Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the cost of (a) the potential business rates relief for pubs and (b) the cost of extending this relief to (i) the hospitality sector and (ii) the retail sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From April, every pub and live music venue will get 15% off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget and then bills will be frozen in real terms for a further two years.
Final costings will be confirmed at a fiscal event in the usual way.
The retail and hospitality sectors will continue to benefit from the £4.3 billion support package announced at Budget. This support package means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Valuation Office Agency’s valuation method for small independent hotels.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
We recognise that hotels have expressed concerns about how they are valued for business rates. Hotels valuations are undertaken in a different way to some other sectors. The methodology used is well established, but, as with pubs, the government has announced it will review the way hotels are valued to ensure it accurately reflects the rental value for these sectors.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on including retail businesses in the proposed business rates relief for pubs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor holds regular discussions with her Ministerial colleagues about a broad range of matters.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of paid ad spoofing on car insurance premiums.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has made no specific estimate of the impact of paid advert spoofing on car insurance premiums.
However, the Government takes the issue of fraud seriously and recognises the impact this has on motor insurance claims costs and the premiums that motorists pay.
As set out in the final report of the cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce, published in December 2025, the Government, regulators and industry are taking a range of actions to combat insurance fraud. This includes the Financial Conduct Authority’s work to identify and remove fraudulent advertising; the Insurance Fraud Bureau and Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department’s work to detect, investigate and deter motor insurance fraud; and collective efforts to deliver on the commitments in the Home Office’s Insurance Fraud Charter.
The Government’s forthcoming Fraud Strategy will introduce further measures designed to protect individuals and businesses from evolving fraud threats.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to reduce the processing time for appeals against the rateable value of non-domestic properties.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Dealing with cases in a timely and efficient manner is an absolute priority for the VOA. The VOA will always clear cases as quickly as it can, and prioritises those cases where customers are facing financial hardship.
The VOA continues to meet its statutory deadlines on Check and Challenge, clearing 100% of Check cases within its 12-month deadline (75% of which were cleared within three months). The VOA is clearing 99% of Challenge cases within its 18-month deadline. Those not cleared are cases where the VOA has agreed an extension with the ratepayer or their agent.
The VOA carefully forecasts and monitors changes in demand across the Agency and flexes resources to meet customer need. This includes moving specialist surveyor resource around the Agency.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support independent (a) pubs, (b) hotels and (c) retail businesses due to pay an increase in business rates in Shropshire.
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. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect 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. Most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to rateable values on non-domestic properties occupied by town and parish councils.
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. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect 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. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2025 measures on VAT on private hire vehicles on (a) people with disabilities and (b) older people.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Private hire vehicle (PHV) services provided by VAT-registered businesses are, and always have been, subject to the standard rate of VAT (20%).
The Government’s announcement at Autumn Budget 2025 puts an end to the exploitation of a VAT administration scheme, designed for the tour operator sector, by a small number of large private hire vehicle operators seeking to pay a lower rate of VAT than others.
This won’t affect smaller operators outside London whose drivers contract directly with passengers, or black cabs, neither of which have attempted to exploit this scheme.
By making sure all operators pay their fair share, the Government expects to raise around £700m of tax revenue each year that it believes should already be being paid. Protecting this revenue is part of the Government’s tax reforms which have enabled us to protect payslips, cut energy bills and reduce borrowing.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure access to cheque deposit services in rural areas.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role the Post Office plays in providing essential banking services, particularly in rural areas. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance and pay bills at thousands of Post Office branches across the UK. Furthermore, the Post Office is required by the Department for Business & Trade to ensure that 95% of the total rural population across the UK is within 3 miles of their nearest Post Office.
Decisions about what services are available at the Post Office, such as cheque deposits, are made by the banks as part of their commercial arrangements.
Customers continue to have other options for paying in cheques, whether at local bank branches, by post, or digitally via mobile apps using cheque imaging technology. I have discussed this with Lloyds, who assure me customers are able to use freepost to deposit cheques without needing to travel, where branch or digital options are not suitable.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on access to banking services of Lloyds Banking Group’s decision to discontinue cheque deposit services at Post Offices from 31 December 2025.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role the Post Office plays in providing essential banking services, particularly in rural areas. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance and pay bills at thousands of Post Office branches across the UK. Furthermore, the Post Office is required by the Department for Business & Trade to ensure that 95% of the total rural population across the UK is within 3 miles of their nearest Post Office.
Decisions about what services are available at the Post Office, such as cheque deposits, are made by the banks as part of their commercial arrangements.
Customers continue to have other options for paying in cheques, whether at local bank branches, by post, or digitally via mobile apps using cheque imaging technology. I have discussed this with Lloyds, who assure me customers are able to use freepost to deposit cheques without needing to travel, where branch or digital options are not suitable.