Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the most recent figures for the volume of trade between Holyhead and the Republic of Ireland; and how these compare with corresponding figures in 2015.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The volume of trade between Holyhead and the Republic of Ireland from 2021 to 2024 is as follows:
Table1: Republic of Ireland trade with Holyhead port, imports and exports trade value and net mass (2021-2024)
Exports to Ireland | Imports from Ireland | ||||
Statistical Value (£) | Net Mass (kg) | Statistical Value (£) | Net Mass (kg) | ||
Holyhead | |||||
2021(1) | 5,914,018,273 | 742,755,135 | - | - | |
2022 | 8,710,696,860 | 836,776,181 | 6,219,013,646 | 675,794,695 | |
2023 | 9,197,743,475 | 943,345,494 | 7,685,784,587 | 811,262,695 | |
2024(2) | 1,983,688,480 | 247,346,818 | 2,094,184,476 | 262,110,514 | |
25,806,147,088 | 2,770,223,628 | 15,998,982,709 | 1,749,167,904 | ||
Data Source: HMRC, Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics | |||||
(1) HMRC does not have data for 2021 imports as Staged Customs Controls (SCC) allowed an extended period for traders to complete their declarations. During this period HMRC continued to source intra-EU data from Intrastat declarations. (2) 2024 only contains data relating to January, February, and March. | |||||
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not have port data prior to 2021 as the UK was part of the European Union and customs declarations were not required for these movements. Trade data for intra-EU movements was collected via monthly Intrastat declarations which did not collect information on ports.
Also, HMRC does not have data for 2021 imports as Staged Customs Controls (SCC) allowed an extended period for traders to complete their declarations. During this period HMRC continued to source intra-EU data from Intrastat declarations.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to align the UK's carbon border tax with the EU's mechanism to ensure that the UK steel industry is not adversely affected by the delayed implementation.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
A Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a novel mechanism yet to be fully implemented anywhere in the world.
Implementation of the UK CBAM by 2027 will allow government to consult fully with those affected throughout the design and implementation phases. It will also give those affected in the UK and overseas more time to prepare for the changes and put appropriate processes in place with their supply chains to enable them to comply.
The effective EU CBAM charge will be introduced gradually from 2026 to 2034 to match their phase out of free allowances for sectors covered by the CBAM, including iron & steel. In 2026, only a relatively small amount of the emissions embodied in CBAM goods will face the EU CBAM charge when they are imported to the EU.
Asked by: Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether their commitment to spend 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product on defence by 2030 has been incorporated into the Treasury’s baseline budgets.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Prime Minister recently set out our pledge: to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2030. That increase starts immediately, rising each year, and will see defence spending rise to £87 billion a year by 2030/31. This is the biggest strengthening of our defence since the Cold War.
The commitment will be fully funded, with no increases in borrowing or debt.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) address, and (2) mitigate, the ongoing increased cost-of-living.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Over the last two years, the government has provided support to households to help with the cost of living worth over £90 billion.
This year, this government has raised working age benefits by 6.7%, supporting 5.5 million households on Universal Credit, with an average gain of £470 this year. The government has also frozen fuel duty and raised the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rates.
The government believes that the best way of boosting living standards is by supporting people into work. The government has introduced other policies that will support over 200,000 additional people into work by 2028/29, according to the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. The government has also raised the National Living Wage (NLW) by 9.8%, ending low hourly pay for those on the NLW.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much money (1) was raised by the apprenticeships levy, and (2) was passed onto the devolved nations from levy receipts, in each financial year since 2017–18.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Monthly receipts data for the Apprenticeship Levy is published by HM Revenue and Customs in their Tax and NIC Receipts publication which can be found online[1] at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk
While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. From FY2017-18 to FY2019-20, the devolved administrations received a population share of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s apprenticeship Levy forecast. Beyond 2019-20, the devolved administrations received funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending. The Block Grant Transparency publication which is available on GOV.UK sets out all Barnett consequentials generated at both departmental and programme level. It is for the devolved administrations to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.
[1] HM Revenue & Customs (2024), HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the negative impacts that the removal of tax-free shopping from the UK has had and will have for retail businesses across all sectors.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
As set out at Spring Budget 2024, the government is considering the findings of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s review of the original costing of the withdrawal of tax-free shopping, published in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook on 6 March, alongside industry representations and broader data.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much each Government department has under-spent against their (1) capital, and (2) current expenditure, budgets.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Resource and Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) are published in Supplementary Estimates towards the end of each financial year. Treasury then publishes final outturn figures for Resource and Capital DEL usually in July.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to establishing a sovereign wealth fund, funded by surpluses generated from the commercial value of the use of NHS data sets, calculated at £5 billion per annum.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government recognises the potential value that NHS data sets can generate and is committed to ensuring that the NHS realises a fair share of any value arising from data partnerships. To this end, the NHS's Value Sharing Framework outlines guiding principles to support this objective.
However, the Government has no plans to create a sovereign wealth fund predicated on the sale of access to NHS data. Rather, we continue to carefully explore the most effective ways to derive value from the use of health data for research purposes. This exploration is conducted with a focus on ensuring fair value for the NHS and upholding public trust.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the fluctuations in mortgage rates, what steps they are taking to ensure guidance and support is available to help homebuyers when deciding their mortgage options.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Those looking to take out a mortgage or remortgage are encouraged to shop around and speak to a broker to find the best possible product for them. Homeowners and prospective homeowners may also find it helpful to contact MoneyHelper, which has been set up by the Government to support consumers with comprehensive guidance for every stage of their financial lives.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help ensure that parents who are eligible for tax free childcare in Northern Ireland access that support.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Tax-Free Childcare provides financial support across the UK to eligible working parents with their childcare costs. For every £8 parents pay into their childcare account, the Government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 in top up per year for each child up to age 11, and up to £4,000 per disabled child up to the age of 16.
To further support parents and childcare providers, a series of engagement events took place from autumn 2022 to autumn 2023, including with Northern Ireland local councils. This gave families and childcare providers additional support at local levels to improve their understanding and promote the scheme.
The Childcare Choices website provides information on what’s available to help parents with their childcare costs, including what schemes are available in the devolved Nations.