Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of higher rateable values and reduced business rates relief on the number of hospitality closures and empty units on high streets over the next three years.
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: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of legal costs associated with lower value clinical negligence claims.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We welcome the report by the National Audit Office (NAO) entitled Costs of clinical negligence. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent NAO report.
The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policymaking in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of implementing the recommendations in the National Audit Office’s report entitled Costs of clinical negligence, published on 17 October 2025.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We welcome the report by the National Audit Office (NAO) entitled Costs of clinical negligence. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent NAO report.
The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policymaking in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the findings of David Lock KC’s review into clinical negligence costs.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We welcome the report by the National Audit Office (NAO) entitled Costs of clinical negligence. As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising legal costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent NAO report.
The results of David Lock’s work will inform future policymaking in this area. No decisions on policy have been taken at this point, and the Government will provide an update on the work done and next steps, in due course.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time was for MOT appointments in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Neither the Department for Transport nor the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which administers the MOT scheme, collects or holds data on waiting times for MOT appointments. The MOT test is delivered by a network of around 23,000 privately operated garages across Great Britain. Based on available evidence, there appears to be sufficient capacity within this network to meet demand.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has asked the Civil Aviation Authority to undertake a review of assisted-travel provision and associated cost increases at UK airports.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) already assesses airport compliance with accessibility requirements through its accessibility framework. It publishes an annual performance report which ranks airport performance and works with airports to improve accessibility services.
In November 2024, the Department also established the Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group, which published its independent report in July 2025. It set out 19 recommendations, including a review of the CAA’s airport accessibility framework (CAP1228). The Group is now supporting implementation.
As the aviation industry operates primarily in the private sector, no assessment has been made of the costs associated with accessibility provisions at UK airports.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of recruitment and retention challenges in the driving instructor and driving examiner workforce; and what steps she plans to take to raise entry standards, including English proficiency, improve qualification outcomes, recognise driving instructors within safeguarding frameworks, and support alternative career pathways for trainees who do not qualify.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Since July last year, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has recruited and trained 344 driving examiners who are now in post and delivering driving tests.
DVSA has had difficulty in retaining experienced driving examiners, some of whom retire or leave DVSA for other roles. To encourage existing driving examiners to stay, DVSA is making an exceptional payment of £5,000 to driving examiners and eligible roles (divided into two payments) over the next 12 months. By keeping more experienced driving examiners and bringing in new ones, DVSA will lose less testing capacity from the system, making more tests available for learner drivers.
DVSA sets out the national standard for driver and rider training on GOV.UK. This is what people must be able to do, know, and understand, to provide training to drivers and riders.
Details on the steps to becoming an instructor can also be found on GOV.UK. As part of the process of becoming an ADI, candidates must take and pass theory, driving ability and instructional ability tests.
DVSA requires every prospective ADI in Great Britain to apply for an enhanced disclosure and barring (DBS) check before beginning the ADI qualification process. They are also required to repeat the disclosure process every four years when they renew their ADI registration.
The ADI Registrar also has the power to remove an ADI who falls below the standard of fit and proper person.
DVSA is not responsible for delivering training to those undertaking the ADI qualification process. The sponsor or training school of each trainee should ensure they include all elements of training. DVSA therefore cannot offer support in alternative career pathways for trainees who do not qualify to become an ADI.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average time taken by local authorities to repair a reported pothole was in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances. The Department does not hold data on the time taken by local highway authorities to repair reported potholes, but national guidance recommends that defects and potholes which require urgent attention should be made safe at the time of inspection or as soon as possible.
This year, local highway authorities were required to publish transparency reports setting out progress on highway maintenance, including the number of potholes they estimate they have filled in recent years. This information can be found on the websites of relevant local highways authorities.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the number of potholes filled by local authorities in England in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances. The Department does not hold data on the time taken by local highway authorities to repair reported potholes, but national guidance recommends that defects and potholes which require urgent attention should be made safe at the time of inspection or as soon as possible.
This year, local highway authorities were required to publish transparency reports setting out progress on highway maintenance, including the number of potholes they estimate they have filled in recent years. This information can be found on the websites of relevant local highways authorities.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Great British Railways has published (a) service performance standards, (b) routes for consolidation, and (c) a transition timetable in November 2025.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Great British Railways does not yet exist.