Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has plans to align the British Business Bank under the National Wealth Fund.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The National Wealth Fund (NWF) is the UK’s impact investor, mobilising billions of pounds of investment in the UK’s world-leading clean energy and growth industries. The British Business Bank (BBB) continues to be responsible for improving access to finance for SMEs, including new programmes to channel venture investment into the UK’s fastest growing, most innovative companies and closing the scaleup capital gap.
The NWF and the BBB work in close partnership to deliver the government’s industrial strategy in line with their respective mandates, maintaining a coordinated and complementary approach to tackling finance gaps and boosting economic growth. The government will continue to review how these institutions operate and interact with the market, government departments and each other to ensure that they are as effective as possible in mobilising private investment and delivering economic growth.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the number of staff within the National Wealth Fund that did not previously work for the UK Infrastructure Bank.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chancellor announced at the International Investment Summit on 14th October 2024 that the UK Infrastructure Bank would be transformed into the National Wealth Fund (NWF), This change took effect on that day. All UKIB staff were retained as part of the NWF.
To realise its ambition to catalyse more private investment and accelerate investable projects coming to market across the UK, the NWF will be expanding its team based at its headquarters in Leeds.
The number of roles at the NWF will be published in the “Staff Report” within the NWF’s Annual Report of Accounts, published following the end of this financial year.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the number of people employed by the National Wealth Fund that previously worked for the UK Infrastructure Bank.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chancellor announced at the International Investment Summit on 14th October 2024 that the UK Infrastructure Bank would be transformed into the National Wealth Fund (NWF), This change took effect on that day. All UKIB staff were retained as part of the NWF.
To realise its ambition to catalyse more private investment and accelerate investable projects coming to market across the UK, the NWF will be expanding its team based at its headquarters in Leeds.
The number of roles at the NWF will be published in the “Staff Report” within the NWF’s Annual Report of Accounts, published following the end of this financial year.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information her Department holds on the total cost of the rebranding of the National Wealth Fund.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Chancellor announced at the International Investment Summit on 14th October 2024 that the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) would be transformed into the National Wealth Fund (NWF), building on UKIB’s expertise and leadership to go further to catalyse more private investment.
Processes relating to the rebranding to the NWF were managed and carried out by the NWF and were conducted within the NWF’s existing departmental budgets.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which news services her Department holds subscriptions to.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department holds subscriptions to the following news services:
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 5.76 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, when the next bi-annual fiscal forum with the Oil and Gas sector will take place; where that forum will take place; and who will attend on behalf of the Government.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to maintaining an open and constructive dialogue with the oil and gas sector to support our energy security and ensure the sector plays its role in our clean energy ambitions.
In line with this I will chair the next Oil and Gas Fiscal Forum in the first quarter of next year. The date and location of the forum has not yet been confirmed.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Capital Gains Tax: Rates of tax — carried interest, published on 30 October 2024, what the evidential basis is for the cost of implementing a one year increase to Capital Gains Tax.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The published operational costs represent a high-level cost estimate for the changes required to HMRC IT systems to deliver this policy change which follow a recognised standard methodology. HMRC do not provide detailed costs related to policy changes.
Separately, the revenue impacts of the changes to the rates of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on carried interest from 6 April 2025 are included in the costings published in the main Autumn Budget 2024 document.
The CGT changes are the first step of a reform package that will put the tax treatment of carried interest on a fairer and sustainable footing, while preserving the competitiveness of the UK as a fund management fund. From 6 April 2026, the carried interest tax regime will move fully across to the Income Tax framework; this will be legislated in a future Finance Bill, which the House will have the opportunity to consider.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2024 to Question 13623 on Agriculture: Inheritance Tax, what data her Department holds on the impact of reforms to (a) agricultural property relief and (b) business property relief on tenant farmers.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief. In addition to the information highlighted in the Answer of 18 November 2024 to Question 13623 on Agriculture: Inheritance Tax, the Chancellor of the Exchequer provided further data in her recent letter to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee. The letter is available at committees.parliament.uk/publications/45691/documents/226235/default/.
The Government has held meetings with a range of stakeholders, including the Tenant Farmers Association.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.51 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, whether (a) non-residential agricultural buildings, (b) farm vehicles, (c) farm tools, (d) livestock and (e) chemicals and fertiliser stock are included in the valuation of an estate and its assets.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I can confirm that (a) non-residential agricultural buildings, (b) farm vehicles, (c) farm tools, (d) livestock and (e) chemicals and fertiliser stock are all included in the valuation of the agricultural and business assets of an estate.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 41 of her Department's document entitled Autumn Budget 2024, Policy Costings, published on 30 October 2024, what the evidential basis is for the Exchequer impact of changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief being £495 million in 2027-28; and what the split is between the two reliefs.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The costing methodology for reforming agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 by maintaining 100% relief for the first £1m of combined assets and 50% relief thereafter, and 50% relief for “not listed” shares on the markets of a recognised stock exchange is published in the Autumn Budget 2024 Policy Costing Document on page 41: