Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help increase the return on investment from pension savings.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This house legislated to auto-enrol millions of employees into pension saving and the onus is on us to ensure they get the best possible returns.
The Pension Schemes Bill will do exactly that, via bigger, better pension schemes, a value for money framework and tackling small pots.
Average earner savings over their working life could have their pension pot boosted by £29,000.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans she has to replace fuel duty.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Fuel duty is projected to raise £24.4bn in 2025/26 and will continue to remain in place. At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut and cancelling the planned increase in line with inflation for 2025/26.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the estimated cost of maintaining the freeze on fuel duty is in (a) 2024-2025 and (b) the five-year Parliamentary term.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, fuel duty was frozen at the current rate of 52.95 pence per litre for 2025/26, at a projected cost of £3,015m in 2025/26. The OBR estimated in its March 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook that if the duty rate were to remain unchanged at its current level throughout the forecast period it would reduce receipts, on average, by £3.8 billion a year between 2026/27 and 2029/30.
Fuel duty was also frozen for 2024/25 by the previous government at Spring Budget 2024, at a projected cost of £3,090m in 2024/25.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of wealth taxes on national economies in countries where they exist.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible. These and other decisions announced at the Budget will help repair the public finances and fund public services such as the NHS and education.
According to the latest OECD data, the UK raises more from taxing wealth both in revenue, and as a proportion of its tax base, than Spain, Switzerland, and Norway.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to increase the tax threshold to accommodate future increases in state pension.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government remains committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.
Through our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, over 12 million pensioners benefitted from a 4.1% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2025. Over the course of this Parliament, the full yearly rate of the new State Pension is expected to increase by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast.
The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.
The previous Government made the decision to freeze the income tax Personal Allowance at its current level of £12,570 until April 2028. The current Government is committed to keeping people’s taxes as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility and so, at our first Budget, we decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of not increasing the tax threshold to accommodate future increases in state pension on levels of pensioner poverty.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of the support available to them. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full new State Pension is currently projected to go up by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast.
The Government is also committed to keeping people’s taxes as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility, and so, at our first Budget, we decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support family owned businesses with annual turnover above £100 million.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Government Ministers and Senior Officials regularly meet with businesses of all sizes, from large corporations to SMEs, including family-owned businesses with an annual turnover of above £100 million. These meetings afford an opportunity for the Government to hear the views of the business community to aid in the formation of policy, including fiscal policy. These engagements are ongoing and will continue to be so.
Further information on previous meetings held by HM Treasury Ministers and can be found on the gov.uk website via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to consult family-owned businesses with annual turnover above £100 million on potential fiscal policies.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Government Ministers and Senior Officials regularly meet with businesses of all sizes, from large corporations to SMEs, including family-owned businesses with an annual turnover of above £100 million. These meetings afford an opportunity for the Government to hear the views of the business community to aid in the formation of policy, including fiscal policy. These engagements are ongoing and will continue to be so.
Further information on previous meetings held by HM Treasury Ministers and can be found on the gov.uk website via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the net fiscal impact of changes to inheritance tax for family owned businesses in each year to 2029-30.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
This measure is forecast to raise an additional £230m in 2026-27, £495m in 2027-28, £520m in 2028-29, and £520m in 2029-30.
The OBR does not expect the reforms to have a significant macroeconomic impact. Additional information is also published in the OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook, from paragraph 3.20 to 3.23:
https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_Oct_2024.pdf.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to reduce the tax gap.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
A key part of restoring economic stability and fiscal responsibility is closing the tax gap. Unpaid tax deprives UK public services of vital funding and puts businesses who pay the right tax at a competitive disadvantage.
At the Budget last autumn, the Government introduced the most ambitious package ever to close the tax gap, ensuring more individuals and businesses pay the taxes they owe and raising £6.5 bn in additional tax revenue per year by 2029-2030. At the Spring Statement, the Government built on this and announced a package of measures to further close the tax gap and raise over £1 billion more.
The announcements since the start of this Government will see 5,500 more compliance officers, alongside 2400 staff in HMRC's debt management teams to ensure those who can afford to pay their tax debts do so.
The Government is also delivering on its commitments to prosecute more tax fraudsters, to introduce a new HMRC reward scheme for informants, to tackle 'phoenixism', and to overhaul HMRC's approach to offshore tax non-compliance. The Government has also set out its plans to go further in the future to make it easier for taxpayers to pay the right tax through a modern and digital tax system.