Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the reports that Israeli Defences Forces have moved the Yellow Line deeper into Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK urges all parties to meet the commitments they have made under the 20-point peace plan, and we continue to monitor the situation on the ground in Gaza closely.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's guidance entitled Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Factsheet, published on 28 November 2025, for what reason licensed betting offices are classified as financial services for business rates purposes.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In October 2024, the Government laid a statutory instrument defining the retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties that will be eligible for new, lower business rates multipliers from April 2026.
Since they were announced at Budget 2024, the Government has been clear that scope of the RHL multipliers would broadly reflect the scope of the current RHL relief. The previous Government made the decision to exclude betting shops from the relief. This Government considered the issue in the round, and decided to continue the treatment the previous Government chose to ensure the tax cut is appropriately targeted.
The classification of betting shops as financial and professional services is a planning use class and is not assigned by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) for business rates purposes. The VOA values land and buildings based on physical features and how the property is occupied. Planning use classes do not affect how the VOA value betting shops.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the equity of eligibility for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief of licensed betting offices and other gambling leisure premises, including adult gaming centres and bingo halls.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In October 2024, the Government laid a statutory instrument defining the retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties that will be eligible for new, lower business rates multipliers from April 2026.
Since they were announced at Budget 2024, the Government has been clear that scope of the RHL multipliers would broadly reflect the scope of the current RHL relief. The previous Government made the decision to exclude betting shops from the relief. This Government considered the issue in the round, and decided to continue the treatment the previous Government chose to ensure the tax cut is appropriately targeted.
The classification of betting shops as financial and professional services is a planning use class and is not assigned by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) for business rates purposes. The VOA values land and buildings based on physical features and how the property is occupied. Planning use classes do not affect how the VOA value betting shops.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Autumn Budget 2025 on licensed betting offices; and whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the classification of betting shops for business rates purposes, including their eligibility for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In October 2024, the Government laid a statutory instrument defining the retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties that will be eligible for new, lower business rates multipliers from April 2026.
Since they were announced at Budget 2024, the Government has been clear that scope of the RHL multipliers would broadly reflect the scope of the current RHL relief. The previous Government made the decision to exclude betting shops from the relief. This Government considered the issue in the round, and decided to continue the treatment the previous Government chose to ensure the tax cut is appropriately targeted.
The classification of betting shops as financial and professional services is a planning use class and is not assigned by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) for business rates purposes. The VOA values land and buildings based on physical features and how the property is occupied. Planning use classes do not affect how the VOA value betting shops.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has assessed the potential merits of amending the business rates framework to allow licensed betting offices to qualify for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief on the same basis as other gambling leisure premises.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In October 2024, the Government laid a statutory instrument defining the retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties that will be eligible for new, lower business rates multipliers from April 2026.
Since they were announced at Budget 2024, the Government has been clear that scope of the RHL multipliers would broadly reflect the scope of the current RHL relief. The previous Government made the decision to exclude betting shops from the relief. This Government considered the issue in the round, and decided to continue the treatment the previous Government chose to ensure the tax cut is appropriately targeted.
The classification of betting shops as financial and professional services is a planning use class and is not assigned by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) for business rates purposes. The VOA values land and buildings based on physical features and how the property is occupied. Planning use classes do not affect how the VOA value betting shops.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the exclusion of licensed betting offices from Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief, including the consistency with other gambling leisure premises.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In October 2024, the Government laid a statutory instrument defining the retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties that will be eligible for new, lower business rates multipliers from April 2026.
Since they were announced at Budget 2024, the Government has been clear that scope of the RHL multipliers would broadly reflect the scope of the current RHL relief. The previous Government made the decision to exclude betting shops from the relief. This Government considered the issue in the round, and decided to continue the treatment the previous Government chose to ensure the tax cut is appropriately targeted.
The classification of betting shops as financial and professional services is a planning use class and is not assigned by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) for business rates purposes. The VOA values land and buildings based on physical features and how the property is occupied. Planning use classes do not affect how the VOA value betting shops.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Autumn Budget 2025 on licensed betting offices; and whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the classification of betting shops for business rates purposes, including their eligibility for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In October 2024, the Government laid a statutory instrument defining the retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties that will be eligible for new, lower business rates multipliers from April 2026.
Since they were announced at Budget 2024, the Government has been clear that scope of the RHL multipliers would broadly reflect the scope of the current RHL relief. The previous Government made the decision to exclude betting shops from the relief. This Government considered the issue in the round, and decided to continue the treatment the previous Government chose to ensure the tax cut is appropriately targeted.
The classification of betting shops as financial and professional services is a planning use class and is not assigned by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) for business rates purposes. The VOA values land and buildings based on physical features and how the property is occupied. Planning use classes do not affect how the VOA value betting shops.