United Kingdom Declining Birth Rate Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

United Kingdom Declining Birth Rate

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe Excerpts
Wednesday 6th November 2024

(2 weeks, 4 days ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Livermore Portrait Lord Livermore (Lab)
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I 100% agree with what the noble Baroness says. The ONS has said that the two biggest barriers to people having children currently are a lack of affordable housing and a lack of affordable childcare. The Government are prioritising making childcare more affordable. We will provide an additional £1.8 billion next year to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare, bringing the total spending on childcare to over £8 billion. This will support working families and help parents, particularly mothers, stay in work and return to work.

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe Portrait Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab)
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Does the Minister agree that we missed a trick, as we saw the internet develop and never found any ways in which we could start to use it as a tax base? To pick up the question of AI, can we ensure that the Treasury is doing some forward-thinking on this, not just in UK terms but about the way that we need to develop international relationships in regard to tax on a worldwide basis?

Lord Livermore Portrait Lord Livermore (Lab)
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My noble friend makes some very interesting points. I assure him that the Treasury is working closely with the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology to advance the things that he mentions.