Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland and Fakenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance she plans to issue on Great British Railways’ responsibilities for (a) national ticketing, (b) fare setting and (c) the administration of discount schemes for (i) young, (ii) elderly and (iii) disabled passengers.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government's response to the Railways Bill consultation has confirmed plans for the future of the rail retail market once Great British Railways (GBR) is established. It also set out GBR's and the Secretary of State's roles in relation to fares setting, and the continued safeguarding in legislation of discount schemes for young people, older people and disabled people. This is an important step in providing further clarity on how ticketing and fare setting will operate under GBR, and the Government looks forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders on the delivery of its reforms.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential contribution of the (a) horticulture, (b) landscape and (c) garden retail sectors to green (i) growth and (ii) jobs.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government appreciates and values the vital work of our environmental horticulture sector. The Department regularly meets the Environmental Horticulture Group, as well as a wide range of stakeholders and businesses to discuss specific issues facing the sector. These discussions help inform future policy development and help us understand what support the sector needs to help it thrive. In addition, we work across Government to ensure other Government departments are aware of issues that impact the sector.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking to support hospitality businesses with energy costs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
By building a diverse low carbon energy system, the government is taking the long term decisions that will make the most of our abundant natural resources to protect businesses from future price shocks. To support businesses now, the government is offering free carbon foot printing and energy-saving support to 615 small and medium-sized hospitality businesses as part of a 12-month trial.
More broadly, we are determined to support retail businesses to succeed against a difficult economic backdrop. We will introduce a permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. Ahead of this being introduced, we extended the RHL relief for 2025-26 at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and froze the small business multiplier.
In addition, we:
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps with industry to reduce prices for alcohol-free beer to improve public health.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra regularly engages with supermarkets and producers on a range of food and drink supply matters. However, it is not for HM Government to set retail food and drink prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions taken by businesses.
In the ‘Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England’, the Government has committed to tackling harmful alcohol consumption through promotion of no- and low-alcohol alternatives. This includes exploration of raising the alcohol-free descriptor to 0.5%, aligning with international standards to support growth of the sector.
Alongside the plan, a large multi-year National Institute for Health and Care Research study is underway to examine the public health impacts of NoLo products, with findings of the study expected in the coming year.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum’s role in supporting cross-border investment between the UK and EU financial markets.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Financial regulatory dialogues, including the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum, are important in supporting cross-border trade in financial services and managing financial stability in the global financial system. They form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July.
Dialogues feed into HM Treasury’s development of international financial services policy and joint statements are typically published after meetings.
The most recent Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum was held in Brussels on Wednesday 1 October, where officials discussed bilateral cooperation on financial regulatory issues including capital market reforms, where the government’s long-term vision for the UK’s world-leading markets is to encourage more retail investment to benefit our citizens, support British businesses to grow and position ourselves for the future. Further details of the discussion can be found in the Joint Statement.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of discussions at the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum on UK capital markets reform.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Financial regulatory dialogues, including the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum, are important in supporting cross-border trade in financial services and managing financial stability in the global financial system. They form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July.
Dialogues feed into HM Treasury’s development of international financial services policy and joint statements are typically published after meetings.
The most recent Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum was held in Brussels on Wednesday 1 October, where officials discussed bilateral cooperation on financial regulatory issues including capital market reforms, where the government’s long-term vision for the UK’s world-leading markets is to encourage more retail investment to benefit our citizens, support British businesses to grow and position ourselves for the future. Further details of the discussion can be found in the Joint Statement.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she plans to to take to monitor the outcomes of the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Financial regulatory dialogues, including the Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum, are important in supporting cross-border trade in financial services and managing financial stability in the global financial system. They form a core part of the government’s approach to strengthening international partnerships, as set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy published in July.
Dialogues feed into HM Treasury’s development of international financial services policy and joint statements are typically published after meetings.
The most recent Joint EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum was held in Brussels on Wednesday 1 October, where officials discussed bilateral cooperation on financial regulatory issues including capital market reforms, where the government’s long-term vision for the UK’s world-leading markets is to encourage more retail investment to benefit our citizens, support British businesses to grow and position ourselves for the future. Further details of the discussion can be found in the Joint Statement.
Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether rail ticketing software providers will be invited to tender to manage Great British Railways’ retail ticket sales.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Once Great British Railways (GBR) is established, it will retail online by consolidating individual train operators’ ticket websites. This will take place alongside a thriving private sector retail market, which will continue to play a key role in driving innovation and investment and encouraging more people to choose rail.
The Railways Bill consultation took place in the spring. As part of this process, the Government consulted closely with industry, the private sector, and wider stakeholders including in relation to the future of the rail retail market. A formal update will be provided in due course, and we will work closely with stakeholders to ensure transition plans are as smooth as possible.
Asked by: Lord Snape (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have put in place to deliver a smooth transition of retail functions from train operating companies to Great British Railways.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Once Great British Railways (GBR) is established, it will retail online by consolidating individual train operators’ ticket websites. This will take place alongside a thriving private sector retail market, which will continue to play a key role in driving innovation and investment and encouraging more people to choose rail.
The Railways Bill consultation took place in the spring. As part of this process, the Government consulted closely with industry, the private sector, and wider stakeholders including in relation to the future of the rail retail market. A formal update will be provided in due course, and we will work closely with stakeholders to ensure transition plans are as smooth as possible.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of reported incidents of (a) assault and (b) abuse against lone retail workers in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on the number of incidents of violent crime and public order offences (including assaults and verbal abuse) recorded by the police in England and Wales. The latest data can be found here:
Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK
It is not currently possible to identify which of these incidents were committed against retail workers during the course of their work, as these incidents fall under categories of crime, such as assault.
In the Crime and Policing Bill, we are bringing forward a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
The offence will be allocated a specific Home Office Crime Recording Rule, which will help provide a more complete picture of the problem, in turn informing future policy decisions and enabling the police to respond accordingly.
The Home Office has also published estimates from the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) on the proportion of retail premises which experienced at least one incident of assault or threat. This data can be found here, and includes those premises which did not report the incident to the police: Crime against businesses statistics - GOV.UK