Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support Somerset Council in rural town centre regeneration in Yeovil constituency.

The government is committed to tackling the issues that matter to rural communities, including Somerset council. We have launched the Final Local Government Finance Settlement through which the government have updated the way we fund local authorities. By the end of the multi-year Settlement (2028-29), the government will have provided a 15.5% increase in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, worth over £11.4 billion, compared to 2025-26.

This month this Department have also announced that Leonardo UK within Yeovil constituency has secured a £1 billion contract sustaining thousands of skilled British Jobs and I look forward to seeing how DBT can continue to work closely with rural communities.