Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to strengthen the resilience of the UK financial system to cyberattacks enabled by increasingly capable artificial intelligence systems.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that increasingly capable artificial intelligence systems present both opportunities and risks for the financial sector. As noted in July’s Financial Stability Report, rapid progress in frontier AI capabilities presents a significant increase in the risks to financial stability from cyber and operational vulnerabilities.
HM Treasury works closely with the financial regulators, the National Cyber Security Centre and industry to strengthen the resilience of the UK financial system in the face of evolving cyber threats, including those enabled by AI. The authorities continue to work with firms through established resilience frameworks and industry bodies, including the Cross Market Operational Resilience Group (CMORG), which issued guidance for firms in June to help them assess their current capabilities and accelerate their response.
Frontier AI also has the potential to strengthen the financial sector’s cyber defences. To help firms share best practices on this front, the Bank of England has established a forum for systemically important UK financial institutions and Financial Market Infrastructure to share their experiences on the use of frontier AI for cyber defence.
Asked by: Lord De Mauley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to using war bonds to fund defence and the impact on public debt.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
War bonds are not being considered by the government. The Defence Investment Plan, which places defence on a stronger, more sustainable footing, is being funded by reprioritising public spending, with ÂŁ10.3 billion already identified and a further ÂŁ4.7 billion to be confirmed at Budget 2026 in a fair and balanced way.
The Government is clear that our core gilt programme is the most stable and cost-effective way of raising finance to fund the day-to-day activities of the government, owing to the depth and liquidity of the market. Finance raised via gilts or National Savings and Investments products is generally not tied to specific areas of government spending, in order to offer the best value-for-money for taxpayers. Issuing bonds aimed at specific areas of spending risks fragmenting the gilt market, which would not be consistent with the government’s debt management objective of minimising the cost of long-term financing.
The Government remains open to the introduction of new debt instruments; however, HM Treasury and the UK Debt Management Office apply certain criteria when considering the launch of a new type of debt instrument. These include consistency with the Government’s debt management objective (to minimise the long-term cost of financing, taking into account risk); the impact on the general functioning of the gilt market; the expected size, sustainability, and nature of investor demand for the instrument; and an assessment of the cost and resource commitment required for its introduction into the market.
The Government would also need to be satisfied that any new instrument would meet value-for-money criteria, enjoy strong and sustained demand in the long term, and be consistent with wider fiscal objectives. We keep the introduction of new debt financing instruments under regular review.
Asked by: Lord Spellar (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in discussions regarding UK involvement in the proposed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK and Canada share a common objective of strengthening Allied defence industrial capacity through closer international cooperation. The Multilateral Defence Mechanism (MDM) and Canada's proposed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) are intended to address related challenges within the defence industrial ecosystem.
Following the joint-PM statement at the NATO Ankara summit in July, we committed to working closely with our Canadian allies on how the MDM and DSRB can work together, and we continue to do this.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that consumers using artificial intelligence for financial planning receive appropriate safeguards against inaccurate or unsuitable advice.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government wants consumers to be able to access high-quality support to make informed decisions about their finances and is committed to the safe adoption of AI in financial services, including financial guidance and advice. We support a principles-based, outcomes-focused approach to AI regulation enabling firms to innovate while maintaining high standards of consumer protection.
We recognise that general-purpose AI technology has already changed the nature of financial advice and guidance.
On 6 July, the Financial Conduct Authority published the Mills Review, which recommended a rapid FCA review on this issue.
On 14 July, the Government published the Financial Services AI Champions’ Adoption Plan, which included a high-priority recommendation that the FCA should consider the impacts of financial guidance and advice-like outputs through general purpose large language models (LLMs).
The Government are engaging with the FCA to determine next steps. This is an important piece of work that complements the Government’s broader ambition to make the UK a global leader in AI, leveraging our dual strengths in financial services and AI to drive growth, productivity and better, safe outcomes for consumers.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to close the labour productivity gap in the East Midlands.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The Government's ambition is to support good growth across all parts of the United Kingdom. As set out in the Prime Minister's recent Machinery of Government Statement, No10 North will be responsible for driving good growth through devolution and working in close partnership with local leaders, businesses, and communities to strengthen place-based growth.
We are also committed to fundamentally rewiring the way our country works, transferring greater powers, funding and accountability to the local leaders who know what it takes to drive growth and productivity in their areas.
The government has invested £10m into Team Derby – a city wide partnership between business and regional government designed to turn major national investments into local jobs, skills and regeneration opportunities. The wider East Midlands is receiving £2bn via the Transport for City Regions fund which will enable design of a new mass transit system to connect Derby and Nottingham and drive growth and productivity by better integrating transport networks.
The Chancellor has announced that the Green Book discount rate will be reduced from 3.5% to 3.0%, in line with recommendations from independent academics. This will place greater value on the long-term benefits of investment and strengthen the case for transformational projects that drive growth – wherever they take place.
At Budget, the government will publish a fiscal devolution roadmap which will set out a path to replacing grants from central government with a share of local income tax for every mayor beginning in 2028, such that where a region grows its tax base, it benefits from the increased receipts. This will sit alongside greater retention of the revenue from business rates for local councils and strategic authorities. The long-term certainty of funding via taxation will provide more flexibility and enable greater investment to fund interventions that will deliver a return.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rates that the UK pays on 10-year and 30-year bonds compared to other G7 countries; and what analysis they have done on the reason why the UK pays higher rates on bonds than other countries.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government does not comment on financial market movements. Last year borrowing fell 1 percentage point (over ÂŁ20 billion) to its lowest level in six years. The IMF have forecast that, between 2025-2030, the UK will be reducing the deficit by more than any other G7 or G20 country.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the rates of interest on UK government debt.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government does not comment on financial market movements. Last year borrowing fell 1 percentage point (over ÂŁ20 billion) to its lowest level in six years. The IMF have forecast that, between 2025-2030, the UK will be reducing the deficit by more than any other G7 or G20 country.
Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to reduce the minimum theatre tax relief performance threshold for touring ballet and opera performances from 14 to 7 to reflect the challenges of touring large-scale work.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government continues to provide generous support to the theatre sector through Theatre Tax Relief (TTR). TTR is designed to support expenditure incurred in the production of a theatrical performance. Since 1 April 2025, qualifying touring productions have been eligible for relief at a rate of 45 per cent, compared with 40 per cent for non-touring productions.
Changes to existing tax reliefs must be assessed against their effectiveness, targeting, complexity and value for money, and considered in the context of the wider public finances. Tax policy decisions are taken by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
Asked by: Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to make touring-specific operating costs eligible for theatre tax relief.
Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government continues to provide generous support to the theatre sector through Theatre Tax Relief (TTR). TTR is designed to support expenditure incurred in the production of a theatrical performance. Since 1 April 2025, qualifying touring productions have been eligible for relief at a rate of 45 per cent, compared with 40 per cent for non-touring productions.
Changes to existing tax reliefs must be assessed against their effectiveness, targeting, complexity and value for money, and considered in the context of the wider public finances. Tax policy decisions are taken by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to Answer of 10 July 2026 to Question 14818, how much of HMRC's 2025 tax debt balance of ÂŁ42.8 billion has been paid back.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
HMRC publishes information on the total amount of tax debt owed. Information on what proportion of a tax debt balance at a particular date is subsequently paid could only be provided at disproportionate cost. In 25-26, HMRC collected around ÂŁ83 billion in tax debt.