Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
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
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of temporary work in helping young people who are not in education, employment or training to gain experience and enter the labour market.
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 recognises that temporary work can help young people, including those not in education, employment or training (NEET), to gain valuable experience and enter the labour market. Through the Youth Guarantee, the government is expanding access to work experience, training and employment support to help more young people move into work. For example, several Youth Guarantee Trailblazers are connecting young people who are NEET with work placement opportunities to help them gain the experience they need and develop the skills to get sustained employment.
The Employment Rights Act preserves flexibility for genuinely temporary work, including through limited-term contracts. The government is consulting employers, trade unions and wider civil society to ensure the right to guaranteed hours works for businesses and workers.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of excluding zero-hours contracts from the Youth Guarantee on 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)
As part of the Government’s investment of an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years in the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, young people on Universal Credit are benefiting from enhanced support to help them get into employment, apprenticeships, work experience, Sector-based Work Academy Programme, learning or training from their first appointment in the Jobcentre.
Eligible young people can also benefit from the Jobs Guarantee, which will provide a guaranteed paid job offering regular hours of work of up to 25 hours per week for six months at the relevant National Minimum Wage. Participants will receive the same statutory employment rights and protections as other employees, alongside opportunities to develop skills and experience that support progression into sustained employment. The scheme aims to provide meaningful, secure and predictable employment opportunities for eligible young people who have experienced long-term unemployment. By offering a guaranteed paid job with regular hours, the scheme is designed to help the participants to develop the skills and experience they need to progress into sustained employment.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the collection of data on young people who are not in education, employment or training.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.
For young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), or at risk, the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper set a clear ambition for improving identification, tracking and data sharing, so that prevention or reengagement support can be targeted at those who need it most.
The department has made a new risk of NEET indicator (RONI) tool available to local areas to identify risk earlier and more consistently, and is investing in support for monitoring attendance in further education to enable earlier intervention.
We are also improving data quality and sharing across education transitions, providing clearer guidance on the use of RONI tools, and exploring the safe and ethical use of artificial intelligence to support professional judgement.