Written questions by Campbell.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2024 to Question 11832 on Living Wage, how many and what proportion of workers affected by the increase in the National Living Wage will become taxpayers in April 2025.

At Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced the National Living Wage will rise by 6.7% in April 2025 to £12.21 per hour, representing a pay rise to over 3 million workers. This pay boost is worth £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker.The Government is protecting working people’s payslips by, not increasing the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax, or employee National Insurance contributions. It is also not extending the freeze on personal tax thresholds, allowing them to rise with inflation from April 2028.

Whether she plans to expand the pilot No Interest Loan Scheme to Northern Ireland.

The government recognises the importance of affordable credit in helping people across the UK manage their finances. A government-funded No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) pilot is being conducted by Fair4All Finance and its partners in England, Scotland, and Wales. The pilot aims to assess how effectively NILS meets the needs of vulnerable consumers. PwC has been appointed to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the pilot to determine whether NILS is a viable and sustainable product that should be made permanently available. Lending for the pilot concluded on 31 August 2024. Although Fair4All Finance intended to extend the pilot to Northern Ireland, the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive from October 2022 to February 2024 meant there was insufficient time to secure sign-off for the necessary capital to fund the pilot there before the lending period ended.

Whether she has had discussions with the automotive industry on trends in the level of consumer debt accrued through car hire purchase agreements.

The government engages with a broad range of stakeholders such as the financial regulators, industry, debt advice charities and consumer groups to monitor trends in consumer debt and understand issues affecting consumers. The Government currently provides a range of debt advice services through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to meet the needs of individuals in problem debt, including national and community-based services offering free-to-client debt advice. In addition, the Government’s ‘Breathing Space’ scheme provides eligible individuals protections from creditor enforcement action for a period of 60 days, giving them the space to work with a professional debt adviser to identify a positive and sustainable solution to their problem debt.

When she plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for East Londonderry of 21 August 2024 on a wages and taxation issue.

HM Treasury has no record of receiving the letter of 21 August 2024 from the Hon Member. Officials have contacted the Hon Member’s office to request a copy.