Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support her Department provides to snooker (a) tournaments and (b) clubs and venues.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to supporting grassroots sport clubs that provide important hubs for communities up and down the country.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England. Since 2023, Sport England has provided £220,774 to multi-sport projects that featured support for snooker clubs.
No funding has been explicitly provided for tournaments as snooker’s governing body is principally self-funded through its own commercial activities. However, we recognise the Crucible Theatre’s unique status as the sport’s spiritual home. We are therefore actively engaging with partners to explore all viable options to keep the World Championship in Sheffield, ensuring this historic venue continues to inspire future generations to pick up a cue.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of the increase in rateable values on snooker clubs and venues.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Without our support, the pub sector as a whole would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, this has fallen to just 4%.
More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. We are doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties, including those on the high street.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
The National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities, including those in the hospitality sector, will either gain or see no change this year. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside changes to employer NICs.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what reporting, monitoring, or public disclosure requirements exist regarding the transfer of UK citizens’ genomic data to foreign entities, including approvals, audits, or security assessments conducted.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In order to lawfully process special category data, organisations must identify both a lawful basis under Article 6 of the UK GDPR and a separate condition for processing under Article 9, which should be documented. Organisations also need to complete a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) for any type of processing which is likely to be high risk.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, in cases where genomic data has been found to have been transferred in violation of UK law or national security standards, what steps has the government taken or plans to take to remediate these breaches.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK has one of the most robust data protection regimes in the world, with all organisations required to comply with our legislation to safeguard UK personal data when transferring it overseas. Failure to do so can result in enforcement action.
Our data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, has powers to take enforcement action and issue hefty fines. Individuals who consider that their data has been misused can also take legal action.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) specific recusals and (b) mitigation measures have been applied to Varun Chandra in relation to any Government (i) decisions, (ii) policies, and (iii) meetings that may intersect with (A) Hakluyt & Company and (B) its associated investment vehicles.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There is an established system in place for the declaration and management of special advisers' interests. As has been the case under successive administrations, interests deemed relevant for publication for special advisers in No10 and the Cabinet Office are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Special Advisers’ Code of Conduct, whether Varun Chandra has declared any financial interests.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
There is an established system in place for the declaration and management of special advisers' interests. As has been the case under successive administrations, interests deemed relevant for publication for special advisers in No10 and the Cabinet Office are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that UK institutions and companies comply with the GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and other relevant national security requirements when sharing genomic data internationally.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK has one of the most robust data protection regimes in the world, with all organisations required to comply with our legislation to safeguard UK personal data when transferring it overseas. Failure to do so can result in enforcement action.
Our data regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, has powers to take enforcement action and issue hefty fines. Individuals who consider that their data has been misused can also take legal action.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Varun Chandra has had (a) meetings, (b) correspondence and (c) formal communications with representatives of former clients of Hakluyt & Company since taking up his role as Special Adviser.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There is an established system in place for the declaration and management of special advisers' interests. As has been the case under successive administrations, interests deemed relevant for publication for special advisers in No10 and the Cabinet Office are published on an annual basis by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what formal guidance, policies and risk assessments he has issued to research institutions, NHS bodies and private genomics companies on the sharing of genomic data with foreign entities.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy (BSS) sets out how the country is strengthening resilience to a spectrum of biological threats. As part of the BSS, DSIT is ensuring the UK is a world leader in responsible innovation in engineering biology – working closely with academia and industry to improve shared awareness of security risks, and ensuring any measures to mitigate risks (including those related to genomic data) remain proportionate.
All organisations holding health data (including genomics data) must comply with GDPR. To comply with GDPR, DSIT and DHSC require safeguards to be in place when health data is transferred outside the UK, including a risk assessment for countries not recognised as offering an equivalent level of data protection by the UK.
On behalf of DSIT, the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), have developed the Trusted Research campaign to advise academia on international collaborations, by informing them of the threat and helping them make decisions about research and research partners. NPSA and NCSC have also developed the Secure Innovation campaign to help new start-ups in the emerging and critical technology sectors think carefully about their partners and investment.
Alongside this work, DSIT’s Research Collaboration Advice Team offers the research sector tailored advice on managing the risks of international research collaboration. DSIT also engages in a two-way dialogue with policymakers, academia and industry on the responsible use of engineering biology and life sciences, through the Responsible Innovation Advisory Panel.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what formal guidance, policies, or risk assessments has the UK government issued to UK research institutions, NHS bodies, and private genomics companies regarding the sharing of genomic data with foreign entities.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the response given on 10 December to PQ 96655.