Oral Answers to Questions

Blake Stephenson Excerpts

Monday 10th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge) (Con)]

5. If he will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of removing taxation from death-in-service payments.

[Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)]

10. If he will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of removing taxation from death-in-service payments.

[The Minister for Veterans and People (Al Carns)]

I thank the right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat) for his important question. He has my absolute assurance that if anyone dies in service, from training all the way through to combat and operations, they will absolutely be exempt from inheritance tax provisions. I will continue to discuss that issue, as well as many others to do with armed forces pay, with my opposite number in the Treasury. This Government are deeply proud of the armed forces, and I am deeply proud of them. They will have my full backing as we move forward.

[Al Carns]

I thank the right hon. and gallant Member for his response. We need to take a holistic view of this. I remind him that we have missed every recruitment and retention target for the past 14 years. We are working really hard to get after that now: we have just put in place wraparound welfare, we have done the Annington Homes deal, we have put additional resources into veterans’ homes for after service, and we have given the biggest pay rise in 20 years. We are working really hard on that, in discussions with our Treasury counterparts, and we will move it forward.

[Blake Stephenson]

Will the Minister give an assurance that the proposed changes to the application of inheritance tax to certain armed forces death-in-service payments are compatible with the commitment in the armed forces covenant to ensuring that our brave and loyal armed forces personnel

“face no disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services”—

yes or no?

[Al Carns]

The covenant will come into law in the next two years or so, on the back of the armed forces Bill. That will result in a great expansion, with all Government Departments falling in line with the covenant, so that no individual who has served is disadvantaged because of that service.