Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what would be the threshold for liability for inheritance tax today if the threshold had risen in line with the retail price index since 2010.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The estates of all individuals benefit from a £325,000 nil-rate band for inheritance tax. This has been fixed at £325,000 since April 2009.
The residence nil-rate band is a further £175,000 for those passing on a qualifying residence on death to their direct descendants, such as children or grandchildren. The residence nil-rate band was introduced in April 2017.
This means qualifying estates can pass on up to £500,000 and the qualifying estate of a surviving spouse or civil partner can pass on up to £1 million without an inheritance tax liability. This is because any unused nil-rate band or residence nil-rate band is transferable to a surviving spouse or civil partner.
Where personal tax thresholds are not fixed, up until April 2012, they were indexed in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation. As set out in the 2012 Finance Act, from April 2012, any personal tax thresholds that were not fixed were indexed in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation.
Had the nil-rate band not been fixed, HMRC estimate it would have been £508,000 in 2024-25.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the proportion of goods moving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain that are deemed to be at risk and are therefore subject to full EU compliance requirements.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
As set out in the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper, more than 80% of all freight movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be treated as not at risk and will move within the UK internal market system. That commitment will be monitored by the Independent Monitoring Panel and will take effect once the internal market system comes into force fully next year.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the commencement of section 45B of the UK Internal Market Act 2020, what export procedures will apply to goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain that are subject to provisions of Union law falling within the second sentence of Article 6(1) of the Windsor Framework, which prohibit or restrict the exportation of goods; what is a practical example of what a business moving a good in this context will encounter in terms of paperwork and checks; when the export procedure will be commenced; and how they plan to apply the procedure if there is no Border Control Post at Cairnryan.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Windsor Framework removes the requirement for export procedures that existed under the original Protocol and the subsequent 2020 agreement on the need for "equivalent information", with such controls only applying to a niche set of goods. Consistent with this, we have now laid domestic legislation under the Safeguarding the Union package that expressly prohibits export procedures applying to goods moving Northern Ireland to Great Britain, restoring our unfettered access safeguards. Detailed guidance on the treatment of relevant goods where exceptions apply is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the commencement of section 45B of the UK Internal Market Act 2020, what export procedures will apply to goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain that are placed under the export procedure within the Union in accordance with Title V and Title VIII of Regulation (EU) 952/2013, what is a practical example of what a business moving a good in this context will encounter in terms of paperwork and checks; when the export procedure will be commenced; and how they plan to apply the procedure if there is no Border Control Post at Cairnryan.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Windsor Framework removes the requirement for export procedures that existed under the original Protocol and the subsequent 2020 agreement on the need for "equivalent information", with such controls only applying to a niche set of goods. Consistent with this, we have now laid domestic legislation under the Safeguarding the Union package that expressly prohibits export procedures applying to goods moving Northern Ireland to Great Britain, restoring our unfettered access safeguards. Detailed guidance on the treatment of relevant goods where exceptions apply is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the commencement of section 45B of the UK Internal Market Act 2020, what export procedures will apply to goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain that do not exceed 3,000 euros in value and are packed or loaded for export shipment within the Union, in accordance with Article 221 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2447, what is a practical example of what a business moving a good in this context will encounter in terms of paperwork and checks; when the export procedure will be commenced; and how they plan to apply the procedure if there is no Border Control Post at Cairnryan.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Windsor Framework removes the requirement for export procedures that existed under the original Protocol and the subsequent 2020 agreement on the need for "equivalent information", with such controls only applying to a niche set of goods. Consistent with this, we have now laid domestic legislation under the Safeguarding the Union package that expressly prohibits export procedures applying to goods moving Northern Ireland to Great Britain, restoring our unfettered access safeguards. Detailed guidance on the treatment of relevant goods where exceptions apply is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the UK can apply any duty rate on alcoholic beverages in Northern Ireland which are below the EU minimum rate.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The same alcohol duty rates apply across the whole UK. The new alcohol duty system was implemented on 1 August 2023 and moves all alcohol to taxation by strength for the first time. The rates were set at the right level to support businesses and meet public health objectives.
We have implemented these broad reforms across the whole of the UK: taxation by strength, Draught Relief, and Small Producer Relief. This was impossible in Northern Ireland under the original Protocol. The Windsor Framework secured substantive, legally binding changes to ensure that Northern Ireland benefits from the same VAT and alcohol taxes as apply in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much is to be allocated to the Northern Ireland Executive in the Spring Budget from (1) Barnett consequentials, and (2) direct allocation.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
As a result of decisions taken at Spring Budget, the Northern Ireland Executive will receive around £100 million through the Barnett formula.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer also announced £20 million of funding for each of Derry-Londonderry and Coleraine through the Long-Term Plan for Towns, £2 million of funding to boost global investment and trade opportunities in Northern Ireland, and £2.2 million for the redevelopment of the South Stand at Crusaders FC in Belfast into a unique state of the art community centre.
Northern Ireland will also benefit from UK-wide tax and spending measures.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the working relationship between the Treasury and the Fiscal Council of Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
HM Treasury regularly engages with the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council, including discussions on its work to scrutinise the public finances of Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic benefit to creative industries in Northern Ireland of the tax measures announced in the Spring Budget.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Government recognises the cultural and economic value of the UK’s world-leading creative sector. At Spring Budget 2024 the Government went further to support the sector through the creative sector tax reliefs, which companies in Northern Ireland benefit from.
The announcements include a new tax credit for independent UK films with budgets of less than £15 million and a 5 percentage point increase in tax relief UK visual effects costs in film and high-end TV.
The Government also announced that from 1 April 2025, orchestras, museums, galleries and theatres will benefit from tax relief set permanently at 45% (for touring productions and all orchestra productions) and 40% for non-touring productions).
These measures will apply UK-wide.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the continuing operation of EU excise and VAT law concerning goods in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The arrangements in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework guarantee Northern Ireland’s position within the UK’s VAT and excise area, while still maintaining frictionless arrangements for those businesses trading with the EU - granting Northern Ireland businesses the ability to benefit from new UK changes and ensuring that Northern Ireland households can benefit from the UK’s Brexit freedoms.
The freedoms secured under the Windsor Framework have already delivered benefits for NI people and businesses, including: the application of zero rates on the installation of energy-saving materials; the rollout of new alcohol duty reforms across the whole UK; and the UK-wide application of the changes agreed at Autumn Statement, such as the removal of VAT on period underwear.