Written questions by Morton.

What assessment she has made of potential impact of the Spring Statement 2025 on levels of employment in Aldridge-Brownhills.

At Spring Statement 2025, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the government’s independent official forecaster, published its bi-annual economic and fiscal forecasts.In line with its mandate as set out in law, the OBR does not produce forecasts at a sub-national level.The OBR stated that it will make a full assessment of the economic impacts of the welfare policies announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper ahead of its next forecast in the Autumn.

What estimate she has made of the percentage of funding that will be released to the Ministry of Defence of a result of the change in Gross National Income spent on Official Development Assistance in 2025-2026.

As set out in Table 2.1 in the Spring Statement 2025 document, all savings generated from the Official Development Assistance (ODA) reduction in 2025-26 will be spent on defence. The difficult choice to reduce ODA reflects the evolving nature of the threat and the strategic shift required to meet it, whilst maintaining economic stability, a core foundation of the Plan for Change.

With reference to the press release entitled Joint statement of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Charlevoix, published on 14 March 2025, whether the Government has plans to increase its loan to Ukraine from the profits of sanctioned assets.

The Government has provided £2.26bn as part of the G7 Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration Loans for Ukraine (ERA) scheme. This will be repaid using profits from immobilised Russian sovereign assets in the EU. The G7 has agreed that the ERA can support $50bn in funding to Ukraine – the entirety of which has been pledged. The UK’s total military, humanitarian and economic support pledged since the start of the conflict now amounts to around £12.8bn.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on business confidence in Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.

Recent surveys from EY, PwC and Lloyds Bank show overall business and investor confidence is rising. The Government has taken significant steps to support rural businesses. We are investing £5 billion in broadband connectivity which will support growth in rural areas across the UK. We confirmed over £650 million of funding for local transport beyond City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements in 2025-26 to ensure that transport connections improve in our towns, villages and rural areas. We have also committed £5 billion for the farming budget over two years – which includes the largest ever amount of funding directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.

If she will make an estimate of the number of farmers which will be affected by upcoming changes to (a) Agriculture Property Relief and (b) Business Property Relief.

I refer the Honourable Member to the PQ referenced UIN 29306 published on 5th February 2025 at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-02-05/29306

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on business confidence in rural communities.

Recent surveys from EY, PwC and Lloyds Bank show overall business and investor confidence is rising. The Government has taken significant steps to support rural businesses. We are investing £5 billion in broadband connectivity which will support growth in rural areas across the UK. We confirmed over £650 million of funding for local transport beyond City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements in 2025-26 to ensure that transport connections improve in our towns, villages and rural areas. We have also committed £5 billion for the farming budget over two years – which includes the largest ever amount of funding directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.

How much revenue the Exchequer has raised from the application of VAT to private school fees since 1 January 2025.

The Annex to the Government Response to the Technical Note, Government_Response_to_the_Technical_Note_on_Applying_VAT_to_Private_School_Fees_and_Removing_the_Business_Rates_Charitable_Rate_Relief.pdf, sets out the expected VAT revenue resulting from this measure and the costing methodology. The Government estimates that it will raise £460 million this year, rising to £1,725 million in 2029/30. VAT revenue overall is recognised in the National Accounts on an accruals basis. As set out in the above Annex, the VAT liability in 2024/25 is time apportioned for the implementation date of 1 January 2025. The actual VAT liability reported on VAT returns for any month or quarter will depend on various factors, including the date when schools meet the requirement to register for VAT (if not already registered), and which of the staggered quarterly accounting periods apply to the business. VAT returns are generally due one month and seven days after the end of the accounting period.

Whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of the application of VAT to private school fees on the long-term finances of (a) private and (b) state education sectors.

The Government has published a detailed costing note and Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN) assessing the impacts of applying VAT to private school fees, including impacts on private schools and state schools: Private school fees — VAT measure - GOV.UK How to fund VAT costs is a commercial decision for individual schools. The Government estimates that private school fees will increase by around 10% on average. The number of children in independent schools has remained steady despite c75% real terms increase in average private school fees since 2000. The Government estimates that, in the long-term steady state, there will be 35,000 additional pupils in the state school sector, which is less than 0.5% of all state schools. Based on average 2024 to 2025 per-pupil spending in England, the government expects the revenue costs of pupils entering the state sector as a result of the VAT policy across the UK to steadily increase to a peak of around £270 million per annum after several years. In comparison, the Government estimates that the policy will raise over £1.7bn per annum by 2029/30.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 33030 on Agriculture: Inheritance Tax, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of these reforms on the agricultural equipment and machinery sector.

I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answers given to her previous questions on this same topic in both UIN 16240 and UIN 33030.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 33033 on Employers' Contributions: Apprentices, whether the employers' National Insurance contributions relief for under-21s and under-25 apprentices also applies to employed interns.

Employers of interns are eligible for these National Insurance Contributions reliefs provided the interns are either under age 21 with earnings between the Secondary Threshold (ST), currently £175 a week and the Upper Secondary Threshold (UST), currently £967 a week; or are under age 25 with earnings above the ST and not exceeding the Apprentice Upper Secondary Threshold (AUST), currently £967 a week, and on an approved UK Government apprenticeship standard or framework. Full details of the UK Government apprenticeship standard or frameworks which are approved can be found at Paying employer National Insurance contributions for apprentices under 25 - GOV.UK .

Whether she has considered implementing a phased introduction of planned Inheritance Tax changes for agricultural properties, in the context of support for smaller farms.

The Government set out its policy at Autumn Budget 2024. The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and 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. The reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, in 2026-27 paying more inheritance tax. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.

What consultation she has undertaken with agricultural stakeholders on the potential impacts of planned changes to Agricultural Property Relief.

I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 33134.

What impact assessment she has undertaken on the potential impact of the planned increase in employers' National Insurance contributions on levels of employment.

The Office for Budget Responsibility’s October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook expects that the Employer National Insurance Contributions package will lead to a reduction in the participation rate by 0.1 per cent from 2025-26 onwards. Overall, once the impact of all the Budget measures are taken into consideration, the OBR expect the employment level to increase from 33.1 million in 2024 to 34.3 million in 2029.

Whether she has considered providing targeted relief or exemptions from employers' National Insurance contributions increases to (a) charities, (b) social enterprises and (c) other not-for-profit entities.

The Government recognises the important role charities play in our society and has made it a priority to reset the relationship with civil society by developing a Civil Society Covenant.To repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the Government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance.The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of employers with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.More broadly, within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 to 2024.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) on the ability of farming families to pass on agricultural (a) businesses and (b) property to future generations.

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and 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. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free. The reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.

What steps she is taking to help mitigate the impact of public sector pay settlements for 2025 on inflation.

For 2025-26, public sector pay awards for most frontline sector workforces are subject to the ongoing Pay Review Body (PRB) process. The majority of PRBs are required, per their terms of reference, to consider the government’s inflation target when forming their recommendations. The Chancellor has also been clear that departmental settlements for 2025-26 and beyond will need to fund these public sector pay awards, given that additional borrowing to fund pay awards could increase inflationary pressures.

What steps she plans to take to (a) support small businesses and (b) ensure that they are not disproportionately impacted, in the context of the anticipated increase in Employers National Insurance Contributions from April 2025.

The Government has taken difficult but necessary decisions to deliver long-term growth. Fixing the public finances is the only way to create long-term stability in which businesses can invest and thrive. The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest employers, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Businesses will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under-21s and under-25 apprentices. The Government is committed to making the UK one of the best places to start and grow a business. The Budget announced tax reforms to provide businesses with long term confidence, to make the tax system fairer, and to support the British high street, including: Introducing permanently lower tax rates for high-street retail, hospitality, and leisure properties (RHL) from 2026-27; Preventing RHL relief from ending in April by extending it at 40% for 2025-26, whilst also freezing the small businesses multiplier; and Publishing our Corporate Tax Roadmap to provide stability, certainty, and predictability within the tax system for businesses across the economy. With a capped headline rate of 25%, the UK has the lowest Corporate Tax rate in the G7. The retention of the Small Profits Rate means 9 in 10 actively trading companies, including many SMEs, will have a Corporation Tax rate lower than 25%, with almost 70% of actively trading companies at 19%.

Whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing a phased reduction in employer National Insurance contributions for businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

The Government has taken a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability after the situation we inherited from the previous administration. One of the toughest decisions we took was to raise the rate of employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) from 13.8% to 15%, whilst reducing the per-employee threshold at which employers start to pay National Insurance (the Secondary Threshold) from £9,100 to £5,000. The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that next year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change. It means employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage without paying a penny of employer NICs.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) introducing targeted relief for and (b) reforming employer National Insurance contributions.

The Government has taken difficult but necessary decisions to deliver long-term growth. Fixing the public finances is essential for providing long-term stability in which businesses can invest and thrive. The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest employers, which is why we have decided to more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change in 2025/26. Businesses will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under-21s and under-25 apprentices.

Whether she discussed China’s economic practices during her visit to Beijing in January 2025.

During the 2025 UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, the Chancellor was clear that whilst we must cooperate with China on areas of mutual interest, we will confidently challenge on areas where we disagree. The Chancellor raised UK concerns during meetings with her Chinese counterparts, including about trade imbalances and economic security.The Chancellor also published a written ministerial statement about her visit to China on the morning of Monday 13 January (found here) and delivered an oral statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday 14 January (found here).