Written questions by Lake.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2024 to Question 11940 on Employers' Contributions: Wales, whether the referenced support will be provided annually; and over what duration that support will be provided.

The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance Contribution costs only. This funding will be allocated to departments, with the Barnett formula applying in the usual way. Given the impacts of this policy change need to be worked through in further detail, this additional support has not yet been included in departmental or devolved government settlements for 2025-26. However, the Government will make these allocations as soon as possible to inform planning for 2025-26.The overall outcome of the Barnett formula is that devolved governments all receive at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK.

With reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, HC 295, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of changes to (a) inheritance tax, (b) agricultural property relief and (c) business property relief on the number of agricultural tenancies in Wales.

The Government has published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill. The Government takes into account all representations made ahead of the Budget, and meets with stakeholders on a regular basis.

With reference to paragraph 3.19 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, what amount of consequential funding the Welsh Government will receive from the money allocated to local roads maintenance in England in 2025-26; and what comparability factor was used to calculate this level of consequentials.

The Welsh Government’s Spending Review settlement for 2025-26 is the largest in real terms of any Welsh Government settlement since devolution. The Welsh Government is receiving at least 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in England. That translates into over £4 billion more in 2025-26 and includes £1.7 billion through the operation of the Barnett formula.At Spending Reviews, the Barnett formula is applied to changes to each UK Government department’s overall DEL budget, rather than to individual programmes.As set out in the addendum to the Statement of Funding Policy published on 30 October, a comparability factor of 33.5% was applied to changes to the Department for Transport’s budget to calculate Barnett consequential funding for the Welsh Government in 2025-26.The Block Grant Transparency publication breaks down all changes in the devolved governments’ block grant funding from the 2015 Spending Review up to and including Main Estimates 2023-24. The most recent report was published in July 2023. An update to Block Grant Transparency to include Autumn Budget 2024 changes will be published in due course: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-july-2023

With reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, HC 295, what estimate she has made of the number of owners of working farms in Wales by (a) marital and (b) residency status who will be liable to pay inheritance tax following changes to (i) inheritance tax, (ii) agricultural property relief and (iii) business property relief.

The Government has published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill. The Government takes into account all representations made ahead of the Budget, and meets with stakeholders on a regular basis.

How much and what proportion of the allowance to public sector organisations for changes to employer national insurance contributions has been allocated to the Welsh Government.

Funding will be provided to the public sector to support them with the additional cost associated with changes to Employer National Insurance Contributions policy. Given the impacts of the policy change are complex, the UK Government departmental and devolved government settlements for 2025-26 announced at the Autumn Budget 2024 do not reflect this additional support. Ahead of Main Estimates 2025-26, HM Treasury will lead a technical process to understand UK Government departments’ requirements and will engage with the devolved governments on the implications for their budgets in the usual way.

How much have each local authority in Wales paid to the Crown Estate to access Crown Estate land in each year of the last five years.

The Crown Estate operates as an independent and unified commercial entity, engaging in a variety of business activities across Wales, England and Northern Ireland. To achieve efficiency in its operations, The Crown Estate runs many of its functions at a whole enterprise level. Reflective of its whole enterprise approach, The Crown Estate runs a single set of accounts across its functions, which are not disaggregated according to administrative areas or local authorities. Extracting the relevant information from the existing accounts into a bespoke format for each local authority in response to this question would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold for Written Parliamentary Questions.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the Crown Estate to publish the fees it receives from local authorities in (a) Wales (b) England and (c) Northern Ireland to access its land.

The Crown Estate receives payment on its assets from local authorities through regulating leases. The terms of those leases are determined based on several factors, including the nature and value of the asset, the specific terms and conditions of the lease, and the intended use of the land. Each lease agreement is tailored to reflect these variables, ensuring that the terms are fair and appropriate for both The Crown Estate and the local authority involved. Publishing details of those fees would risk prejudicing the commercial interests of both The Crown Estate and the local authorities involved.

What fees the Crown Estate charges for leasing land to local authorities in Wales.

The Crown Estate receives payment on its assets from local authorities through regulating leases. The terms of those leases are determined based on several factors, including the nature and value of the asset, the specific terms and conditions of the lease, and the intended use of the land. Each lease agreement is tailored to reflect these variables, ensuring that the terms are fair and appropriate for both The Crown Estate and the local authority involved.