Family Businesses

Debate between Rebecca Smith and James Murray

Wednesday 26th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[James Murray]

To correct the hon. Gentleman, I did not say that only 4% will be affected. We have set out that up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim business property relief, are expected to be affected in 2026-27. That means that about three quarters of estates will be unaffected and will not pay any more inheritance tax. All the data on that has been set out in a letter from the Chancellor to the Treasury Committee, and if the hon. Gentleman looks at that document, he will see some of the stats that I refer to.

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

Of the 500 or so that the Minister has just explained will have to pay inheritance tax, does he have any idea what number are small businesses, compared with the large estates that he seeks to challenge in the legislation?

[James Murray]

The data that I refer to is based on claims data. This is an important point that comes up frequently when we have debates on agricultural property relief and business property relief. If one were to consider assets owned by farmers or other business owners, the actual value of the asset does not give a guide to what claim might be made against inheritance tax because that will depend on the ownership structure, on debt that might be owned or on what inheritances have happened earlier in people’s lives and so on. The only data that can give an indication of what impact the changes will have from April 2026 is the claims data.

The data that I referred to earlier and which I referred to in response to the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Nick Timothy) is the real claims data that HMRC has. That is the data on which we made decisions around this policy and which informs some of the Chancellor’s statistics in her response to the Treasury Committee, which the hon. Lady may like to consult.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rebecca Smith and James Murray

Tuesday 3rd December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

3. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase in employer national insurance contributions on public sector organisations.

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Murray)]

As we set out in the autumn statement, the Government have set aside funding to support the public sector with the additional cost of employer national insurance contributions. The amounts are £4.7 billion in 2025-26, £4.7 billion in 2026-27, £4.8 billion in 2027-28, £4.9 billion in 2028-29 and £5.1 billion in 2029-30. The Government plan to update Parliament on allocations by Department as soon as possible.

[James Murray]

The funding for the impact on public sector organisations includes funding for the devolved Governments, which is allocated through the Barnett formula in the usual way. It is the responsibility of the devolved Governments to manage devolved workforces. Might I say that if the bill is somewhat higher in Scotland, that may be due to the Scottish Government’s decisions about the size of the public sector?

[Rebecca Smith]

A major housing association serving not only Plympton, Plymstock and Ivybridge in my constituency but the rest of Plymouth and other parts of Devon and Cornwall will have to shoulder three quarters of a million pounds in increased national insurance contributions. That is money that could have been spent on new homes for some of the most vulnerable in my constituency. How will the Minister reassure my constituents patiently waiting for much-needed social housing when they realise that they will have to wait longer because of the Chancellor’s decisions?

[James Murray]

We recognise that the decision on national insurance contributions is a tough one, but we also recognise that it was necessary for the Chancellor to set out a Budget that included a record set of promises on home building. We are set to build 1.5 million homes over the course of this Parliament, investing in social and affordable housing. That is what will benefit the hon. Member’s constituents who need a decent home.