Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s speech to the Confederation of British Industry Conference on 25 November 2024, whether it remains their policy that there will be no further tax rises or borrowing, beyond those in the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As the Chancellor has said, the commitment to our fiscal rules is non-negotiable, and we will meet them at all times.
The Chancellor has asked the OBR to produce an economic and fiscal forecast on the 26 March. This will provide a clear assessment of our performance against the fiscal rules. We will not give a running commentary on economic developments.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Exchequer Secretary on 30 January (HC26469), whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the representations they received from TheCityUK on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government does not intend to place a copy of the representations in the House of Commons library as these are considered confidential and disclosure may prejudice the exchange of information in the policy development process.Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 27 November 2024 (HC14946), which specific department and programme reductions to Government Communication Service spending expect to save £85 million.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the noble Lady to the answer provided to Question HC25685 on 30 January 2025:
PQ25685: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2025, to Question 20957 on Government departments: communication and public consultation, if she will list the (a) Department, (b) theme and (c) estimated saving of each of the campaigns (i) that were cancelled, (ii) continuing with reduced budgets and (iii) aiming to reduce their expenditure by 25%.
Minister Gould’s answer: There are currently no plans to publish this list in detail. The comprehensive communications Spending Review identified 39 campaigns that were cancelled, 46 campaigns continuing with reduced budgets and 46 campaigns aiming to reduce their expenditure by 25%. The combined savings from these measures total £85 million in 2024-25 and up to £96 million in 2025-26.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the rise in the yields on 30-year gilts to 5.38 per cent on whether they will be able to meet their fiscal rules in future.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Gilt yields are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the yields of gilts to fluctuate when there are wider movements in the global financial markets.
The Chancellor has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility for an updated economic and fiscal forecast for the 26th of March, which will incorporate the latest data.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the rise in the yields on 30-year gilts to 5.38 per cent on future changes to taxation and public expenditure.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Gilt yields are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the yields of gilts to fluctuate when there are wider movements in the global financial markets.
The Chancellor has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility for an updated economic and fiscal forecast for the 26th of March, which will incorporate the latest data.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the rise in the yields on 30-year gilts to 5.38 per cent, their highest point since 1998, and of the effect of this on sterling.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Gilt yields and the value of sterling are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the price of sterling and the yields of gilts to fluctuate when there are wider movements in the global financial markets.
The Chancellor has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility for an updated economic and fiscal forecast for the 26th of March, which will incorporate the latest data.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether and how they expect the plans for NHS reform announced by the Prime Minister on 6 January to improve per capita productivity in the health sector; and from which local examples of good practice these plans draw.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has now published its plan, Reforming elective care for patients, to tackle the National Health Service waiting lists. This plan sets out the reform and productivity efforts needed to ensure that patients are seen on time and have the best possible experience during their care, so that we can return to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral. A copy of the plan is attached.
It prioritises reforms that help deliver a system which is not just better for patients but also more productive in every pound spent, for example, through cutting down on missed or unnecessary appointments.
The plan focusses on learning from best practice already in the system and includes a number of case studies that display examples of where trusts have made services more productive to improve the outcomes and experiences of their patients, for example, South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre’s use of surgical hubs or the use of primary and secondary care interface working at Berkshire West.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the total cost of the Department for Work and Pensions' pension credit advertising campaigns since 5 July.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Paid marketing activity to promote Pension Credit across Great Britain began on 16 September and has included TV and video on demand; radio; national and regional press; paid social media and website adverts; GP and Post Office screens; train panels; digital street displays; podcasts; and a partnership with ITV regional weather. The most recent phase of the activity is aimed at friends and family who can encourage and support older relatives and friends to apply.
Since 5 July, the total spent on the Pension Credit campaign is £3.3m.
This activity is alongside our continuing work with key stakeholders such as voluntary organisations, energy companies, pension providers, the Money and Pensions Service, other UK Government departments, the Devolved Governments, local councils, housing associations, community groups, local libraries, and influencers.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 17 September (HC4696), which efficiency savings for the financial years 2024–25 and 2025–26 announced before the 2024 general election have been discontinued since that time, and what was the previously estimated value of each such saving.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Departments are responsible for managing their budgets and delivering efficiency savings, both those in plans from the previous government, and those announced by the new government. Departments are not currently mandated to publish their efficiency savings.
The previous government did not publish a line by line breakdown of specific efficiency savings for 24-25 or 25-26.
The government has secured £5.5 billion of savings in 2024-25 rising to £8.1 billion in 2025-26. That means it has already managed down the £21.9 billion spending pressure to £16.4 billion.
At the recent Spending Review for 2025-26 the government set a 2% target for efficiency, productivity and savings for all departments. The Government will set out its further plans on efficiencies in the multi-year Spending Review that will conclude Spring 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the proposed eight consolidated Local Government Pension Scheme megafunds, announced in the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech, will be able to invest overseas; and what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposals on UK infrastructure.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
On 14 November, we published a consultation on proposals to strengthen Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) pooling arrangements, including by mandating pooling of all LGPS assets and minimum standards for LGPS asset pools, in line with international best practice. The consultation does not include proposals to consolidate or merge LGPS funds. LGPS administering authorities would remain responsible for setting a high-level investment strategy, with the implementation of that strategy delegated to their asset pool.
The government believes that completing the consolidation of LGPS assets will enable delivery of the full benefits of scale and support UK growth, including through greater capacity and expertise to invest in alternative asset classes such as UK infrastructure. LGPS members’ pensions and benefits are not affected by the proposals as they are protected and guaranteed in statute and are not affected by the performance of investments.