Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support businesses operating in the travel retail sector, amid rising inflation and constraints on consumer spending resulting from increases in the cost of living.

Our £13.6bn business rates package announced by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement will help retailers and small businesses. This comes after the Government reversed the Health and Social Care Levy, enabling smaller firms to reduce their National Insurance bills even further by increasing the Employment Allowance.

Furthermore, on 9 January, the Government announced the Energy Bills Discount Scheme. Under the new scheme, eligible non-domestic customers receive a per-unit discount to their energy bills during the 12-month period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, subject to a threshold level of £107/MWh for gas and £302/MWh of electricity.