-20 to support a number of cultural education programmes. These give young people the chance to try their hand at film making with the British Film Institute, improve their skills with the National Youth Dance Company and explore different art materials at National Art and Design Saturday Clubs. This funding also gives pupils the chance to learn about the country’s most famous historical sites with Historic England; and
• a £1 million boost in 2018-20 for the ‘In Harmony’ projects in Liverpool, Lambeth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Leeds, Telford and Wrekin/Stoke-on-Trent to help them to continue to provide music education for disadvantaged pupils in their area. These projects aim to inspire and transform the lives of children and families in deprived communities through the power and discipline of ensemble music making.

Well thank you very much indeed for the invitation to open trading today and to mark this, the first, the inaugural, and I’m sure by no means the only or the last, London Stock Exchange Group’s cyber security conference.

We’ve got every reason in this country to be proud of the United Kingdom’s position at the front of the global digital revolution – driving our prosperity and enhancing our national security. We have seen a rise in the number of new cyber technology companies, right across the UK, who are helping to keep some of our biggest enterprises secure.

But of course, with that opportunity comes risk. We’ve also seen a significant increase in malicious cyber activity globally – both from hostile nation states and from cyber criminals. And only last week The National Cyber Security Centre reported that it is defending the United Kingdom from around 10 significant cyber attacks every week.

And that’s why cyber security remains a top priority for the government and why, two years ago, we launched the National Cyber Security Strategy.

At the very heart of the government’s response was the creation of the National Cyber Security Centre, bringing together the best intelligence and expertise. Right here in the City, the NCSC’s valuable partnership with the Bank of England and its suppliers is helping to build cyber security into the heart of a number of next generation systems. And I am delighted to announce this morning, that Faster Payments – now called Pay.UK – will be the latest scheme to benefit from this collaboration. It will ensure that every payment processed in the United Kingdom is done so safely and securely.

The financial sector has, for a long time, recognised the cyber risk posed by criminals and by states, and I know that financial companies routinely considers cyber security as part of an overall approach to business risk.

In fact, we in government have taken best practice from the financial sector. We’ve launched the GBEST scheme, for government, based upon the sector’s CBEST model. And this will improve government systems to identify and to act against sophisticated and persistent cyber attacks.

And I think the finance sector in the UK should be commended for the initiatives they have taken and the standards they have set.

But the government’s latest Cyber Security Breaches survey showed a significant proportion of companies overall in our economy are still not adopting the basic cyber security precautions that are needed. More than two in five businesses identified breaches in the last twelve months. Despite that, two thirds of FTSE 350 boards say that they have had no training in how to deal with a cyber incident.

There is still a lot more to do – and our ability to build the necessary resilience in the face of these challenges, relies on the strength of our collective action and expertise.

Now last week, I really enjoyed being at UK Finance, and it gave me great pleasure to give the government’s full backing to a new initiative to further cement the growing partnership between industry and the public sector. Early next year, we will establish the Finance Sector Cyber Collaboration Centre. This will build on existing industry expertise and exploit the NCSC’s Industry 100 scheme, it will be led by UK Finance in alliance with 20 financial institutions.

As government, we recognise that cyber security is everyone’s responsibility. We must learn from – and support – one another. For example…

…By taking part in our annual FTSE 350 Cyber Governance Health check – which is now open – you can benchmark the cyber security of your organisation against your peers and understand where you can improve your resilience to cyber attacks.

And I believe our efforts are bearing fruit. The UK’s cyber security industry is making an enormous contribution and is generating more than £5 billion to our economy.

It benefits from strong support from government, including specialist expertise and world leading academic institutions which are providing much needed access to funding, targeted support and also testing facilities. There has never been a better time to invest in our high-quality and home-grown cyber security start-ups and emerging businesses – there are now more than 800 of those across the UK.

Those businesses, supported by the government’s Industrial Strategy, provide world leading products and services to buyers right across the world – injecting innovation into our economy to build a UK fit for the future.

We consider it vital that all organisations should embrace and embed cyber security, from the boardroom down. This isn’t only about minimising operational, financial and reputational risk. Building resilience amongst employees and customers can also be a catalyst for far greater change.

That’s why I will be meeting a number of FTSE 350 Chairman to discuss how the government’s new Board Toolkit will help you better understand cyber risks and also to seek the ideas of business leaders on how to make our nation more resilient.

So, to look ahead to the challenges and opportunities of the future, I look forward to continuing to work together with you in the financial sector, and business more widely, to protect both our national security and our joint economic prosperity.