Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to provide additional funding for skills and connectivity in Cornwall in the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The skills system is central to achieving economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity. This government is investing skills including for key sectors such as construction, and for young people. Autumn Budget 2025 included £820 million for the Youth Guarantee, featuring a new Jobs Guarantee for eligible 18- to 21-year-olds, and £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy to help support apprenticeships for young people and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible people under-25.
Autumn Budget 2025 also invested £30m in a new Kernow Industrial Growth Fund to allow Cornwall council to support high-potential sectors such as critical minerals. This is in addition to existing support for the Cornish economy.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of inflation on the Small Business Rate Relief threshold; and whether she plans to bring forward proposals to uprate the threshold in line with inflation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Business rates raised a reported £26.4bn billion in 2024/25 and make up a quarter of Local Authority core spending power. They support critical local services, including child and adult social care.
Over a third of properties (more than 700,000) with rateable values (RVs) under £12,000 pay no business rates as they receive 100 per cent Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR). An additional c.60,000 properties, with RVs between £12,000 and £15,000, benefit from reduced bills as SBRR tapers.
At the 2024 Autumn Budget, the Government decided to freeze the small business multiplier (paid by properties with RVs under £51,000) for 2025/26. Together with SBRR, this has protected over a million ratepayers from a 1.6 per cent inflationary bill Increase.
In the Transforming Business Rates: Interim Report, published on 11 September, the Government committed to exploring enhancing SBRR to support business growth and investment.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of providing additional funding for the Tropical Forests Forever Facility on economic growth.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of protecting tropical forests and welcomes Brazil’s leadership in developing the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) ahead of COP30. The UK has supported the development of the TFFF through technical assistance but has not provided a direct financial contribution to the Facility.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she plans to take to support the (a) stability and (b) off-season resilience of the hospitality workforce.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting the hospitality sector.
The Government is committed to ending one-sided flexibility ensuring that all jobs provide a baseline of security and predictability, which includes ending exploitative zero hours contracts. We will deliver this commitment through two measures: a right to guaranteed hours, where the number of hours offered reflects the hours worked by the worker during a reference period and new rights to reasonable notice of shift, with proportionate payment for shifts cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice. These additional rights and protections will support stability and off-season resilience for hospitality workers.
In addition, as part of Get Britain Working, and in partnership with UKHospitality, the Government is expanding a Hospitality Sector Work-based Academy Programme pilot to 26 areas, which will help fill vacancies in the hospitality industry.
The Government has been clear that the best way to support workers is to stimulate growth, and we are implementing a number of initiatives to achieve this. For example, we established the Licensing Taskforce and will soon issue call for evidence on a National Licensing Policy Framework which will set out national direction for licensing authorities to consider economic growth and cultural value. The English Devolution Bill will protect businesses from upward only rent clauses, and we are introducing a strong new ‘Community Right to Buy’ to help communities safeguard valued community assets.
Recognising the important role the hospitality sector plays in the visitor economy, the Government has set an ambitious goal to grow inbound tourism to 50 million visitors annually by 2030. To help achieve this, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has established a new Visitor Economy Advisory Council, which is currently helping to co-create a Visitor Economy Growth Strategy, due to be published in the autumn.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for council tax re-bandings by the Valuations Board.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA is working as quickly as possible to clear cases, and moving staff to where there is the greatest customer demand. The VOA is focusing on the oldest cases first, and where customers are facing financial hardship.
The VOA is replacing IT systems with modern cloud-based platforms that will deliver significant efficiencies. It is also upskilling its workforce to ensure there is flexibility in managing a wide range of cases and improving its digital services to make it easier for customers to self-serve.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing vehicle tax reductions for people in receipt of attendance allowance.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) applies to vehicles used or kept on public roads. Different rates apply to cars, vans, and motorcycles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as its date of first registration, weight, or CO2 emissions.
For individuals who develop a disability after the State Pension age, Attendance Allowance (AA) is a non means-tested benefit which provides targeted help with the extra costs of disability and helps them maintain their independence. While the intention is for AA to cover the need for care or supervision an individual requires as a result of their disability, individuals may choose to use their AA to fund mobility aids.
However, AA does not have a specific mobility component, and therefore does not include an exemption from or reduction in VED. The government has no current plans to review or amend this longstanding policy.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of banking hubs on women at risk of domestic abuse.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government recognises that the ability to access cash and in-person banking support remains essential for many, which is why we have secured the industry’s commitment to roll out 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament, ensuring that access to face-to-face banking is protected. Over 230 hubs have been announced so far, and over 170 are already open.
Banking hubs offer everyday counter services, allowing people and businesses to withdraw and deposit cash, pay bills and make balance enquiries. They also contain dedicated rooms where customers can see community bankers from their own bank to carry out wider banking services.
The Government is committed to tackling domestic abuse through our mission to halve Violence Against Women and Girls within a decade. Addressing economic abuse is an integral part of this and is also being considered within the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, which will examine where industry and Government can go further to support financially excluded people, including victim-survivors of economic abuse.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of funding pilot schemes in banking hubs to provide targeted financial education sessions for (a) women and (b) women at risk of economic abuse.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Banking hubs are a voluntary service which were developed by the financial services sector in the context of legislation to protect access to cash under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023.
These hubs offer everyday counter services, allowing people and businesses to withdraw and deposit cash, pay bills and make balance enquiries. They also contain dedicated rooms where customers can see community bankers from their own bank to carry out wider banking services.
While banking hubs do not focus on providing financial education sessions, they do offer the opportunity for customers to disclose additional needs and discuss support in a private space with the community banker. This may include signposting to relevant money guidance or advice services.
The Government is committed to ensuring that people build financial capability and recognises that certain groups – including women and those at risk of economic abuse – may face specific barriers.
To support those facing such challenges, the Government is developing a Financial Inclusion Strategy, which will have a key focus on financial education and capability. Economic abuse is a cross-cutting theme of this strategy to ensure the needs of victim-survivors are considered across wider relevant interventions to support financially excluded people.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to require e-commerce platforms and payment-service providers operating in the UK to comply with UK VAT law.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
All e-commerce platforms and payment-service providers operating in the UK have a legal obligation to comply with UK VAT law.
HMRC uses a risk based approach and range of measures to tackle non-compliance and continues to work with businesses as part of its ongoing compliance strategy.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered reforming Schedule 8 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 to help increase levels of support for small businesses selling disability and assistive technology products online.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government recognises the vital role that disability and assistive technology products play in improving people’s lives and supporting independent living. Under the UK’s VAT regime, the zero-rate of VAT applies to certain goods supplied to disabled people for their domestic or personal use. The application of the zero-rate balances support for businesses and consumers with the need to protect the public finances.