Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the introduction of a right to guaranteed hours could reduce access to flexible employment opportunities for young people who are not in education, employment or training.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

With over one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy.

This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn, including through expanded network of Youth Hubs, earlier intensive support in Jobs Centres through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, additional work experience and training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant and £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers, and a fully funded six month job for long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds.

We also recognise the crisis of participation that Alan Milburn has so clearly laid out in his interim report. We will use this interim report to continue to build our reforms and look forward to final recommendations in the Autumn.

The government's Employment Rights Act 2025 is tackling one-sided flexibility partly through a right to guaranteed hours, where the number of hours offered reflects a qualifying worker’s working hours during a reference period.

The government has published a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts of the zero hours contract measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025. This includes consideration of the potential impact of the right to guaranteed hours on employment for different types of roles or groups in the labour market.

The government is consulting on these measures, and will consider responses before finalising regulations and implementation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Child Maintenance Service-paying parents were liable to pay child maintenance of between £0.01 and £7.00 per week at the latest date for which data are available; and of those paying parents, how many were (1) in receipt of Universal Credit, and (2) subject to a work-search requirement under Universal Credit conditionality.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to increase the higher rate of income tax to 50 per cent; and, if so, what estimate they have made of the revenue implications of increasing that rate.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government remains committed to its manifesto which pledged to protect working people by not increasing rates of income tax.

HM Revenue and Customs regularly publishes estimates of the effects of illustrative tax changes on tax receipts. The most recent update from June 2025, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/direct-effects-of-illustrative-tax-changes

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to increase taxes on vapes, smoking, gambling, alcohol and food; and, if so, what estimate they have made of the revenue implications of increasing those taxes.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

Decisions on taxes are taken at the Budget by the Chancellor.

Tax changes announced at Budget are accompanied by a Tax Information and Impact Note which sets out the expected revenue impact.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the revenue implications of ending private residence relief.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The estimated cost of private residence relief in the 2025 to 2026 tax year was forecast as £32.9 billion.

The estimated cost of private residence relief from this year and from previous tax years can be found online here: Tax relief statistics (January 2026) - GOV.UK

The estimated cost of this relief does not represent the yield if it were to be abolished, as consequential behavioural effects could substantially reduce yield.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the revenue implications of implementing the overnight visitors levy nationally.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The revenue implications of the English levy will largely be determined by local decisions. Local leaders will decide whether to implement a levy and, if so, consult with local businesses and their communities on specific proposals.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Livermore on 13 July (HL1420), what estimate they have made of the revenue implications of levying Capital Gains Tax at the same rate as Income Tax.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government does not comment on tax speculation. Decisions on tax policy are taken by the Chancellor at the Budget.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many non-British national households benefitted from the removal of the two-child benefit cap.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure consistent and equitable access to pharmacological interventions for overweight and obesity recommended in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline NG246; and how they are monitoring compliance with this guideline across all Integrated Care Systems in England.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Noble Baroness to the answer provided in the House of Commons on 2 June 2026 in response to Question 2751 which, for ease of reference, is reproduced below.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are legally required to make funding available for medicines recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in line with NICE guidance and the NICE Funding Variation for tirzepatide.

NHS England is supporting ICBs to implement local pathways for the assessment, prescribing, and management of tirzepatide, and has centrally commissioned wraparound support for eligible patients. It has also provided additional funding in 2025/26 and 2026/27 to support towards the cost of prescribing weight loss medicines. From 2026/27, NHS England has introduced new Quality and Outcomes Framework indicators, with additional funding to support implementation of obesity medicine pathways in primary care.

NHS England monitors implementation through routine engagement with systems. There are currently no plans for NHS England to review the methodology used to allocate funding to ICBs for these services.

Found: Letter dated 30/07/2026 from Baroness Sherlock to Baroness Stedman-Scott regarding the Universal Credit