Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of the increased funding for employment support will be allocated to the hospitality sector in coastal towns.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Pathways to Work Green Paper made clear that the additional funding for employment support is aimed at all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits, who want help to get into or return to work.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help support economic growth in the hospitality sector in coastal towns.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government is committed to supporting small and local businesses in the hospitality, tourism, and services sectors, which provide a significant contribution to the UK economy and society.
We have launched a licensing taskforce to make recommendations to cut red tape and remove barriers to business growth that exist within the UK’s licensing framework. The industry-led Taskforce has shared its findings with the Government, and we aim to update publicly by the summer.
We have prevented retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) business rates relief from ending in April 2025 by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.
From April 2026, we intend to introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for RHL properties with rateable values below £500,000. The Treasury has, and will continue to, meet with the RHL sector to discuss these reforms.
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced a duty cut on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year and increased the relief available on draught products to 13.9%.
We have protected small businesses from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer NICs at all this year, and more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package.
Furthermore, the Department of Business and Trade will soon be publishing its Small Business Strategy, which will announce further measures to support small businesses in the hospitality sector and to revitalise high streets.
Through The Hospitality Support Scheme, the Government is working with Pub is the Hub and providing funds to help community pubs adapt to changing local needs, ensuring these vital social hubs continue delivering for their communities.
Additionally, we have funded a wide range of community assets, including pubs, through the Community Ownership Fund. On 23 December 2024, this Government announced the outcome of Round 4 of the Community Ownership Fund, the largest ever round to date.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to introduce additional support measures for businesses affected by increases in National Insurance Contributions in Eastbourne.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government has taken difficult but necessary decisions to fix the public finances and create the long-term stability in which businesses can invest and thrive.
The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from the changes to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.
The Government has also taken a number of other steps to support businesses.
At the Spending Review, the Government increased the financial capacity of the British Business Bank to £25.6bn, which will enable a two-thirds increase in support for SMEs across the UK. This investment is expected to crowd in tens of billions of pounds of private capital and will support innovative businesses to start, scale, grow, and stay in the UK.
The Government is also continuing to take measures to tackle late payments, which severely impact the cash flow of small businesses. This year we will be laying requirements for large companies to include information about their payment performance in their Annual Reports and launched the Fair Payment Code. We will be launching a consultation on additional legislative measures to address late payments and long payment terms.
The Department for Business and Trade will, this year, be publishing its Small Business Strategy. This will set out how the Government will go further in delivering its manifesto commitments to support SMEs in areas such as access to finance, business support, late payments, regulation, access to markets, and revitalising High Streets.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a reduction in the annual tax-free cash ISA allowance on people in (a) Eastbourne and (b) the UK.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government is committed to incentivising greater saving and investment. Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) help people save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience.
The Government recognises the important role that cash savings play in helping households build a financial buffer for a rainy day. The Government also wants to see more consumers participate in capital markets and benefit from the long-term financial security and returns that investing can provide.
The impact of any changes to ISAs would be set out in a tax information impact note. The Government continues to keep all aspects of savings policy under review.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.65 of her Department's document entitled Spring Statement 2025, published on 26 March 2025, when she will publish the reforms to Individual Savings Accounts.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government is looking at options for reforms to ISAs that get the balance right between cash and equities to earn better returns for savers, boost the culture of retail investment, and support the growth mission.
The Government keeps all aspects of tax and savings policy under review.