Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what benchmarks they have established for monitoring progress on Palestinian Authority curriculum reform in light of President Abbas’ letter to President Macron and the UK–Palestinian Authority Memorandum of Understanding; and what assessment they have made of the implications for UK–Palestinian Authority cooperation should the Palestinian Authority fail to deliver the curriculum reforms it has committed to.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer I provided on 27 November to Question HL11630.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the barriers would be to local authorities (1) taking contribution holidays while their pension schemes are in significant surplus, and (2) using the money that would otherwise have paid employer pension contributions to fund local services.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Contribution rates for employers in the Local Government Pension Scheme are set every three years as part of a valuation process, where Pension Funds will work with actuaries and employers – including local authorities – to determine a rate which is sustainable for employers and will allow the Fund to pay out pensions in the future.
The 2025 valuation is underway, which will set contribution rates for the three years from 2026-27. Pension contributions are paid for from local authorities’ general fund and there is no ring-fenced funding stream. This means any reduction in contributions may allow for greater budget flexibility to provide local services.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact of specifically levying (1) 10 per cent or (2) 20 per cent on unused pensions at death, instead of requiring the pension fund to be administered as part of the person's estate for inheritance tax purposes.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Most unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will form part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027. This removes distortions from changes that have been made to pensions tax policy over the last decade, which have led to pensions being openly used and marketed as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth, rather than as a way to fund retirement. These reforms also remove inconsistencies in the inheritance tax treatment of different types of pensions.
A flat rate tax charge would be a very different policy with very different impacts. Fewer than 10% of estates annually are forecast to have an inheritance tax liability in the coming years. A flat rate tax charge on pensions would impact a different, and large, population of individuals below the current inheritance tax thresholds. This approach would not be equitable as it would require the majority of estates to pay more so that a small share of estates could pay less.
If the flat rate is set at a lower rate than the current rate of inheritance tax, this would lead to unused pension funds being taxed more lightly than other assets subject to inheritance tax at a rate of 40%. This would likely mean that pensions would continue to be used as a tax planning vehicle for the wealthiest individuals.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of (1) defined contribution, and (2) defined benefit, pension schemes that use salary sacrifice for auto-enrolled workers.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Whilst the government does not currently hold these figures, 39% of employers offer salary sacrifice and 35% of employees use it. We would expect that the vast majority of pension schemes using salary sacrifice include workers covered by pensions automatic enrolment. Automatic enrolment applies to workers aged between 22 and the State Pension age and earning at least £10,000 a year. The latest figures indicate that the majority (94%) of employees using salary sacrifice are eligible for auto-enrolment.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many disabled people over 18 years old are not able to access their Child Trust Funds because their parents or guardian have not applied to the Court of Protection to access the funds on their behalf.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is not possible to provide the information requested as this data is not held by the Ministry of Justice. This is because a lack of mental capacity cannot be inferred simply from a person’s disability or condition. Capacity is decision-specific and timebound.
Many disabled young adults are able to manage their own finances, including accessing their matured Child Trust Fund (CTF), with appropriate support where needed. An application to the Court of Protection to access a CTF is only required where the account holder lacks mental capacity to make decisions about their property and affairs and does not have an existing court order or court appointed deputy in place. A deputy may be appointed to manage a range of assets, including any CTF, or the court can make a one-off order for CTF access.
The Government recognises that the transition to adulthood can be a challenging time for young disabled people and their families. To support them, guidance has been published on GOV.UK in the form of a toolkit, “Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity”, which raises awareness on the arrangements that they need to have in place.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make changes to tax and National insurance reliefs for salary sacrifice pension arrangements; and if so, what estimate they have made of the cost to employers, in particular in regard to the cost of changing payroll processes and renegotiating employment contracts.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process. The Chancellor will announce any changes to the tax system at fiscal events in the usual way.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 6 November (HL11291), what were the annual costs of the tax exemption of income receipts and capital gains in pension funds in the past three years.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Estimates of Income Tax relief on pension contributions can be found in Table 6 of the Private Pension Statistics publication. [1]
Table 6 summary: Estimated cost of pension Income Tax and National Insurance contribution (NIC) relief (£million) | |||
| 2021 to 2022 tax year [revised] | 2022 to 2023 tax year [revised] | 2023 to 2024 tax year [provisional] |
Total pension Income Tax relief | 45,300 | 47,800 | 54,200 |
- of which on Net Pay Arrangement contributions by employees | 5,100 | 5,500 | 6,200 |
- of which on Net Pay Arrangement contributions by employers | 16,100 | 17,400 | 20,800 |
- of which on Relief at Source scheme contributions by employees | 3,600 | 3,900 | 4,400 |
- of which on Relief at Source scheme contributions by self-employed individuals | 800 | 800 | 1,000 |
- of which on Relief at Source scheme contributions by employers | 5,900 | 6,700 | 8,100 |
- of which on Salary Sacrificed contributions by employees | 5,100 | 6,000 | 7,200 |
- of which on Deficit Reduction Contributions by employers | 4,300 | 3,100 | 2,100 |
Figures are in £ million and rounded to the nearest £100 million.
The column totals may not equal the sum of the individual components due to rounding.
HMRC does not hold data on the cost of the tax exemption of capital gains in pension funds.
[1] This publication can be access via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-and-stakeholder-pensions-statistics
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of adults (1) 70–74 years old, (2) 75–79 years old, (3) 80–84 years old, (4) over 85 years old, and (5) under 70 years old, have a smartphone.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We know that digital exclusion is a complex issue and the evidence base is significant but fragmented. Ofcom data from 2025 reports that 95% of 16 – 74 year olds, 78% of those aged 65+ and 65% of those aged 75+ have a smartphone in their household and personal use one.
In February, we published our Digital Inclusion Action Plan – First Steps which sets out the immediate actions we are taking on digital inclusion. One of these actions was to develop robust headline indicators to monitor progress and inform future digital inclusion interventions. We will evaluate the outcomes of these actions in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have carried out to quantify the loss of inherited benefits from pension schemes, in terms of reduced pension income and lower life insurance support, as a result of the imposition of inheritance tax on pensions at death.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Most unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will form part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027. This removes distortions resulting from changes that have been made to pensions tax policy over the last decade, which have led to pensions being openly used and marketed as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth, rather than as a way to fund retirement.
Estates will continue to benefit from the normal nil-rate bands, reliefs, and exemptions available. For example, the nil-rate bands mean an estate can pass on up to £1 million with no inheritance tax liability and the general rules mean any transfers, including the payment of death benefits, to a spouse or civil partner are fully exempt from inheritance tax. More than 90 per cent of UK estates will continue to have no inheritance tax liability in 2029-30 following these changes and the reforms will only affect a minority of those with inheritable pension wealth. Around 213,000 estates are expected to have inheritable pension wealth in 2027-28, with only 10,500 estates becoming liable to pay inheritance tax as a result of these reforms, and around 38,500 paying more than would previously have been the case.
The Government is continuing to incentivise pensions for their intended purpose of funding retirement.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what latest estimate they have made of the cost per year of (1) tax relief, and (2) National Insurance relief, on new pension contributions unions.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Estimates of Income Tax relief on pension contributions can be found online in Table 6 of the Private Pension Statistics publication. [1] Estimates of the cost per year of Income Tax and National Insurance contribution relief, broken down by type of pension, can be found in Tables 6.1 and 6.2 of the publication respectively.
Table 6 summary: Estimated cost of pension Income Tax and National Insurance contribution (NIC) relief | |
Estimated cost of pension Income Tax and NICs relief | 2023 to 2024 tax year [provisional] |
Total pension Income Tax relief | 54,200 |
- of which contributed to a defined benefit scheme | 24,100 |
- of which contributed to a defined contribution scheme | 30,000 |
Total pension National Insurance Contributions (NICs) relief | 24,000 |
- of which contributed to a defined benefit scheme | 11,800 |
- of which contributed to a defined contribution scheme | 12,100 |
Total pension Income Tax and NICs relief (gross of tax charges) | 78,200 |
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-and-stakeholder-pensions-statistics