Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of additional teachers employed in state schools in Worcestershire since the addition of VAT on independent school fees was enacted.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Reforms to VAT and business rates will raise around £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30, helping to deliver the government’s commitments relating to education and young people. This measure will raise essential revenue that will be invested in our public services, including the £1.7 billion increase to the core schools budget in 2026/27, taking total funding to £67 billion. This increase will support schools to recruit the staff they need, including in Worcestershire.
The department is investing further to deliver on our pledge to recruit 6,500 additional teachers and ensure sufficient high-quality teachers in all schools. These include teacher training bursaries worth up to £29,000 tax-free and a targeted retention incentive (TRI) worth up to £6,000 for early career teachers in disadvantaged areas. 19 schools in the Worcestershire local authority area are eligible for the TRI.
We are making good progress with the workforce growing by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, the schools where they are needed most. In Worcestershire local authority area, the number of secondary and special school teachers has grown to 4,797, the highest on record for this area.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of additional teachers funded in Worcestershire with the proceeds from VAT on school fees.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Reforms to VAT and business rates will raise around £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30, helping to deliver the government’s commitments relating to education and young people. This measure will raise essential revenue that will be invested in our public services, including the £1.7 billion increase to the core schools budget in 2026/27, taking total funding to £67 billion. This increase will support schools to recruit the staff they need, including in Worcestershire.
The department is investing further to deliver on our pledge to recruit 6,500 additional teachers and ensure sufficient high-quality teachers in all schools. These include teacher training bursaries worth up to £29,000 tax-free and a targeted retention incentive (TRI) worth up to £6,000 for early career teachers in disadvantaged areas. 19 schools in the Worcestershire local authority area are eligible for the TRI.
We are making good progress with the workforce growing by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, the schools where they are needed most. In Worcestershire local authority area, the number of secondary and special school teachers has grown to 4,797, the highest on record for this area.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of income tax payers in tax year ending April 2026 with taxable income of a) between £90,000 and £99,999 b) £100,000-£109,999 and c) £110,000 to £119,999.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publish the distribution of total income before tax in Table 3.3 of the Personal Incomes Statistics, linked below.
Personal Incomes Statistics for the tax year 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
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 steel tariffs on the number of jobs in UK manufacturing sectors.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Steel is essential for a modern economy such as the UK, underpinning key industries from construction to advanced manufacturing and defence. The trade measure introduced on 19 March aims to address critical global steel overcapacity challenges that threaten the viability of UK steelmaking, which supports approximately 40,000 direct jobs and 61,000 upstream supply chain jobs. From 1 July 2026, reduced import quotas with 50% tariffs on imports once quotas are exceeded will protect domestic production capacity, helping secure these high-quality UK steelmaking jobs that pay on average 32% above local wages.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of tariff revenue from steel imports.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
From 1 July 2026, steel import quotas will be reduced by 60% compared with the steel safeguard, with a 50% tariff on imports exceeding these levels.
The purpose of the trade measure is not to raise tariff revenue, and therefore we have not made any estimates. Instead, it aims to protect UK steel-making, which is essential for our critical national infrastructure and defence. The Steel Strategy aims to restore us to a balanced approach between UK demand being met through imports and through domestic production.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether other departmental budget lines are being reduced to fund the UK Steel Strategy.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We continue to engage with industry and other stakeholders as we move into the delivery phase of the steel strategy, following its publication on the 19 March. This includes work to implement the new trade defence measure ahead of the 1 July. The publication of any further information will be considered as this progresses.
The steel strategy reaffirms the government’s commitment to spend up to £2.5 billion on the steel sector. Building on the direct support provided so far, the National Wealth Fund will be the main mechanism for providing finance for investment in the steel sector. It is actively seeking engagement with steel firms for strong, investible projects.
Allocations are subject to the usual government approvals processes and ministerial decisions. All support for the steel sector has been drawn from existing government budgets, with no additional borrowing or trade-offs required.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made provisional allocations for the £2.5 billion assigned to the UK Steel Strategy.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We continue to engage with industry and other stakeholders as we move into the delivery phase of the steel strategy, following its publication on the 19 March. This includes work to implement the new trade defence measure ahead of the 1 July. The publication of any further information will be considered as this progresses.
The steel strategy reaffirms the government’s commitment to spend up to £2.5 billion on the steel sector. Building on the direct support provided so far, the National Wealth Fund will be the main mechanism for providing finance for investment in the steel sector. It is actively seeking engagement with steel firms for strong, investible projects.
Allocations are subject to the usual government approvals processes and ministerial decisions. All support for the steel sector has been drawn from existing government budgets, with no additional borrowing or trade-offs required.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
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 steel tariffs on inflation.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK’s steel industry is fundamental to UK manufacturing, the UK’s critical national infrastructure and defence. Steel overcapacity is distorting markets, artificially driving down prices and threatening the viability of our already fragile domestic steelmaking sector – which has more than halved in the last decade.
Our aim is to strike the right balance: while the measure aims to ensure continued viability of UK steel production, we have considered the impact of supply for downstream sectors in the design of this measure.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to publish an Impact Assessment for the UK Steel Strategy.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We continue to engage with industry and other stakeholders as we move into the delivery phase of the steel strategy, following its publication on the 19 March. This includes work to implement the new trade defence measure ahead of the 1 July. The publication of any further information will be considered as this progresses.
The steel strategy reaffirms the government’s commitment to spend up to £2.5 billion on the steel sector. Building on the direct support provided so far, the National Wealth Fund will be the main mechanism for providing finance for investment in the steel sector. It is actively seeking engagement with steel firms for strong, investible projects.
Allocations are subject to the usual government approvals processes and ministerial decisions. All support for the steel sector has been drawn from existing government budgets, with no additional borrowing or trade-offs required.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how long she plans to exempt steel production from the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is introducing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) from 1 January 2027. It will apply to imported goods from the aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, and iron and steel sectors
CBAM will apply to specific imported goods from the steel sector, as listed in Schedule 16 of the Finance Act 2026. There are no plans for exemptions from this list.
The UK CBAM is designed to address the risk of carbon leakage and to ensure that CBAM goods which are imported from overseas face a comparable carbon price to what is paid by manufacturers producing the same goods in the UK, under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. As CBAM will only apply to imported products, it will not apply to domestic steel production.