Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her speech to the Labour Party Conference of 29 September 2025, with which employers her Department held discussions on the Youth Jobs Guarantee.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In September, the Chancellor announced that the government will offer a guaranteed job to all young people on Universal Credit, who are unemployed for over 18 months. This will guarantee an opportunity for young people to gain essential skills and experience and prevent the damaging effects of long-term unemployment. This will help aid the government's long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.
As the Chancellor has already set out, further details on the design of work placements and delivery of the scheme, including eligibility criteria, will be set out at the Budget.
The jobs guarantee will be funded from within existing budgets and will be delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
DWP are engaging with employers and employer representative bodies on the details of the jobs guarantee. Participating employers will be agreed in due course.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) funding and (b) other resources her Department plans to provide to support the process of recouping the Winter Fuel Payment from pensioners with an income of more than £35,000.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government announced in June 2025 that the Winter Fuel Payment will be made universal in England and Wales from winter 2025. Subsequently, the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive have confirmed that they will mirror the approach for England and Wales.
Individuals who are of State Pension age and have total income over £35,000 will have their Winter Fuel Payment recovered through the tax system. The amount recovered will be equal to the full value of the Winter Fuel Payment.
If a pensioner’s total income is above the income threshold, the tax will be automatically recovered through PAYE, or through their Self-Assessment return if they pay tax that way.
For the majority of individuals, tax recovery will be made through PAYE automatically, meaning pensioners will not need to take any further action. For those in Self Assessment, HMRC will pre-populate their tax return with the amount of the payment, using data provided by Department for Work and Pensions, or Social Security Scotland for payments made in Scotland. Pensioners do not need to register for Self-Assessment just to declare their Winter Fuel Payment.
The Government will publish further details of the operational impacts, including staffing and IT delivery costs of HM Revenue and Customs making these changes in a Tax Information and Impact Note at Budget 2025, alongside draft Finance Bill legislation on the tax recovery of the Winter Fuel Payment.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the cost of administering Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners with an income of more than £35,000.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government announced in June 2025 that the Winter Fuel Payment will be made universal in England and Wales from winter 2025. Subsequently, the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive have confirmed that they will mirror the approach for England and Wales.
Individuals who are of State Pension age and have total income over £35,000 will have their Winter Fuel Payment recovered through the tax system. The amount recovered will be equal to the full value of the Winter Fuel Payment.
If a pensioner’s total income is above the income threshold, the tax will be automatically recovered through PAYE, or through their Self-Assessment return if they pay tax that way.
For the majority of individuals, tax recovery will be made through PAYE automatically, meaning pensioners will not need to take any further action. For those in Self Assessment, HMRC will pre-populate their tax return with the amount of the payment, using data provided by Department for Work and Pensions, or Social Security Scotland for payments made in Scotland. Pensioners do not need to register for Self-Assessment just to declare their Winter Fuel Payment.
The Government will publish further details of the operational impacts, including staffing and IT delivery costs of HM Revenue and Customs making these changes in a Tax Information and Impact Note at Budget 2025, alongside draft Finance Bill legislation on the tax recovery of the Winter Fuel Payment.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff will be required to administer the Winter Fuel Payment in 2025-26.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government announced in June 2025 that the Winter Fuel Payment will be made universal in England and Wales from winter 2025. Subsequently, the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive have confirmed that they will mirror the approach for England and Wales.
Individuals who are of State Pension age and have total income over £35,000 will have their Winter Fuel Payment recovered through the tax system. The amount recovered will be equal to the full value of the Winter Fuel Payment.
If a pensioner’s total income is above the income threshold, the tax will be automatically recovered through PAYE, or through their Self-Assessment return if they pay tax that way.
For the majority of individuals, tax recovery will be made through PAYE automatically, meaning pensioners will not need to take any further action. For those in Self Assessment, HMRC will pre-populate their tax return with the amount of the payment, using data provided by Department for Work and Pensions, or Social Security Scotland for payments made in Scotland. Pensioners do not need to register for Self-Assessment just to declare their Winter Fuel Payment.
The Government will publish further details of the operational impacts, including staffing and IT delivery costs of HM Revenue and Customs making these changes in a Tax Information and Impact Note at Budget 2025, alongside draft Finance Bill legislation on the tax recovery of the Winter Fuel Payment.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department plans to take to (a) recruit and (b) reallocate staff to deliver the Winter Fuel Payment in 2025-26.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government announced in June 2025 that the Winter Fuel Payment will be made universal in England and Wales from winter 2025. Subsequently, the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive have confirmed that they will mirror the approach for England and Wales.
Individuals who are of State Pension age and have total income over £35,000 will have their Winter Fuel Payment recovered through the tax system. The amount recovered will be equal to the full value of the Winter Fuel Payment.
If a pensioner’s total income is above the income threshold, the tax will be automatically recovered through PAYE, or through their Self-Assessment return if they pay tax that way.
For the majority of individuals, tax recovery will be made through PAYE automatically, meaning pensioners will not need to take any further action. For those in Self Assessment, HMRC will pre-populate their tax return with the amount of the payment, using data provided by Department for Work and Pensions, or Social Security Scotland for payments made in Scotland. Pensioners do not need to register for Self-Assessment just to declare their Winter Fuel Payment.
The Government will publish further details of the operational impacts, including staffing and IT delivery costs of HM Revenue and Customs making these changes in a Tax Information and Impact Note at Budget 2025, alongside draft Finance Bill legislation on the tax recovery of the Winter Fuel Payment.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what case studies she has used to calculate the financial impact of proposed changes to Agricultural Property Relief.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The tax base consists of all estates subject to Inheritance Tax that are projected to claim Agricultural Property Relief or Business Property Relief across the scorecard period. The tax base is estimated using HMRC administrative data, and is grown over the forecast in line with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast for IHT receipts.
More information is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6721d2c54da1c0d41942a8d2/Policy_Costing_Document_-_Autumn_Budget_2024.pdf
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to (a) agricultural and (b) business property relief in the Autumn Budget on family-owned farms in (a) Kent and (b) Faversham and Mid Kent constituency.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
I refer the Honourable Member to the PQ referenced 12250 published on 11th November 2024 at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-11-01/12250.
The Chancellor also recently wrote to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee on this issue, and her letter may be of interest: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/45691/documents/226235/default/.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to agricultural property relief in the Autumn Budget 2024 on the sustainability of domestic food production.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected in 2026-27 by the changes to APR and BPR, with around half of those being claims that involve AIM shares. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.
The UK has robust domestic production, and these reforms will only affect a small number of estates. The small number of landowners affected will not necessarily need to sell the land and, if they choose to, then it does not necessarily mean the land would stop being used for food production. At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced the largest ever investment in sustainable food production in England.
In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance she plans to issue to small business farmers who wish to keep an inherited family farm.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.
It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected in 2026-27 by the changes to APR and BPR, with around half of those being claims that involve AIM shares. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.
The UK has robust domestic production, and these reforms will only affect a small number of estates. The small number of landowners affected will not necessarily need to sell the land and, if they choose to, then it does not necessarily mean the land would stop being used for food production. At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced the largest ever investment in sustainable food production in England.
In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to help ensure the generational continuity of agricultural businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is committing the largest ever proportion of the £5 billion farming budget across this year and next to sustainable food production in our history.
It is expected that up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief (APR), or APR and business property relief (BPR) together, will be affected in 2026-27 by the changes to APR and BPR. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming APR (or those claiming APR and BPR together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.
The Government published information about the reforms to APR and BPR at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.