Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of spirits duty increases on levels of pub closures in the last three years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, with Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) published alongside these announcements.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of spirits duty policy in supporting the economic sustainability of pubs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, with Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) published alongside these announcements.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of spirits duty on the commercial relationship between UK distilleries and pubs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, with Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) published alongside these announcements.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of spirits duty increases on the viability of pubs in rural communities.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, with Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) published alongside these announcements.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of linking spirits duty to inflation on the viability of pubs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, with Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) published alongside these announcements.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking to encourage (a) innovation and (b) entrepreneurship among SMEs.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Small businesses and entrepreneurs are vital to high streets and communities, and essential to the success of the Government’s growth mission.
At the Budget, the Government announced we would be continuing funding for key business support programmes in 2025-26: Growth Hubs in England, and the Help to Grow: Management programme. We also announced we are extending Made Smarter Innovation with up to £37m funding. Funding for the Made Smarter Adoption programme will double to £16 million in 2025-26, supporting more small manufacturing businesses to adopt advanced digital technologies and enabling the programme to be expanded to all nine English regions.
Prior to the Budget, the Government also extended the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trust schemes to 2035. The schemes are designed to encourage investment into new or young companies through tax-relief incentives, encouraging innovation, creating jobs and stimulating economic growth.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.40 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, whether she has made an assessment of the long-term impact of national insurance increases on the ability of SMEs to invest in (a) growth, (b) innovation and (c) job creation.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to employers’ National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer NICs at all next year. More than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package and eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.
A Tax Information and Impact Note regarding these changes was published by HMRC on 13 November.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to Agricultural Property Relief on tenants' access to (a) land and (b) secure tenancy agreements.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms, and further explanatory information at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief. Around 500 estates across the UK are expected to be affected each year from 2026-27.
In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to agricultural property relief on the sustainability of domestic food production.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms, and further explanatory information at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/what-are-the-changes-to-agricultural-property-relief. Around 500 estates across the UK are expected to be affected each year from 2026-27.
In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support SMEs in the (a) technology and (b) research and development sectors, in the context of the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Budget, Government protected record levels of investment with £20.4bn for R&D in 2025/26, on top of support provided through the tax system. The government is supporting commercialisation of our world-class university research by providing at least £40 million over 5 years for proof-of-concept funding and improvements to support for researchers spinning out the UK’s cutting-edge research into firms of the future.
We also announced that we are extending Made Smarter Innovation with up to £37m funding, and funding for the Made Smarter Adoption programme will double to £16 million in 2025-26, supporting more small manufacturing businesses to adopt advanced digital technologies and enabling the programme to be expanded to all nine English regions.
Furthermore, the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce will be extended and will produce an interim report early in 2025 with practical steps and recommendations to enhance SME adoption of digital technology using insights from local and international experiences. To further support small businesses, DBT will shortly be announcing details on a £4m pilots package to encourage tech adoption for SMEs.