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 trends in the level of public expenditure as a share of national output.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government's fiscal strategy is putting the public finances on a sustainable path while prioritising investment to protect the NHS and support long-term growth. We are relentlessly cutting waste, improving efficiency to make sure every penny of taxpayers' money is spent wisely, and reforming public services to make sure they are sustainable.
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 merits of reducing public expenditure.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government's fiscal strategy is putting the public finances on a sustainable path while prioritising investment to protect the NHS and support long-term growth. We are relentlessly cutting waste, improving efficiency to make sure every penny of taxpayers' money is spent wisely, and reforming public services to make sure they are sustainable.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Written Ministerial Statement of 5 November 2025 on Financial Inclusion Strategy, HCWS1019, what steps she is taking to ensure the effective delivery of the commitments in the Strategy; what mechanisms she will put in place to (a) monitor and (b) publish progress against its objectives; and what funding has been allocated to support implementation partners over the next two years.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Earlier this month, I published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy setting out an ambitious programme of measures to improve financial inclusion and resilience for underserved groups across the UK. This includes interventions for both Government and industry to address a range of barriers individuals and households face in accessing financial products, including making it easier to open a bank account without standard ID, build a savings habit and access affordable credit.
The Government recognises that action to improve financial inclusion requires a joined-up approach and will be working closely with industry and the regulator going forward to deliver on these interventions and make the strategy a reality.
As part of developing the strategy, the Government has engaged with Financial Inclusion Committee members and other organisations on how to measure its impact. The Strategy’s implementation will be reviewed in two years’ time to provide an update on interventions and relevant outcomes-based metrics, which will reflect on the progress made across the sector.
The Government has committed funding to support delivery of the strategy. This includes committing a further £132.5 million of dormant assets funding to Fair4All Finance for work that improves access to financial products and develops individuals’ ability to manage their finances in England, and over £100 million per year to the Money and Pensions Service to fund debt advice.
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 her policies on levels of inflation.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not produce forecasts for the UK economy. Forecasting the economy, including the impact of Government policy decisions, is the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which published its latest forecast on 26 March 2025. The Chancellor has asked departments to prioritise reducing inflation when developing policies for the Autumn Budget, ensuring decisions support stability and long-term growth.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking to help (a) reduce inflation and (b) increase average annual earnings in the West Midlands.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government have been clear that inflation has been too slow to come down, and the priority it is placing on tackling the cost of living, as part of its mission to grow living standards.
The Bank of England has the responsibility for controlling inflation through monetary policy. The Government fully supports them as they take action to return inflation sustainably to 2%. Maintaining stable public finances and reducing borrowing over time will help to ease pressure on prices. Economic growth will help to increase earnings across the UK, including in the West Midlands.
The government’s fiscal strategy is to put the public finances on a sustainable path while prioritising investment to support long-term growth and meeting the fiscal rules.
The Chancellor has also asked departments to look at what action on inflation can be taken when developing policies for the Autumn Budget, while ensuring decisions support stability and long-term growth.
The Government has committed to £160m of funding over 10 years for the West Midlands Investment Zone, which local partners expect to generate £3.5bn in private sector investment, deliver 30,000 jobs and support higher earnings in the area.
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 (a) average annual earnings and (b) prices on household disposable income in 2024-25.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Real Household Disposable Income (RHDI) per capita is a measure of UK living standards, representing the total disposable income per person in the UK, net of taxes and inflation. RHDI per capita grew by 3.1% over 2024. This is the largest calendar year increase since 2015.
Average whole economy total pay growth in 2024 was 5.3%. Inflation, as measured by CPI, fell to 2.5% in 2024, which supported RHDI growth in 2024.
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. Forecasts, including for real household disposable income, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). These forecasts are published by the OBR as part of its Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). In the March 2025 EFO, the OBR forecasted that RHDI per capita would grow by 1.7% in 2025, supported by strong annual earnings growth outweighing the impact from prices.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to provide additional funding for the Warm Homes Plan.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At the Spending Review in June, this Government committed £13.2 billion to the Warm Homes Plan to cut bills, tackle fuel poverty and accelerate our trajectory towards net zero.
Further details on the Warm Homes Plan, including how funding will be allocated to different schemes is expected to be published within the coming months.
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 his policies on global debt of the publication entitled The Jubilee Report: A Blueprint for Tackling the Debt and Development Crises and Creating the Financial Foundations for a Sustainable People-Centered Global Economy, published on 20 June 2025.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Tackling unsustainable debt is one of the UK government’s international development priorities and we are committed to an international financial system that supports development needs and helps countries address their debt vulnerabilities, aligned with the aim of the recommendations of The Jubilee Report.
The UK supports tailored debt solutions within a consistent international mechanisms, such as the G20 Common Framework, and actively advocates for responsible lending and borrowing practices, as well as enhanced debt transparency from both creditors and borrowers. We agree that the Common Framework could be improved to deliver smoother and more timely solutions. We are advancing these priorities through initiatives like the London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt, the G20, and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable.
Where necessary, we have backed early and comprehensive debt reprofiling, provided such measures credibly restore sustainability. We also agree that prioritising growth in borrower countries is essential for achieving long-term debt sustainability, and our focus remains on solutions that prevent defaults before they arise.
We have implemented contractual innovations, such as climate-resilient debt clauses (CRDCs) for which we were the first creditor to do so, to help borrowers manage liquidity pressures following shocks, and are working with the private sector to expand their adoption. We are also pushing for the integration of climate risks into debt sustainability analyses and are pressing this agenda with the IMF and World Bank.
The UK remains a strong advocate for comparability of treatment in debt restructurings. At present, we do not see a case for further legislation, as there is little evidence of private sector holdouts in negotiations, although we keep this under review.
We recognise that in many low-income countries high debt servicing costs are crowding out spending on public health. To support low-income and emerging market countries with short-term liquidity challenges we support the IMF and World Bank’s Three Pillar Approach, which combines structural reforms, domestic resource mobilisation and external financial support to reduce debt burdens. We are pushing for the Three Pillar Approach to be rolled out swiftly, including for the IMF and World to actively engage early with affected countries to ensure they are informed of what support is available.
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 debt servicing costs on developing countries’ public health spending.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Tackling unsustainable debt is one of the UK government’s international development priorities and we are committed to an international financial system that supports development needs and helps countries address their debt vulnerabilities, aligned with the aim of the recommendations of The Jubilee Report.
The UK supports tailored debt solutions within a consistent international mechanisms, such as the G20 Common Framework, and actively advocates for responsible lending and borrowing practices, as well as enhanced debt transparency from both creditors and borrowers. We agree that the Common Framework could be improved to deliver smoother and more timely solutions. We are advancing these priorities through initiatives like the London Coalition on Sustainable Sovereign Debt, the G20, and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable.
Where necessary, we have backed early and comprehensive debt reprofiling, provided such measures credibly restore sustainability. We also agree that prioritising growth in borrower countries is essential for achieving long-term debt sustainability, and our focus remains on solutions that prevent defaults before they arise.
We have implemented contractual innovations, such as climate-resilient debt clauses (CRDCs) for which we were the first creditor to do so, to help borrowers manage liquidity pressures following shocks, and are working with the private sector to expand their adoption. We are also pushing for the integration of climate risks into debt sustainability analyses and are pressing this agenda with the IMF and World Bank.
The UK remains a strong advocate for comparability of treatment in debt restructurings. At present, we do not see a case for further legislation, as there is little evidence of private sector holdouts in negotiations, although we keep this under review.
We recognise that in many low-income countries high debt servicing costs are crowding out spending on public health. To support low-income and emerging market countries with short-term liquidity challenges we support the IMF and World Bank’s Three Pillar Approach, which combines structural reforms, domestic resource mobilisation and external financial support to reduce debt burdens. We are pushing for the Three Pillar Approach to be rolled out swiftly, including for the IMF and World to actively engage early with affected countries to ensure they are informed of what support is available.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what infrastructure projects the National Wealth Fund has (a) funded, (b) initiated and (c) delivered in the West Midlands since October 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The National Wealth Fund (NWF) has a strong regional mandate and proactively identifies investment opportunities across the UK to ensure the benefits of investment are felt nationwide.
In March 2025, the NWF’s local authority function provided a £9.6 million loan to Solihull Council to help deliver its innovative new town centre energy network.