Written questions by Shannon.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of Inheritance Tax provisions for agricultural property on farmers.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 36399.

What assessment her Department has made of the uptake of private health insurance over the last five years.

HM Treasury has not made an assessment of the uptake of private health insurance over the last five years. However, the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives 2024 survey, published in May 2025, estimated that in 2024, one in seven adults (14%) held private medical insurance, a 1 percentage point increase since 2022.

What steps she is taking to support cash transactions.

The Government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups, and is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumed regulatory responsibility for access to cash in September 2024. Its rules ensure cash continues to be a viable method of payment for the millions of people who depend on it and help businesses to continue to accept cash by providing reasonable access to cash deposit facilities. Under the FCA’s regime the UK’s largest banks and building societies are required to assess the impact of a closure or material alteration of a relevant cash withdrawal or deposit facility and put in place a new service if necessary. Assessments are undertaken by LINK, the industry designated coordinating body responsible for conducting cash access assessments. Where a resident, community organisation or other interested party feels access to cash in their community is insufficient, they can submit a request for a cash access assessment to LINK. Further information about submitting a cash access request can be found on LINK’s website. In circumstances where LINK considers that a community requires additional cash services, the financial services sector will provide a suitable shared solution, such as an ATM, cash deposit service, or shared Banking Hub, for cash users in that community. To ensure appropriate cash access facilities are in place to support communities and businesses across the country, the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK by the end of this Parliament. These hubs will provide small businesses and individuals with critical cash and in-person banking services. Over 225 banking hubs have been recommended to date and over 150 are already open.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of online HMRC services.

Accessibility is a priority for HMRC, and its digital services are continuously assessed against the obligations of the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations (PSBAR) (2018), which came into force in September 2020. Technical accessibility testing takes place when a new digital service is prepared for release to the public and again as it enters a mature, steady state. Any significant change to a service also requires an accessibility test to be conducted. This testing ensures that citizens who rely on assistive technologies, such as screen readers or dictation software, can use these tools to access the services and transact with HMRC. In addition to this, HMRC strives to involve users of assistive technology in the research, design and development of its digital services which is key to building and running digital services that everyone can use. There are also feedback mechanisms in place where citizens who run into accessibility issues with a live service can report these issues to our digital support team for investigation and resolution.

What assessment she has made of recent trends in the level of inflation.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are the Government’s official economic forecaster. They published their Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO) on 26th March, including an assessment on recent trends in inflation. The EFO can be found at the link below. https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2025/.

What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on financial support for disabled people.

I regularly engage with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and other Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, including support for disabled people. The Secretary of State recently launched the Pathways to Work Green Paper which set out government plans to support disabled people into work through a significant investment in employment support, and reform the health and disability benefits to make the system more pro work.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing tax breaks to employers who train apprentices.

Employers of those under the age of 21 and apprentices under the age of 25 already receive 100% employer National Insurance relief on salaries up to £50,270.

What assessment she has made of the impact of the level of business rates on businesses over the last five years.

Business rates are devolved. In England, local authorities reported that the gross non-domestic rates income for 2023-24 was £33 billion.At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced that it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties in England, with Rateable Values below £500,000 , from 2026-27. Ahead of these changes being made, we have prevented RHL relief from ending in April 2025 by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier. These announcements reflect the Government’s first steps to support the high street. We want to go further to modernise the system, and so, we have published a Discussion Paper setting out priority areas for reform. This paper invites industry to help co-design a fairer business rates system over the course of this Parliament.

What estimate her Department has made of the amount of Russian assets in bank accounts in the UK.

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, announced in December 2023 that £22.7 billion of Russian Assets had been reported as frozen since February 2022 as of October 2023. This figure is collated from a cumulation of various asset types, of which bank accounts form part, and is a cumulative total of assets reported.

What guidance her Department has issued to Northern Ireland businesses on the applicability of duty on goods bought from a supplier in England and sold in Northern Ireland to other Northern Ireland (a) businesses and (b) customers.

HMRC has published extensive guidance in respect of goods movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, including setting out when duty is liable. The UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) enables eligible goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland to move without incurring duty. Where duty is paid and the business can evidence the goods did not enter the EU, this can be reclaimed via the Duty Reimbursement Scheme. Further information can be found at: Moving goods you bring into Northern Ireland as 'not at risk’ of moving to the EU - GOV.UK

How many bank closures there were in 2024.

The Government does not hold bank branch closure data. Guidance from the FCA sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs, and put in place alternatives, where this is reasonable. The Government is working closely with banks to roll out 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament. These will provide individuals and businesses up and down the country with critical cash and banking services. Over 100 are open so far.

If she will hold discussions with the devolved Administrations on the adequacy of (a) funding and (b) devolved powers for the provision of public services.

The UK Government regularly engages with officials and ministers from the devolved governments on a wide range of issues, including their funding to deliver public services. The devolved governments’ settlements for 2025-26 are the largest in real terms of any settlements since devolution. Each devolved government is receiving at least 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK, amounting to over £16 billion more in 2025-26. In total, the devolved governments will receive over £86 billion in 2025-26, including an additional £6.6 billion through the Barnett formula. Barnett-based funding is not ringfenced for a specific policy area. This provides the devolved governments with the flexibility to allocate funding across devolved areas according to their own priorities and local circumstances, including public services. The devolved governments remain accountable to their respective devolved legislatures for these decisions.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of rises in employer National Insurance contributions on victims of domestic and sexual violence.

The Government recognises the important role charities play in our society and has made it a priority to reset the relationship with civil society by developing a Civil Society Covenant.To repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance.The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of employers with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.More broadly, within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving., with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 to 2024.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent trends in the rate of inflation on (a) consumers and (b) businesses.

Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation has normalised after an inflationary shock resulted in it peaking at 11.1% in October 2022. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility say that they expect inflation to remain close to the 2% target throughout the forecast period. The Government fully supports the independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England in maintaining price stability sustainably in the medium term. Inflation creates uncertainty for consumers and businesses. Which is why we are putting the public finances on a sustainable path and investing in the future. That is the most important thing to support working people and create a stable environment for growth.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of interest rates on people with low incomes.

The Government understands the importance of protecting family finances. That is why we are committed to delivering economic stability to grow the economy, maintain low and stable inflation, and keep taxes and mortgages as low as possible. Low and stable inflation is an essential pre-requisite for economic growth and improving living standards, so we are continuing to support the independent Monetary Policy Committee as it acts to return inflation to target sustainably. We are taking a comprehensive approach—supporting those in immediate need while addressing the structural changes necessary to fix the country's foundations. These combined efforts will help families by boosting wages and putting more money in people’s pockets. Specific actions already taken by the Government to support people on low incomes include: increasing to the National Living Wage from April 2025; extension of the Household Support Fund in England and Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales in 2025-26; and introduction of a new Fair Repayment Rate from April 2025 to cap debt repayment made through Universal Credit.

How many people aged under 21 have opened lifetime ISAs in the last 12 months.

Information on Lifetime ISAs can be found in HMRC’s Annual Savings Statistics, available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/annual-savings-statistics

What recent discussions she has had with mortgage providers on the availability of low deposit mortgages for first time buyers.

The Government is regularly in contact with mortgage lenders on all aspects of their business, including the provision of finance to first time buyers. This Government will turn the dream of owning a home into a reality by fixing the planning system and building 1.5 million more homes, as well as helping buyers who are struggling to save for a large deposit by introducing a permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme. As set out in the Chancellor’s recent Budget, we will announce further details of the scheme in Phase 2 of the Spending Review.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including renewable liquid gases in the green taxonomy.

The purpose of implementing a green taxonomy is to support investment into activities aligned with sustainability goals, and to mitigate greenwashing.However, the government is aware that taxonomies can be complex in practice, and feedback on their value is mixed. The government has therefore published a consultation to gather views on the value case for launching a UK Green Taxonomy as part of a wider sustainable finance framework.At this stage in the consultation process, the government is not seeking feedback on the detail of the sectors for inclusion. Instead, the government is focused on the bigger picture of whether and how this can be a useful tool for companies and investors.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent tax increases on small and medium businesses.

The Government inherited a very difficult fiscal situation and so we are asking businesses to contribute to fixing the public finances and our public services. At the Autumn Budget, the Government announced tax reforms to support smaller businesses. Including, more than doubling the employment allowance to £10,500; committing in the Corporate Tax Roadmap to maintain the Small Profits Rate and marginal relief at their current rates and thresholds, as well as maintaining the Annual Investment Allowance; and freezing the small businesses multiplier for 2025/26. In the transition to permanently lower business rates burden for the high street, through lower multipliers for Retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) businesses from April 2026, RHL business rates relief will also be extended for one year at 40% (up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business). If the Government had not acted, the current RHL relief would have ended entirely in April 2025.

Whether she has had discussions with mortgage providers on the availability of fixed term mortgages to first time buyers.

The Government is regularly in contact with mortgage lenders on all aspects of their business, including the provision of finance to first time buyers. This Government will turn the dream of owning a home into a reality by fixing the planning system and building 1.5 million more homes, as well as helping buyers who are struggling to save for a large deposit by introducing a permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme.