Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed higher business rates multiplier for properties above £500,000 on cultural venues.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto.
The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including cultural venues with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
These new tax rates must be sustainably funded and so the Government is also introducing a higher rate on properties with rateable values of £500,000 and above. This represents around only 1 per cent of properties.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the UK’s deforestation regulations are fair and workable for smallholder farmers internationally.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises that action to prevent UK consumption of forest risk commodities driving deforestation should minimise the impacts on smallholder farmers. The UK works with smallholder farmers to improve sustainable practices and encourage forest-friendly businesses. The UK also funds and co-chairs the Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade Dialogue with a specific working group focused on smallholder support, facilitating government to government dialogue to build collaboration to reduce risks of smallholder exclusion from sustainable supply chains. The Government is currently considering its approach to addressing the impact of the use of forest risk commodities in our supply chains and will set out its approach in due course.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 improve access to homelessness services for people sleeping rough.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has increased funding for homelessness services by £316 million to a total of more than £1 billion in 2025/26. This includes £255.5 million through the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant for local authorities to tackle rough sleeping. We announced £69.9 million top-up funding for the grant in October 2025.