Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken to replenish UK munitions stockpiles.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

As announced in the Strategic Defence Review, we our investing £6 billion this Parliament in munitions to replenish our stockpiles. This investment includes £1.5 billion specifically to develop an “always on” munitions pipeline, building six new munitions and energetics factories to ensure we increase the capacity and resilience of our domestic munitions production.

I look forward to meeting the hon. Member to discuss her perspectives in due course.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of further permitted development protections for registered historic battlefields in England.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is committed to the protection of the historic environment.

We consider new permitted development rights, and amendments to existing ones, on a case-by-case basis.

Changes to permitted development rights are generally made following public consultation, including consideration of any impacts on the historic environment.

Local planning authorities can also remove national permitted development rights where it is necessary to protect local amenity or the well-being of an area by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief on Scottish family farms.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

We are striking a fair balance between supporting farmers and fixing the public services on which our rural communities rely.

Our reforms to the Agricultural Property Relief means that the majority of those claiming relief, three quarters, will not be affected. The vast majority of farmers will not be affected at all. They will be able to pass the family farm down to their children just as previous generations have always done.

This is a fair and balanced approach that protects the family farm while also fixing the public services that we all rely on.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of spirits duty, business rates, VAT, and employer National Insurance contributions paid by pubs in the last 12 months.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not hold readily available data on revenue from spirits duty, VAT, and employer National Insurance contributions paid by pubs.

HMRC does not hold information on business rates which are administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate she has made of the revenue generated from spirits duty paid by on-trade premises compared to off-trade retailers.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs. Alcohol duty is paid at the point of production or import and would not generally be paid directly by pubs.

Statistics on alcohol duty are published in the Alcohol Bulletin - GOV.UK.

Estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics for the period 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2025 indicate around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade and around 85% off-trade.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data her Department holds on the proportion of spirits duty revenue generated from UK-produced spirits sold in pubs.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs. Alcohol duty is paid at the point of production or import and would not generally be paid directly by pubs.

Statistics on alcohol duty are published in the Alcohol Bulletin - GOV.UK.

Estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics for the period 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2025 indicate around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade and around 85% off-trade.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate her Department has made of the spirits duty revenue at risk from pub closures.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not hold data on alcohol duty paid on alcohol sold in pubs. Alcohol duty is paid at the point of production or import and would not generally be paid directly by pubs.

Statistics on alcohol duty are published in the Alcohol Bulletin - GOV.UK.

Estimates derived from sales data collected on behalf of the Office for National Statistics for the period 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2025 indicate around 15% of spirits are consumed on-trade and around 85% off-trade.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 47160 on Food: Import Controls, what additional funding has been provided to ports and airports relating to the ban on personal imports of meats and diary products from EU countries.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is currently funding Dover Port Health Authority to help identify illegal meat and dairy imports. We have not provided additional funding to ports and airports relating to the ban on personal imports of certain meat and dairy products from EU countries.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of UK spirits duty rates for the on-trade compared to equivalent rates in (a) Ireland, (b) France, (c) Germany, and (d) other EU member states.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK’s alcohol duty system balances protecting the public finances and promoting health.

There is significant variation in alcohol taxation policy amongst European countries. The World Health Organization recently published a comparison of alcohol taxes across the WHO European Region, which can be found here.

Found: : Brixham, Devon, and Charlestown, Cornwall Attendees • M r Alistair Carmichael MP (Chair) • Sarah Bool

Found: Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Riems, and Berlin, Germany Attendees • Mr Alistair Carmichael MP (Chair) • Sarah Bool

Found: 15 October 2025 Location: Brussels, Belgium Attendees • Mr Al istair Carmichael MP (Chair) • Sarah Bool

Found: Wednesday 12 November 2025 Location: Seaton, Devon Attendees • Mr Alistair Carmichael MP (Chair) • Sarah Bool

Found: Current membership Mr Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat; Orkney and Shetland) (Chair) Sarah Bool

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Alistair Carmichael (Chair); Sarah Bool; Charlie Dewhirst; Helena