Written questions by Savage.

How many pre-April 2016 state pensioners have been issued with simple assessment tax demands in each of the last three tax years.

Revenue estimates from, and individuals impacted by frozen thresholds are set out by the Office for Budget Responsibility in Table A of their November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook, and Table 3.19 of the detailed forecast table of receipts: Office for Budget Responsibility – Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2025 Office for Budget Responsibility - Economic and fiscal outlook detailed forecast tables: receipts Those whose sole income is the basic or full new State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax in 2026/27.

What estimate the Treasury has made of the additional income tax collected from pre-2016 State Pensioners as a result of the frozen personal allowance.

Revenue estimates from, and individuals impacted by frozen thresholds are set out by the Office for Budget Responsibility in Table A of their November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook, and Table 3.19 of the detailed forecast table of receipts: Office for Budget Responsibility – Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2025 Office for Budget Responsibility - Economic and fiscal outlook detailed forecast tables: receipts Those whose sole income is the basic or full new State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax in 2026/27.

How many people in receipt of a pre-April 2016 State Pension have become liable for Income Tax since the freeze in the Income Tax personal allowance threshold.

Revenue estimates from, and individuals impacted by frozen thresholds are set out by the Office for Budget Responsibility in Table A of their November 2025 Economic and fiscal outlook, and Table 3.19 of the detailed forecast table of receipts: Office for Budget Responsibility – Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2025 Office for Budget Responsibility - Economic and fiscal outlook detailed forecast tables: receipts Those whose sole income is the basic or full new State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax in 2026/27.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of mitigating the combined impact of increased taxation and reduced benefit entitlement on low-income pensioners with no additional earnings or savings.

It is a key priority for this Government to ease pressures on the cost of living. We remain firmly committed to protecting the most vulnerable pensioners and ensuring financial security in retirement. The State Pension will remain the foundation of retirement income . In line with the Government’s commitment to the Triple Lock for the duration of this parliament, over 12 million pensioners will benefit from a 4.8% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2026, worth up to £575 a year. This follows a substantial increase in 2025/26, when those on the full new State Pension received a £360 boost. Furthermore, the Chancellor has said that those whose only income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not have to pay income tax over this Parliament. At the Budget, the Government announced that it will achieve this by easing the administrative burden for pensioners so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027/28. The Government will set out more details next year. The Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee will also increase by 4.8% in April 2026, from £227.10 to £238 a week for single pensioners and from £346.60 to £363.25 for couples, protecting the poorest pensioners. Over three quarters of pensioners will benefit from the Winter Fuel Payment for the duration of this Parliament, targeting help at those on lower and middle incomes while ensuring fairness for taxpayers. Pensioners also benefit from free eye tests, NHS prescriptions and bus passes, and some may qualify for means tested benefits such as Housing Benefit and Cold Weather Payments.

What assessment her Department has made of the combined impact of (a) business rates revaluation, (b) the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure discount and (c) recent changes to employment costs and alcohol duty on small and independent hospitality businesses.

The Government has assessed the cumulative impacts of measures announced over recent Budgets on businesses and households. Taken together, these measures raise revenue to support the public finances in a fair way, whilst providing targeted support. The Government recognises that recent policy changes will have combined effects on some businesses. Where changes are made, relevant assessments and impact notes are published to inform stakeholders. The Treasury continues to engage with affected sectors to understand the challenges they face and to ensure the UK remains a competitive place to do business. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep our policy approach under review, with future tax decisions taken at fiscal events under the normal process.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that older people entitled to Home Responsibilities Protection compensation are not excluded from claiming due to identity verification requirements.

Customers who are unable to access their Personal Tax Account can apply for Home Responsibilities Protection by completing a print and post form (CF411) which is available on GOV.UK. Alternatively, they can contact the National Insurance helpline to request a paper form.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring equitable taxation of (a) income derived from assets and (b) other passive income.

The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible.  These and other decisions announced at the Budget will help repair the public finances and fund public services such as the NHS and education. The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the tax policy making process. Any tax changes are generally announced at Budget where decisions are taken in the round.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of aligning the tax rates for passive income with those for earned income; and what assessment she has made of the potential fiscal and social impact of such a reform.

Currently, different forms of income, such as employment income and non-employment income (including from property, dividends and capital gains), are subject to different tax rates reflecting their differing nature and to support the government’s broader policy objectives. There have been recent changes to bring the tax treatment of passive income more closely aligned with salaried income. For example, the Dividend Allowance and the Annual Exempt Amount on Capital Gains Tax have been reformed and reduced to make the system fairer by bringing the treatment of investment income closely in line with employment income, whilst still ensuring that individuals are not taxed on low levels of dividend income or Capital Gains. When considering changes to tax policy, the government considers the fiscal and distributional impacts of any potential reforms, drawing on analysis from HMRC and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), who routinely publish costings and analysis of proposed tax changes at fiscal events. Any changes would need to also consider wider economic impacts resulting from behavioural responses. The government keeps all areas of the tax system under review to ensure it is fair and supports strong public finances.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed increase to employer National Insurance contributions on fire and rescue services; and whether her Department has plans to provide additional funding to cover such costs.

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 rate of employer NICs will increase from 13.8% to 15% and the per-employee threshold at which employers start to pay National Insurance (the Secondary Threshold) will be reduced to £5,000.At the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, the government announced an additional £515 million of support for local government to manage the impact of changes to employer NICs announced at the Autumn Budget. Fire and rescue authorities will receive a share of the overall funding provided to local government. Payments will be not be ringfenced to allow funding to be used across direct, commissioned, and externally provided local services.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions on independent pharmacies.

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.The Office for Budget Responsibility also published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances.  Primary care providers – general practice, dentistry, pharmacy and eye care – are valued independent contractors who provide nearly £20bn worth of NHS services. The Department for Health and Social Care has entered into consultation with Community Pharmacy England (CPE) regarding the 2024-25 and 2025-26 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework, and the final funding settlement will be announced in the usual way following this consultation.

What fiscal steps she is taking to support rural businesses.

Prosperous rural businesses will be underpinned by improvements to rural connectivity and productivity, access to public services and a thriving farming sector. To this end, we are restoring stability and investment in our public services as the best way to support growth across the country, including in rural areas. We are investing £5 billion in broadband connectivity which will support growth in rural areas across the UK. We confirmed over £650 million of funding for local transport beyond City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements in 2025-26 to ensure that transport connections improve in our towns, villages and rural areas. We have also committed £5 billion for the farming budget over two years – which includes the largest ever amount of funding directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on businesses in South Cotswolds constituency.

Consistent with past fiscal events, HMT has not produced a constituency-level breakdown of the impact of Autumn Budget 2024 (AB24).At AB24, the government set out the first major steps in its approach to regional growth, and confirmed an extension of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, providing £900m to local authorities to invest in local growth.The government also committed to continuing funding for key business support programmes in 2025-26, including Growth Hubs in England. The Gloucestershire Growth Hub is open to all businesses in South Cotswolds, providing free expert advice and signposting to various government support.At Budget, the government announced that from 2026-27, it will permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000.

If she will increase the discounted Public Works Loan Board rate to local councils for investment in social housing.

The Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) lending facility exists to provide cost effective loans to local authorities to support investment and service delivery. HM Treasury keeps all PWLB rates under review, including the discounted rate for investment in social housing. The current discounted rate for Housing Revenue Account lending remains available until June 2025.