Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Dan Tomlinson and John Whittingdale

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Tomlinson]

I thank my hon. Friend for the work that she is doing to champion salons and the beauty industry in her constituency and elsewhere. She will know that VAT is a broad-based tax; in fact, it is our third largest revenue raiser, raising £180 billion last year. That is vital revenue that pays for our public services. There are lots of issues in relation to VAT, including the differential treatment depending on how salons decide to set themselves up and pay their employees. Those are important issues, and we will consider tax changes in the usual way in the run-up to future Budgets.

[Sir John Whittingdale]

I recently visited the Ship Inn in Burnham-on-Crouch, which has a few hotel rooms, as well as Peaberries, a tea shop on the high street. Both are looking at existential threats as a result of business rates. Can the Minister say whether the package that he will announce later will benefit them as well?

Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

Debate between Dan Tomlinson and John Whittingdale

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Tomlinson]

I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the brewery in her constituency. I know there is a vibrant small and independent brewery sector in Bristol, with lots of fantastic places where people can choose to have a drink if they so wish. Just the same as her, I want to make sure that this Government do what they can to continue to support businesses such as the one she mentions and those operating up and down the country. This Government are seeking to ensure that people have more money in their pockets so they can go out and spend it. That is why I am really glad that under the first year of this Labour Government, we saw faster increases in wages than we did in the whole first 10 years under the Conservatives.

[Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)]

As well as pubs, hotels and restaurants, is the Minister aware that many grassroots music venues, some of which have never been liable for rates, now face demands for thousands of pounds? The Music Venue Trust has said that these are not bills but “closure notices”. Will he ensure that grassroots music venues are included in any relief he provides, and are recognised as critical creative infrastructure?

[Dan Tomlinson]

We considered before the Budget the matter of businesses being brought into business rates for the first time. We set out at the Budget the supporting small business relief scheme, so that businesses that are paying no business rates at the moment but which are coming into business rates for the first time will have their increases capped at £800.

Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief

Debate between Dan Tomlinson and John Whittingdale

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Tomlinson]

I wish my hon. Friend’s constituents a happy new year. The Batters review, which was published just a few weeks ago, set out ideas that the Government can take forward to ensure that farming can be profitable and sustainable. I know that Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and across Government will continue to work on those important objectives.

[Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)]

Although I welcome this announcement, which directly contradicts what the Secretary of State told me and my right hon. Friend the Member for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins) on the day that the House rose for Christmas, is the Minister aware that a significant number of my constituents who farm in the Dengie peninsula and elsewhere will still face a significant inheritance tax bill that may prevent them from passing on their farm, as they inherited it, to their children? If the Minister is anxious about the scheme being used for tax avoidance, will he reconsider the NFU’s suggestion that there be a clawback mechanism, which would allow the Government to take back the exemption if a farm was sold within a certain period after inheritance?

[Dan Tomlinson]

No, we will not be considering the clawback proposals put forward. Instead, the Government have come forward with the change that was announced in December, which increases the threshold from £1 million to £2.5 million. It is worth remembering that the tax rate paid above the higher threshold is half the rate that anyone else who has sufficient assets would pay if they were liable for inheritance tax, and that any tax liability can be paid interest-free over 10 years. On balance, while these changes will affect some of the very largest estates—the Government have published the numbers, which are based on the actual claims data from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs; it estimates that fewer than 200 estates will pay additional tax—almost all the estates paying additional tax will pay significantly less than they would otherwise have done, because we have listened to family businesses and farming communities.