Asked by: Baroness Alexander of Cleveden (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce inefficiencies in the tax system.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the tax system provides the economic stability needed for growth.
At the Budget in October the Government honoured the manifesto commitment to cap Corporation Tax and outlined a clear plan in the Corporate Tax roadmap. The Government also took steps to repair the public finances through reforms that removed inefficient and distortive reliefs from the tax system. This included removing loopholes to ensure the tax system was more sustainable alongside delivering on the Government’s manifesto commitments to raise revenue in a fair way.
At Spring Statement 2025 we went further and faster to close the tax gap, making sure that everyone pays the tax they owe, and in April the Government announced measures to simplify the tax system to help deliver the Plan for Change. These measures will reduce burdens on employers and small businesses, and reform the tax system to ensure it continues to be fit for the modern world.
Asked by: Baroness Alexander of Cleveden (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help increase the return on investment from pension savings.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The first part of the landmark Pensions Review has concluded with the publication of the Final Report of the Pensions Investment Review on 29 May 2025.
The ambitious reforms outlined in the Final Report will drive scale and consolidation in both the multi-employer defined contribution pensions market and the Local Government Pension Scheme in England and Wales. They will unlock billions of pounds in investment for productive assets, improve efficiency, and deliver better returns for savers. Estimates suggest the measures could increase a Defined Contribution pot at retirement by £5,900 for an average earner who saves over their career.
To deliver these reforms, the Government has introduced the Pension Schemes Bill, providing the necessary legislative framework to implement these reforms, alongside wider pension reforms. The Bill received its first reading on 5 June 2025.
These measures will support the new more ambitious industry-led voluntary Mansion House Accord, announced on 13 May 2025. The Accord is a commitment from 17 of the UK’s largest defined contribution pension schemes to invest 10% of their default funds in private assets, with half of that earmarked for the UK, by 2030. This will unlock more productive investment and help support the diversification of savers’ pensions assets.