Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Economic Outlook for the United Kingdom, published on 2 December.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an independent international organisation. The OECD’s forecast following the Budget has upgraded UK growth and reduced inflation for 2026. This follows stronger than expected growth this year, though there is much more to do.
The Budget is boosting economic growth and delivers on the country’s priorities of cutting the cost of living, reducing NHS waiting lists, and driving down our borrowing and debt.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of extending the income tax threshold freeze on the number of people paying income tax, in particular the number of higher rate and additional rate taxpayers.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government assesses every measure in the Budget and has published a tax information and impact note (TIIN) outlining our assessment of the policy. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maintaining-income-tax-and-equivalent-national-insurance-contributions-thresholds-until-5-april-2031/income-tax-maintaining-the-personal-allowance-and-the-basic-rate-limit-for-income-tax-and-equivalent-national-insurance-contributions-thresholds-unt.
The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can also be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook, which is available here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-november-2025/
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the £2,000 cap on national insurance-free salary sacrifice pension contributions on costs for (1) employees, and (2) employers.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice. The TIIN sets out the impact on employees and employers and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/salary-sacrifice-reform-for-pension-contributions-effective-from-6-april-2029/salary-sacrifice-reform-for-pension-contributions
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of AI to generate planning objections to energy infrastructure proposals, and the implications for the operation of the planning system.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Representations on major infrastructure projects, such as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects are designed to support the Examining Authority to identify and understand relevant matters in an application. Providing a representation is received within the allotted timeframe, is from a real person, includes a reason or reasons for that person's position and is not vexatious, it will be accepted. Once accepted, the topic(s) raised will be factored into the examination preparation and design. Submissions which simply repeat generic elements add less value and repetitive submissions, however produced, could be disregarded under the legal rules.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of employers adopting AI systems on the labour market, and what steps they are taking to ensure workers are equipped with the skills required by the labour market.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Get Britain Working White Paper sets out how we will address key labour market challenges and spread opportunity in order to fix the foundations of our economy so we can make the most of the opportunities AI presents. The Government is supporting workforce readiness for AI through a range of initiatives.
The new AI Skills Hub, developed by Innovate UK and PwC, provides streamlined access to digital training. This will support government priorities through tackling critical skills gaps and improving workforce readiness. We are also partnering with 11 major companies to train 7.5 million UK workers in essential AI skills by 2030 and expanding AI education in universities, by launching Pioneer Fellowships for cross-disciplinary upskilling.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage professional services firms to adopt artificial intelligence productivity tools.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to driving AI adoption across the economy, including professional services. Through the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we are tackling barriers such as lack of awareness, trust, and technical capability. This includes expanding the BridgeAI programme (which supports organisation adopt AI with funding and hands-on support), announcing an AI champion for professional business services, and training 7.5 million workers across the economy in essential AI skills by 2030. We are also investing £11 million to grow the UK’s AI assurance market, ensuring firms can adopt tools confidently and responsibly. These measures will help businesses harness AI to boost productivity and maintain the UK’s global competitiveness.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of rising input costs, labour costs and taxes on small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government continues to monitor the business environment in the UK, including SMEs, using official data and engaging with firms and business groups to inform policy decisions.
The Government set out its overall approach for supporting SMEs in the Small Business Strategy published in July 2025 and built on this with targeted reforms to support small businesses at the Budget in November 2025.
Through our changes to Employer National Insurance Contributions, the threshold at which business start paying Employer NICs has doubled to £10,500.
We are providing support for small businesses in a number of other areas. We are introducing the toughest late payment laws in the G7. We are changing the rules to fully fund SME apprenticeships training costs for eligible people under the age of 25, providing the skills that both workers and businesses need. Through the new Business Growth Service, small businesses will be able to access support with skills training, recruitment, or accessing Start Up Loans and Export Finance.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of legacy IT infrastructure on the ability of UK banks to adopt new financial technology and AI systems.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that legacy IT infrastructure can present challenges for UK banks as they seek to adopt new financial technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems.
However, the Government believes that safe adoption of AI by the financial services sector is a major strategic opportunity, with potential to power growth across the UK. The Government and regulators are taking a ‘pro-innovation’ approach to AI regulation across the economy and in financial services.
The Government is focused on ensuring that the UK’s policy and regulatory environment is fit for purpose to seize the opportunity of our dual strengths in financial services and AI, and positioning the UK as a world leader in the safe adoption of AI in financial services.
The Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy is an important part of that effort, with the appointment of an AI Champion intended to act as a catalyst for AI adoption and innovation in financial services.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of pensioners whose incomes will be below the minimum retirement living standard in 2040.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to delivering greater security in retirement for future retirees. The Pensions Scheme Bill will put in place bigger, better pension schemes that have the scale to deliver better returns, a strong Value for Money framework to ensure schemes are delivering these returns, and new Guided Retirements to support people to turn their savings into an income in retirement.
The Government has also revived the Pensions Commission, which is reviewing our pensions system as a whole and the retirement outcomes it delivers, with a focus on adequacy, fairness and sustainability.
DWP’s latest estimate, in July 2025, found around 13% of current working-age individuals were on track to have an income level in retirement below the Pensions UK Minimum Retirement Living Standard.
For those becoming a pensioner in the 2040s, it is estimated that 15% will fall below the Pensions UK Minimum Standard, the equivalent of around 1 million individuals.
For further detail please see:
Analysis of Future Pension Incomes 2025 - GOV.UK
analysis_of_future_pensions_incomes_data.xlsx – See table 4
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support job creation and infrastructure development in the AI Growth Zone in South Wales.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is establishing AI Growth Zones (AIGZs) to deliver the infrastructure needed for the UK to develop and deploy advanced AI at scale.
Following the announcement of the fourth AI Growth Zone in South Wales, we are working with national and regional government, businesses and local skills providers to address key barriers to investment in the area and accelerate benefits for communities across South Wales. Our AI Growth Zone policy package unlocks £5 million for each site to invest in local benefits and capitalise on the AI economy. This additional funding can support initiatives such as expanding data centre-focused skills pathways, creating more high-skilled, high-paying jobs and strengthening the local research environment.