Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: Clause 63 Stand part: how MPs voted on 13 January 2026
Division 403, 13 January 2026, 16:22. The Commons Votes API gives 348 Ayes, 167 Noes: majority 181 for the Ayes.
The question
New clause 23 would require the Chancellor of the Exchequer to undertake a consultation before 6 April 2027 on the potential impacts of the changes. The consultation would consider the extent to which the changes to inheritance tax and pension interest deliver better outcomes to UK savers and pensioners. The Government launched a technical consultation on the day of the autumn Budget 2024, following the announcement of the policy, to draw on the expertise of the tax, legal and pension industries. That technical consultation was focused on the processes required to implement the changes and the Government have made changes as a result of that consultation.
As well as the technical consultation on the changes, there has been extensive and regular engagement with stakeholders, both from the pensions industry, and legal and tax representatives. I note the praise for HMRC officials from witnesses at the Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub-Committee in the other place in respect of how they have engaged on these issues over the course of the last year. The policy problem with the inheritance tax treatment of pensions is well understood and we need to ensure that pensions continue to be used, as I said, for their core purpose, which is funding retirement, and that tax reliefs are directed to that effect. As I have set out, pensions will continue to enjoy significant tax benefits. For those reasons, new clause 23 should be rejected.
Lastly, new clause 24 would require HMRC to publish comprehensive guidance on the implementation of the policy within six months of the Bill being passed. It would also require HMRC to establish a dedicated helpline for inquiries relating to inheritance tax on pension interest. As I have set out, comprehensive guidance will be published in advance of April 2027 and HMRC will provide interactive tools to support personal representatives. Publishing guidance when policies go live is established practice, and it ensures that guidance is fully up to date when made available. HMRC will continue to work with industry on shaping that guidance and ensuring that the reforms are fully understood. People will be able to call the inheritance tax helpline for inquiries related to the reforms and, as we would expect, staff will be fully trained on each of the changes such that they can support customers. It is on that basis that new clause 24 should also be rejected.
The clauses we have considered preserve generous tax relief for retirement saving. I therefore urge the Committee to reject new clauses 18 to 20 and 22 to 24, and to support clauses 63 to …
As printed in Hansard before the division.
By party
Labour MPs cast 324 of the 347 named Aye votes; Conservative MPs 94 of the 170 named No votes.
| Party | Aye (named) | No (named) |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 324 | 0 |
| Conservative | 0 | 94 |
| Liberal Democrat | 0 | 65 |
| Independent | 5 | 5 |
| Scottish National Party | 9 | 0 |
| Green Party | 4 | 0 |
| Plaid Cymru | 4 | 0 |
| Democratic Unionist Party | 0 | 3 |
| Alliance | 0 | 1 |
| Social Democratic & Labour Party | 1 | 0 |
| Traditional Unionist Voice | 0 | 1 |
| Ulster Unionist Party | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 347 | 170 |
Tellers: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour, Coventry North West) and Mark Ferguson (Labour, Gateshead Central and Whickham) (Ayes); Lincoln Jopp (Conservative, Spelthorne) and Alicia Kearns (Conservative, Rutland and Stamford) (Noes).
How each MP voted
517 named · CSV
Sources
- Bill: Finance Act 2026
- Hansard: Finance (No. 2) Bill
- Commons division 403
- Commons Votes API: division
6ca8efff08b15b6d15 October 2026 - Hansard API: division search
512702e6682b216115 October 2026 - Hansard API: debate
c1f87ebf9ac626e015 October 2026
SHA-256 of each copy read. Open Parliament Licence v3.0