Written questions by Garnier.

What assessment she has made of the importance of appointing a Digital Markets Champion with experience and understanding of digital assets and distributed ledger technologies, to help position the UK as a global hub for digital finance and innovation.

Last July the government published the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy. The strategy announced that the government will appoint an industry expert as Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, who will provide leadership from, and for, the sector on wholesale market digitalisation.The government is working at pace to appoint a suitable candidate for the role, taking into account their backgrounds and previous experience, and will provide an update in due course.

What steps the Department is taking to ensure that the recruitment process for the Digital Markets Champion includes interviewing candidates from a broad range of professional backgrounds, including those with experience in emerging technologies and digital assets.

Last July the government published the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy. The strategy announced that the government will appoint an industry expert as Wholesale Digital Markets Champion, who will provide leadership from, and for, the sector on wholesale market digitalisation.The government is working at pace to appoint a suitable candidate for the role, taking into account their backgrounds and previous experience, and will provide an update in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer on 8 December 2025 to Question 96643, whether she has any plans to require pensioners who received the state pension as their only income and consequently inherit part of (a) the basic state pension, (b) the additional state pension and (c) the new state pension following the death of their spouse or civil partner to pay income tax.

As set out in my reply to Question 96643, the Chancellor has said that those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax over this Parliament. At the Budget, the Government announced that it will achieve this by easing the administrative burden for pensioners so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027/28. The Government will set out more detail in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer on 8 December 2025 to Question 96643, whether she has any plans to require pensioners who receive both the basic state pension and the additional state pension as their only income to pay income tax.

As set out in my reply to Question 96643, the Chancellor has said that those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax over this Parliament. At the Budget, the Government announced that it will achieve this by easing the administrative burden for pensioners so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027/28. The Government will set out more detail in due course.

What discussions he has had with his USA counterpart under the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future on mutual recognition of UK and US cryptoasset firms, aligned disclosure standards, and ensuring that decentralised protocols are not regulated as financial infrastructure.

The Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future was established by HM Treasury and the US Treasury on 22 September. Its purpose is to bring the world’s leading financial centres together to develop concrete policy options and recommendations on further financial market innovation, with a particular focus on digital assets and capital markets. Innovation in these industries will be central to the government’s mission for economic growth. Further details can be found here: Boosting collaboration between UK and US financial systems to drive innovation and growth in global markets - GOV.UK

Whether her Department plans to use the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future to deepen engagement with United States’ regulators following the finalisation of the GENIUS Act, to support regulatory alignment on cross border stablecoins.

The Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future was established by HM Treasury and the US Treasury on 22 September. Its purpose is to bring the world’s leading financial centres together to develop concrete policy options and recommendations on further financial market innovation, with a particular focus on digital assets and capital markets. Innovation in these industries will be central to the government’s mission for economic growth. Further details can be found here: Boosting collaboration between UK and US financial systems to drive innovation and growth in global markets - GOV.UK

Whether the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future is being used to develop a joint UK-US approach to tokenisation, including cross-border access to tokenised securities and aligned rules for capital, disclosure and decentralised wallets.

The Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future was established by HM Treasury and the US Treasury on 22 September. Its purpose is to bring the world’s leading financial centres together to develop concrete policy options and recommendations on further financial market innovation, with a particular focus on digital assets and capital markets. Innovation in these industries will be central to the government’s mission for economic growth. Further details can be found here: Boosting collaboration between UK and US financial systems to drive innovation and growth in global markets - GOV.UK

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2025 to Question 61158, whether she plans to publish the statutory instrument on open banking in the first quarter of 2026.

The National Payments Vision, published in November, set out the government’s ambitious plans for the next phase of Open Banking, building on the UK’s leadership in this area. This includes steps towards delivering seamless, Open Banking enabled, account-to-account payments. The government intends to use powers in the ‘Data (Use and Access) Act’ to put in place a long-term regulatory framework for Open Banking and is working at pace to deliver this.

With reference to paragraph 4.167 State Pension and Simple Assessment of the Budget 2025, published in November 2025, when her Department began consulting on this policy.

As the Chancellor has said, over this Parliament those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax. As announced at the Budget, the government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28. The government will set out more detail next year.

Whether she considered including an assessment of the potential impact of paragraph 4.167 State Pension and Simple Assessment of the Budget 2025, published in November 2025, on costs to the public purse within the Budget 2025 document.

As the Chancellor has said, over this Parliament those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax. As announced at the Budget, the government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28. The government will set out more detail next year.

With reference to Section 4.167 of the Autumn Budget 2025, when her Department plans to publish the solution ensuring that pensioners who only receive the state pension will not (a) have to fill out a tax return and (b) pay income tax.

As the Chancellor has said, over this Parliament those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax. As announced at the Budget, the government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28. The government will set out more detail next year.

With reference to Section 4.167 (State Pension and Simple Assessment) of the Budget 2025, if she will publish the cost impact of this policy.

As the Chancellor has said, over this Parliament those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax. As announced at the Budget, the government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28. The government will set out more detail next year.

Whether it is her policy to protect accrued pension rights when changing the tax treatment of pensions.

The Government does not comment on media speculation ahead of Budgets nor collect real-time data on the number of individuals accessing their pensions. Taking unplanned steps in respect of an individual’s pension may not be in their long-term financial interest. Individuals should get suitable professional advice, including from a regulated financial adviser.

What estimate she has made of the number of customers accessing pensions prior to the Autumn Budget 2025; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of media coverage of the Budget on pension adequacy throughout retirement.

The Government does not comment on media speculation ahead of Budgets nor collect real-time data on the number of individuals accessing their pensions. Taking unplanned steps in respect of an individual’s pension may not be in their long-term financial interest. Individuals should get suitable professional advice, including from a regulated financial adviser.

Whether her department has made an assessment of the benefits of tokenised financial infrastructure.

Using distributed ledger technology to tokenise assets could deliver a step change in financial market efficiency, particularly by enabling more efficient, real-time data sharing which could lower operational costs and enhance resilience. It is important that the government works with the financial services regulators and the sector to understand and deliver these benefits. That is why the government has published its Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy and why it has taken forward the Digital Securities Sandbox which will facilitate the issuance, trading and settlement of tokenised securities in the UK on distributed ledgers. It is also taking forward other initiatives such as the Digital Gilt Instrument, or ‘DIGIT’, which will help demonstrate the benefits of these new technologies.

Whether it will be a formal requirement for the Digital Markets Champion to have a strong proficiency in (a) blockchain and (b) digital assets.

On July 15th the government published the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy. The strategy announced that the government will appointing an industry expert as Digital Markets Champion, who will provide leadership from, and for, the sector on wholesale market digitalisation. The government is working at pace to identify and appoint a suitable candidate for the role and will provide an update in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that stablecoin issuers maintain sufficient backing assets to protect consumers and financial stability.

On 29 April, HM Treasury published draft legislation for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets. The draft legislation includes a new regulated activity for stablecoin issuance in the UK, meaning firms carrying on this activity will need to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Government is seeking to bring forward final legislation before the end of this year.

Whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of individuals who intend to leave the UK following the ending of Business Asset Disposal Relief.

No estimate of the number of individuals who would leave the UK if Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) were to be abolished has been made. The government recognises the important role that small businesses and entrepreneurs will play in boosting Britain’s growth. That’s why BADR has been maintained with a generous lifetime limit of £1 million, and BADR rates increases have been phased in over 18 months to give business owners time to adjust. You can find statistics on the number of claimants, amounts of qualifying gains and tax charged at the BADR rate in table 4 of the Capital Gains Tax accredited official statistics.Capital Gains Tax statistics - GOV.UK You can also find an estimate for the cost of BADR in the cost of non-structural tax reliefs statistics:Tax relief statistics - GOV.UK

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on the potential impact of changes to cash ISAs on mortgage costs.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including assessments of the impact of policy decisions on the macroeconomy, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR does not typically publish estimates of the impact of individual policies. Instead, the net effect of the government’s policy package is assessed by the OBR. The Government is looking at options for reforms to ISAs that get the balance right between cash and equities to earn better return for savers, boost the culture of retail investment, and support the growth mission. The Government recognises that cash savings play an important role in helping households build a financial buffer for a rainy day.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to cash ISAs on (a) house prices and (b) mortgage costs.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including assessments of the impact of policy decisions on the macroeconomy, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR does not typically publish estimates of the impact of individual policies. Instead, the net effect of the government’s policy package is assessed by the OBR. The Government is looking at options for reforms to ISAs that get the balance right between cash and equities to earn better return for savers, boost the culture of retail investment, and support the growth mission. The Government recognises that cash savings play an important role in helping households build a financial buffer for a rainy day.