Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of universal basic income on (a) consumer spending and (b) local economic growth.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including any assessment of the macroeconomic impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The OBR publish their forecast in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. This includes the OBR’s assessment of government policy announced at Spring Statement 2025.
Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessment has been made of its economic or distributional impacts.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of international trials of universal basic income.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including any assessment of the macroeconomic impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The OBR publish their forecast in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. This includes the OBR’s assessment of government policy announced at Spring Statement 2025.
Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessment has been made of its economic or distributional impacts.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of universal basic income on (a) income distribution and (b) wealth inequality.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including any assessment of the macroeconomic impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The OBR publish their forecast in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. This includes the OBR’s assessment of government policy announced at Spring Statement 2025.
Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessment has been made of its economic or distributional impacts.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of universal basic income on (a) GDP growth and (b) economic activity.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including any assessment of the macroeconomic impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The OBR publish their forecast in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. This includes the OBR’s assessment of government policy announced at Spring Statement 2025.
Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessment has been made of its economic or distributional impacts.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of implementing a universal basic income on inflation.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including any assessment of the macroeconomic impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).
The OBR publish their forecast in their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. This includes the OBR’s assessment of government policy announced at Spring Statement 2025.
Universal Basic Income is not a government policy and therefore no assessment has been made of its economic or distributional impacts.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote the protection of minority rights in India.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations very seriously. We have a broad, deep and respectful partnership with the Government of India. This includes sharing perspectives on human rights and minority issues and finding common ground. Our High Commission in New Delhi and our network across India monitor human rights across the country. We engage Indian stakeholders on a range of human rights matters, working with Union and State Governments, and with civil society. This includes raising issues of concern where we have them.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of alleged misinformation from India on diaspora communities in the UK.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
India and the UK have a broad and deep relationship. The unique Living Bridge, including a 1.9 million-strong Indian diaspora in the UK, connects our countries and people across culture, education, food, sport and more. The UK Government is committed to media freedom. An independent and responsible media is an essential feature of robust democracies. We are conscious that mis/disinformation overseas can be picked up by diaspora communities in the UK. This is one reason we support independent media reporting and engage with legitimate concerns in the UK and globally around the ramifications of online hate speech and polarisation. These are issues that we work alongside partners, including India, to address.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on reported human rights violations in India.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government takes all allegations of human rights violations very seriously. The UK Government has a broad, deep and respectful partnership with the Government of India. This includes sharing perspectives on human rights and minority issues and finding common ground, including at Ministerial level. In 2024, I held a roundtable with stakeholders to discuss Freedom of Religion in India.
Our High Commission in New Delhi and our network across India monitor human rights across the country. This includes raising issues of concern where we have them.