Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to ensure that the increase in employer National Insurance contributions does not result in job losses among lower paid women with caregiving responsibilities.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook expects that the Employer National Insurance contributions package will lead to a reduction in the participation rate of 0.1 per cent from 2025-26 onwards. Overall, once the impact of all budget measures are taken into consideration, the OBR expect the employment level to increase from 33.1 million in 2024 to 34.3 million in 2029.
Employers have a choice about how they respond to the NICs increase. The Government recognises that employers may respond by increasing employees’ wages more slowly than they would have otherwise, alongside absorbing pressures through prices, efficiencies or lower profits.
The Government is protecting the lowest paid by increasing the National Living Wage. This limits the ability of employers to pass on increases in costs to those on lower pay. The Government has also introduced important protections for workers as part of the Plan to Make Work Pay.
The Government is partnering with business to maximise women’s contribution to the economy. In line with the ambition of the Invest in Women Taskforce to expand access to funding for female entrepreneurs, the British Business Bank is investing £50 million in women-led funds. HMT’s Women in Finance Charter is supporting financial services firms to make the most of their female talent.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of introducing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to the steel industry for the purposes of decarbonisation through a tariff on carbon intensive products.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The government has recently consulted on potential future measures to mitigate carbon leakage risks, including the potential for a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The consultation received more than 160 responses from the UK and overseas, including responses from a range of industry sectors and from civil society. The government is considering the evidence to inform policy decisions and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to extend the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to drinks that are not currently covered by the levy, such as milk drinks and fruit juices.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) exemption for milk-based and certain milk substitute drinks will next be considered after the Office for Health Inequalities and Disparities completes its voluntary sugar reduction reporting programme. We will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will decide whether to introduce a carbon border adjustment mechanism.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Government has recently consulted on potential future measures to mitigate carbon leakage risks, including the potential for a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The consultation closed on 22 June 2023, and the Government is seeking a wide range of stakeholder views before taking any decisions. The Government will respond to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether not implementing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in the UK will pose any risk to the steel industry's ability to export.
Answered by Baroness Penn
Carbon leakage risk is currently managed by at-risk sectors, including steel, receiving a proportion of carbon allowances free of charge (free allocation) in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. The UK ETS Authority has committed to maintain current levels of free allocation for industrial sectors until 2026. There is a further consultation at the end of 2023 to better target the remaining free allocations toward sectors considered to be at risk of carbon leakage, due to be implemented in 2026.
The government has recently consulted on potential future measures to mitigate carbon leakage risks, including the potential for a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The consultation closed on 22 June 2023, and the government is considering a wide range of stakeholder responses before taking any decisions. The government will respond to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether not implementing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism could leave the UK open to high-emission steel dominating the UK market and having a detrimental effect on the UK steel industry.
Answered by Baroness Penn
Carbon leakage risk is currently managed by at-risk sectors, including steel, receiving a proportion of carbon allowances free of charge (free allocation) in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. The UK ETS Authority has committed to maintain current levels of free allocation for industrial sectors until 2026. There is a further consultation at the end of 2023 to better target the remaining free allocations toward sectors considered to be at risk of carbon leakage, due to be implemented in 2026.
The government has recently consulted on potential future measures to mitigate carbon leakage risks, including the potential for a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The consultation closed on 22 June 2023, and the government is considering a wide range of stakeholder responses before taking any decisions. The government will respond to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on (1) small businesses, and (2) innovation and growth, if the current Research and Development (R&D) tax relief scheme, including the available rebate of R&D costs, is withdrawn.
Answered by Baroness Penn
As part of the ongoing Research and Development (R&D) tax reliefs review, the Government announced at Autumn Statement 2022 that we are reforming the R&D tax reliefs to ensure taxpayer’s money is spent as effectively as possible, whilst leaving the level of R&D related business investment in the economy unchanged.
The permanent increase from 13 per cent to 20 per cent for the R&D Expenditure Credit rate announced at Autumn Statement 2022 also means the UK now has the joint highest uncapped headline rate of tax relief in the G7 for large companies.
The Government recognises the value of R&D intensive SMEs to the UK’s wider innovation ecosystem, and at Autumn Statement 2022 committed to working with industry ahead of Budget to understand whether further support is necessary for R&D intensive SMEs. Following this, the Chancellor has announced further support targeted at those R&D intensive companies most affected by the previous changes.
The Government will introduce an higher rate of tax relief for R&D intensive SMEs. Loss-making companies claiming the existing SME tax relief will be eligible for a higher payable credit rate of 14.5 per cent if they meet the definition for R&D intensity, instead of the 10 per cent credit rate for non-intensive companies.
Alongside this, from April the Government will extend the scope of qualifying expenditures the reliefs to include data and cloud computing costs.
Asked by: Baroness Redfern (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy is being used to fund oral health improvement programmes.
Answered by Lord Bates
The 2016 Budget announced funding for a number of programmes to support pupil health and wellbeing linked to the revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. These include doubling funding for the primary physical education and Sport Premium to £320 million a year from 2017, providing £100 million in 2018/19 for the healthy pupils capital fund, and providing up to £26 million to kick-start or improve breakfast club provision in over 1,700 schools.
Separately, Public Health England is leading a wide ranging multi-agency programme focusing on improving children’s oral health. NHS England’s ‘Starting Well’ programme is working in 13 high needs areas aiming to improve oral health in children under five years old who would not normally be regular dental attenders.