Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with businesses which have applied for Additional Restrictions Grant funding; and if he will apply lessons learnt from the administration of that scheme to the new £1.5 billion Business Rates Relief Fund for businesses affected by covid-19 outside the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.
Answered by Luke Hall
The Department will work closely with local government throughout the development of the £1.5 billion relief scheme and will ensure that experiences from the delivery of other support measures are taken on board. This includes experiences of administering the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) which – as of 28 March 2021 – has delivered £816 million in support to over 400,000 businesses. The Government will continue to support local authorities in making further ARG payments throughout 2021/22.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to (a) simplify and (b) homogenise across local authorities the process of applying for business rates relief in respect of the Government's £1.5 billion business rates relief fund for businesses in England outside of the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors which have been affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Luke Hall
The Department will ensure that local authorities have the guidance they need to deliver the additional £1.5 billion business rates support package once primary legislation is passed, in line with the announcement on 25 March. As with other business rates reliefs, officials will work closely with local government on the development of the relief scheme and guidance for local authorities will be published in due course.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of tariff-free arrangements for materials imported through a freeport on the competitiveness of domestic manufacturing.
Answered by Luke Hall
Government is committed to supporting UK manufacturing and recognises the vital role it plays in the UK economy, by driving innovation, exports, job creation and productivity growth. Freeports give businesses increased choice for their customs facilitation which plays a significant role in attracting investment and jobs. Businesses will benefit from import duty suspension when goods are imported into the Freeport customs site, and when the goods exit the Freeport to enter the UK’s market the duty will apply. Within a Freeport customs site, businesses also have the option to bring in domestic goods which can then be processed alongside imported goods.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on leasehold which will will apply to tenants of the Duchy of Cornwall.
Answered by Christopher Pincher
The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. We are taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market, and last month we announced reforms to the valuation process and length of lease extensions, in response to Law Commission recommendations.
The Law Commission’s report on enfranchisement includes recommendations relating to the qualifying criteria for enfranchisement and lease extensions, including the applicability of these to leaseholders of the Crown. We will bring forward a response to these and the other remaining Law Commission recommendations.