Written questions by Downie.

What percentage of personal banking transactions are completed digitally for each of the past 3 years.

Whilst the Government does not hold data on the percentage of personal banking transactions that are completed digitally for each of the past 3 years specifically, the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives Survey collects data regarding digital banking on a biannual basis. According to the most recent Financial Lives Survey, in May 2024 93% of UK adults banked online or using a mobile app. This included 83% of adults aged 75+. This increased from 88% of UK adults who banked digitally in May 2022, 85% of UK adults in May 2020, and 78% of UK adults in 2017. According to UK Finance’s report on the UK Payments Market, in 2024 for the first time, more consumers used mobile banking accessed via phone than online banking via laptop or desktop computer. 75% of UK adults are users of mobile banking. This led to a growth in Faster Payments to 5.6 billion payment transactions, increasing by 14% compared to 2023, overtaking cash and Direct Debit as the second most frequently-used payment method in the UK. More information on digital payments over the last three years can be found in the annual summary documents on UK Finance’s website.

Whether her Department is aware of Chinese components in (a) banks, (b) payment terminals and (c) other economic infrastructure classified as critically important to national interests; and if she will conduct an audit of Chinese-made components in critical national infrastructure.

We expect firms in the finance sector, including banks, payment terminal providers and financial market infrastructures (FMIs), to manage their procurement and supply chains in an appropriate manner. The finance sector’s regulators – Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – also provide guidance to firms on managing supply chain risks. We will continue to cooperate with China on trade and investment, although recognise that there will be some areas where we need to protect sensitive sectors of the economy.Government will continue to use the full suite of our economic security tools, including the National Security and Investment Act, to protect against threats to our national security.The National Technical Authorities provide advice to owners and operators of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) in industry on best practice for CNI security and resilience.

How many Chinese made electric vehicles were imported into the UK in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK. HMRC releases this information monthly, as an accredited Official Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria.These tables include country of dispatch (CoD) which gives information on the country of export. If specifically wanting information on country of manufacture/ country of origin (CoO) this is available in the  bulk datasets archive. The data available includes value and number of imports. To build a table you will need to use a commodity code. These are publicly available from the UK Trade Tariff at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. From the information given, electric vehicles would come under Chapter 87.If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.

How much was paid in Class (a) 2 and (b) 4 National Insurance contributions in 2023.

The number of people with Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) liabilities are estimated based on the 2021-22 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. This represents an estimate of the number of people with Class 2 and Class 4 NICs liabilities, and does not represent the number of people from whom HMRC received payments in 2023-24. Estimated number of individuals liable (thousands)2023-24Class 2 NICs2,310Class 4 NICs2,280 Information on NICs can be found in the “HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK” statistical bulletin, available here:HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The breakdown of National Insurance contributions (NICs) by class for Great Britain and Northern Ireland is provided by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in “National Insurance Fund (NIF) Accounts”, available here (in the Notes to the Account):https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-insurance-fund-accounts The NIF publication compares figures for year ended 31 March 2024 with year ended 31 March 2023. Note that the breakdown in the NIF accounts does not include the NHS allocation, paid over by HMRC to the NHS, though information on this allocation is included in the NIF Accounts.

How many people paid Class (a) 2 and (b) 4 National Insurance contributions in 2023.

The number of people with Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) liabilities are estimated based on the 2021-22 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. This represents an estimate of the number of people with Class 2 and Class 4 NICs liabilities, and does not represent the number of people from whom HMRC received payments in 2023-24. Estimated number of individuals liable (thousands)2023-24Class 2 NICs2,310Class 4 NICs2,280 Information on NICs can be found in the “HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK” statistical bulletin, available here:HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The breakdown of National Insurance contributions (NICs) by class for Great Britain and Northern Ireland is provided by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in “National Insurance Fund (NIF) Accounts”, available here (in the Notes to the Account):https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-insurance-fund-accounts The NIF publication compares figures for year ended 31 March 2024 with year ended 31 March 2023. Note that the breakdown in the NIF accounts does not include the NHS allocation, paid over by HMRC to the NHS, though information on this allocation is included in the NIF Accounts.

How many (a) men and (b) women paid class two National Insurance contributions in each of the past five years.

HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all classes and the OBR only publishes Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contribution receipts combined together for projections years and one year of outturn. To produce a set of reliable estimates of all the different data requested would only be possible at disproportionate cost.

What estimate she has made of the number of (a) class two and (b) class four National Insurance payees in the 2024-25 financial year.

HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all classes and the OBR only publishes Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contribution receipts combined together for projections years and one year of outturn. To produce a set of reliable estimates of all the different data requested would only be possible at disproportionate cost.

How many (a) men and (b) women paid Class Four National Insurance contributions in each of the last five years in each (i) nation and (ii) region.

HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all classes and the OBR only publishes Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contribution receipts combined together for projections years and one year of outturn. To produce a set of reliable estimates of all the different data requested would only be possible at disproportionate cost.

How many (a) men and (b) women paid Class Two National Insurance contributions in each of the last five years by income decile.

HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all classes and the OBR only publishes Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contribution receipts combined together for projections years and one year of outturn. To produce a set of reliable estimates of all the different data requested would only be possible at disproportionate cost.

How many (a) men and (b) women paid Class Four National Insurance contributions in each of the last five years by income decile.

HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all classes and the OBR only publishes Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contribution receipts combined together for projections years and one year of outturn. To produce a set of reliable estimates of all the different data requested would only be possible at disproportionate cost.

What income HMRC has derived from (a) class two and (b) class four National Insurance contributions in each of the past five years.

HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all classes and the OBR only publishes Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contribution receipts combined together for projections years and one year of outturn. To produce a set of reliable estimates of all the different data requested would only be possible at disproportionate cost.

How many (a) men and (b) women paid Class Four National Insurance contributions in each of the last five years.

HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all classes and the OBR only publishes Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contribution receipts combined together for projections years and one year of outturn. To produce a set of reliable estimates of all the different data requested would only be possible at disproportionate cost.

How many (a) class two and (b)) class four National Insurance payees there were in (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21, (iii) 2021-22, (iv) 2022-23 and (v) 2023-24.

HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all classes and the OBR only publishes Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contribution receipts combined together for projections years and one year of outturn. To produce a set of reliable estimates of all the different data requested would only be possible at disproportionate cost.

How many (a) men and (b) women paid Class Two National Insurance contributions in each of the last five years in each (i) nation and (ii) region.

HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all classes and the OBR only publishes Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contribution receipts combined together for projections years and one year of outturn. To produce a set of reliable estimates of all the different data requested would only be possible at disproportionate cost.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the April 2025 deadline to check for and buy voluntary national insurance contributions.

People normally have six years to pay voluntary National Insurance contributions (vNICs). An extended deadline was put in place to provide transitional arrangements as part of the introduction of the new State Pension (SP), originally ending in April 2023. Since the deadline extension to support customers, the online Check your State Pension forecast was enhanced and launched on 29 April 2024. New functionality enables the majority of working age customers to view their payable gaps and make payments online. This service has successfully allowed a large number of people to self-serve, with a satisfaction rate of over 80%.The National Insurance helpline remains in place for customers who are unable to use the online service or who need additional assistance. Previous deadlines have resulted in significant telephony demand, and HMRC is putting in place measures to manage the expected demand in the run-up to the 5 April 2025 deadline, including managing the deployment of resources, the use of interactive voice response messaging and directing customers to the digital service.

What steps she has taken to encourage people to check their national insurance contributions.

To support customers, an enhanced online State Pension forecast service was launched on 29 April 2024. This included new functionality that enables the majority of working age customers to view any gaps in their national insurance contributions and make payments online where this would be beneficial. The service has successfully allowed a large number of people to self-serve, with a satisfaction rate of over 80%.HMRC and DWP have launched a significant communications campaign to encourage people to check their National Insurance contributions, with paid-for marketing supporting our wider low-cost communications.Some examples include a recent press release published on 7 October 2024 on GOV.UK reminding people of the deadline that has also been publicised by a range of media outlets, including Money Saving Expert. We also undertook a range of activity as part of Pensions Awareness Week in September and Talk Money Week in November. Communications included emails to 2.3 million employers and 110,000 agents, social media posts and stakeholder partnership work with organisations including British Innkeepers, DHL, Unilever and MoneyHelper, who have all helped to promote the campaign.Continued promotion activity ahead of the deadline in April will include a robust social media strategy and continued interaction with media outlets and external partners. We are also due to publish a new explainer video, covering VNICs and how people can use the online service.

If she will take steps to ensure an effective housing insurance market.

The UK’s home insurance market is competitive, with many providers offering a wide variety of insurance products to suit the needs of customers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent regulator of financial services, has a statutory objective to promote competition in the interests of consumers.FCA rules require firms to offer products that deliver fair value to consumers (i.e. if the price a consumer pays for a product or service is reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive). The FCA monitors firms to ensure they comply with its rules and has powers to take action if necessary.