Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consultation she undertook with (a) investors, (b) business organisations and (c) entrepreneurs prior to the announcement that the angel investment annual income threshold would be increasing.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor announced at Budget that the Government will legislate to reinstate the previous eligibility criteria to qualify as a high net worth or sophisticated investor. The relevant legislation was laid in Parliament on 6 March, and is set to come into force on 27 March.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the potential impact on women of the increase in the angel investor annual income threshold to £170,000.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor announced at Budget that the Government will legislate to reinstate the previous eligibility criteria to qualify as a high net worth or sophisticated investor. The relevant legislation was laid in Parliament on 6 March, and is set to come into force on 27 March.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration he gave to the potential impact on equalities of increasing to £170,000 the annual income threshold for eligibility for the high net worth individual exemption in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2023; and whether he had discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the potential impact on equalities of the order.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The changes to the financial promotion exemptions that came into force on 31 January 2024 were subject to a public consultation which closed in March 2022.
However, the Government recognises the concerns that have been raised recently about these changes. I met recently with the angel investing sector and listened carefully to the representations made, and the Government is working closely with the sector to address the concerns raised.
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not usually disclosed.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department holds ethnicity-disaggregated data on the use of the Help to Save scheme.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The latest ethnicity-disaggregated data on the use of the Help to Save scheme was published by HMRC in August 2021 as part of research findings on Help to Save customers. It can be found at
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he will publish an equalities impact assessment of the Growth Plan 2022 as per the requirements of the public sector equality duty.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In developing proposals at fiscal events, including previous and forthcoming events, such as the Autumn Statement planned for 17 November, the Treasury takes care to ensure compliance with legal requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty in the Equality Act 2010 to consider the impact of its decisions on those sharing protected characteristics.
This is in line with both our legal obligations to pay “due regard” to equality impacts, and with our strong commitment to promoting fairness.
In the interests of transparency, HMRC publishes a summary of equality impacts for tax measures within the Tax Information and Impact Notes alongside the associated legislation.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what equalities impact assessment he has made of the Growth Plan 2022 on (a) women, (b) Black, Asian and minority ethnic people, (c) disabled people and (d) LGBT+ people.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In developing proposals at fiscal events, including previous and forthcoming events, such as the Autumn Statement planned for 17 November, the Treasury takes care to ensure compliance with legal requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty in the Equality Act 2010 to consider the impact of its decisions on those sharing protected characteristics.
This is in line with both our legal obligations to pay “due regard” to equality impacts, and with our strong commitment to promoting fairness.
In the interests of transparency, HMRC publishes a summary of equality impacts for tax measures within the Tax Information and Impact Notes alongside the associated legislation.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on the potential equalities impact of the Growth Plan 2022 on (a) women, (b) Black, Asian and minority ethnic people, (c) disabled people and (d) LGBT+ people.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In developing the proposals outlined at the recent fiscal event, the Treasury followed rigorous processes to ensure compliance with legal requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in the Equality Act 2010 to carefully consider the impact of its decisions on those sharing protected characteristics. This is in line with both our legal obligations under the Act and with our strong commitment to promoting fairness.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what analysis his Department undertook in advance of the Spring Statement 2022 of the impact of the policy of uprating by September 2021 consumer price inflation on the inflation-adjusted value of social security benefits.
Answered by Simon Clarke
CPI has been the default inflation measure for the government’s statutory annual review of benefits since 2011 and it is standard practice for the government to uprate in line with September CPI, which was 3.1% in 2021. September CPI is the latest available figure confirmed by the ONS prior to the annual review and allows sufficient time for the legislative and complex delivery process to take place.
In addition to uprating social security benefits, the government is also providing support to families worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help families with cost of living pressures. This includes cutting the Universal Credit taper rate and increasing work allowances to make sure work pays, freezing alcohol duties to keep costs down, and providing millions of households with up to £350 to help with rising energy bills. At the Spring Statement, the Chancellor went further, announcing an increase to the annual National Insurance Primary Threshold and Lower Profits Limit to £12,570, and an additional £500m to help the most vulnerable with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund. Families and businesses across the UK will also benefit from a 12-month cut in fuel duty of 5 pence per litre, the largest cash terms cut, that has ever been applied to all fuel duty rates at once. This cut represents savings for consumers worth almost £2.4 billion over the next year. And, from 1st April 2022, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 6.6% to £9.50 an hour for workers aged 23, which will benefit more than 2 million workers. This means an increase of over £1,000 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what distributional analysis his Department has undertaken on the impact of the reduction in fuel duty announced in the Spring Statement 2022.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The government has published a tax information and impact note on the fuel duty changes announced at Spring Statement. This includes the impacts on individuals, households, and families, as well as those that share protected characteristics. It is noted that this measure has potential to impact up to an estimated 36 million individuals by reducing motoring costs, subject to how much they drive, relative to fuel duty rates remaining unchanged. This can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-fuel-duty-rates/fuel-duty-rates-2022-23
Alongside the Spring Statement, the government has also published distributional analysis on the estimated impact of tax changes (including fuel duty) for households. This can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-statement-2022-documents
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what specific measures for disabled people are included in the Spring Statement 2022.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The government is committed to enabling disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to live fulfilling and independent lives. Spring Statement announced a substantial package of measures worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help households with the cost of living, which will benefit disabled people both in and out of work. This includes an additional £500m for the Household Support Fund to help households with the cost of essentials such as food, clothing, and utilities. In England, the fund will continue to be distributed to Local Authorities, who are best placed to direct help to those who need it most, including those with disabilities.
In addition, the Spring Statement allocated £25.3 million to Local Authorities across England for the installation of over 500 life-enhancing Changing Places public toilets, providing targeted support for people with severe disabilities.
The Spring Statement measures should be seen alongside the significant multi-year support for disabled people that was already announced in the 2021 Autumn Budget and Spending Review, which included over £1.1 billion of investment to help those with disabilities secure and sustain employment, and £2.6 billion for new school places for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in England.
The government recognises that a disability or long-term health condition can have a significant impact on the cost of living at the best of times. We continue to invest heavily in the welfare system to support disabled people both in and out of work, and in 2022-23 we are currently forecast to spend over £64 billion on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions in Great Britain. This is around 2.5% of UK GDP.