Written questions by Garnier.

Whether she plans to implement the Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023.

We are committed to ensuring people achieve financial security in later life. That is why we prioritised the Pensions Investment Review and reforms in the Pension Schemes Bill – so that we can be confident savers automatically enrolled into workplace pension schemes can rightly enjoy the best possible outcomes. Our assessment of the pensions system is that the job is only half finished. In August we published a detailed report with our analysis, including on Automatic Enrolment and those groups not benefitting from pensions or undersaving. Furthermore, we have revived the Pensions Commission to address these very matters of adequacy, fairness and sustainability, especially for lower earners.

With reference to Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) victims and (b) witnesses are supported following their pre-recorded evidence.

Following the recording of section 28 evidence, victims and witnesses are supported through ongoing contact from Witness Care Units. They are offered access to specialist emotional and practical support services, including counselling where appropriate, to help them manage the impact of their experience. In line with their rights under the Victims’ Code, they also receive clear and timely updates on case progress and outcomes.The Ministry of Justice provides funding for victim and witness support services, including ringfenced funding for sexual violence and domestic abuse services.

With reference to section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Justice Act 1999, what steps she is taking to ensure court proceedings in sexual cases are not repeatedly adjourned.

The Ministry of Justice’s 2025 impact evaluation of section 28 found that, between January 2019 and September 2022, victims were able to give evidence around five months before the trial. Although trials began one month later on average, the analysis was unable to examine the specific factors causing this delay. While section 28 hearings can occasionally affect scheduling – such as requiring a barrister to leave another trial – the evaluation found no discernible effect on the number of trials that are cancelled or rescheduled as a result of the measure.The progression of a case through the courts is a matter for the judiciary. Listing and case management decisions are made by the judiciary in collaboration with court listing officers, who prioritise cases involving vulnerable witnesses, including those involving serious sexual offences. To support this, HMCTS has introduced measures such as a national forum for listing officers to share best practice.

With reference to section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Justice Act 1999, whether she has had discussions with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Safeguarding on the use of pre-recorded evidence in cases of (a) sexual assault and (b) rape.

The Minister for Victims and Violence Against Women and Girls regularly meets with the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls to discuss shared priorities. These discussions ensure close collaboration across portfolios and a continued focus on improving support for victims throughout the criminal justice process.

What data her Department holds on the number of high-growth businesses in the UK in each year since 2005.

Data on UK high-growth businesses is published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). These data are published on an ad-hoc basis and cover the period back to 2010. The ONS defines a business as high-growth if it experiences 20% annual growth rate of either employment or turnover for three consecutive years.Ad-hoc publications are among the ‘user requested data’ published here.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that stablecoin issuers maintain sufficient backing assets to protect consumers and financial stability.

On 29 April, HM Treasury published draft legislation for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets. The draft legislation includes a new regulated activity for stablecoin issuance in the UK, meaning firms carrying on this activity will need to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Government is seeking to bring forward final legislation before the end of this year.

Whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of individuals who intend to leave the UK following the ending of Business Asset Disposal Relief.

No estimate of the number of individuals who would leave the UK if Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) were to be abolished has been made. The government recognises the important role that small businesses and entrepreneurs will play in boosting Britain’s growth. That’s why BADR has been maintained with a generous lifetime limit of £1 million, and BADR rates increases have been phased in over 18 months to give business owners time to adjust. You can find statistics on the number of claimants, amounts of qualifying gains and tax charged at the BADR rate in table 4 of the Capital Gains Tax accredited official statistics.Capital Gains Tax statistics - GOV.UK You can also find an estimate for the cost of BADR in the cost of non-structural tax reliefs statistics:Tax relief statistics - GOV.UK

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, on the potential impact of changes to cash ISAs on mortgage costs.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including assessments of the impact of policy decisions on the macroeconomy, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR does not typically publish estimates of the impact of individual policies. Instead, the net effect of the government’s policy package is assessed by the OBR. The Government is looking at options for reforms to ISAs that get the balance right between cash and equities to earn better return for savers, boost the culture of retail investment, and support the growth mission. The Government recognises that cash savings play an important role in helping households build a financial buffer for a rainy day.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to cash ISAs on (a) house prices and (b) mortgage costs.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK economy. These forecasts, including assessments of the impact of policy decisions on the macroeconomy, are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR does not typically publish estimates of the impact of individual policies. Instead, the net effect of the government’s policy package is assessed by the OBR. The Government is looking at options for reforms to ISAs that get the balance right between cash and equities to earn better return for savers, boost the culture of retail investment, and support the growth mission. The Government recognises that cash savings play an important role in helping households build a financial buffer for a rainy day.

Whether her Department is taking steps to align the Digital Gilt Instrument programme with (a) the common domain model and (b) other international standards.

In April the government issued a market engagement notice for the pilot digital gilt instrument (DIGIT) to understand both the current landscape of services available or in development in the UK and what potential investors want to see from a DIGIT issuance. This included questions aimed at understanding how important interoperability would be for meeting the project’s objective to catalyse the growth and adoption of DLT in UK financial markets. The department is in the process of analysing responses to inform the design of DIGIT ahead of issuing an invitation to tender in the coming months.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the (a) development and (b) delivery of the Digital Gilt Instrument programme supports UK-based firms; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of that programme on (i) domestic innovation and (ii) sovereign capability in digital financial infrastructure.

The Government is taking forward its digital gilt instrument (DIGIT) pilot which will be issued onto a platform within the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS). Eligibility for the DSS requires that firms must be legally established in the UK, and therefore DIGIT will be issued onto a UK based DLT platform.With this pilot, the Government has two key aims: to explore how distributed ledger technology (DLT) can be applied across the lifecycle of the debt issuance process; and catalyse the development of DLT in UK financial markets. The department is making ongoing assessments to design and deliver DIGIT in support of these aims.In April the government issued a market engagement notice for the pilot digital gilt instrument (DIGIT) to understand both the current landscape of services available or in development in the UK and what potential investors want to see from a DIGIT issuance. This included questions for industry as to how DIGIT could be developed and delivered in such a way as to meet these objectives, which the department is currently analysing and incorporating into its ongoing assessments.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of adopting the common domain model standard in the Digital Gilt Instrument programme; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on the (a) interoperability, (b) automation and (c) transparency of that programme.

In April the government issued a market engagement notice for the pilot digital gilt instrument (DIGIT) to understand both the current landscape of services available or in development in the UK and what potential investors want to see from a DIGIT issuance. This included questions aimed at understanding how important interoperability and other design features would be for meeting the project’s objective to catalyse the growth and adoption of DLT in UK financial markets. The department is in the process of analysing responses to inform the design of DIGIT ahead of issuing an invitation to tender in the coming months.

What discussions her Department has had with institutional market participants on the adoption of (a) tokenised sovereign instruments and (b) associated standards.

My team regularly engages with the sector on issues relating to tokenisation in UK financial markets. In addition, we have had further discussions with participants in relation to our digital gilt instrument (DIGIT) pilot. The Government is taking forward its DIGIT pilot which will be issued onto a digital securities platform within the digital securities sandbox (DSS). In April, the government issued a market engagement notice and is currently analysing responses ahead of launching an invitation to tender in the coming months. Following the deadline for responses, my team has held constructive discussions with a range of industry groups and participants who responded and attended an industry roundtable hosted by UK Finance. This engagement with the market has provided valuable information to inform how a DIGIT pilot can help catalyse the adoption of DLT across UK financial markets. The Government remains committed to working with the sector on tokenisation and the pilot DIGIT issuance, to effectively catalyse the adoption of DLT in UK financial markets.

Whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to regulate open banking under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.

The National Payments Vision, published in November, set out the government’s ambitious plans for the next phase of Open Banking, building on the UK’s leadership in this area. This includes steps towards delivering seamless, Open Banking enabled, account-to-account payments.The government intends to use powers in the ‘Data (Use and Access) Act’ to put in place a long-term regulatory framework for Open Banking. This will also secure the foundations for Open Finance, by establishing the necessary oversight functions within the FCA to regulate ‘Smart Data’ schemes.

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on (a) potential changes to the threshold at which the Soft Drinks Industry Levy starts and (b) the potential impact of that levy on (i) the economy and (ii) her fiscal policy.

His Majesty’s Treasury engages with the Department for Business and Trade at ministerial and official level on a range of issues. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) is central to the Government’s strategy for reducing rates of obesity, and helping to secure the fit and healthy population that is essential for a thriving economy. After SDIL was announced, the average sugar content of soft drinks in scope of the levy fell 46% between 2015 and 2020. These positive health outcomes have been achieved without a negative impact on soft drink sales, with sales of drinks subject to the levy increasing by 21% over the same period. The Government is currently consulting on proposals to strengthen SDIL.Any changes to the levy will be announced at a future fiscal event, with costings certified by the Office of Budget Responsibility as standard.

What steps her Department is taking with the Financial Conduct Authority to help ensure that digital sovereign instruments issued by the Digital Securities Sandbox are fully interoperable with existing (a) financial infrastructure and (b) secondary markets.

The Government is taking forward its digital gilt instrument (DIGIT) pilot which will be issued onto a digital securities platform within the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS). With this pilot, the Government is seeking to explore how distributed ledger technology (DLT) can be applied across the lifecycle of the debt issuance process and catalyse the development of DLT in UK financial markets. In April the government issued a market engagement notice, to understand both the current landscape of services available or in development in the UK and what potential investors want to see from a DIGIT issuance. This included questions aimed at understanding how important both secondary market trading and interoperability with existing market infrastructure were for the sector. The department is currently analysing responses ahead of launching an invitation to tender in the coming months. The department is working closely with regulators, including the FCA, to ensure that DIGIT is successful in meeting its objective to catalyse the growth and adoption of DLT in UK financial markets.

Whether she plans to consult on bringing forward legislative proposals to introduce open finance under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.

The National Payments Vision, published in November, set out the government’s ambitious plans for the next phase of Open Banking, building on the UK’s leadership in this area. This includes steps towards delivering seamless, Open Banking enabled, account-to-account payments.The government intends to use powers in the ‘Data (Use and Access) Act’ to put in place a long-term regulatory framework for Open Banking. This will also secure the foundations for Open Finance, by establishing the necessary oversight functions within the FCA to regulate ‘Smart Data’ schemes.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of hybrid heat pumps on (a) consumer energy bills and (b) UK greenhouse gas emissions.

The specific greenhouse gas emissions and running costs of a hybrid heat pump are impacted by a range of factors including the proportion of heating met by the heat pump. However, the Government noted in the recent ‘Raising product standards for space heating’ consultation that hybrids could reduce fossil fuel usage and reduce a consumer’s bills, depending on wider energy pricing and other factors. The Government will publish a response to this consultation in due course and will continue to gather and assess evidence and monitor market developments in relation to hybrid heat pumps.

What discussions she has had with (a) tribunal judges and (b) local authorities on the future of the SEND tribunal.

Most education, health and care (EHC) plans and assessments are concluded without a Tribunal hearing, but, increasingly, many families are having to go to Tribunal to get the support they think they need.The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Tribunal is an important legal backstop for cases where families disagree with a local authority about the support needed and where disagreements cannot be resolved early through collaborative early dispute resolution.The department wants to ensure we have a collaborative redress system where families and local authorities resolve disputes early, enabling children and young people to access the support they need quickly.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education regularly meets cabinet colleagues to discuss SEND system improvements. We will work with government colleagues and the Tribunal, to ensure the best outcomes for children and families.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of including hybrid heat pumps in the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not support hybrid heat pumps, as we want to direct the available funding towards the technologies that offer the greatest carbon savings, rather than those which would continue to involve the burning of fossil fuels for space heating and hot water. The Government is committed to incentivising all properties to transition to cleaner heating and will keep its position on alternative heating technologies under review. In the Raising Product Standards for Space Heating consultation, the Government set out that hybrids may be able to play a role in heat decarbonisation. The Government will publish a response in due course.