Lords
Debate
5 March 2026
14 contributions
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, I am very grateful to all noble Lords who have contributed to this first group of amendments. I turn first to Amendments 1 and 17 in the names of the noble Baronesses, Lady Neville-Rolfe and Lady Altmann, and the noble Lord, Lord Altrincham, which seek to exempt basic rate taxpayers from t…
I am afraid I do not know what led the noble Baroness to believe that. That is not in any way my intention at this point.
As I was saying, 76% of those in their 20s who use salary sacrifice are protected by the cap, compared to half of those aged 30 and above. The Government do not believe that thi…
+12 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
9 contributions
Small Businesses: VAT Threshold
I thank the Minister for his reply, but we have double trouble. First, an increasing number of registered small businesses are earning less than the VAT threshold of £90,000. Secondly, there has been a big drop in those earning £90,000 to £150,000—in fact, there was a decline of 26,000 businesses in…
My Lords, if the Minister could open his mind beyond the data of the Question, there is no shortage of studies from very reputable organisations—the IMF, the OECD and others—that there is significant bunching around a threshold, and that is not a surprise. Where they do not agree is whether the brak…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
26 February 2026
8 contributions
Duty Relief Exemption: Small Parcels
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that. Responding recently to two questions from me and the noble Lord, Lord Empey, he said that we would continue to engage with the EU. Now that the regulations have been published just two weeks ago—written in the normal EU way that is quite difficult to understa…
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for his detailed and clear response. Does he agree that one should be very careful about what you argue and campaign for, because sometimes you get what you want? Does he agree that those who argued for the hardest possible Brexit got the Windsor Framew…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
24 February 2026
16 contributions
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, it is a great pleasure to respond to the debate on this first group of amendments. I thank all noble Lords who have contributed.
This first set of amendments, in the names of the noble Baronesses, Lady Neville-Rolfe and Lady Altmann, and the noble Lord, Lord Altrincham, seeks to exempt ba…
My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate. I begin by addressing Amendments 4 and 17, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Leigh of Hurley, and the noble Baroness, Lady Altmann. These amendments relate to the technical and operational detail of the legislation, including th…
+14 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
10 February 2026
7 contributions
Local Government Finance Act 1988 (Prescription of Non-Domestic Rating Multipliers) (England) Regulations 2026
My Lords, this debate will also consider the take-note Motion tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Clement- Jones, on the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025.
These statutory instruments form part of a wider package of legislation th…
My Lords, I wish to speak to the Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper.
I have not secured this debate to oppose the Government’s ambition to support the high street. Permanent lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure are, in principle, a welcome step towards stability. Instead…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
4 February 2026
3 contributions
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, it is a pleasure to open this Second Reading debate on the Bill. It legislates for reforms announced in the Budget in November. That was a Budget to build a stronger, more secure economy that had at its heart three deliberate pro-growth choices. First, by choosing to maintain economic stab…
My Lords, this Bill is deceptively small. It runs to just four pages of text and could be easily mistaken for something minor. But its consequences for working people and for long-term pension saving in particular are serious and far-reaching. We are talking about pensions, not other benefits, which…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Proceedings
29 January 2026
12 contributions
Business Rates
I am very grateful to the noble Baronesses, Lady Neville-Rolfe and Lady Kramer, for their comments and questions, and for their cautious welcome of what we have announced.
The noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, ignored what we announced in the Budget: the £4.3 billion of support for those experien…
I very much agree with everything that my noble friend said. Among the long litany of the previous Government’s failures, their failure on growth was one of their most significant. We saw Brexit and the Liz Truss mini-Budget, and we know what business thought of that. We saw business investment acro…
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
10 contributions
Grass-roots Music Venues
My Lord, that is a very welcome response from the Minister, but I wonder what assessment His Majesty’s Government have made of forecasts that increased business rate valuations could result in a closure of between 80 to 120 grass-roots music venues and place a further 120-plus at risk. How do the Go…
My Lords—
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
20 January 2026
9 contributions
Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure
As the noble Baroness knows, and as I have said before, the previous revaluation was based on property values during the Covid pandemic, which meant that rateable values were much lower. That means that some businesses, including retail, hospitality and leisure venues, are now seeing an increase as …
I absolutely hear what the noble Lord says, and I understand the points he is making. As I said, noble Lords will have heard what the Prime Minister and Chancellor have said in recent days. I will not add to that now, but when there are further comments to be made, I am sure I will be able to discus…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
20 January 2026
Crown Estate (Wales) Bill [HL]
My Lords, I am grateful to the two noble Lords for contributing and making the points that they have. I believe that these principles could well apply further afield in due course, though perhaps not immediately. I noted well the points made by the Minister; I only hope that the opportunity will now…
Lords
Oral Questions
7 January 2026
10 contributions
Public Sector Productivity
My Lords, here is another statistic: the ONS has reported that total public service productivity in the UK fell by 0.7% in Q2 of 2025 compared with the previous year and that healthcare productivity fell by 1.5% over the same period. Public service productivity continues to lag behind that of the pr…
My Lords, much of the future improvement in productivity in the NHS is predicated on the adoption of innovative technologies. Is the Minister content that there is sufficient investment in the continuing development of the NHS workforce to facilitate the adoption of that technology and deliver that …
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
6 January 2026
10 contributions
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
I am grateful to the noble Baroness. May I first take this opportunity to wish her a belated happy birthday for the weekend just past?
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her support for the measures that we announced shortly before Christmas. It is absolutely right that, following the reforms …
No, I do not agree with the points the noble Baroness makes. She says this will raise next to nothing; it will still raise about £300 million for our public services. I do not know whether she thinks that is next to nothing—I do not—and I do not know where she would get that money from if she wishes…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
25 November 2025
13 contributions
Forthcoming Fiscal Changes
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his Answer. I have the upmost respect for him and believe he has acted commendably ahead of this Budget. He has been left in the position of having to issue constant denials by an approach from his colleagues which has damaged the economy, businesses and individual…
My Lords, can the Minister tell us whether there are any significant measures in the Budget which have not been announced in advance or leaked? I would invite him to mention them to us, then he can have a clean slate.
+11 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
18 November 2025
16 contributions
Budget: Press Briefings
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. She claims that it is unprecedented for a Chancellor to comment on the economic situation ahead of a Budget. I do not think it is in any way unusual; there is always speculation ahead of it. As she knows, I am not going to speculate on the next B…
The noble Baroness says that comments from the Treasury Benches create uncertainty and then invites me to comment, so I shall not do that. I shall not comment on bond yields as she asks me to do; as she knows, I never do. I will not comment on the ongoing Budget process or on speculation on individu…
+14 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
17 November 2025
10 contributions
Inheritance Tax: Pensions
I thank the Minister for his Answer, but my Question was whether the Government have actually properly considered the real-world impact of these unworkable proposals. With its aim to hit the minority of wealthy pension owners, this policy could actually damage millions of less well-off families who …
May I welcome my noble friend’s clear statement that the purpose of a pension fund is to provide pensions and not to assist the better-off in estate planning? Does he agree with me, given the frequent press comment that inheritance tax is, in many senses, a voluntary tax, that anyone will be able to…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
13 November 2025
5 contributions
Economic and Taxation Policies: Jobs, Growth and Prosperity
If the Minister will allow me, he spoke about GDP being reduced by four percentage points. I assume he is referring to the OBR’s original projection, which was over the next 15 years. So far, we have not had the 15 years, and he is thoroughly misrepresenting the situation if he is implying that this…
Can the Minister clarify that his argument is that the Government have made no policy errors regarding their economic management over the last year?
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
12 November 2025
9 contributions
Cryptocurrencies: US Regulation
I thank my noble friend the Minister for his Answer. The risks normally associated with cryptocurrencies are volatility, fraud, money laundering and access to criminality. Have these risks been assessed by the Government, and if so, with what result?
My Lords, I declare my interest as the chair of the All-Party Group on Crypto and Digital Assets. The Minister’s remarks are very welcome. Does he agree with me that the risks around crypto are the risks of not regulating it? With one in four people in Britain now trading cryptocurrency —half of the…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
10 November 2025
14 contributions
National Insurance: Partnerships
My Lords, given that professional services contribute some 12% to GDP, and that almost all the UK’s leading accountancy and law firms operate as LLPs, has the Minister examined the potential for unintended consequences such as increased incorporation or outsourcing, which could reduce, rather than i…
My Lords, does the Minister, as an expert in taxation matters, agree that in reality, the great majority of those who are partners in limited liability partnerships do not have any of the autonomy of self-employed persons but are treated as having such autonomy, and that it would be logical for all …
+12 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
30 October 2025
10 contributions
Public and Private Sector Productivity Trends
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. Low productivity has indeed been a running sore for almost 20 years now. Frankly, there are no real signs of progress, which is why the OBR is poised to downgrade its trend forecast and leave the Chancellor with an even deeper black hole. We need a major…
My Lords, on the point from the noble Lord, Lord Londesborough, would the Minister consider looking at how the figures are compiled? Personally, I think that the contribution from the services sector is underplayed and undervalued in the calculation of productivity. Would the Minister also recognise…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
22 October 2025
9 contributions
Rules on Duty-Free Goods
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that rather predictable Answer. Could I press him? Does he understand the frustration and anger that families in Northern Ireland have when they travel on their well-earned holidays to sunny parts of the EU and cannot get duty-free, while other citizens of the rest…
My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister agree that it would be much better for Members of your Lordships’ House to argue for and underpin the value of dual market access whereby businesses and communities in Northern Ireland can avail themselves of access to the UK internal market and the EU sin…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
20 October 2025
10 contributions
GDP Per Capita
Indeed so, but the Minister will be aware that the ONS’s latest figures show that in the most recent quarter, economic growth per capita grew by only 0.2%—less than half than in the previous quarter. Will he accept that this is entirely due to the Government’s policies on the national insurance incr…
My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that GDP would have been higher had we not had a Government previously who wrecked the economy, wrecked public services, gave us Brexit and left us with massive debt?
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
8 contributions
Stablecoin Ownership
I thank the Minister for that response, but I want to press him a little. Stablecoins and their usage are growing across the world. At the beginning of this year, $200 billion-worth had been issued—by September this year, it was $280 billion—pushed by the emergence of the GENIUS Act in the US and Mi…
My Lords, let me join in paying tribute to the Lord Speaker. I do not know whether to congratulate him, or say it is with great regret that he is in a situation in which he needs to stand down. We have all appreciated his service so much. A great deal more will be said on future occasions.
Stableco…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
13 October 2025
11 contributions
School Fees: VAT
My Lords, have the Government noted a recent detailed survey by the Independent Schools Council which shows that their appalling education tax is producing an exodus from independent schools eight times larger than Ministers predicted? Does it not follow that the Government will have to fund many ex…
My Lords, given that the money raised from this will be spent on increasing teacher numbers in state schools and that 93%—although as my noble friend the Minister mentioned 94%, I will go with his statistic—in England attend state schools, does my noble friend agree that this is an excellent example…
+9 more contributions in this session