Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 20th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right about the important role that those businesses play in giving young people their first jobs, and I agree with her. We are taking significant measures to help the UK hospitality sector, which employs more than 2 million people and is vital to high streets across the UK. Based on recommendations from the licensing taskforce, we published a new National Licensing Policy Framework for the hospitality sector at the time of the Budget. We are exploring planning reforms to help pubs and hospitality to expand, and the hospitality support fund has helped pubs in rural areas to diversify, ensuring that they can continue in their role as vital community hubs.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, on pub companies, there is no doubt that the tenants are facing major problems in the UK, but does the Minister agree with me that, although those pubs are struggling, brewers and pub companies are making record profits? Is it not time they passed that on to the pubs themselves?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

My noble friend is correct to say that pubs have been struggling in this economy for a long time. In the previous 14 years under the last Government, 7,000 pubs closed in the UK, so this is a long-standing issue. On his wider question, I am more than happy to look into that.

Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 6th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I do not have that data to hand, but I am more than happy to write to the noble Lord.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, if there is now a shortfall in resources for the Government, can the Minister look at trust funds? These are the major weapon used by very rich people to avoid tax on inheritance.

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

It is right that everybody pays their fair share towards the public services and that the tax system is based on fairness. I am confident that we have announced measures in the previous two Budgets to make sure that the tax system is fairer.

Budget: Press Briefings

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 18th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

The right reverend Prelate says that the Government are the source for this speculation when he has no such evidence for that. I am not going to comment on the ongoing Budget process, as I say, nor on the speculation that is perfectly usual ahead of a Budget.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, is the Minister surprised at the criticism that has come from the Opposition Benches about leaks when, in the past, leaks went as widely under any previous Government as under this Government? Is he surprised to hear criticism about the impact on the bond markets after we have had one of the worst times, financially, as mismanagement by the previous Government caused a crash in the market?

National Insurance: Partnerships

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 10th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

No. As I think I have made clear, I am not going to comment on individual tax measures.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree with me that, if there are going to be tax increases of any sort, they should be fair and should not be borne by people who are paying PAYE, who have no choice about paying their tax—but that everyone over there seems to think that everyone else should have an opportunity to avoid it?

GDP Per Capita

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 20th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

The answer to all the noble Lord’s questions is no. He points out that GDP per capita grew by 0.2% in the second quarter of this year; that compares with 0.1% over the entirety of the previous Parliament. If he wants to make comparisons, I am more than happy to do that. I do not accept the points he makes about the Government’s other policies. We are currently the fastest-growing economy in the G7. On his points about Brexit, the OBR has been very clear that Brexit has permanently reduced the size of our economy by 4%. Its calculations are absolutely clear on that point.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that GDP would have been higher had we not had a Government previously who wrecked the economy, wrecked public services, gave us Brexit and left us with massive debt?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

My noble friend is absolutely correct. The previous Government gave us austerity, taking demand out of the economy at exactly the wrong moment; a Brexit deal, which reduced GDP by 4%; and the Liz Truss mini-Budget, which crashed the economy. We will take no lessons from the party opposite when it comes to growing the economy.

School Fees: VAT

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 13th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I do not know about specific decisions that each individual school is making. Obviously, how individual schools fund a specific policy is a matter for them, but I am very confident that our free school meals policy is fully funded.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, has the Minister noticed that when this was announced the Opposition claimed that it would shut schools, yet it has not? They are switching their arguments on a daily basis. Does he also agree with me that this is hard to take from a party which cut state school spending virtually every year that it was in power?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to my noble friend for the points that he makes, and I agree very much with what he is saying. As he knows, we are increasing per-pupil funding to record amounts. It is absolutely correct that we have heard many scare stories about this policy—that schools would close. Since VAT was applied on 1 January, private schools have continued to open and close in line with historic trends. As I have said already, 49 private schools have closed but 70 private schools have so far opened.

Making Tax Digital

Lord Watts Excerpts

Wednesday 17th September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I reassure the noble Lord that I absolutely understand that. I recently answered a Written Question on this exact point, so I am more than happy to share with the noble Lord the Answer to that Question.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that everyone who pays PAYE has to pay their fair share of tax, but an awful lot of people do not pay their fair share of tax? Is not the use of technology one way in which we can make sure that they make their contribution?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

My noble friend makes an important point; the tax gap is a significant issue. Small businesses account for some 60% of that tax gap, much of which comes from unintended errors. One of the big advantages of Making Tax Digital is having more frequent reporting, and therefore there are far fewer errors. There is also the pre-population of end-of-year tax returns, which again reduces errors. If we can reduce some of those errors, we can reduce quite a significant part of the tax gap.

Gilt Yields

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. As I have said, recent gilt yields have risen in line with global peers, mainly driven by global factors. Recent gilt market moves have been orderly; the gilt market is deep and liquid, with a good track record in responding smoothly to volatility in levels of gilt supply. Underlying demand for the UK’s debt remains strong, with a well-diversified investor base. It is most important that I stress that our commitment to the fiscal rules is non-negotiable and we have put the public finances on a sustainable path.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, can the Minister remind the House what the bond market thought of the previous Government’s economic policy, especially the Truss element of it?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

My noble friend is obviously right to draw attention to the previous Government’s disastrous economic policies. He knows that, as I have said, the Government do not comment on specific financial market moves, but he will also know that current conditions in gilt markets are completely different from those experienced at the time of the Liz Truss mini-Budget. Then, severe volatility in gilt yields caused instability in the pension fund sector and dysfunction in gilt markets. This led the Bank of England to have to intervene on financial stability grounds to restore market functioning. Recently, gilt yields have risen in line with global peers, mainly driven by global factors, and these market moves have been orderly.

As my noble friend draws attention to, when Liz Truss crashed the economy, long-dated bonds were most significantly impacted due to market dysfunction caused by unfunded tax cuts, unrealistic spending plans and the undermining of institutions that are crucial to economic stability, namely the Treasury, the OBR and the Bank of England. This pushed up mortgage costs by £300 a month, for which working people are still paying the price.

Taxes

Lord Watts Excerpts

Tuesday 15th July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is speculating on a speech that has not been delivered yet, so perhaps we should wait for the Mansion House speech this evening to see what my right honourable friend the Chancellor of Exchequer says in it. Absolutely, though, the Chancellor wants to see a greater rebalancing from risk to growth. I think that is absolutely right, but of course, we must make sure that we continue to regulate to avoid risk while we also maintain growth.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, the Opposition seem to be suggesting that we can cut taxes without finding a way of bridging that gap in the Budget. Does my noble friend agree that it looks as though the Truss fantasy politics and economics that we saw nearly bring the country to its knees are still there with the Opposition?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I completely agree with my noble friend on that point. Every time we hear from the party opposite, it opposes every single measure we have taken to stabilise the public finances, yet at no point has it opposed the spending that that has gone to fund. That is exactly the mistake Liz Truss made in her mini-Budget, which saw mortgage payments rocket for working people. They are still paying the price of those higher mortgages, and that is something we absolutely will not do.

Tax on Imports under £135

Lord Watts Excerpts

Monday 14th July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I agree with almost everything that the noble Baroness said, but she failed to point out that it was her Government that established the existing system and it is this Government who are reviewing it with the intention of changing it. I agree with all the criticisms that she puts forward, but they are criticisms of her own Government. As I say, we have set out a review, and officials are currently engaging with stakeholders to understand the impact of any reforms and have so far held multiple round tables covering some 70 businesses. All available options will be considered, and we will come forward when we have concluded the review.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, can the Minister tell us how long this has been a problem, and whether anyone attempted to resolve it over the past 15 years? Can he say whether this is another case in which this Government have failed to put right 14 years of Tory mismanagement?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

It is not quite 14 years, I think; these rules came in in 2021. The previous Government prioritised trade facilitation in the aftermath of Brexit and, since 2021, VAT on imports below £135 is collected at the point of sale to prevent congestion at the border. However, this has opened up some opportunities for the rules not to be followed. We recognise that and have established a review, which the previous Government did not.