Written questions by Naismith.

What steps her Department is planning to take to reduce taxes on pensioners.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Making Tax Digital reforms on childminders who (a) employ assistants and (b) operate from their own homes and have fixed property‑related costs, including the proposed removal of the 10 per cent wear‑and‑tear allowance for those with qualifying income above £50,000.

Childminders make a significant contribution to children’s development, learning, and wellbeing. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers. Only a small proportion of childminders with qualifying income over £50,000 have been mandated into Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax from April 2026. Childminders moving to MTD for income tax can continue to claim tax relief for household costs, wear and tear of household items and furniture, and food and drink, by deducting actual business costs. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business. The Government has recently published updated guidance for childminders to help them claim relief for these costs. The Government will monitor the impact of MTD for income tax on childminders and other home-based childcare providers in the same way as it will for all sole traders moving to MTD for income tax. We will also review the impacts of moving from the 10% deduction to actual costs for wear and tear claims.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential combined impact of the 2025 Budget announcement introducing pay per mile charges on electric vehicles, particularly its effect on consumer demand for EVs, and the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate on manufacturers; and what steps her Department is taking to balancing these measures to support businesses in the automotive supply chain.

As announced at Budget 2025, the Government is introducing Electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) from April 2028, to create a fair tax system whilst also taking steps to ensure that driving an electric vehicle (EV) remains an attractive choice for consumers. The rate of eVED for EVs will be half of the equivalent fuel duty rate paid by the average petrol/diesel driver, ensuring that EVs are cheaper to own and run for the majority of EV drivers. Alongside eVED, the Government also announced at Budget 2025 generous additional support to incentivise the use of electric vehicles, including £1.3 billion of additional funding for the Electric Car Grant (ECG), £200 million for chargepoint rollout, and increasing the VED Expensive Car Supplement (ECS) threshold to £50,000 for EVs. To support manufacturers and the automotive sector supply chain, the Government announced an extension of funding for the Drive 35 (Driving Research & Investment in Vehicle Electrification) programme and a delay to proposed changes to Employee Car Ownership Schemes (ECOS) alongside transitional arrangements. As set out by the OBR, the estimated net impact of eVED and other Budget measures, including the ECG and ECS, is 120,000 fewer new EV sales across the forecast period. This is against a baseline which assumes EV sales more than triple from 2025-26 levels by 2030-31, which means the net impact of eVED represents only 2% of total new EV sales in the period. The Government has set out expected 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

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of investment‑market volatility on retirees using income drawdown arrangements; and if she will conduct a review of (a) pension provider fee structures, particularly charging full management fees during periods of negative fund performance and (b) the adequacy of safeguards for retirees who are reliant on drawdown income.

Individuals do face both investment and longevity risk in today’s Defined Contribution pension landscape, That can include investment risk during retirement. The government is acting to help savers manage these risk, including via the introduction of default pensions through the Pension Schemes Bill. This will ensure that savers in workplace defined contribution schemes have a default solution in place for retirement, helping secure a sustainable income in later life. Trustees and providers will need to consider how the solution they put in place help protect individuals from investment and longevity risks. FCA rules already require drawdown providers to provide annual statements to consumers which contain enough information for them to review their position. This ensures that consumers can make choices regarding their drawdown arrangements on an informed basis.

What assessment she has made of the affordability of HMRC’s policy requiring people with Self-Assessment liabilities above £3,000 to enter into time to pay arrangements subject to interest; and whether she has considered reviewing the interest rate applied to those arrangements to ensure that individuals experiencing loss of income or financial hardship are not disproportionately affected.

HMRC provides support to taxpayers who are unable to pay their tax liabilities in full through time to pay arrangements. Taxpayers should contact HMRC as soon as possible so we can support them by working to negotiate time to pay what they owe based on their income and expenditure, designed to help customers pay what they owe in smaller, sustainable instalments. They are a longstanding option available to businesses and individuals who are in temporary financial difficulty and can be amended if the customers’ circumstances change.Late payment interest is charged whenever tax is paid late and continues to accrue on amounts not paid on time, even if those amounts are included in a time to pay arrangement. HMRC’s interest rates are set by statutory instrument. It is open to us to alter the rates, and we keep this under review. The rate balances the need to encourage payment, ensure fairness for those who do pay on time, the cost to the public purse of delayed payment, and affordability. Time to pay, and the guidance offered by HMRC advisers, is the mechanism by which additional support is given where needed. If the rate of late payment interest is too low, HMRC may become the lender of first preference to some customers, impairing our ability to efficiently collect taxes and fund public services. HMRC’s debt balance grew significantly during the pandemic, and there is a risk of anything that encourages taxpayers to delay payment will further increase this. HMRC’s interest rate was linked to the Base of England base rate (BOE) in 2009 to introduce an element of independence in the rate setting. HMRC late payment rate is set in legislation as BOE +4% from April 2025.

What steps her Department is taking to help support self-employed micro businesses to comply with HMRC’s Make Tax Digital programme.

The government has published detailed guidance and offers help through webinars, online resources, and customer service channels to enable customers and agents to prepare for and use Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax successfully. It is working with the software industry to ensure there is a wide range of MTD-compatible software to suit varying needs and budgets. That includes free software. Many products are aimed at unrepresented users. A communications campaign is underway, using radio and social media channels to raise customer awareness particularly among taxpayers without an agent.

Whether protections for victims of fraud have changed since July 2024.

The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this appalling crime. In response to a developing threat landscape, and honouring its manifesto commitment to do so, the Government will publish a new, expanded Fraud Strategy, setting out its approach to tackling fraud, including victim support and public resilience. The Fraud strategy will set out the direction of partnership between Government, law enforcement, industry and the international community to tackle this serious crime. To protect consumers, under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has introduced mandatory reimbursement for APP scams taking place over the Faster Payment system. This came into force on 7 October 2024. Enforcement of the APP scam reimbursement regime is a matter for the PSR, but to monitor the success and impact of this, the PSR has committed to commission an independent post implementation review of its policy after 12 months of the policy being in force.

Whether she has had discussions with pension funds on investing in infrastructure improvements in (a) towns, (b) Crewe and (c) Nantwich.

The Chancellor routinely engages with a wide range of stakeholders – including pension funds – to ensure that government policy is robust and deliverable. The government introduced the Pension Schemes Bill on 5 June 2025. The Bill provides the necessary legislative framework to implement the government's ambitious reforms for the pensions market. We will expect to see benefits for both members and the wider economy through productive investment. These reforms include measures to drive scale and consolidation in the defined contribution workplace pensions market and the Local Government Pension Scheme (England and Wales). These reforms will unlock billions of pounds in investment for productive assets, improve efficiency in the LGPS, and deliver better returns for savers. As part of these reforms, each LGPS Administering Authority will be required to specify a target allocation for local investment , which their asset pool will be expected to implement. Pools will also be required to work in partnership with Local and Mayoral Combined Authorities in identifying investment opportunities in support of local growth. The measures in the Pension Schemes Bill will also ensure pension schemes have the scale and expertise to access a wider range of investments. The Chancellor is clear that she wants to see more investments flowing into high growth companies and infrastructure. Additionally, on 13 May, 17 of the largest workplace pension providers signed the Mansion House Accord and voluntarily committed to invest at least 10 per cent of their defined contribution main default funds in private markets by 2030, with at least half of that invested in UK private assets. This is expected to unlock £50 billion of additional private market investment by 2030, including £25 billion for the UK. As providers work towards meeting these commitments, they will be investing more in private, illiquid assets such as infrastructure projects.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the loan charge on the mental health of loan charge users.

In January, the Government launched an independent review of the Loan Charge. The Government believes the most important outcome of the review must be to bring the Loan Charge to a close for those people who still owe substantial amounts of money but can see no way to resolve their debts. The Government recognises the impact that large tax bills can have on taxpayers, especially those who are in vulnerable circumstances. HMRC continues to provide support for those affected, with agreed manageable payment plans and a well-established Extra Support Service. It has guidance and training in place for all customer advisors or settlement teams on identifying taxpayers who need extra support and providing reasonable adjustments to meet their needs. Where appropriate, HMRC will signpost taxpayers to voluntary and community organisations and where needed, to a dedicated Samaritans helpline for specialist emotional help, where taxpayers can talk through their concerns and worries.

Whether her Department plans to change rules for Cash ISAs.

The Government is committed to incentivising greater savings and investment. The Government recognises the important role that cash savings play in helping households build a financial buffer for a rainy day.At Spring Statement, the Government announced that it is looking at options for reforms to Individual Savings Accounts that get the balance right between cash and equities to earn better returns for savers, boost the culture of retail investment, and support the growth mission.

Whether her Department plans to review the overseas scale rates.

As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps flat rates expenses, including Overseas Scale Rates, under review. Any decisions on future changes in this area will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential contribution of cash ISAs to the economy.

The Government is committed to incentivising greater saving and investment. Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) help people save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience. The Government recognises the important role that cash savings play in helping households build a financial buffer for a rainy day. The Government also wants to see more consumers participate in capital markets and benefit from the long-term financial security and returns that investing can provide. The Government continues to keep all aspects of savings policy under review.