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Written Question
Pensions: Tax Allowances
Monday 2nd October 2023

Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the total amount of tax relief on all pensions was for the last five years.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

Information on estimates of Income Tax relief on pension contributions and investment income of pension funds can be found online in Table 6 of the Private pension statistics publication. Estimates for the tax years 2018 to 2019 to 2020 to 2021 have been reproduced in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Total pension Income Tax relief for tax years 2018 to 2019 to 2020 to 2021.

Tax year

Total pension Income Tax relief, £million

2020 to 2021

44,100

2019 to 2020

41,700

2018 to 2019*

38,200

*Improvements in the estimation methodology for the tax years 2019 to 2020 onwards mean that estimates for the tax year 2018 to 2019 are not directly comparable to those in later years.

Estimates for the 2021 to 2022 tax year will be published on 27th September 2023. Estimates for the 2022 to 2023 tax year will be published in Summer 2024.

HMRC does not hold complete information on whether contributions have been made to personal or occupational pension schemes.

Information on the National Employment Savings Trust is exempt from release by HMRC under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (CRCA).


Written Question
Pensions: Tax Allowances
Monday 2nd October 2023

Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much tax revenue is foregone each year in supporting (1) company, (2) private, and (3) National Employment Savings Trust pensions.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

Information on estimates of Income Tax relief on pension contributions and investment income of pension funds can be found online in Table 6 of the Private pension statistics publication. Estimates for the tax years 2018 to 2019 to 2020 to 2021 have been reproduced in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Total pension Income Tax relief for tax years 2018 to 2019 to 2020 to 2021.

Tax year

Total pension Income Tax relief, £million

2020 to 2021

44,100

2019 to 2020

41,700

2018 to 2019*

38,200

*Improvements in the estimation methodology for the tax years 2019 to 2020 onwards mean that estimates for the tax year 2018 to 2019 are not directly comparable to those in later years.

Estimates for the 2021 to 2022 tax year will be published on 27th September 2023. Estimates for the 2022 to 2023 tax year will be published in Summer 2024.

HMRC does not hold complete information on whether contributions have been made to personal or occupational pension schemes.

Information on the National Employment Savings Trust is exempt from release by HMRC under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (CRCA).


Written Question
Pensions
Monday 2nd October 2023

Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the annual cost to the exchequer of expenditure on all pensioner benefits, including a breakdown of (1) basic state pension, (2) additional pensions, (3) new state pension, (4) pension credit, (5) housing benefit, (6) winter fuel payments, (7) Christmas bonus, (8) age addition, (9) deferred pensions, (10) free prescriptions, (11) free travel, (12) eye tests, and (13) dental care.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

The territorial extent, age requirements, and availability of latest data vary by policy area. Pensioner benefit spending is devolved to Northern Ireland, whereas transport and healthcare spending is devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Noting these points, the UK Government spends around £150bn per year on pensioner benefits.

The forecast of 2023-24 expenditure on all pensioner benefits in Great Britain can be found in the table below. Deferred pension figures are captured in the basic State Pension, new State Pension, and Lump Sum Payment figures.

£ million

2023-24 Forecast

Basic State Pension

66,617

of which Lump Sum Payments

186

Additional Pensions

19,163

New State Pension

36,234

Pension Credit

5,437

Housing Benefit

5,938

Winter Fuel Payments

2,037

Christmas Bonus

128

Age Addition (Category D State Pension)

195

Attendance Allowance

6,686

Other

9,170

Total

151,604

Source: Spring 2023 Benefit Expenditure Outturn and Forecast Tables on GOV.UK

The latest available data on dental care for pensioners in England is from 2022-23 and can be found below. However, there is no published 2022-23 data on prescription or eye test expenditure as any information provided would be based on internal DHSC analysis and modelling, which could change.

£ million

2022-23

Free Dental Care

56

Source: NHS Dental Statistics: 2022-23

The latest available data on free travel for pensioners in England is from 2021-22 can be found below. This figure also includes spend on travel for individuals with disabilities.

£ million

2021-22

Free Travel

803

Source: Concessionary Travel data from the Bus Statistics data tables on GOV.UK.


Written Question
Strikes: Economic Growth
Thursday 28th September 2023

Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what impact strikes in the (1) public, and (2) private, sector have had on gross domestic product growth in each of the past three years.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

As the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have noted, it is not possible to precisely isolate the impact of strike action on GDP from other factors across the wider economy.


Written Question
Child Trust Fund
Wednesday 12th July 2023

Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure families yet to claim their Child Trust Fund can receive the funds to which they are entitled as soon as possible.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

The government is committed to helping people access the savings and money they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their Child Trust Funds.

While primary responsibility for communicating with account holders and their registered contact lies with Child Trust Fund (CTF) providers, HMRC works closely with providers, the wider industry and the Money and Pensions Service to ensure that young people are aware of, and can access, their CTFs. This includes requiring CTF providers to write to their customers to inform them of their options in their 17th year and to provide statements annually after the account holder turns 18.

HMRC also issues a range of communications through regular press releases, social media posts and by providing resources for key intermediaries who have greater influence and visibility amongst the CTF audience.

The government’s current plans will reunite most accounts with their owners, but there may be some cases where further action will be required. The government will monitor how many accounts remain open and judge when it is appropriate to intervene in other ways.


Written Question
Monetary Policy
Thursday 22nd September 2022

Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the extent of quantitative easing for each quarter since the beginning of 2021.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

In 2021, the total gilt purchases of the Asset Purchase Facility (APF), including purchases to redeem maturing assets, was £57.7bn in Q1, £49.7bn in Q2, £44.7bn in Q3 and £37.8bn in Q4 following a decision by the Monetary Policy Committee to increase its Quantitative Easing target stock to £875bn. As of Q1 2022, The Bank of England begun the process of unwinding QE by ceasing to reinvest in maturing assets or purchasing new assets. In March 2022, total size of the APF gilt holdings was £847bn by purchase value, a decrease of £27.9bn from the start of the quarter.


Written Question
Petrol: VAT
Thursday 23rd June 2022

Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much Value Added Tax the Treasury has received from sales of petrol in each quarter since January 2021.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

The information requested is not available. HMRC does not hold information on VAT revenue from specific products or services. Businesses are not required to provide figures at a product level on their VAT returns, as this would impose an excessive administrative burden.


Written Question
Income Tax: Tax Allowances
Thursday 23rd June 2022

Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the additional revenue the Treasury has received as a result of its decision not to index personal tax allowances for each year since the decision was taken; and what estimate they have made of the additional revenue that will be received by May 2024.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

At Spring Budget 2021, the Government took the difficult but necessary decision to raise taxes to repair the public finances following the largest economic recession on record. The Government announced that the Income Tax Personal Allowance (PA) and the higher rate threshold will be maintained from 6 April 2022 until 5 April 2026 at £12,570 and £50,270 respectively.

The Office for Budget Responsibility recently published their March 2022 Economic and fiscal outlook. This includes the latest estimate for yearly yield from maintaining the income tax thresholds.


Written Question
Tax Yields
Thursday 23rd June 2022

Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total revenue already accrued to the Treasury as a result of inflation that exceeds the Government's two per cent target.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes monthly Public Sector Finances data, including public sector current receipts. However, there is no information available that breaks down the impact of inflation and other economic factors on these data.

The Treasury does not produce fiscal forecasts, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are the government’s official forecaster. Inflation has a range of impacts on the public finances and previous OBR forecasts have shown how inflation can also increase spending on welfare and debt interest. The OBR will produce an updated forecast alongside the next Budget, which will reflect the impacts of an updated inflation outlook on both revenues and spending.

The government is using all available tools to combat and reduce inflation – strong independent monetary policy, fiscal responsibility, and supply side reform.


Written Question
NHS and Social Services: Finance
Wednesday 18th May 2022

Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of GDP that will be spent on health and social care once their current reforms are fully implemented.

Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)

Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 set out departmental budgets, including those for health and social care, until 2024-25. The Department of Health and Social Care’s settlement provided an increase to resource and capital spending to £188.6 billion in 2024-25.

GDP is subject to change over time and the government does not generally estimate individual department allocations as a share of GDP. However, total government spending as a percentage of GDP is included in the Spring Statement 2022 document which is based on the most recent forecast from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.