Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much their department spent on X and xAI since July 2024.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 January 2026 to the hon. Member for Windsor, UIN 106863.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much their department spent on X and xAI since July 2024.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

As of January 2026, total expenditure by the Department since July 2024 has been £69,384.94, inclusive of VAT, on X and zero on xAI.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the regulatory dashboard, published on 21 October 2025, if she will publish the letters sent to 19 regulators on enabling safe AI-powered innovation.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

On 28th January 2026, DSIT SoS wrote to 19 regulators as part of the AI Action Plan anniversary. These letters asked regulators to work with DSIT and their sponsor department to publish a plan setting out how they will enable safe AI-powered innovation by May 2026, including clear, ambitious goals to enable safe AI adoption and responsible innovation; and to report annually on how their regulatory approach has enabled innovation and growth driven by AI in their sector. A copy of the letter sent to regulators has been published on gov.uk.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing a deferral mechanism for inheritance tax liabilities arising from the reduction of 100% Business Property Relief above £2.5 million where there is no effective means for family shareholders to fund the liability without disposal of the business.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The reforms to business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992 when the rate of relief was a maximum of 50 per cent on all business assets, including the first £2.5 million.

Excluding estates only holding shares designated as ‘not listed’ on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, the reforms are now expected to result in up to 220 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. This means just over 80 per cent of such estates making claims are forecast to not pay any more inheritance tax.

The rules for business property relief are longstanding and business assets do not qualify for 100 per cent relief under the current rules if they do not meet qualifying conditions, such as the minimum period of ownership test and the nature of the business.

Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. Any liability can also be settled through the disposal of any assets within the estate where appropriate. Where share buybacks are used to fund a liability, special treatment has also existed in the system since 1982 for shares in unquoted companies when inheritance tax could not otherwise have been paid without undue hardship.

More generally, HMRC recognises the difficulties that personal representatives may face when raising funds to pay inheritance tax and has a number of established ways to help tax payments be made. This includes the Direct Payment Scheme which can be used to transfer money electronically directly from the deceased’s account(s) to HMRC to settle the liability before probate is granted. There are also other options available if the inheritance tax cannot be paid before probate is granted, such as applying for a grant on credit. This allows payment of all or some of the tax and interest due to be postponed until after the grant of probate.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the capacity of family-owned trading businesses to fund inheritance tax liabilities within six months of death, particularly where probate has not been granted.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The reforms to business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992 when the rate of relief was a maximum of 50 per cent on all business assets, including the first £2.5 million.

Excluding estates only holding shares designated as ‘not listed’ on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, the reforms are now expected to result in up to 220 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. This means just over 80 per cent of such estates making claims are forecast to not pay any more inheritance tax.

The rules for business property relief are longstanding and business assets do not qualify for 100 per cent relief under the current rules if they do not meet qualifying conditions, such as the minimum period of ownership test and the nature of the business.

Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. Any liability can also be settled through the disposal of any assets within the estate where appropriate. Where share buybacks are used to fund a liability, special treatment has also existed in the system since 1982 for shares in unquoted companies when inheritance tax could not otherwise have been paid without undue hardship.

More generally, HMRC recognises the difficulties that personal representatives may face when raising funds to pay inheritance tax and has a number of established ways to help tax payments be made. This includes the Direct Payment Scheme which can be used to transfer money electronically directly from the deceased’s account(s) to HMRC to settle the liability before probate is granted. There are also other options available if the inheritance tax cannot be paid before probate is granted, such as applying for a grant on credit. This allows payment of all or some of the tax and interest due to be postponed until after the grant of probate.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of full Business Property Relief above £2.5 million on levels of forced sales of large family-owned employers.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The reforms to business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992 when the rate of relief was a maximum of 50 per cent on all business assets, including the first £2.5 million.

Excluding estates only holding shares designated as ‘not listed’ on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, the reforms are now expected to result in up to 220 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. This means just over 80 per cent of such estates making claims are forecast to not pay any more inheritance tax.

The rules for business property relief are longstanding and business assets do not qualify for 100 per cent relief under the current rules if they do not meet qualifying conditions, such as the minimum period of ownership test and the nature of the business.

Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. Any liability can also be settled through the disposal of any assets within the estate where appropriate. Where share buybacks are used to fund a liability, special treatment has also existed in the system since 1982 for shares in unquoted companies when inheritance tax could not otherwise have been paid without undue hardship.

More generally, HMRC recognises the difficulties that personal representatives may face when raising funds to pay inheritance tax and has a number of established ways to help tax payments be made. This includes the Direct Payment Scheme which can be used to transfer money electronically directly from the deceased’s account(s) to HMRC to settle the liability before probate is granted. There are also other options available if the inheritance tax cannot be paid before probate is granted, such as applying for a grant on credit. This allows payment of all or some of the tax and interest due to be postponed until after the grant of probate.

Found: Luke Charters (Labour, York Outer) (added 28 Oct 2024; removed 27 Oct 2025) 23 of 59 (39.0%) Peter Fortune