Torsten Bell corrected a written answer on Pensioners: Income Tax

16 October 2025 · Commons written answer · Treasury

James McMurdock (Independent, South Basildon and East Thurrock) asked written question 77935 on 16 September 2025. James Murray answered on 14 October 2025 for the Treasury, and Torsten Bell corrected the answer on 16 October 2025. The corrected text adds the figure £1,900, which the original did not give. Altogether 185 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of maintaining the personal tax allowance threshold on the number of pensioners living in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty in each of the next three years.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
~~Receipts data for~~ the ~~Apprenticeship Levy~~ is ~~published~~ by HM Revenue and Customs in their Tax and NIC Receipts publication which can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk Receipts data based on ~~company registered addresses do not reflect where liabilities are accrued or where employees are based. For example,~~ the data on receipts from companies with registered addresses in Northern Ireland will not include businesses registered in Wales, Scotland, or England, who have a presence and pay employees in Northern Ireland.	The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax. The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of the support available to them. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full new State Pension is currently projected to go up by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast.

Original

Corrected

~~Receipts data for~~ the ~~Apprenticeship Levy~~ is ~~published~~ by HM Revenue and Customs in their Tax and NIC Receipts publication which can be found online at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk
Receipts data based on ~~company registered addresses do not reflect where liabilities are accrued or where employees are based. For example,~~ the data on receipts from companies with registered addresses in Northern Ireland will not include businesses registered in Wales, Scotland, or England, who have a presence and pay employees in Northern Ireland.

The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.
The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of the support available to them. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full new State Pension is currently projected to go up by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest forecast.

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1836022?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`6a7407214c78383e41afe58be05855924733bb9cb5fcb9474c9bb3a0f9e3dfe6`