Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the taper rate of Universal Credit should be changed.

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

The current taper rate of 55 per cent gradually withdraws Universal Credit as earnings increase, allowing customers to retain at least 45 pence of each additional £1 earned, striking the right balance between supporting work incentives and targeting support at those on the lowest incomes. This policy is kept under regular review to ensure it continues to provide the right incentives for people receiving Universal Credit to move into work and progress in employment.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of changing the rates of Capital Gains Tax to move in line with income tax rates; and what assessment they have made of how effective such a change would be.

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

Decisions on tax policy are taken by the Chancellor at fiscal events.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the estimation in Economic and Fiscal Outlook - March 2026 that health and disability benefits will increase to almost £110 billion by 2030.

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

The Department for Work and Pensions has slowed the increase in health and disability benefit caseloads, and in welfare spending as a proportion of GDP compared to the last Government.

The Timms Review, the first ever full review of PIP, was launched to ensure we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater in-dependence, including through employment.

The steering group is now moving towards designing and testing its recommendations for change, which will be published in a final report in due course.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of pensioners with income at or near the level of the state pension who are now liable for income tax as a result of the freeze in personal allowance thresholds.

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

The number of individual income taxpayers over State Pension Age can be seen in the table below^[1]:

The previous Conservative Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028 and this is reflected in the numbers.

The current Government has set out that individuals whose only income is the basic or new State Pension, without increments, will not pay income tax over this Parliament. Further details on this will follow.

^[1] Income Tax liabilities statistics: tax year 2022 to 2023 to tax year 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK