Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards and governance arrangements are in place for NHS patient data when accessed or processed by artificial intelligence systems.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has issued guidance for the National Health Service, on the Transformation Directorate’s website, on the safe, lawful, and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health and care settings. This has been reviewed by the Health and Care Information Governance Working Group, including the Information Commissioner’s Office and the National Data Guardian.
This framework helps ensure that AI innovations developed using NHS data benefit patients, support clinicians, and maintain public trust. Safeguards will include ensuring public transparency on the use of AI, ensuring systems are explainable, and that decisions remain under human oversight.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of expanding the Treasury bill market on refinancing risk exposure.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Treasury bills represent a core component of the government’s stock of marketable debt, alongside gilts.
The government will be launching a consultation in January 2026 on the potential expansion and deepening of the UK Treasury bill market, including how this might be facilitated by HM Treasury and the UK Debt Management Office.
As well as reflecting feedback from the public, including market participants, and the most recent market and demand conditions, any changes following the consultation will reflect an assessment of cost and risk in accordance with the government’s debt management and cash management objectives. This includes implications for the government’s refinancing risk exposure.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to exemptions to the proposed ban on ransomware payments for operators of critical national infrastructure.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Protecting the UK from cyber threats is a top priority for this Government. Ransomware measures are being considered as part of a wider all-of-Government approach to reduce cyber threats, alongside the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill by DSIT.
It is long-standing Government advice, and that of the National Cyber Security Centre, to not pay ransoms as there is no guarantee of a return to business-as-usual provision. .
We have consulted on this, and as published in the Government response to ransomware legislative proposals: reducing payments to cyber criminals and increasing incident reporting (accessible) - GOV.UK, there was split feedback regarding whether a targeted ban should have an exceptions(/exemptions) process. 43% of respondents agreed, 40% disagreed, 17% didn’t know. Qualitative responses cited national security and public safety as reasons for the need.
As with all feedback provided in the consultation response, the Government is considering the most appropriate and proportionate course of action and developing the policy in collaboration with industry and the relevant Government departments. No final decision has yet been made, and the Government is looking very carefully at all options.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increasing taxes on (1) dividend income, (2) savings income, and (3) salary sacrifice pension contributions on (a) tax receipts, and (b) the number of taxpayers in each tax band.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
In 2029-30 changes to taxation of dividend income are expected to raise £1.3bn, and changes to taxation of savings income are expected to raise £0.5bn. In 2029-30 changes to salary sacrifice pension contributions are expected to raise £4.8bn.
The exchequer impact of the tax changes outlined can be found in Table 4.1, rows 50 to 52, of the Budget 2025 document available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2025-document
Impacts on taxpayers can be found in the corresponding Tax Information and Impacts Note available at the following links:
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility that business investment may decline in 2026.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including assessments of the impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR publishes its forecast in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO is available here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-november-2025/
Our economic strategy to deliver growth is investment across the public and private sectors, and in every part of the country. Our modern Industrial Strategy is making a difference. We have taken bold action by tearing up red tape with plans to reduce business regulatory costs, delivering the biggest planning reforms in a generation and reducing electricity bills for over 7000 businesses.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the report by the Office for Budget Responsibility, Economic and fiscal outlook, published on 26 November, what assessment they have made of the risks of elevated global equity valuations driven in part by AI technology stocks to the economy.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government does not comment on individual market moves.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the government's official forecaster responsible for assessing the UK economic and fiscal outlook, including the macroeconomic impacts of policy and the risks to the UK outlook. In its November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR assessed the potential impacts of a shock to global equity prices. The OBR presented two scenarios with a potential peak impact on UK real GDP of 0.5%-0.6% relative to its central forecast.
HM Treasury maintains a comprehensive framework for assessing and managing risks to the economic and fiscal outlook. This includes systematic monitoring through internal risk processes and risk governance forums, and collaboration with other government departments. HM Treasury also works closely with the UK financial regulators to assess risks relating to financial markets.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the level of (1) welfare spending, (2) tax receipt growth, and (3) day-to-day public services spending, in 2029–30.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
According to the latest forecasts produced by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), as part of the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) - Table A.7 and A.9:
(1) Welfare expenditure is forecast to be £389.4 billion in 2029-30.
(2) Tax receipts are forecast to be £1,483 billion in 2029-30.
(3) Day-to-day public services spending (PSCE in RDEL) is forecast to be £589.1 billion in 2029-30.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to retail, hospitality and leisure relief announced in the Budget on small businesses.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values (i.e. the tax base) of properties remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. To support with bill increases, at the Budget in November 2025, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
This support package includes capping bill increases for the smallest businesses losing some or all of their small business rates relief or rural rate relief worth over £500 million. The Government has gone further by expanding this to ratepayers losing retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) relief to offer further support worth an additional £1.3 billion as they transition to permanently lower tax rates.
More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in the manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible RHL properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
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 define 'cash-like investments' in relation to stocks and shares Individual Savings Accounts, and how charges on cash holdings in those accounts will be applied.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget in November 2025, the government announced that from 6 April 2027, the annual Cash ISA limit will be set at £12,000 within the overall ISA limit of £20,000. This is part of our wider strategy aimed at supporting people to get into investing, including Targeted Support, which will be available from April 2026.
Rules will be introduced to avoid circumvention of the lower limit for cash ISAs where an individual is under the age of 65. The ISA industry will be consulted on the draft legislation, which will be made by amendments to the ISA Regulations, and laid before Parliament well ahead of April 2027.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the impact of the introduction of the high level council tax surcharge on the number of valuation challenges to the Valuations Office Agency.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognise the importance of the right to appeal, and will consult on the details of this in the new year.