Written questions by Juss.

What recent steps she has taken to assess the unregulated lending market.

The market for lending in the UK is diverse. Consumer credit is highly regulated, while business lending is largely a commercial matter save for regulatory protections that are afforded to the smallest businesses, requiring protections equivalent to those given to consumers. A number of different public bodies routinely make assessments of lending provision in the UK as a whole, its shape and character, including the British Business Bank and Bank of England. The Government takes an interest in this work, and engages with various stakeholders to understand the provision of finance in the UK and matters relating to business lending. More widely, the Government recognises the importance of understanding private credit provision in the UK, as both banks and private markets play important roles in lending to the real economy, diversifying funding sources and supporting innovation. Globally, private markets have become an increasingly important source of finance for firms, and drove nearly all of the increase in lending to UK businesses between 2008 and 2023. The Government therefore supports the recent efforts of the Bank of England, FPC and domestic and international regulators to deepen their understanding of, and work to mitigate, any emerging risks in private markets, and better understand the connections between private credit and the wider banking system.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of including the music industry in the creative industries tax reliefs.

The Government supports the creative industries, including orchestras, through funding and through the tax system. Specifically in respect of orchestras, Orchestra Tax Relief provides tax relief on production costs and provided £33 million of support in 2022-23. When considering changes to tax reliefs, the Government takes into account a wide range of factors including costs, complexity, and fairness. Announcements on tax are made at fiscal events in the context of the overall public finances.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle pump and dump cryptocurrency schemes.

The Government intends to bring forward legislation this year to create a financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets in the UK. This regime will include the establishment of a market abuse framework for relevant qualifying cryptoassets that will prohibit insider dealing, the disclosure of insider information, and market manipulation.

If she will include (a) solar panels and (b) other net zero solutions on the salary sacrifice list.

This government is committed to improving the quality and sustainability of our housing stock, through improvements such as low carbon heating, insulation, solar panels and batteries. We are funding the Warm Homes Plan with a total of £13.2 billion across the Parliament, including Barnett consequentials and £5 billion of financial transactions. Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials, including solar panels, in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent. This support is worth over £1 billion. From April 2017 the tax and employer National Insurance advantages of optional remuneration arrangements (OpRAs) have been removed, with a handful of exemptions. Extending the list of exemptions would have a fiscal cost and would be of greatest benefit to those paying higher rates of tax while low-earning individuals with income below the Personal Allowance or the higher rate threshold would benefit less or not at all.