Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many adults in the UK they expect not to pay any income tax in the financial year 2025–26.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Data on the number of UK adults who are not liable to pay income tax are not currently held or published.

HMRC publishes projections for the total number of Income Taxpayers per year in Table 2.1 of the Income Tax liabilities statistics. [1] Current projections show that there are estimated to be 39.1 million Income Taxpayers in the UK in the 2025 to 2026 financial year.

The Office for National Statistics publishes projections for the total number of people in the UK by age in their population projections. [2] They currently estimate there to be 55.9 million individuals aged 18 or over in the UK in 2025.

[1] Table 2.1 of our Accredited official statistics (gov.uk).

[2] Zipped population projections data files, UK - Office for National Statistics

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the collapse of Wilko in 2023, what action they have taken against directors and auditors of Wilko.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Insolvency Service received the administrators’ reports in November 2023. After reviewing the reports, the Insolvency Service concluded that there were either no grounds or insufficient grounds to commence a disqualification investigation.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has not taken any enforcement action against the auditors, and responsibility for investigating the auditor's conduct in this case lies with the relevant professional body. The FRC continues to monitor developments given the public interest in this case.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the RAF Voyager aircraft are leased; who are the real ultimate owners; and what payments have been made to them since 2008.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

All RAF Voyager aircraft are leased. A Private Finance Initiative arrangement allows for all 14 Voyager aircraft owned by AirTanker Limited to be leased to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), with 11 being leased to the MOD at this time.

The payments since 2008 for the AirTanker Limited concession contract total approximately £6 billion.