Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of wealth taxes on national economies in countries where they exist.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible. These and other decisions announced at the Budget will help repair the public finances and fund public services such as the NHS and education.
According to the latest OECD data, the UK raises more from taxing wealth both in revenue, and as a proportion of its tax base, than Spain, Switzerland, and Norway.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has had discussions with private pension schemes on ensuring that people who have made contributions to defined benefit private pensions are able to benefit from a pension surplus.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Work and Pensions consulted on surplus release from defined benefit pensions schemes last year. Throughout the consultation, and in developing the consultation response and the Pension Schemes Bill, the Department has engaged with pension schemes, representatives of their members, sponsoring employers and trustees. We recognise the valuable perspectives of stakeholder groups.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 61693 on Driving Licences: Health, what the DVLA’s planned timeframe is for the introduction of the new strategic system to process medical cases.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s new system to process medical cases is being delivered in three phases and is scheduled to be fully operational by March 2026.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with the Pensions Regulator on the effectiveness of the steps it is taking to ensure the independence of pensions trustee bodies.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department works closely with the Pensions Regulator (TPR) to ensure that pension scheme trustees always act in the interests of all beneficiaries.
All pension scheme trustees have the same duties and responsibilities and must comply with the law and the rules of their scheme. All pension schemes are required by legislation and the Regulator’s General Code of Practice to have processes in place to identify and manage conflicts of interest.
TPR’s corporate plan outlines the importance of good governance as a foundation of the pensions system and their priority to raise standards of trusteeship. The plan outlines their core delivery objectives in 2025 to 2026 to develop a new strategy for raising the standards of trusteeship and expand their market oversight to the largest professional trustee firms. DWP continues to regularly review TPR’s delivery against its corporate plan through its sponsorship arrangements.
The Government recognises the vital role trustees play in running occupational pension schemes and will consult on matters to improve trusteeship and governance later this year.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the estimated cost of maintaining the freeze on fuel duty is in (a) 2024-2025 and (b) the five-year Parliamentary term.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, fuel duty was frozen at the current rate of 52.95 pence per litre for 2025/26, at a projected cost of £3,015m in 2025/26. The OBR estimated in its March 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook that if the duty rate were to remain unchanged at its current level throughout the forecast period it would reduce receipts, on average, by £3.8 billion a year between 2026/27 and 2029/30.
Fuel duty was also frozen for 2024/25 by the previous government at Spring Budget 2024, at a projected cost of £3,090m in 2024/25.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking in Edinburgh to identify employers recruiting people residing in the city without legal permission or valid immigration status.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government is committed to taking effective action against employers of illegal workers. The Home Office collaborates closely with labour market enforcement bodies, routinely sharing intelligence and information to understand the threats and to inform the development of tactical action plans.
Intensification activity targeting illegal working has been undertaken by operational teams right across the UK including in Edinburgh. Immigration and Compliance Teams conduct compliance and intelligence led enforcement visits and will take robust enforcement action against those individuals applying a range of sanctions.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of not increasing the tax threshold to accommodate future increases in state pension on levels of pensioner poverty.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of the support available to them. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full new State Pension is currently projected to go up by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast.
The Government is also committed to keeping people’s taxes as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility, and so, at our first Budget, we decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help support veterans facing homelessness in each UK nation.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Prime Minister has made clear that ensuring veterans and their families can access support, including for housing, is a priority.
In November 2024, he announced an additional £3.5 million to continue the Reducing Veterans Homelessness Programme, which provides vital supported housing services to veterans across the UK. This programme has awarded grants to organisations in all four UK nations. Further information on grant awards can be found here: https://covenantfund.org.uk/reducing-veterans-homelessness-projects-weve-supported/
This funding also provides continuation of Op FORTITUDE, the single referral pathway providing housing support to veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness across the UK. To date, Op FORTITUDE has taken over 3,800 referrals and supported over 970 veterans into housing.
We have removed the five-year local connection requirement for veterans to access social housing in England. This is in addition to existing regulations which state veterans must be given 'additional priority' status as long as they have an urgent housing need.
In addition, the Veterans’ Capital Housing Fund has awarded and continues to award grants to organisations across the UK to refurbish, expand or enhance veteran accommodation. This programme will ensure there will be a long-term and sustainable supply of high-quality properties with access to wraparound support for veterans. Further information on the grants awarded under this programme can be found here: https://covenantfund.org.uk/2025/05/14/almost-4-5-million-awarded-to-support-veterans-with-a-housing-need/
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of staffing levels administering the War Pension Scheme.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The MOD is currently handling a significant volume of claims. To address this, staffing levels have been evaluated as part of efforts to reduce holdings and improve processing times. Several measures are being implemented, including the recruitment of additional staff for the War Pension Scheme, the introduction of new training programmes and standardised processes, and enhancements to IT systems to optimise and digitise the end to end services we provide to veterans.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to increase the tax threshold to accommodate future increases in state pension.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government remains committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.
Through our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, over 12 million pensioners benefitted from a 4.1% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2025. Over the course of this Parliament, the full yearly rate of the new State Pension is expected to increase by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast.
The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.
The previous Government made the decision to freeze the income tax Personal Allowance at its current level of £12,570 until April 2028. The current Government is committed to keeping people’s taxes as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility and so, at our first Budget, we decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds.