Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing a tax on ultra-processed foods.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A fit and healthy population is essential for a thriving economy. Reducing rates of obesity, along with preventing ill health, remains a priority for the Government.
The ‘Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ consultation, published in April 2025, seeks ways to encourage producers to remove added sugar from soft drinks. It sets out proposals to reduce the minimum sugar threshold at which the levy applies from 5g to 4g sugar per 100ml, and to remove the current exemptions for milk-based and milk substitute drinks with added sugar. These changes are estimated to reduce calorie consumption by 15 million kcal per day in children and 46 million kcal per day in adults, achieving health and economic benefits of around £4.2 billion over 25 years.
More broadly, the Government has stated its intention to work with the food industry to consider the available levers to encourage further food and drink reformulation, in a way that protects consumers and is focused on voluntary and regulatory measures in the first instance. For example, the voluntary sugar reduction programme has reduced levels of sugar by around 15% in breakfast cereals, over 13% in yogurts and fromage frais and around 7% in ice creams and sorbets between 2015 and 2020.
The Government is also taking forward a number of further actions to make it easier for consumers to have a healthier diet. This includes restricting television and online advertising of less healthy foods to children, banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to under 16s, and restricting the locations in supermarkets where products high in salt and sugar can be placed.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of polling data on 11 April by Christians Against Poverty, Employment and financial difficulty, what assessment they have made of the levels of problem debt among full-time workers, and what measures they are taking to support full-time workers who are in financial difficulty.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government regularly engages with the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to monitor personal finances and debt levels. The Money and Pensions Service conducts an annual survey of people in financial difficulty. The results of their latest survey were published on 29 February 2024.
To support those in debt to manage their finances, the Government funds national and community-based debt advice services, through the Money and Pensions Service, for hundreds of thousands of individuals and families in need across England. The Government also provides funding for debt advice in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. As debt advice is a devolved matter, responsibility for delivering these services rests with those devolved governments.
Funding levels for both the Money and Pensions Service and the devolved governments are regularly reviewed to reflect demand, inflation, and evolving needs.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of polling data on 11 April by Christians Against Poverty, In-person debt advice, what plans they have to address the scale of problem debt.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government regularly engages with the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to monitor personal finances and debt levels. The Money and Pensions Service conducts an annual survey of people in financial difficulty. The results of their latest survey were published on 29 February 2024.
To support those in debt to manage their finances, the Government funds national and community-based debt advice services, through the Money and Pensions Service, for hundreds of thousands of individuals and families in need across England. The Government also provides funding for debt advice in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. As debt advice is a devolved matter, responsibility for delivering these services rests with those devolved governments.
Funding levels for both the Money and Pensions Service and the devolved governments are regularly reviewed to reflect demand, inflation, and evolving needs.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of polling data on 11 April by Christians Against Poverty, In-person debt advice, what steps they are taking to expand access to and fund free debt advice services authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government regularly engages with the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to monitor personal finances and debt levels. The Money and Pensions Service conducts an annual survey of people in financial difficulty. The results of their latest survey were published on 29 February 2024.
To support those in debt to manage their finances, the Government funds national and community-based debt advice services, through the Money and Pensions Service, for hundreds of thousands of individuals and families in need across England. The Government also provides funding for debt advice in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. As debt advice is a devolved matter, responsibility for delivering these services rests with those devolved governments.
Funding levels for both the Money and Pensions Service and the devolved governments are regularly reviewed to reflect demand, inflation, and evolving needs.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made on their plan to consult on proposals to bring remote gambling into a single tax, as outlined in the 2024 Autumn Budget.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to modernising and simplifying the tax system and will publish the consultation on proposals to bring remote gambling into a single tax in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Report on the Call for Evidence about the Financial Conduct Authority, published by the APPG for Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services, and what steps they are taking to implement its recommendations.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has noted the APPG’s report. Whilst the Government recognises the difficulties faced by those who have lost out, many of the issues explored in the report have already been reviewed, and the FCA has made significant changes as a result.
The Government agrees that the FCA must continue to learn from these experiences and ensure that it is securing an appropriate degree of consumer protection - building on the work delivered through its Transformation Programme.
The Government has no plans to establish a Financial Regulators Supervisory Council.
The Government and Parliament already have numerous mechanisms for holding the FCA to account and assessing its performance and effectiveness. This includes the requirement for the FCA to produce Annual Reports, and to notify relevant parliamentary committees of relevant consultations.
Senior representatives of the FCA also make regular appearances before parliamentary committees, where its performance and operational effectiveness are scrutinised.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation from the APPG for Investment Fraud and Fairer Financial Services to establish a Financial Regulators’ Supervisory Council and to conduct periodic reviews of the operational effectiveness of the Financial Conduct Authority.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has noted the APPG’s report. Whilst the Government recognises the difficulties faced by those who have lost out, many of the issues explored in the report have already been reviewed, and the FCA has made significant changes as a result.
The Government agrees that the FCA must continue to learn from these experiences and ensure that it is securing an appropriate degree of consumer protection - building on the work delivered through its Transformation Programme.
The Government has no plans to establish a Financial Regulators Supervisory Council.
The Government and Parliament already have numerous mechanisms for holding the FCA to account and assessing its performance and effectiveness. This includes the requirement for the FCA to produce Annual Reports, and to notify relevant parliamentary committees of relevant consultations.
Senior representatives of the FCA also make regular appearances before parliamentary committees, where its performance and operational effectiveness are scrutinised.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reform the process for appointing the Financial Conduct Authority's senior leadership and to introduce Parliamentary oversight of the appointment of its Chair.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government appoints the Chair, Chief Executive and Non-Executive Directors of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and has no plans to reform the process for appointing the FCA’s senior leadership.
The Government and Parliament already have numerous mechanisms for holding the FCA to account and assessing its performance and effectiveness. This includes the requirement for the FCA to produce Annual Reports, and to notify relevant parliamentary committees of relevant consultations.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what conversations they have had with heritage and faith communities about zero-rating VAT on repairs to listed buildings; and what assessment they have made of potential implications for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
Over £350 million has been returned to churches, synagogues, mosques and temples through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. This has helped protect listed places of worship and enabled them to continue their work as centres of worship and community assets.
Departmental settlements have been set following the Budget announcement on October 30. The outcome of individual programmes, such as the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, will now be assessed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport as they finalise their financial allocation for 2025/26.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the current remote gaming duty levels on economic growth.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024 the Government announced its intention to publish a consultation next year on proposals to bring remote gambling (meaning gambling offered over the internet, telephone, TV, and radio) under a single tax, rather than taxing it through the current three-tax structure.
This consultation will consider the impacts of reforming gambling duties. Alongside any changes that are announced, the Government will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note, including an economic impact assessment, to detail the expected impacts.