Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 3 December 2025, Official Report, column 991, whether the Financial Conduct Authority be involved in the investigation.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
A leak inquiry is now under way and the government does not comment on the details of leak inquiries.
The Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards has written to the leader of Reform UK and does not intend to investigate this matter.
The Chief Executive Officer of the FCA has written to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee and the FCA have not launched an enforcement investigation.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 3 December 2025, Official Report, column 991, what the terms of reference are for the investigation.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
A leak inquiry is now under way and the government does not comment on the details of leak inquiries.
The Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards has written to the leader of Reform UK and does not intend to investigate this matter.
The Chief Executive Officer of the FCA has written to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee and the FCA have not launched an enforcement investigation.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 3 December 2025, Official Report, column 991, what the planned timetable is for the inquiry.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
A leak inquiry is now under way and the government does not comment on the details of leak inquiries.
The Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards has written to the leader of Reform UK and does not intend to investigate this matter.
The Chief Executive Officer of the FCA has written to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee and the FCA have not launched an enforcement investigation.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of 3 December 2025, Official Report, column 991, how much funding her Department plans to provide for the leak inquiry.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
A leak inquiry is now under way and the government does not comment on the details of leak inquiries.
The Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards has written to the leader of Reform UK and does not intend to investigate this matter.
The Chief Executive Officer of the FCA has written to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee and the FCA have not launched an enforcement investigation.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull 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.
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.
The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including pubs. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
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 Call for Evidence published at Budget seeks further evidence on the role business rates and reliefs play in investment, including Empty Property Relief.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the removal of business rates relief and business rates revaluation on high street businesses.
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.
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.
The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including pubs. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
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.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many a) pubs, b) hotels, c) restaurants, d) indoor leisure and e) night clubs will have i) increased, ii) decreased and iii) the same business rates from April 2026.
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, including those in the hospitality and leisure sectors 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.
For the pubs sector, the increase in rateable values will be 30%, which combined with the loss of the temporary RHL relief would lead to an increase in total bills paid by the sector of 45%. However, due to government intervention, the sector’s total bill will only increase by 4% next year.
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.
The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including pubs. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
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.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have raised concerns with her Department regarding a) the adequacy of funding for free school meals and breakfast clubs where pupils have religious dietary requirements b) what the nature of these concerns has been c) and how each concern has been addressed.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department spends over £1.5 billion annually supporting free school meals provision to around 3.5 million school pupils. Officials meet regularly with the sector to gather feedback.
The government sets out required minimum standards for school food in the school food standards to ensure that children are served healthy, nutritious meals. The government is reviewing the standards and will be engaging widely with the sector, including faith groups, throughout this process.
We have confirmed over £30 million of funding for the current 2025/26 financial year and around £80 million for the 2026/27 financial year for free breakfast clubs. From April 2026, mainstream schools will be funded at a new increased rate of £25 a day, plus £1 per pupil per day who attends the club. We continue to learn through our programme evaluation and sector engagement, including with faith groups.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Department has conducted or plans to conduct an equality impact assessment to examine the impact of universal school meal programmes on pupils with religious dietary requirements.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government sets out required minimum standards for school food in the school food standards to ensure that children are served healthy, nutritious meals at school. The standards do not specify food requirements in terms of cultural and religious needs.
Head teachers, governors and their caterers are best placed to make decisions about their school food policies. We expect schools to act reasonably, providing choices that take account of cultural, religious and special dietary needs, and to work with parents in making appropriate arrangements.
The department aims to revise the school food standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support the work to create the healthiest generation of children in history. As part of this work, the department will complete a full equalities impact assessment, including the consideration of pupils with religious beliefs.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department have considered the sustainability of current per-pupil funding allocations.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The overall core schools budget (CSB) is increasing by £3.7 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, meaning the CSB totals £65.3 billion, compared to almost £61.6 billion in the 2024/25 financial year.
The £3.7 billion increase includes the £2.3 billion announced at the October Budget 2024, and £1.4 billion in additional funding being provided to support schools with staff pay awards as well as the increases to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) from April 2025.
Funding for schools is increasing by £4.2 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26. This additional funding will provide an above real terms per pupil increase on the core schools budget, taking per-pupil funding to its highest ever level and enabling us to transform the special educational needs and disabilities system.
This investment is also a critical step forward in our mission to support all children and young people to achieve and thrive and will support teachers and leaders to deliver high and rising standards across every school and for every pupil.