Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what modelling she has undertaken on applying National Insurance to salary-sacrificed pension contributions above £2,000; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of that measure on pension contributions among middle-income workers.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice.
Individuals earning below £30,000 making pension contributions through salary sacrifice are overwhelmingly protected by a £2,000 cap, with few (c. 5%) making salary sacrifice contributions above this threshold.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an estimate of the number and demographic profile of savers impacted by the reduction in the annual cash ISA allowance; and whether she plans to introduce alternative saving and investment incentives.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
ISAs incentivise saving and investment by providing generous tax advantages to individual taxpayers. Individuals can save up to £20,000 into an ISA each year, and any savings income received within an ISA is tax free. In addition, due to the Personal Savings Allowance and the Starting Rate for Savings, in 2025-26 around 85 per cent of people with savings income will pay no tax on that income.
This policy will affect those aged under 65 from April 2027, but the overall Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) limit will remain at £20,000 for all savers when the annual Cash ISA limit is set at £12,000. Savers can still use stocks and shares ISAs beyond the £12,000 up to £20,000. It will not affect existing cash ISA savings.
A policy costing note for the package of measures was published alongside the Budget, including the changes to the ISA regime. Following a technical consultation, new ISA regulations will be laid, and a Tax Impact and Information Note will be published in the spring.
After around 800,000 savers aged 65 and above are carved-out, these changes will affect around 16% of Cash ISA subscribers, and around 12% of all ISA subscribers. This means around 1.3 million people are impacted by these changes.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of EU proposals for a €140 billion reparations loan backed by Russian state-owned assets; and whether she is considering a similar mechanism.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor is committed to exploring a reparations loan to enable the value of sanctioned Russian sovereign assets held in the UK to be directed to supporting Ukraine.
The government continues to work in partnership with international partners including the G7 and European Union to achieve this.
To date, the UK has provided £21.8bn in support for Ukraine. This includes the commitment to the provide £2.26bn as part of the $50bn Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Scheme for Ukraine, which utilised the extraordinary profits generated from immobilised Russian Sovereign Assets held in the EU.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the UK has raised for Ukraine through the use of proceeds from frozen Russian assets; and how this compares with contributions from the EU and G7 countries.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor is committed to exploring a reparations loan to enable the value of sanctioned Russian sovereign assets held in the UK to be directed to supporting Ukraine.
The government continues to work in partnership with international partners including the G7 and European Union to achieve this.
To date, the UK has provided £21.8bn in support for Ukraine. This includes the commitment to the provide £2.26bn as part of the $50bn Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Scheme for Ukraine, which utilised the extraordinary profits generated from immobilised Russian Sovereign Assets held in the EU.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with businesses on the potential impact of reductions in levels of relief through business rates relief schemes on those businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury has engaged with a range of stakeholders on business rates about an array of topics. The Transforming Business Rates: Interim Report brings together extensive feedback from a broad range of stakeholders and outlines the Government’s next steps to deliver a fairer business rates system that supports investment and is fit for the 21st century.
As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with rateable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026/27. This permanent tax cut will ensure they benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Financial Inclusion Strategy, published in November 2025, CP 1424, what steps she is taking to help ensure an equitable geographic distribution of the 350 new banking hubs; whether the rollout will prioritise areas that have recently experienced bank branch closures; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the new digital pass for identity verification will be accessible for people with limited digital (a) access and (b) literacy.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Earlier this month, I published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy setting out a range of interventions to improve financial inclusion and resilience for underserved groups across the UK. This included a key focus on addressing barriers around access to banking and digital inclusion.
Banking is changing, with many customers benefitting from the convenience and flexibility of managing their finances remotely. However, Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to championing sufficient access for customers. In addition to traditional bank branches, the financial services industry is committed to rolling out 350 banking hubs across the UK by the end of this Parliament. Over 240 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 190 are already open. Government is working closely with industry on this commitment.
The locations of banking hubs are independently determined by LINK, the industry coordinating body responsible for making access to cash assessments. LINK will carry out an assessment wherever a branch closure is announced or if they receive a community request.
LINK will recommend appropriate solutions where it considers that a community requires additional cash services. Some of the criteria that LINK considers are whether there is a bank branch remaining, population size, number of shops on the high street, distance to the nearest bank branch, public transport links and vulnerability of the population.
In September, the government set out plans for a new government-backed Digital ID scheme. This Digital ID will make it easier for people across the UK to use vital government services, but will also streamline verification processes across private sectors too, such as when opening a new bank account. As part of the government’s forthcoming consultation on the new Digital ID scheme, the government will look at how to make the scheme inclusive, such as by integrating assistive technologies for those with physical or cognitive disabilities, and ensuring that physical alternatives are available for those without smartphones.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reforms to (a) Agricultural Property Relief and (b) Business Property Relief on trends in the number of farm closures.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. 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. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.
The Government published a tax information and impact note on 21 July 2025 and this is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
The Government will invest more than £2.7 billion a year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27 until 2028-29. This includes the largest financial investment into nature-friendly farming ever.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of debt interest payments on the public finances.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor has asked the Office for Budget Responsibility to prepare an economic and fiscal forecast for publication on 26 November 2025, which will accompany the annual Budget.
We are spending over £100bn a year on debt interest - equivalent to £1 in every £10 the government spends. The government’s fiscal strategy put the public finances on a sustainable path while prioritising investment to support long-term economic growth. The fiscal rules provide a blueprint for getting debt on a downward path over the next five years, while borrowing to invest in our economy.
This is the responsible choice – to live within our means, reduce our levels of borrowing in the years ahead and support the Bank of England to get inflation down, so we can deliver on the priorities of working people and spend less on servicing debt.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of recent trends in the level of government borrowing.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor has asked the Office for Budget Responsibility to prepare an economic and fiscal forecast for publication on 26 November 2025, which will accompany the annual Budget.
We are spending over £100bn a year on debt interest - equivalent to £1 in every £10 the government spends. The government’s fiscal strategy put the public finances on a sustainable path while prioritising investment to support long-term economic growth. The fiscal rules provide a blueprint for getting debt on a downward path over the next five years, while borrowing to invest in our economy.
This is the responsible choice – to live within our means, reduce our levels of borrowing in the years ahead and support the Bank of England to get inflation down, so we can deliver on the priorities of working people and spend less on servicing debt.