Spending Review 2025

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 12th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I absolutely agree with my noble friend—both where she started and indeed where she ended. I completely agree about the importance of innovation and the spending that we have been able to do in this spending review. As I have said before, the industrial strategy will be published in the coming weeks. Clearly, innovation and R&D are vital to those high-growth sectors. She also talked about the importance of partnership, and that sits at the heart of the industrial strategy—a partnership between government and business, helping to systematically remove the barriers to growth. As my noble friend will know, we have increased public funding on R&D to a record high of £22.6 billion in the spending review.

My noble friend talked about housing and its link to growth. I completely agree that, for too long, people have not been able to live anywhere near the jobs that they want to do because they have not been able to afford the housing to be close to those jobs. That is absolutely not good for growth. I am certain that the £39 billion we are investing will help us to begin to tackle that.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Lord will recall that the Government were elected on a promise of ending the housing of refugees in hotels within 12 months of being elected to office. For what reason have the Government now decided to continue to house refugees in hotels until the end of this Parliament?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

Probably because of the inheritance that we faced from the party opposite, which did absolutely nothing to tackle or fund that issue. We have funded it in the spending review on the terms that the noble Baroness set out.

UK-US Trade

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 12th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I would be very delicate about suggesting such a thing, but one of the things that we do really well within this nation is that, whichever side of the House we are sitting on, we all want to see the opportunity to trade and understand the value that it contributes to the UK economy. I think we can all agree that this is a really powerful first step that supports the great nation that we all operate within.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

The noble Baroness will be aware that one of the reasons we were unable to negotiate a trade deal with the EU was that we did not wish to introduce hormone-produced beef. If the animal is fed with hormones, it does not show up. How can she reassure the British consumer that we will not import any beef produced with any hormone whatever?

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question. It is an important point that we have been able to open up such trading opportunities while protecting our incredibly powerful and well-respected food standards. I am not necessarily familiar with the specifics of how we can detect whether those standards have been complied with, and I will endeavour to write to her to follow up on that matter.

Strategic Priorities Statement: Defence

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 25th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am very happy to say that, as the noble Lord knows, this Government plan increase defence expenditure to 2.5% by the end of the Parliament. However, it is not for me to set out today exactly how that will be spent.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

The Minister referred in his first Answer to the role of Great British Energy in delivering clean energy. How will the Government achieve that if the budget for GB Energy is reduced in the forthcoming spending review?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

The noble Baroness said “if”, and I do not in any way accept that. She should wait for the spending review to see what will happen.

Closed-Ended Investment Companies: Cost Disclosure

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

Does the Minister share my concern about what has happened to investment trusts over the past six to 12 months? What is the Government’s policy regarding saving?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

Yes, I do share the noble Baroness’s concern, which is exactly why we have done all the things that I have set out so far in this Answer. The Government’s policy regarding saving is that we think it is a good thing and we want to encourage more of it.

Capital Investment and Share Ownership

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 13th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

As the noble Lord says, many of the private finance initiative contracts are coming to an end within the next decade. It is important to prepare early for a seamless transition to the public sector to protect taxpayers’ money. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority is responsible on the Treasury’s behalf, providing oversight and support to the portfolio of operational PFIs. It carries out regular health checks and, to date, around 215 expiry health checks have already taken place.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, a variety of Governments have tried to introduce private sector investment into water sector projects. The Pickering Slow the Flow pilot scheme that I was involved in at a later stage was hugely successful in factoring in a number of public partnerships. Can the Minister look at this to open up, for example, supermarket involvement and farmers contributing to flood resilience in catchment areas?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am very interested in what the noble Baroness says, and I will look at that further. As I say, the 10-year infrastructure strategy will be the point at which we set out the Government’s approach to private investment in infrastructure. I cannot say more than that at this point.

EU Law

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for the question. The Government are committed to driving economic growth and working hand in hand with the regulators to make sure that that growth can be achieved in a sustainable way that is fair to all markets and ultimately beneficiary to consumers. The Government are committed to maintaining the independence of those regulators, but we work with them to provide an overall strategic steer on the directions and priorities they should be working towards so that they can work hand in hand with us and our priorities around growth.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome the noble Baroness to her position. Have she and her department made an assessment of the cost to the UK chemical industry of having to match both a UK REACH programme and an EU REACH programme? Is this part of the reset that the Government will look at in our relations with the European Union?

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for the warm welcome. With regard to REACH, we held a consultation on an alternative transitional registration model for the UK REACH chemicals regime to reduce the cost to industry while ensuring high levels of human health and environmental protection. We will publish a government response in 2025.

Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs: OBR Costing

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 27th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

The Government set out their modelling at the Budget and, more recently, the Chancellor provided very extensive additional details to the Treasury Select Committee on exactly that point, including in her follow-up letter. That modelling was backed up by the OBR, as shown in the publication last week.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, can the Minister say how much the Government expect to raise from the abolition of APR and its consequential impact on inheritance tax relief? The Office for Budget Responsibility, in its Supplementary Forecast Information Release of 22 January, stated very clearly, in paragraph 1.11 on page four:

“The central estimate for the costing is an increase in revenue of £0.5 billion by 2029-30”.


Is that really all that the Government expect to raise from this very cruel measure?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

Yes, it is—and it will go a very long way to help our public services after years of neglect. I completely disagree with the noble Baroness’s characterisation of this policy.

Small Farms and Family Businesses

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 12th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I add my congratulations to my noble friend Lord Leicester for securing the debate and for speaking so eloquently, setting out the difficulties of the Budget proposal. I also add my heartfelt tribute to my noble friend Lady Cumberlege who, as the daughter of a GP, has maintained a life-long interest in healthcare. She will be much missed.

My focus today is on the human aspect and the potential social crisis unfolding as a result of the Government’s proposals, in particular what the implications will be for the uplands and tenant farmers. Issues of food security have been recounted in the debate but I recognise that taking land out of production for farming, such as the plans for solar farms on a small scale in Old Malton and on a much greater scale in East Yorkshire—up to four square miles—are just nonsensical. Reducing basic farm payments with a slow uptake of ELMS and the complexity of the SFI on top of the removal of capital grants for those farmers equipping themselves to farm in an environmentally friendly way are deeply regrettable.

What exactly will the impact on tenant farms be? If you look at North Yorkshire, County Durham and many northern counties—the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Newcastle mentioned Northumbria—48% of farms are tenanted, yet it is deeply unclear how these proposals will apply to them. At the very least, will the Minister, in summing up, commit to issuing draft legislation or the usual tax information and impact note before July next year to ensure that tenants can prepare in the best way possible for these proposals, well in advance of the timescale that the Government are minded to introduce?

Your Lordships will be aware that farmers are fiercely proud, private and independent. They are reluctant even to visit the GP and seek healthcare when they most need it. What I regret most about these Budget proposals is the mood of anxiety, distress and uncertainty that they have created about the future, affecting whole families—not just the adult farmers but their children, who are now displaying signs of mental health issues which need to be addressed. As others have mentioned, this impacts on the whole rural community; farmers are the glue holding it together.

I pay tribute to the farming charities, which are being called on to intervene even more this year—such as RABI, the Farming Community Network, Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services, of which I am a patron, and the chaplain to the auction mart at Thirsk, Yvonne Bowling, whom I meet regularly. She is deeply distressed by the hardship caused to the farmers, particularly financially, and she requests urgent action to address this. The Government have not even brought forward greater climate resistance to the farming system nor ensured that productivity does not compromise their farms. Yvonne Bowling says:

“The health issues for our farmers are still serious with many issues, but as chaplains, we continue God’s work listening and walking alongside farmers in their worries and concerns”.


I am deeply grateful that she and others are showing concern for farmers in this way.

Farmers are in a unique and vulnerable position, and the Government seem totally incapable of understanding the uncertainty that they face. I hope that the noble Lord in winding up today will be respectful and mindful of what they are facing at this time.

Road Pricing

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 29th April 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

My noble friend raises an important point about the cost of motoring. That really is top of mind for the Government. It is why we have frozen fuel duty since 2011 and had a 5p cut on fuel duty since March 2022. We recognise that for many people—particularly those in rural communities—using their car is essential, and it can be quite costly.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, will the Minister assure the House that, were the Government ever minded to introduce road pricing, rural communities and those who drive on rural roads—particularly in North Yorkshire, where we have the longest transit routes for people on their way to work or pleasure—would be protected?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con)]

As I said at the outset, the Government have no plans to consider road pricing. Therefore, I cannot give my noble friend that assurance, because it would be purely hypothetical.

Alternative Investment Fund Designation Bill [HL]

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 1st March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Lord. I was introduced to investment trusts by my late father, who was a proud Scot and a modest investor. Sadly, since his passing, my investment portfolio seems to have been on the downward trajectory.

I congratulate my noble friend Lady Altmann on the excellent and timely Bill before us, along with the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, who is supporting it. I lend my full support for the proposals contained therein. I commit to their energy and enthusiasm for the provisions of the Bill and the aim of protecting investors, whether minor or major, who are shareholders in investment trusts. My noble friend called for the urgent issue of guidance, and I support her request. Can my noble friend the Minister say whether there is any reason why guidance could not be issued? That would support the call from the noble Lord, Lord Macpherson, for an urgent review and revision of the law.

I press the Government on the matter of a consultation. Will my noble friend the Minister bring forward a consultation at the earliest possible opportunity, with a view to introducing legislative measures in short order thereafter? Presumably, that could be by way of statutory instrument and regulations, rather than the need for primary legislation such as that before us today.

Further, does my noble friend the Minister agree with my noble friend Lady Altmann, the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, and others who have spoken that the current situation is unacceptable and—as the noble Lord, Lord Macpherson, said—highly misleading to potential investors? This is a serious but typical case of gold-plating, whereby, as I understand it, the original directive was not prescriptive but a domestic interpretation, through regulation, added bells and whistles.

This is not the only example of this. From my personal experience of serving as a Member of the European Parliament, I know of the abattoir directive. That was very much a framework directive, but the home department, the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, looked at it as the opportunity to close a number of family-run abattoirs, with the perverse effect that animals had to travel further to slaughter. Another example is the toy safety directive, which, in its domestic implementation, added all sorts of provisions that meant that the donation of second-hand toys to charity shops dried up. That led to the then Trade Secretary—the noble Lord, Lord Heseltine—calling time on that highly-damaging practice to the domestic industry.

In support of the Bill, I can do no better than quote my noble friend Lady Altmann from a recent article in Money Marketing. She wrote:

“UK investment companies have historically been a world-beating success story, offering an excellent way for investors to back sustainable British growth. But this once thriving sector, with over 350 companies quoted on London stock markets and assets exceeding £250bn, is in crisis”.


She concluded:

“It is … galling to see new EU-derived cost disclosure rules, not applied in the EU or any other country”,


undermine

“a once thriving UK financial sector”.

In the words of the noble Lord, Lord Macpherson, the Brexiteers won and have achieved their goal, but they must accept that this is the complete opposite of a Brexit dividend. It is highly damaging to both existing and potential investors, and has been highly damaging to the financial sector. The Bill is an opportunity for my noble friend the Minister to address that, and I hope that she will take that opportunity today.