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 adequacy of average savings held by (a) low-income households and (b) pensioners for meeting emergency or unforeseen costs.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to incentivising saving and investment, helping people to save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience. Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) support people of all incomes and at all stages of life to save. The Help to Save scheme also supports low-income working households to start a long-term savings habit.
As part of its forthcoming Financial Inclusion Strategy, the Government is considering how households, including those on low incomes, can increase their financial resilience; and how people of all ages across the UK can build emergency savings buffers. In addition to savings, the Financial Inclusion Committee has discussed digital inclusion and access to banking services; access to credit; access to insurance; problem debt; and financial education and capability.
The development of the Financial Inclusion Strategy is being informed by a committee of industry and consumer representatives which I chair. Summaries of the Committee meetings are available on GOV.UK. The Strategy will be published later this year.
No assessment has been made of the adequacy of average savings.
The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to exempt film studios from the business rates surcharge for hereditaments with a rateable value over £500,000.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced an intention to introduce a higher business rates multiplier on the most valuable properties – those with Rateable Values (RVs) of £500,000 and above – from April 2026 to fund permanently lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties.
This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties with an RV of £500,000 and above – these represent less than one per cent of properties. The final details of the new higher multiplier will be set at Budget 2025.
Eligible film studios in England benefit from 40 per cent business rates relief. Business rates bills are calculated by applying the relevant multiplier first, meaning film studios receive 40 per cent relief on their total liability.
Asked by: Kirsteen Sullivan (Labour (Co-op) - Bathgate and Linlithgow)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of applying VAT to deposits in the Deposit Return Scheme on (a) return rates and (b) levels of (i) litter and (ii) recycling.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains committed to successful implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme, which is a critical step in moving towards a circular economy that delivers sustainable growth and produces less waste, rubbish, and litter.
The Government is keen to ensure that VAT is not a barrier to effective operation of the Deposit Return Scheme. The Government is considering how best to achieve this while maintaining the integrity of the tax, and this work is being supported by engagement with industry representatives, including the British Soft Drinks Association.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish an economic impact assessment on the potential impact of the National Insurance exemption for Indian nationals posted temporarily to the UK under the UK–India Free Trade Agreement on (a) wages, (b) employment opportunities and (c) recruitment practices in the UK information technology sector.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The OBR will certify the impact of the trade deal including the Double Contributions Convention in the usual way at a fiscal event, once the deal is finalised and ratified. The agreement to negotiate a Double Contributions Convention was made in the context of the wider deal, which will bring billions into the economy.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of food price and energy inflation on (a) low-income households, (b) pensioners and (c) disabled people.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
We know increased costs in essential areas are worrying and cause hardship for many families with children. That is why the Government is taking a comprehensive approach—supporting those in immediate need while addressing the structural changes necessary to fix the country's foundations.
Food, energy and credit costs are a function of a variety of factors including international agricultural commodity prices, the exchange rate, wholesale energy prices, and interest rates. The best way to help with the cost of living is by reducing overall inflation. The Bank of England has the responsibility of controlling inflation, and the Government fully supports them as they take action to sustainably return inflation to 2%. The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has cut Bank Rate four times since August. The effective interest rate – the actual interest paid by a borrower - on new a 2-year fixed rate mortgage has fallen 46 basis points since the election (May 2025 vs June 2024).
The government is committed to helping those in need due to the rising cost of living. An uplift to the Universal Credit Standard Allowance will see it rise to 5% above inflation by 2029-30. The government is also investing £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact) in a multi-year settlement for crisis support, which includes funding for councils to support some of the poorest households so that their children do not go hungry outside of term time. From the start of the 2026 school year, the government will expand Free School Meals to all pupils with a parent receiving Universal Credit. This will put £500 back into parents’ pockets every year.
The most recent Ofgem energy price cap, in place until September is 7% lower than the previous cap, reducing annual energy bills for a typical home by £129. Additionally, the Warm Home Discount is being expanded to every billpayer on means-tested benefits, meaning 2.7 million extra households will receive £150 off their energy bills next winter, helping reduce energy costs for around 6 million households.
From this winter (2025-26), pensioners with incomes up to and including £35,000 will benefit a Winter Fuel Payment. This will mean that the vast majority — over three quarters, or 9 million pensioners in England and Wakes — will benefit. This change ensures that the means-testing of winter fuel payments has no effect on pensioner poverty.
The government’s top priority is to deliver strong, sustainable growth that raises living standards across the UK. A growing economy plays a key role in providing greater financial security for households and helping to make food, energy and credit more affordable.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to reduce the burden of (a) food costs, (b) energy bills and (c) credit costs on households.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
We know increased costs in essential areas are worrying and cause hardship for many families with children. That is why the Government is taking a comprehensive approach—supporting those in immediate need while addressing the structural changes necessary to fix the country's foundations.
Food, energy and credit costs are a function of a variety of factors including international agricultural commodity prices, the exchange rate, wholesale energy prices, and interest rates. The best way to help with the cost of living is by reducing overall inflation. The Bank of England has the responsibility of controlling inflation, and the Government fully supports them as they take action to sustainably return inflation to 2%. The independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has cut Bank Rate four times since August. The effective interest rate – the actual interest paid by a borrower - on new a 2-year fixed rate mortgage has fallen 46 basis points since the election (May 2025 vs June 2024).
The government is committed to helping those in need due to the rising cost of living. An uplift to the Universal Credit Standard Allowance will see it rise to 5% above inflation by 2029-30. The government is also investing £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact) in a multi-year settlement for crisis support, which includes funding for councils to support some of the poorest households so that their children do not go hungry outside of term time. From the start of the 2026 school year, the government will expand Free School Meals to all pupils with a parent receiving Universal Credit. This will put £500 back into parents’ pockets every year.
The most recent Ofgem energy price cap, in place until September is 7% lower than the previous cap, reducing annual energy bills for a typical home by £129. Additionally, the Warm Home Discount is being expanded to every billpayer on means-tested benefits, meaning 2.7 million extra households will receive £150 off their energy bills next winter, helping reduce energy costs for around 6 million households.
From this winter (2025-26), pensioners with incomes up to and including £35,000 will benefit a Winter Fuel Payment. This will mean that the vast majority — over three quarters, or 9 million pensioners in England and Wakes — will benefit. This change ensures that the means-testing of winter fuel payments has no effect on pensioner poverty.
The government’s top priority is to deliver strong, sustainable growth that raises living standards across the UK. A growing economy plays a key role in providing greater financial security for households and helping to make food, energy and credit more affordable.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 63032 on National Security: Expenditure, if she will publish the NATO reporting guidelines.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
NATO has a common definition of defence expenditure that is agreed by all NATO allies.
The definition of NATO defence expenditure, and the recently announced defence and security related spending, can be found on the NATO website.
NATO - Topic: Defence expenditures and NATO’s 5% commitment
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Ireland have used the Trader Support Service; and what proportion of the service’s costs have supported those businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Trader Support Service (TSS) is available to businesses of all sizes to support them with moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is not possible to specify the numbers of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) that use the TSS, and therefore not possible to disaggregate the costs of provision of support to those SMEs from the overall support the TSS provides to business.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will instruct the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate pricing in the insurance market.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Insurers make commercial decisions about the price and terms of cover they offer based on their assessment of the relevant risks.
However, the Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value (i.e. if the price a consumer pays for a product or service is reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive).
The FCA monitors firms to ensure they provide products that offer fair value and has robust powers to act against firms that fail to comply with its rules.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the fiscal impact of introducing a wealth tax.
Answered by James Murray - 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.