Written questions by Morton.

If he will publish a full impact assessment for ending the Energy Company Obligation scheme.

To bring energy bills down for all, the decision has been made not to continue the Energy Company Obligation when the current scheme ends.The government does not intend to publish a new impact assessment for ending the scheme. An assessment of their impacts was produced when both the ECO4 and Great British Insulation Scheme were laid.The government has committed £1.5 billion in additional grant funding to support low-income households and those in fuel poverty. Details of this will be set out in the Warm Homes Plan, which will be published soon.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Budget 2025 on areas with lower average incomes in each region.

HM Treasury’s ‘Impact on households’ publication, produced alongside Budget 2025, shows that the impact of government tax, welfare and public service spending decisions from Autumn Budget 2024 onwards are benefit households in the lowest income deciles the most, on average HM Treasury does not produce a distributional assessment of policy decisions at a subnational level.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the level of taxation set out in the Budget on savings, dividends and property income on small investors, retired people relying on investment income, and small business owners.

The Government is taking action to ensure income from assets are taxed more fairly. That is why we have increased taxes on property, dividend and savings income to narrow the gap between tax paid on work and tax paid on income from assets. The majority of taxpayers, and the majority of pensioners, have no taxable savings, dividend or property income and will pay no more tax as a result of these changes. Those with small amounts of income from assets will continue to be protected by tax-free allowances, and all income from savings and investments held in ISAs will continue to be entirely tax-free.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Budget 2025 on (a) investment and (b) hiring decisions by small and medium-sized enterprises.

We are cutting borrowing and debt, and supporting the Bank of England by tackling the persistent high inflation that dampens investment in the UK and slows economic growth. The Government set out its overall approach for supporting SMEs in the Small Business Strategy published in July 2025 and built on this with targeted reforms to support small businesses at Autumn Budget 2025. We are supporting employment and skills by changing the rules to fully fund SME apprenticeships training costs for eligible people under the age of 25. At the Budget we announced an Entrepreneurship which includes the largest ever injection of capital into the British Business Bank. Over the next five years, the British Business Bank will enable up to an additional £10 billion in small business lending through guarantees. We are also doubling the eligibility of our enterprise tax incentives to boost scale-ups and consulting on plans to reduce business energy prices.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of raising taxes on property income on the private rented sector, including supply and rent levels.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility does not expect that the reform to property income tax will have a significant impact on rental prices.

What estimate she has made of the (a) number of savers who will exceed the new reduced annual ISA limit and (b) additional revenue from that measure.

The overall annual ISA limit has not changed and remains at £20,000. Individuals under 65s and subscribing £12,000 in a Cash ISA can still invest the remaining £8,000 in Stocks & Shares and/or Innovative Finance ISAs and up to £4,000 in a Lifetime ISA. HMRC estimate that 1.3 million individuals aged under 65 subscribed over £12,000 into Cash ISAs based on the latest available data. The exchequer impact for this measure, combined with other savings measures, has been published (Page 79) in the AB25 Budget policy costing document: Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf

How she plans to assess and administer the new high-value property charge; what steps she is taking to prevent avoidance and undervaluation; and whether there will be transitional relief for homeowners whose property value has recently increased due to market fluctuations.

The Valuation Office Agency will be conducting a targeted valuation to identify properties in scope of the High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS). HVCTS will then be collected by local authorities. The Government will consult on the detailed implementation of the HVCTS in the new year, including the provision of support for those who may find it more difficult to pay. Further information on HVCTS is available at the following link: High Value Council Tax Surcharge - GOV.UK

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Budget on self-employed workers, including freelancers and contractors.

The Government is committed to a fair tax system that supports small firms and the self-employed, while ensuring the ongoing funding of essential public services and economic stability. The Budget raises revenue in a fair and progressive way, and the Government is sticking to its manifesto pledge not to increase the headline rates of income tax, National Insurance and VAT and its commitments in the Corporate Tax Roadmap. We are providing support for small businesses and the self-employed in a number of areas. We are introducing the toughest late payment laws in the G7. Through the new Business Growth Service, small businesses will be able to access support with skills training, recruitment, or accessing Start Up Loans and Export Finance.We are taking wider measures to ensure the wider economic environment is conducive to growth. We are cutting borrowing and debt, and supporting the Bank of England by tackling the persistent high inflation that dampens investment in the UK and slows economic growth. Government took measures at Budget to reduce consumer price inflation by 0.4pp in 2026/27.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of introducing a 3p-per-mile charge for electric cars and 1.5p for plug-in hybrids on low-income households, the environment, society and the economy.

As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, a new mileage charge for electric and plug-in hybrid cars, recognising that EVs contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. The Government has set out estimated impacts on household incomes from tax, welfare and public service spending decisions taken at Budget 2025, including eVED. These impacts are available at GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69269c6222424e25e6bc31bb/Impact_on_households.pdf The Government has also set out Exchequer and behavioural impacts from eVED and other Budget measures in the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document at GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/692872fd2a37784b16ecf676/Budget_2025-Policy_Costings.pdf

Communities and Local Government, whether car parks, roads and other hardstanding in urban areas are brownfield land.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published on 12 December 2024 broadened the definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and made clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas. The definition in question can be found in the NPPF glossary on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, whether potential housing development on (i) supermarkets with car parks, (ii) edge of town retail parks, (iii) train station car parks and (iv) former industrial sites where more than 25% of each site is made up of hardstanding are brownfield.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published on 12 December 2024 broadened the definition of brownfield land, set a strengthened expectation that applications on brownfield land will be approved, and made clear that plans should promote an uplift in density in urban areas. The definition in question can be found in the NPPF glossary on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason the Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 introduced a new definition of Previously Developed land.

Works on previously developed sites will be charged at the 50% discount rate for the Building Safety Levy. This is because of the higher costs of developing a previously developed/ brownfield site, and the greater risk that these projects become unviable. As set out in our response to technical consultation, we have implemented a definition of “Previously Developed Sites” in the Building Safety Levy regulations which draws on the definition of “Previously Developed Land” set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Appropriate amendments have been made to reflect that the NPPF definition is primarily designed to inform planning policy whereas the Building Safety Levy definition is used in regulations to apply a tax discount. We recognise the issues highlighted, and we are considering whether the approach in regulations could be more closely aligned with the NPPF, while maintaining the level of precision required for a taxation system.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason a (a) supermarket with a car park and (b) former industrial site where more than 25% of the site is hardstanding is not considered previously developed land under regulation 21 of the Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025.

Works on previously developed sites will be charged at the 50% discount rate for the Building Safety Levy. This is because of the higher costs of developing a previously developed/ brownfield site, and the greater risk that these projects become unviable. As set out in our response to technical consultation, we have implemented a definition of “Previously Developed Sites” in the Building Safety Levy regulations which draws on the definition of “Previously Developed Land” set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Appropriate amendments have been made to reflect that the NPPF definition is primarily designed to inform planning policy whereas the Building Safety Levy definition is used in regulations to apply a tax discount. We recognise the issues highlighted, and we are considering whether the approach in regulations could be more closely aligned with the NPPF, while maintaining the level of precision required for a taxation system.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of excluding car parks, roads and other forms of hardstanding from the definition of Previously Developed Land under regulation 21 of the Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 on housing viability.

Works on previously developed sites will be charged at the 50% discount rate for the Building Safety Levy. This is because of the higher costs of developing a previously developed/ brownfield site, and the greater risk that these projects become unviable. As set out in our response to technical consultation, we have implemented a definition of “Previously Developed Sites” in the Building Safety Levy regulations which draws on the definition of “Previously Developed Land” set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Appropriate amendments have been made to reflect that the NPPF definition is primarily designed to inform planning policy whereas the Building Safety Levy definition is used in regulations to apply a tax discount. We recognise the issues highlighted, and we are considering whether the approach in regulations could be more closely aligned with the NPPF, while maintaining the level of precision required for a taxation system.

How many people will move into higher tax bands due to the freezing of income tax and National Insurance thresholds for three years; and estimate she has made of the revenue raised through these measures.

The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate can be found in Table 3.19 in the OBR’s November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook – detailed forecast tables: receipts, linked below: https://obr.uk/download/november-2025-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-detailed-forecast-tables-receipts/?tmstv=1764165511 The estimated revenue from maintaining the personal income tax and equivalent national insurance thresholds at current levels for a further three years until April 2031 can be found in Table 4.1, policy 46 in HMT’s Budget 2025 document, linked below: Budget 2025 document - GOV.UK

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the level of taxation as a result of the Autumn Budget 2025 on the economy.

HM Treasury does not publish forecasts of the economy. Forecasts, including assessments of the impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR publishes its forecast in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility.  The OBR does not expect a material impact on economy-wide growth as a result of Budget 2025 tax changes.

What analysis her Department has carried out of the potential macro-economic effects (on investment, business growth, rental markets, and savings behaviour) of raising dividend, property and savings income tax rates by two percentage points as part of the 2025 Autumn Budget.

Economic forecasts, including assessments of the impact of policy decisions, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR publishes its forecast in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO). The OBR’s latest EFO can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility. The OBR does not expect a material impact on economy-wide growth, investment, or savings behaviour as a result of Budget 2025 tax changes.

What estimate she has made of the average increase in annual tax paid by households earning between £25,000 and £50,000 following the Autumn Budget 2025.

HM Treasury’s ‘Impact on households’ publication, produced alongside Budget 2025, shows that the impact of government tax, welfare and public service spending decisions from Autumn Budget 2024 onwards are progressive and benefit households in the lowest income deciles the most, on average, with increases in tax concentrated on the highest income households. On average, all but the richest 10% of households will benefit from policy decisions in 2028-29.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the West Midlands; and whether she plans to provide additional support for installing public EV chargers across Aldridge-Brownhills constituency.

The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle (EV). As of 1st October 2025 there were 7,661 public charging devices in the West Midlands, equating to 127 devices per 100,000 of the population. There were 31 public charging devices in the Aldrige-Brownhills constituency at the same period. The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which includes Aldridge-Brownhills constituency, has been allocated £16.6 million capital and resource funding as part of the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, to transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking in the area. The WMCA has also been allocated £1,531,000 through the Electric Vehicles Pavement Channels Grant.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that additional capital funding for roads, rail and bus networks announced in the Budget is allocated fairly across the West Midlands, including to areas across Aldridge-Brownhills which do not benefit from major rail interchanges or tram extensions.

The West Midlands Combined Authority will receive almost £2.4bn in Transport for City Region (TCR) funding up to 31/32. Enabling Mayors in recipient areas to deliver schemes that align with local priorities, the TCR programme provides unprecedented, multi-year, consolidated funding settlements to enhance the local transport networks of some of England’s largest city regions, including investment in public and sustainable transport infrastructure, to help to drive growth and productivity. It is for the Combined Authority to determine how this funding is allocated across the city region in line with local priorities.