Lord Mackinlay of Richborough

The Government is consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation will include proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030. The consultation will be accompanied with the Department’s assessment of the potential cost and benefits.

High-quality apprenticeships, including the level 2 Stonemason apprenticeship standard, are available to support employers and learners in the heritage sector to develop the skills they need.

To support more high-quality apprenticeship opportunities, the department pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21 at small employers and it pays £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or aged 19 to 24 who are care leavers or have an education, health and care plan.

The department also continue to promote apprenticeships through its ‘Skills for Life’ campaign.

The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunisation to protect against tuberculosis (TB) is not routinely given as part of the National Health Service vaccination schedule. The BCG vaccine is only recommended for infants at greater risk of exposure to more serious childhood forms of the disease, and those people who are at greater risk through their work.

The BCG programme is based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). In 2005 the JCVI advised that the BCG vaccine offer move from a universal school-based programme to a risk-based programme. This advice reflected the changing patterns in the epidemiology of the disease.

TB incidence in children in the United Kingdom was higher in 2005 than in 2022, when data on the incidence in children was last published. The JCVI’s advice and current Government policy does not therefore support an expansion of the current BCG programme. The JCVI keeps its advice on all vaccination programmes under review and considers new evidence as it becomes available.

The Immigration Health Surcharge is set at an amount equivalent to the estimated average cost of providing healthcare to migrants. The estimate is based on the average cost of healthcare per head of the general population, adjusted to reflect that migrants use the National Health Service less than the average person. The current level of the Immigrant Health Surcharge is £1,035 per person per year, which reflects our latest assessment of the average cost.

China's retaliatory sanctions, including against Parliamentarians and UK citizens, are unwarranted and unacceptable. The Prime Minister raised this issue during his meeting with President Xi at the G20 summit in Brazil on 18 November. The Foreign Secretary has similarly raised sanctions at every meeting he has had with his counterpart Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, from 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included within the value of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes.

The nature of the assets held by a pension scheme is not taken into account for inheritance tax purposes. This is the existing policy on the treatment of assets held by a pension scheme.

Comprehensive guidance will be published on these changes ahead of coming into effect.

As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, from 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included within the value of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes.

The nature of the assets held by a pension scheme is not taken into account for inheritance tax purposes. This is the existing policy on the treatment of assets held by a pension scheme.

Comprehensive guidance will be published on these changes ahead of coming into effect.

The Government has no plans to reduce the VAT charged on work to maintain and repair listed properties.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax forecast to raise £171 billion in 2024/25. Taxation is a vital source of revenue that helps to fund vital public services.

Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates. In some cases, reliefs do not represent good value for money, as there is no guarantee that savings will be passed on to consumers.

To preserve heritage, restorative work carried out on listed buildings previously benefited from a zero rate of VAT. However, this relief was abolished in 2012, as it was primarily used to carry out extension work unnecessary for heritage purposes. Withdrawing this relief simplified VAT rules and also removed the scope for error when categorising construction work as either alteration or repair.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport administer the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. This provides grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship.

The Government keeps all tax policy under review, and any decisions on tax policy will be announced at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.

The Government is committed to supporting the successful protection of our heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.

The UK’s home insurance market is competitive, with many providers offering a variety of insurance products. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent regulator of financial services, has a statutory objective to promote competition in the interests of consumers. FCA rules also require firms to offer products that deliver fair value to consumers. The FCA monitors firms to ensure they comply with its rules and has powers to take action if necessary.

As standard home insurance may not offer adequate cover for all listed buildings, the Government encourages consumers to shop around for the most suitable cover at the best price. It may be helpful to consult an insurance broker, who will be able to help search the market for specialist providers.

The estimates of the Exchequer costs of the requested VAT reliefs in 2023-24 are as follows.

The estimate of the cost of zero-rating printed matter and e-publications, which includes books, was £1,700m. The objective of this relief is to support literacy and reading by reducing the cost of books, newspapers, magazines etc. in printed and electronic form.

The estimate of the cost of zero-rating children’s clothing and protective footwear and helmets was £2,100m. The objective of this relief is to support families by reducing the cost of children’s clothing.

The estimated cost of the exemption for burial and cremation was £720m. This relief provides exemption from VAT for burial and exemption services.

These estimates, together with those for previous years, may be found in the Tax Relief Statistics published by HM Revenue and Customs on GOV.UK . The latest estimates were published in December 2023 with values for financial year 2023-24 being forecasts. Updated estimates will be published on 5 December 2024.

The Government does not monitor unauthorised alterations to listed buildings. This is a matter for individual local planning authorities.

We have no such plans at present. However, we will keep the matter under review as we develop our planning policy on heritage matters.

We have no such plans at present. However, we will keep the matter under review as we develop our planning policy on heritage matters.

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 7852 on 14 October 2024.