Written questions by Campbell.

How will the recently announced pay per mile charge for EV drivers affect those Northern Ireland based drivers whose work and residence near the border means much of their annual travel is done in the Irish Republic.

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 (electric vehicles) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. As with VED, eVED will apply to UK-registered vehicles; non-UK registered vehicles will be required to register for eVED after a period of six months in the UK. The Government has ruled out charging tax based on when or where people drive to protect motorists’ privacy. This means non-UK mileage driven by UK registered cars will fall into scope of eVED, as with fuel duty, which does not vary by basis of where a car is driven. The vast majority of eVED will be paid on travel in the UK; there were an estimated 225 billion car miles in Great Britain in 2024, and over 9 billion miles travelled by car in Northern Ireland in 2023. The government has published a consultation on GOV.UK, which provides further detail on how eVED is intended to work and seeks views on its implementation, and can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69282ac1a245b0985f034197/eVED_Consultation.pdf

With reference to the Budget announcement on EV vehicle drivers and pay per mile charge, what discussions she will have with the Irish Republic authorities regarding those Irish based EV drivers who regularly use Northern Ireland roads but will not face the same charge.

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 (electric vehicles) contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty. As with VED, eVED will apply to UK-registered vehicles; non-UK registered vehicles will be required to register for eVED after a period of six months in the UK. The Government has ruled out charging tax based on when or where people drive to protect motorists’ privacy. This means non-UK mileage driven by UK registered cars will fall into scope of eVED, as with fuel duty, which does not vary by basis of where a car is driven. The vast majority of eVED will be paid on travel in the UK; there were an estimated 225 billion car miles in Great Britain in 2024, and over 9 billion miles travelled by car in Northern Ireland in 2023. The government has published a consultation on GOV.UK, which provides further detail on how eVED is intended to work and seeks views on its implementation, and can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69282ac1a245b0985f034197/eVED_Consultation.pdf

When she expects to receive the report on Mutuals from the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.

In line with the government’s manifesto commitment to double the size of the co-operative and mutuals sector, the Chancellor announced measures to support the sector at Mansion House 2024. This included asking the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to prepare a report on the mutuals landscape, to ensure that regulation for all mutuals remains proportionate and enables growth. The report is expected to be published by the regulators before the end of 2025.

Pursuant to WPQ 91913, did the dedicated director of the National Wealth Fund based in Northern Ireland meet with the Northern Ireland Executive (a) once, or (b) more than once, since December 2024.

Pursuant to WPQ 91913, in 2025 the National Wealth Fund’s Regional Director for Northern Ireland has met with the Northern Ireland Executive more than once to discuss investment opportunities.

What steps are being taken to inform young adults whose matured Child Trust Fund monies have not been claimed.

The Government is committed to reuniting all young adults with their Child Trust Funds (CTF). HMRC works with CTF providers, industry representatives and others to enable account owners to be aware of and trace their accounts. For example, HMRC has partnered with the University and Colleges Admissions Service to encourage awareness among student peer groups. HMRC issues a range of communications such as the recent press release published on Gov.uk - www.gov.uk/government/news/savings-stash-worth-thousands-waiting-for-758000-young-people. HMRC also provides a free tracing tool on Gov.uk to help people find their CTF provider (www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds/find-a-child-trust-fund) and has also provided a link to The Share Foundation’s CTF account tracing service on Gov.uk, providing an additional way for young people to trace their accounts.

What change in the number of people paying income tax at 40% does she estimate will take place between 2023 and 2028.

The number of people forecast to pay tax by marginal rate from 2023-24 to 2028-29 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 previous Government made the decision to maintain income tax thresholds at their current levels from April 2021 until April 2028.

Whether the next review and report on the work of the OBR be commissioned before the end of this Parliament.

The Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011 states that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Non-executive committee must appoint a person or body at least once in every 5-year period to review and report on the OBR. The Chair of the OBR Oversight Board formally commissioned the third external review on 24 May 2024 which was published on 10 February 2025. The OBR’s external reviews are published on the OBR’s website. https://obr.uk/about-the-obr/external-reviews/

On how many occasions has a Director for Northern Ireland of the National Wealth Fund met with the NI Executive in the past twelve months to discuss how the fund can help promote economic growth in Northern Ireland.

The National Wealth Fund works collaboratively with the Northern Ireland Executive to identify investment opportunities in Northern Ireland. It has a dedicated director based in Northern Ireland and opened a Belfast office in December 2024.

Whether she expect to receive the Payments Forward Plan from the Payments Vision Delivery Committee before 18 December 2025.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given on 30 October 2025 to PQ UIN 85107.

What steps she is taking to encourage people aged under 30 to (a) save and (b) invest for retirement.

The Government is committed to incentivising greater saving and investment to help people save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience and to supporting people of all incomes and at all stages of life to save. The Lifetime ISA is designed to encourage younger people to get into the habit of saving for the longer term. The Help to Save scheme also supports low-income working households to start a long-term savings habit.The government encourages pension saving through generous tax relief on pension contributions and investment income and growth. These reliefs were worth £78.2bn in 2023/24. Individuals can also save in a range of Individual Savings Accounts each year, such as cash and stocks & shares and any savings income within it is tax free.

What estimate she has made of the number of banking hubs that will be operational at the end of each year to 2028.

Currently there are 190 banking hubs operational and Cash Access UK, who oversee banking hub rollout, expect 200 to be operational by the end of 2025. The UK banking sector has publicly committed to delivering 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament.As the timing of the roll-out of banking hubs is industry-driven, the Government does not make year-on-year estimates.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 77468 on Contactless Payments, if she will have discussions with the FCA on extending the closing deadline for responses to the consultation on unlimited contactless card payments.

On September 10, the FCA launched a consultation on its proposals to introduce a new risk-based approach to contactless payments, allowing payment service providers greater flexibility to determine their approach to contactless payments where they identify there is a low risk of fraud. This consultation closed on 15 October. Decisions on the consultation process on changes to the contactless limits are a matter for the FCA, which is independent of the Government.

When she expects to receive the Payments Forward Plan under the National Payments Vision.

The Terms of Reference for the Payments Vision Delivery Committee set out the Payments Forward Plan will be published by the end of this year. This will set out a sequenced plan of initiatives across the wider UK payments ecosystem.

If she will have urgent discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on proposals to allow unlimited contactless card payments.

Decisions on contactless limits are a matter for the FCA, which is independent of the Government. On September 10, the FCA launched a consultation on its proposals to introduce a new risk-based approach to contactless payments, allowing payment service providers greater flexibility to determine their approach to contactless payments where they identify there is a low risk of fraud. The FCA’s consultation remains open until 15 October. Further details on the FCA’s proposals can be found on their website: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/consultation/cp25-24.pdf

What estimate she has made of the number of employees who having received the National Living Wage increase in April 2025 have now begun to pay income tax.

The information is not available. HMRC does not hold information on hourly pay rates of Pay As You Earn taxpayers and therefore cannot identify which employees are in receipt of the National Living Wage (NLW).

Whether she expects to receive the report from the Payments Vision Delivery Committee before the Conference recess.

At the Mansion House event in July 2025, the Payments Vision Delivery Committee set out a new model for the design and delivery of the next generation of retail payments infrastructure in the UK. The Committee’s publication can be found here: Payments Vision Delivery Committee Update - GOV.UK Under the new model, the Committee will set the strategy for retail payments infrastructure in line with the ambitions of the government’s National Payments Vision, and this strategy will be translated into design by the new Retail Payments Infrastructure Board. The Board will be chaired by the Bank of England and will have broad representation from across the ecosystem. A new industry-owned and industry-led Delivery Company will be responsible for procuring and funding the new infrastructure, overseen by the Board. The Committee will publish its strategy this autumn and the Bank of England is working at pace to establish the new Board with a view to its first meeting taking place in October. The Committee will also publish the Payments Forward Plan by end-2025, including a sequenced plan of future initiatives and a recommended monitoring approach.

Whether her Department is taking fiscal steps to help support the growth of the mutual and co-operative sector.

The Government has announced multiple measures to unlock the full potential of the mutual sector, including in a package announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at Mansion House 2024. The package included funding for the Law Commission to complete independent reviews of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014 and the Friendly Societies Acts 1974 and 1992. These reviews will put forward recommendations to develop a more modern and supportive legislative environment for the mutuals registered under the relevant Acts. The Government will carefully consider the findings of the Law Commission reviews to understand whether reform of the legislation is needed to ensure these businesses are supported to grow and succeed into the future. The package also contained non-fiscal measures to support the growth of the sector. This included a call for evidence on potential reform to the credit union common bond in Great Britain, responses to which are now being considered. The government also asked the Prudential Regulatory Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to produce a report on the current mutuals landscape by the end of 2025 and welcomed the establishment of the Mutual and Co-operative Sector Business Council. Finally, the government committed to progressing further amendments to the Building Societies Act 1986 following two statutory instruments being laid in October 2024, creating a more supportive legislative environment for building societies. HM Treasury is currently progressing these measures. Together, they reinforce the government’s commitment to support the mutual and co-operative sector. Please note that co-operatives and credit unions policy are devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive.

What steps she is taking to help increase the number of people employed by the Government Social Research Profession in Northern Ireland.

All Civil Servants employed as Government Social Researchers are directly employed by Departments, Devolved Administrations, and other UK Civil Service organisations. They are not centrally managed or centrally employed by HM Treasury. HM Treasury has no specific plans to increase the number of Government Social Researchers employed by HM Treasury and located in Northern Ireland.

What assessment she has made of the change in the estimated worth of the frozen assets of the previous Libyan regime between 2011 and 2025.

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury published in its 2023-2024 Annual Review that £13.4 billion in assets relating to the Libya sanctions regime have been reported as frozen as of September 2023. This is an aggregated total of all entities and individuals listed on the Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets. OFSI does not hold a comparable figure for 2011. OFSI’s next Annual Review is due to be published later in 2025.

What progress she plans to make on the implementation of the 10 year infrastructure strategy by the end of 2026.

This government is committed to implementing the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy published in June. By the end of 2026, we will have delivered several of its key reforms, moving to improve project delivery, and provide industry stakeholders with increased confidence to invest in UK infrastructure and jobs. The 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy sets out further details of the Government’s plans, which is available at the following link: CP 1344 – UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Strategy