Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of Plan 2 student loan borrowers who will repay at the higher interest threshold as a result of the freeze to the Plan 2 repayment threshold.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Freezing the Plan 2 repayment and interest rate thresholds for English borrowers means the upper threshold, used for calculating the variable portion of Plan 2 interest rates, will be lower than previously projected. This means more borrowers will be charged the highest rate of interest but only where their income increases.
The department does not break down estimates of loan borrower numbers by the rate of interest paid.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of Plan 2 student loan borrowers who will begin making repayments as a result of the freeze to the Plan 2 repayment threshold.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department currently forecasts around 240,000 additional English Plan 2 loans (4.8% of all English Plan 2 loans for which borrowers are eligible to make repayments) will see a repayment in financial year 2030/31 given the announced threshold freeze when compared to a scenario with inflationary increases to thresholds. These are current estimates and are subject to change given updates to economic forecasts and other key forecast inputs.
The department will release an equalities impact assessment, including the impact on the number of borrowers forecast to make obligatory repayments, alongside other borrower impacts.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of Plan 2 student loan borrowers residing in Wales who will repay at the higher interest threshold as a result of the freeze to the Plan 2 repayment threshold.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Education is a devolved matter. It is for the Welsh government to confirm threshold levels in Wales.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of Plan 2 student loan borrowers residing in Wales who will begin making repayments as a result of the freeze to the Plan 2 repayment threshold.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Education is a devolved matter. It is for the Welsh government to confirm threshold levels in Wales.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the European Commission’s proposals for the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism on the competitiveness and decarbonisation of the UK steel sector.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are monitoring the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). As UK steel is covered by a domestic carbon price under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), the sector is expected to face lower CBAM liabilities compared with goods from jurisdictions which do not incur a domestic carbon price.
The sector may still face costs of providing emissions data to EU importers to support compliance. We are engaging with the European Commission on ETS linking, to facilitate a mutual UK-EU CBAM exemption in due course.
The Government will introduce its own CBAM from January 2027 to protect against carbon leakage.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress the Government has made on delivering a UK Single Trade Window.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government is committed to minimising administrative burdens and frictions experienced by businesses trading internationally. While delivery of the single trade window (STW) was paused at the end of 2024, it remains the Government’s intention to deliver an STW, and we will use the pause to further engage with key border stakeholders to better understand their needs.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to analysis cited in the Road Haulage Association’s 2025 Autumn Budget Submission, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of an increase in fuel duty on household living standards.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2025, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026. Rates will then gradually return to early 2022 levels. The planned increase in line with inflation for 2026-27 will not take place, with the government uprating fuel duty rates by RPI from April 2027. This will save the average car driver £49 next year compared to previous plans.
The Government has set out estimated impacts on household incomes from tax, welfare and public service spending decisions taken at Budget 2025, including eVED. These impacts are available at GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69269c6222424e25e6bc31bb/Impact_on_households.pdf
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a fuel duty rebate linked to emissions reductions to encourage the use of low carbon fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) is a relatively new fuel and has limited availability in the UK. When used for domestic heating, HVO benefits from the rebated duty rate of 10.18p per litre, in contrast to the full duty rate of 52.95p per litre.
The Government currently encourages the use of HVO through the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), which incentivises the use of low carbon fuels and reduces emissions from fuel supplied for use in transport and non-road mobile machinery. The RTFO has been very successful in supporting a market for renewable fuel since its introduction in 2008. Renewable fuels supplied under the RTFO currently contribute a third of the savings required for the UK’s transport carbon budget.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to ensure that UK steel producers are not subject to additional decarbonisation-related charges that could impact their competitiveness relative to overseas producers.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government is committed to supporting the UK steel sector and we will publish our strategy for the sector in 2026. This will articulate what is needed to create a competitive environment and to secure UK steelmaking capability.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of improved on-train wi-fi services on discouraging less sustainable forms of travel.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of the Spending Review business case assessing the value for money of delivering improved passenger internet connectivity, we assessed the positive benefits that can arise from ‘modal shift’, arising where people choose to travel by train in preference to using their cars. We followed standard transport appraisal and passenger demand forecast handbook guidance in our assessments.