Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the next review and report on the work of the OBR be commissioned before the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011 states that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Non-executive committee must appoint a person or body at least once in every 5-year period to review and report on the OBR.
The Chair of the OBR Oversight Board formally commissioned the third external review on 24 May 2024 which was published on 10 February 2025.
The OBR’s external reviews are published on the OBR’s website. https://obr.uk/about-the-obr/external-reviews/
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she expect to receive the Payments Forward Plan from the Payments Vision Delivery Committee before 18 December 2025.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given on 30 October 2025 to PQ UIN 85107.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to encourage people aged under 30 to (a) save and (b) invest for retirement.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to incentivising greater saving and investment to help people save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience and to supporting people of all incomes and at all stages of life to save.
The Lifetime ISA is designed to encourage younger people to get into the habit of saving for the longer term. The Help to Save scheme also supports low-income working households to start a long-term savings habit.
The government encourages pension saving through generous tax relief on pension contributions and investment income and growth. These reliefs were worth £78.2bn in 2023/24. Individuals can also save in a range of Individual Savings Accounts each year, such as cash and stocks & shares and any savings income within it is tax free.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of banking hubs that will be operational at the end of each year to 2028.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Currently there are 190 banking hubs operational and Cash Access UK, who oversee banking hub rollout, expect 200 to be operational by the end of 2025. The UK banking sector has publicly committed to delivering 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament.
As the timing of the roll-out of banking hubs is industry-driven, the Government does not make year-on-year estimates.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 77468 on Contactless Payments, if she will have discussions with the FCA on extending the closing deadline for responses to the consultation on unlimited contactless card payments.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
On September 10, the FCA launched a consultation on its proposals to introduce a new risk-based approach to contactless payments, allowing payment service providers greater flexibility to determine their approach to contactless payments where they identify there is a low risk of fraud. This consultation closed on 15 October. Decisions on the consultation process on changes to the contactless limits are a matter for the FCA, which is independent of the Government.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she expects to receive the Payments Forward Plan under the National Payments Vision.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Terms of Reference for the Payments Vision Delivery Committee set out the Payments Forward Plan will be published by the end of this year. This will set out a sequenced plan of initiatives across the wider UK payments ecosystem.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will have urgent discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on proposals to allow unlimited contactless card payments.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Decisions on contactless limits are a matter for the FCA, which is independent of the Government. On September 10, the FCA launched a consultation on its proposals to introduce a new risk-based approach to contactless payments, allowing payment service providers greater flexibility to determine their approach to contactless payments where they identify there is a low risk of fraud.
The FCA’s consultation remains open until 15 October. Further details on the FCA’s proposals can be found on their website: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/consultation/cp25-24.pdf
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of employees who having received the National Living Wage increase in April 2025 have now begun to pay income tax.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information is not available. HMRC does not hold information on hourly pay rates of Pay As You Earn taxpayers and therefore cannot identify which employees are in receipt of the National Living Wage (NLW).
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department is taking fiscal steps to help support the growth of the mutual and co-operative sector.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has announced multiple measures to unlock the full potential of the mutual sector, including in a package announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at Mansion House 2024.
The package included funding for the Law Commission to complete independent reviews of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and the Friendly Societies Acts 1974 and 1992. These reviews will put forward recommendations to develop a more modern and supportive legislative environment for the mutuals registered under the relevant Acts. The Government will carefully consider the findings of the Law Commission reviews to understand whether reform of the legislation is needed to ensure these businesses are supported to grow and succeed into the future.
The package also contained non-fiscal measures to support the growth of the sector. This included a call for evidence on potential reform to the credit union common bond in Great Britain, responses to which are now being considered. The government also asked the Prudential Regulatory Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to produce a report on the current mutuals landscape by the end of 2025 and welcomed the establishment of the Mutual and Co-operative Sector Business Council. Finally, the government committed to progressing further amendments to the Building Societies Act 1986 following two statutory instruments being laid in October 2024, creating a more supportive legislative environment for building societies.
HM Treasury is currently progressing these measures. Together, they reinforce the government’s commitment to support the mutual and co-operative sector.
Please note that co-operatives and credit unions policy are devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she expects to receive the report from the Payments Vision Delivery Committee before the Conference recess.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Mansion House event in July 2025, the Payments Vision Delivery Committee set out a new model for the design and delivery of the next generation of retail payments infrastructure in the UK. The Committee’s publication can be found here: Payments Vision Delivery Committee Update - GOV.UK
Under the new model, the Committee will set the strategy for retail payments infrastructure in line with the ambitions of the government’s National Payments Vision, and this strategy will be translated into design by the new Retail Payments Infrastructure Board. The Board will be chaired by the Bank of England and will have broad representation from across the ecosystem. A new industry-owned and industry-led Delivery Company will be responsible for procuring and funding the new infrastructure, overseen by the Board.
The Committee will publish its strategy this autumn and the Bank of England is working at pace to establish the new Board with a view to its first meeting taking place in October.
The Committee will also publish the Payments Forward Plan by end-2025, including a sequenced plan of future initiatives and a recommended monitoring approach.