Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks of Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 18 March (HL Deb col 82), what is their assessment of the implications for calculating entitlement to contributory working age benefits and pensions of abolishing national insurance contributions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Cutting NICs does not affect anyone’s entitlement to the State Pension or contributory benefits.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter from the Economic Secretary to the Treasury to The Share Foundation on 23 January where he stated that "the government currently has no plans to introduce a 'Default Withdrawal at 21' process" for unclaimed and unregistered HMRC-allocated child trust funds, what are their reasons for declining this proposal.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government carefully considered the proposal outlined in The Share Foundation’s letter of 24 November 2023 and decided it was not deliverable for several reasons.
The Share Foundation have proposed a complex scheme which would require the co-operation of ISA and Child Trust Fund (CTF) managers, other Government Departments and banks and building societies to identify the relevant young people (and whether they are in receipt of benefits or government payments) and to facilitate the transfer of information and funds between those agencies. Such a scheme is likely to engage with data protection issues and interfere with an individual’s right to manage their own financial affairs.
The Government attaches great importance to ensuring young people can access their matured CTFs. HMRC assists these young people through its online tracing service and through targeted communications appropriate to the age group. It will continue its work with providers, industry representatives and other stakeholders exploring ways of increasing the profile of CTFs and enabling account owners to be aware of and trace their accounts.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total number of unique search requests for child trust funds which have been entered to date by young people aged 16 to 21 into the Government Gateway and which have resulted in successful linkage to their accounts.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
For the tax years 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 HMRC replied, in total, to over 157,000 requests to trace Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts. HMRC does not hold data on how many of those who made the request successfully linked to their CTF accounts. Some may be below 18 and seeking to trace their account in anticipation of account maturity. Others may have traced the account but decided not to access it at that point, withdrawn their CTF savings or may have transferred the savings to an ISA or other type of current or savings account. (HL2166)
Primary responsibility for communicating with account holders and their registered contact (usually a parent) lies with the CTF account providers. The government is committed to helping people identify and access the savings they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their matured CTFs.
HMRC actively engages with the industry, other government departments, organisations such as the Money and Pensions Service, and youth focused charities to raise awareness of CTFs amongst young people. HMRC also issues a range of communications and provides resources for key intermediaries such as the University and Colleges Admissions Service, who have greater influence and visibility amongst the CTF audience.
The government’s current plans will reunite most accounts with their owners, but there may be some cases where further action will be required. The government will monitor how many matured accounts remain open and judge when it is appropriate to intervene in other ways.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to inform young adults with unclaimed child trust funds, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, how to access their accounts.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
For the tax years 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 HMRC replied, in total, to over 157,000 requests to trace Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts. HMRC does not hold data on how many of those who made the request successfully linked to their CTF accounts. Some may be below 18 and seeking to trace their account in anticipation of account maturity. Others may have traced the account but decided not to access it at that point, withdrawn their CTF savings or may have transferred the savings to an ISA or other type of current or savings account. (HL2166)
Primary responsibility for communicating with account holders and their registered contact (usually a parent) lies with the CTF account providers. The government is committed to helping people identify and access the savings they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their matured CTFs.
HMRC actively engages with the industry, other government departments, organisations such as the Money and Pensions Service, and youth focused charities to raise awareness of CTFs amongst young people. HMRC also issues a range of communications and provides resources for key intermediaries such as the University and Colleges Admissions Service, who have greater influence and visibility amongst the CTF audience.
The government’s current plans will reunite most accounts with their owners, but there may be some cases where further action will be required. The government will monitor how many matured accounts remain open and judge when it is appropriate to intervene in other ways.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that young people do not lose track of their investments in Child Trust Funds.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
HMRC has worked closely with Child Trust Fund (CTF) providers, the wider industry and the Money and Pensions Service to ensure that young people are aware of, and can access, their CTFs.
HMRC has:
Children with maturing CTFs also receive a significant amount of written information pertaining to their account directly from their account provider.
The government is committed to helping people access the savings and money they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their Child Trust Funds.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of adults (1) in paid work, and (2) not in paid work, who have incomes below the income tax threshold.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Estimates of the number of adults in paid work and not in paid work who have incomes below the Income Tax Personal Allowance during the 2019-20 tax year, the latest year for which these figures are available, are set out below.
| Estimated number of adults in 2019-20 (millions) |
Paid work | 10.2 |
Not in paid work | 6.7 |
Total | 16.9 |
Source: Survey of Personal Incomes, tax year 2019 to 2020
The Income Tax Personal Allowance for the 2019-20 tax year is £12,500. The adult population (individuals aged 18 and over) in paid work is based on individuals with employment and/or self-employment income. Other income amounts such as occupational or State pension is not included as paid work but individuals with incomes such as pensions could be in either category. The data underlying the Survey of Personal Incomes is based on a large sample of over 820,000 individuals with incomes reported to HMRC. As is the case with the published Personal Incomes Statistics, these figures are statistical estimates and will be subject to sampling variation.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Office of Tax Simplification OTS evaluation note: Update on OTS work on the High Income Child Benefit Charge and its wider implications, published on 1 March; and in particular, (1) the criticisms of the progress on recommendations made to improve the working of the high income child benefit charge, and (2) the further recommendations contained in that report.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) ensures that support for families is targeted at those who need it most. The Government is grateful to the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) for their suggestions for how the individual’s experience of child benefit and HICBC could be improved.
The OTS acknowledge that HMRC has made progress following their “Simplifying everyday tax for smaller businesses” and “Life events review: simplifying tax for individuals” reports from 2019, including by improving the child benefit form to ensure that it is clear that the form should be completed, even where the parents may wish to opt out of getting child benefit payments. HMRC has also undertaken customer research to explore child benefit claimants’ understanding of HICBC, benefits of claiming and the reasons why some do not make a claim.
HMRC has also taken considerable steps to raise awareness of HICBC. It currently shares information via social media, through third parties such as websites aimed at parents or families, and on GOV.UK. HMRC also writes to around 70,000 customers each year to remind them what they need to do to pay HICBC.
The OTS’ findings will continue to inform HMRC’s ongoing work.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many claimants are in receipt of (1) Working Tax Credit, and (2) Child Tax Credits.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
As at 2 December 2020, the latest published statistics, there were 1.99 million families in receipt of Child Tax Credit (CTC) and/or Working Tax Credit (WTC).
Of this figure, approximately:
These figures are published in HMRC’s latest provisional tax credits awards statistics published on 26 February 2021[1]. These provided a snapshot of awards in December 2020.
Finalised awards statistics are also published once a year, showing an average position for the entire year after tax credits awards have been finalised[2].
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to meet their obligation under the Public Sector Equality Duty to have due regard to the impact of the 2021 Budget, published on 3 March, on equality; and whether they intend to publish an equality impact assessment of the 2021 Budget.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The measures at Budget 2021, such as the continuation of the measures to respond to the impact of COVID-19, will support many people across society and promote this government’s belief in fairness. The Treasury carefully considers the impact of its decisions on those sharing protected characteristics, including at Budgets and other fiscal events, in line with both its legal obligations and with its strong commitment to promoting fairness. At Budget 2021, Ministers have paid such due regard to the equalities implications of their decisions and these decisions have been announced to Parliament. In interests of transparency we publish impacts in summary form for tax measures in tax information and impact notes (TIINs) alongside Finance Acts.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the letter sent by Carers UK to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 February, and of the proposal that a £20 supplement to the Carer’s Allowance be made in the Budget to support carers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
This Government continues to protect the value of benefits paid to carers whilst also spending record amounts in real terms. The level of Carer’s Allowance is protected by uprating it each year in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The purpose of benefit uprating is to ensure that the value of benefits stays in line with the general level of prices. For the April 2021 increase, the Department for Work and Pensions used the September 2020 CPI, which was 0.5 per cent. Since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £67.25 a week, meaning around an additional £700 a year for carers. Between 2020/21 and 2025/26 real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance is forecast to increase by nearly a third (around £1 billion). By 2025/26, the Government is forecast to spend just over £4 billion a year on Carer’s Allowance.
In addition, Carer’s Allowance isn’t the only benefit available to carers. Carers have access to the full range of social security benefits depending on their individual circumstances. Income replacement benefits help individuals and households on lower incomes, and can include a carer premium, which is currently £37.50 a week. An equivalent additional amount applies in Pension Credit. Universal Credit also includes a carer element at the rate of £162.92 per monthly assessment period. These amounts recognise the additional contribution and responsibilities associated with caring and mean that lower-income carers can receive more money than others who receive these benefits.