Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make the frequency of asylum applications from student visa holders at the same student visa sponsor grounds to suspend or revoke a student visa sponsor licence.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office requires sponsors to pass an annual Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) to retain their licence. Additionally, sponsor visiting teams carry out audits to ensure sponsors are fulfilling their duties.
As set out in the Immigration White Paper, we are taking action to drive responsible recruitment by tightening the minimum pass requirement of each BCA metric by five percentage points. Further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are reviewing the quantitative thresholds of the core requirements for student visa sponsor compliance.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office requires sponsors to pass an annual Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) to retain their licence. Additionally, sponsor visiting teams carry out audits to ensure sponsors are fulfilling their duties.
As set out in the Immigration White Paper, we are taking action to drive responsible recruitment by tightening the minimum pass requirement of each BCA metric by five percentage points. Further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum claims have been submitted by visa holders with a licensed student visa sponsor in the most recent 12-month period.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on people claiming asylum by route of entry to the UK in table Asy_D01a of the 'Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release' on GOV.UK. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2025. Between July 2024 and June 2025, 14,800 asylum claims were submitted by those holding a study visa. There is no breakdown by sponsored or non-sponsored study available. This breakdown is not available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they assess whether a student visa sponsor remains fully compliant, and whether they plan to introduce any additional regulatory tools to address student visa misuse.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office requires sponsors to pass an annual Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) to retain their licence. Additionally, sponsor visiting teams carry out audits to ensure sponsors are fulfilling their duties.
As set out in the Immigration White Paper, we are taking action to drive responsible recruitment by tightening the minimum pass requirement of each BCA metric by five percentage points. Further details will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will reconsider their inheritance tax reforms in order to protect the future of family farms.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government’s reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 achieve the right balance between supporting farms and fixing the public finances in a fair way. 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.
These reforms are being introduced in a broader context of significant existing support for the farming industry in the wider tax system, which the Government is maintaining. The existing rules already provide considerable support for the agricultural sector beyond the general support for businesses. This includes the exemption from business rates for agricultural land and buildings, the ongoing entitlement for vehicles and machinery used in agriculture to use rebated diesel and biofuels, and the exemption from the plastic packaging tax for the plastic film used by farmers to produce silage bales. Furthermore, farmers are able to claim to add together their profits from farming for two years or five years and be taxable on the average of those profits.
The Government’s commitment to farmers and the vital role they play in feeding our nation remains steadfast. The Government’s decisions at Autumn Budget 2024 provide £5 billion over two years for farming and land management in England which will restore stability and confidence in the sector, strengthening food security alongside nature’s recovery. This is the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history. Despite the difficult fiscal inheritance, funding has also been prioritised for the Farm Recovery Fund to support farmers with the impact of severe wet weather over the last year.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted any economic impact assessments on the regional impacts of their proposed changes to business property relief for inheritance tax.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief are forecast to raise a combined £520 million in 2029-30. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) certified this costing at Autumn Budget 2024 and it does not expect the reforms to have a significant macroeconomic impact. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.
Information from claims is not recorded to enable regional breakdowns of the number of estates expected to be affected. However, the Government has set out that around 1,500 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted any economic impact assessments on the impact of their proposed changes to business property relief for inheritance tax.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief are forecast to raise a combined £520 million in 2029-30. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) certified this costing at Autumn Budget 2024 and it does not expect the reforms to have a significant macroeconomic impact. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.
Information from claims is not recorded to enable regional breakdowns of the number of estates expected to be affected. However, the Government has set out that around 1,500 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are reconsidering their changes to business property relief for inheritance tax following research from CBI Economics that suggests it may reduce, rather than increase, tax revenues.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government’s reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 achieve the right balance between supporting businesses, including farms, and fixing the public finances in a fair way. The Government is not removing either agricultural property relief or business property relief. 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.
The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim business property relief, in 2026-27 paying more inheritance tax. This means almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, would not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
The Government has also set out that around 1,500 estates only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27.
The reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief are forecast to raise a combined £520 million in 2029-30. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) certified this costing at Autumn Budget 2024. The OBR published information about the costing in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 30 October 2024. The OBR recently published more detail on the costings on 22 January 2025. This material is all available on the OBR’s website.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are reconsidering removing business property relief for inheritance tax following research from CBI Economics that suggests it will result in a net loss rather than gain to the economy.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government’s reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 achieve the right balance between supporting businesses, including farms, and fixing the public finances in a fair way. The Government is not removing either agricultural property relief or business property relief. 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.
The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim business property relief, in 2026-27 paying more inheritance tax. This means almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, would not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
The Government has also set out that around 1,500 estates only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27.
The reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief are forecast to raise a combined £520 million in 2029-30. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) certified this costing at Autumn Budget 2024. The OBR published information about the costing in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 30 October 2024. The OBR recently published more detail on the costings on 22 January 2025. This material is all available on the OBR’s website.
Asked by: Lord Houchen of High Leven (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of removing business property relief for inheritance tax on family businesses in the UK.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government’s reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 achieve the right balance between supporting businesses, including farms, and fixing the public finances in a fair way. The Government is not removing either agricultural property relief or business property relief. 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.
The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim business property relief, in 2026-27 paying more inheritance tax. This means almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, would not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
The Government has also set out that around 1,500 estates only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27.
The reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief are forecast to raise a combined £520 million in 2029-30. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) certified this costing at Autumn Budget 2024. The OBR published information about the costing in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 30 October 2024. The OBR recently published more detail on the costings on 22 January 2025. This material is all available on the OBR’s website.