Oral Answers to Questions

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Tomlinson]

It was the Opposition who fluffed it when it came to approving Rosebank and Jackdaw. They could not make sure that they signed the right paperwork at the right time. We had to clean up their mess in that and a whole range of other areas.

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

8. What fiscal steps he is taking to support high streets and town centres.

[Dan Aldridge (Weston-super-Mare) (Lab)]

21. What fiscal steps he is taking to support high streets and town centres.

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General (James Murray)]

At the Budget, we announced a two-year real-terms freeze to business rates bills for all retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England; cut bills by an extra 20% for pubs and all but the largest live music venues; and removed 70,000 smaller properties from business rates altogether. Taken together, these measures show how the Government are backing our high streets: all retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England are seeing their business rates frozen in real terms, reduced, or cut to zero.

[Jas Athwal]

My constituents and I welcome the Budget measures to support small businesses in Ilford South, including the business rates freeze for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, which will benefit more than a thousand businesses across my constituency. Will the Chancellor outline what further fiscal steps the Government are taking to support high street businesses, such as those in my constituency, to encourage investment and ensure that our town centres remain vibrant, thriving places for generations to come?

[James Murray]

I am very glad to hear that more than a thousand retail, hospitality and leisure properties in Redbridge may benefit from a real-terms freeze in their business rates bills, giving them real breathing space over the next two years. We are also helping high street businesses through our new high streets strategy, which was published at the Budget, providing £210 million to transform derelict buildings into the new anchors of our high streets across the country.