Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of change in Agricultural Property Relief on farms in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
Information from claims is not recorded to enable regional or national breakdowns of the number of estates expected to be affected. However, the Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
The Government published a tax information and impact note on 21 July 2025 and this is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
The Government will invest more than £2.7 billion a year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27 until 2028-29. This includes the largest financial investment into nature-friendly farming ever.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to review the (a) scope and (b) application of Agricultural Property Relief in the context of the requirements of modern farming.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ministers from several Government departments have met with various representative organisations to discuss the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief. These discussions have involved the National Farmers’ Union, the Tenant Farmers’ Association, the Country Land and Business Association, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, the Ulster Farmers’ Union, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Farmers’ Union of Wales.
The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
The recent report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) supports the Government’s analysis of these reforms, including the number of estates affected in 2026-27, and concludes that half of these estates will see an increase in their effective inheritance tax rate of less than 5 percentage points, and almost 90 per cent of these estates could pay their entire inheritance tax bill out of non-farm assets.
The Government published a tax information and impact note on 21 July 2025 and this is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
The Government will invest more than £2.7 billion a year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27 until 2028-29. This includes the largest financial investment into nature-friendly farming ever.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions her Department has had with farmers on the impact of (a) Agricultural Property Relief and (b) inheritance tax on succession planning for family farms.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ministers from several Government departments have met with various representative organisations to discuss the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief. These discussions have involved the National Farmers’ Union, the Tenant Farmers’ Association, the Country Land and Business Association, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, the Ulster Farmers’ Union, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Farmers’ Union of Wales.
The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
The recent report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) supports the Government’s analysis of these reforms, including the number of estates affected in 2026-27, and concludes that half of these estates will see an increase in their effective inheritance tax rate of less than 5 percentage points, and almost 90 per cent of these estates could pay their entire inheritance tax bill out of non-farm assets.
The Government published a tax information and impact note on 21 July 2025 and this is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
The Government will invest more than £2.7 billion a year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27 until 2028-29. This includes the largest financial investment into nature-friendly farming ever.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of inheritance tax on the viability of intergenerational farming businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ministers from several Government departments have met with various representative organisations to discuss the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief. These discussions have involved the National Farmers’ Union, the Tenant Farmers’ Association, the Country Land and Business Association, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, the Ulster Farmers’ Union, NFU Cymru, NFU Scotland and the Farmers’ Union of Wales.
The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
The recent report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) supports the Government’s analysis of these reforms, including the number of estates affected in 2026-27, and concludes that half of these estates will see an increase in their effective inheritance tax rate of less than 5 percentage points, and almost 90 per cent of these estates could pay their entire inheritance tax bill out of non-farm assets.
The Government published a tax information and impact note on 21 July 2025 and this is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
The Government will invest more than £2.7 billion a year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27 until 2028-29. This includes the largest financial investment into nature-friendly farming ever.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to introduce (a) fiscal and (b) regulatory measures to mitigate the potential impact of the adoption of AI on employment.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is implementing all the recommendations from the AI Opportunities Action Plan to ensure we shape AI to deliver productivity gains, rising living standards, and improved worker wellbeing, while mitigating the risks.
By becoming the best place in Europe to start and grow a tech company—powered by our leadership in AI—we are unlocking new opportunities for innovation, investment, and workforce development. This means helping people build world-class skills and rewarding careers in a thriving, future-facing economy.
As part of this, we have secured a partnership with leading tech firms to deliver AI skills training to 7.5 million UK workers by 2030, to help workers transition into new roles created by AI and automation.
Asked by: Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for (a) Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (b) Health and Social Care on funding requirements for avian influenza preparedness and response in 2025–26.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chancellor of the Exchequer holds regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on a range of issues.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Treasury is taking to support the biological sciences research sector through the 10 Year UK Infrastructure strategy, published in June 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy is core to delivering the Government’s growth mission and supporting our priority growth sectors, including life sciences. The Strategy will fund at least £725 billion for infrastructure over the next decade and transform how projects are planned and delivered. This includes investment of £2.5 billion to continue delivery of East West Rail in full, enabling the growth of the Oxford to Cambridge corridor and support the world class life sciences, digital and technology sectors. In addition to the infrastructure strategy, we launched our Life Sciences Sector Plan, supported by over £2 billion of funding. The includes investing up to £600 million in the Health Data Research Service alongside Wellcome Trust, and committing up to £520 million to the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, supporting the UK to become a medical research powerhouse and the leading life sciences economy in Europe by 2030.Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a two per cent levy on Premier League player transfers costing more than £10 million.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government is committed to ensuring the long-term health of English football at all levels. At this moment in time, the government is not considering a levy on football transfers.
The government continues to keep options under review to help ensure the financial sustainability of the English footballing pyramid.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will list (a) the members of the Budget Board and (b) its terms of reference.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At the Budget, this Government will focus on building an economy that works for working people using investment and reform as our tools for renewal. The government does not routinely comment on internal processes and meetings, including those in advance of fiscal events.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential cumulative impact of (a) National Insurance contributions and (b) the Employment Rights Act on overall hiring costs for UK businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy, including on businesses. The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from the changes to employer NICs by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.
As set out in the government’s published impact assessments for the Employment Rights Bill, there are a range of channels through which the measures in the Bill could benefit the economy, as well as potential offsetting effects. Final impacts will depend on further policy decisions that are for secondary legislation.