Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increased business rates on grassroots music venues; and what steps they intend to take in response to the open letter sent to the Prime Minister by the Music Venue Trust on 10 December.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. Music venues are valued in the same way as any other class of non-domestic property, through applying the statutory and common law principles that apply across non-domestic rating.
Some properties, including in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, have seen their rateable values increased. This is in part because the last revaluation updated rateable values to align with market values at 1 April 2021 – during the COVID pandemic. This meant rateable values were lower due to the atypical economic situation the pandemic created. This latest revaluation reflects a post Covid world, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect 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. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the average percentage increase in business rates payable by hospitality properties from April 2026 onwards, set out in Budget 2025, published on 28 November.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. Some properties, including in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, have seen their rateable values increased. This is in part because the last revaluation updated rateable values to align with market values on 1 April 2021 – during the CVOID pandemic. This meant rateable values were lower due to the atypical economic situation the pandemic created. This latest revaluation reflects a post Covid world, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect 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. Government support also means that 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 permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, while ensuring that warehouses used by online giants will pay more. 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: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of how much (a) was lost from the public purse due to fraud during the covid-19 pandemic, (b) of that fraud has been recovered and (c) is irrecoverable.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
During the pandemic, the Government delivered an unprecedented package of economic support to preserve livelihoods and save businesses across the whole United Kingdom.
The Government is committed to transparency in its efforts to tackle fraud against the public sector. The UK is one of the few countries to publish data on fraud and error within the public sector in the Fraud Landscape Report. The Government will continue to be transparent and prioritise its efforts in detecting, preventing and recovering fraud associated with the pandemic.
The Fraud Landscape Report showed that in 2020/21, across government and outside of tax and welfare (so, excluding COVID-19 expenditure in HMRC and DWP), departments reported £88m of recovered fraud and error related to COVID-19.
Since 2021, we have invested in taking action on fraud, to bolster the prevention and recovery of fraud losses in welfare, tax and COVID Business Loans, and prosecute those who have defrauded the public purse - this included the establishment of the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA).
Fraud is a hidden crime and the Government’s focus remains on detecting and recovering as much of it as is possible. That is done by deploying cutting edge tools supported by world leading expertise to find and recover as much fraud as possible.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, on what date a Minister from his Department last undertook an official visit to Clwyd South constituency.
Answered by David T C Davies
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I both live in Wales and serve Welsh constituencies. We have a consistent presence in Wales as we conduct many visits, events and meetings in Wales on a regular basis.
Details of Ministerial visits and meetings are published on the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’ website and in Quarterly Ministerial Transparency Returns. In addition, visits and meetings conducted in support of the Wales Office priorities are published in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales Annual Report and Accounts.
The UK Government has provided extensive support to Clwyd South. A typical household in Wales has received almost £2000 in UK Government support to help with the cost of living. This includes over 189,000 payments delivered in Clwyd South through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. During the Covid-19 pandemic over 12,000 jobs were supported through the furlough scheme, around £27 million was claimed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and around £41 million was given to businesses through government-backed business loans.
The UK Government has also supported innovation within Clwyd South with over £1 million awarded by Innovate UK since April 2019. Clwyd South has also received around £78,000 through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme to level up local sports facilities
In addition, Wrexham and Denbighshire, the local authorities for the Clwyd South constituency, are receiving over £22 million and over £25 million respectively, from the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Wrexham is also receiving over £13 million from the Levelling Up Fund for the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct & Canal World Heritage Site and Dee Valley AONB. Clwyd South will also benefit from the £240 million North Wales Growth Deal.
This Government is investing in Wales like never before; over £790 million in four City and Regional Growth Deals covering the whole of Wales, £585 million for local authorities to invest through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, including over £100 million for the Multiply adult numeracy programme, £330 million in capital investment through the Levelling Up Fund and £3.2 million to preserve community assets through the Community Ownership Fund. Wales will benefit from two Freeports backed by £52 million, the British Business Bank’s new £130m Regional Investment Fund, and from Project Gigabit which will enable hard to reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband.
Asked by: Gerald Jones (Labour - Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister from his Department last visited Cynon Valley constituency.
Answered by David T C Davies
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I both live in Wales and serve Welsh constituencies. We have a consistent presence in Wales as we conduct many visits, events and meetings in Wales on a regular basis.
Details of Ministerial visits and meetings are published on the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’ website and in Quarterly Ministerial Transparency Returns. In addition, visits and meetings conducted in support of the Wales Office priorities are published in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales Annual Report and Accounts.
The UK Government has provided extensive support to Cynon Valley. A typical household in Wales has received almost £2000 in UK Government support to help with the cost of living. This includes around 197,000 payments delivered in Cynon Valley through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. During the Covid-19 pandemic around 11,000 jobs were supported through the furlough scheme, around £26 million was claimed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and around £30 million was given to businesses through government-backed business loans. The UK Government has also supported innovation within Cynon Valley with over £810,000 awarded by Innovate UK since April 2019.
In addition, Rhondda Cynon Taf, the local authority for the Cynon Valley constituency, is receiving over £45 million from the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This is in addition to the £124,000 awarded to the CANA Resource and Training Centre in Penywaun. Cynon Valley also benefits from the £1.2 billion Cardiff Capital Region City Deal, including the £4.4 million Zip World facility near Hirwaun.
This Government is investing in Wales like never before; over £790 million in four City and Regional Growth Deals covering the whole of Wales, £585 million for local authorities to invest through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, including over £100 million for the Multiply adult numeracy programme, £330 million in capital investment through the Levelling Up Fund and £3.2 million to preserve community assets through the Community Ownership Fund. Wales will benefit from two Freeports backed by £52 million, the British Business Bank’s new £130m Regional Investment Fund, and from Project Gigabit which will enable hard to reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister from his Department last made an official visit to Wrexham constituency.
Answered by David T C Davies
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State and I both live in Wales and serve Welsh constituencies. We have a consistent presence in Wales as we conduct many visits, events and meetings in Wales on a regular basis.
Details of Ministerial visits and meetings are published on the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales’ website and in Quarterly Ministerial Transparency Returns. In addition, visits and meetings conducted in support of the Wales Office priorities are published in the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales Annual Report and Accounts.
The UK Government has provided extensive support to Wrexham. A typical household in Wales has received almost £2000 in UK Government support to help with the cost of living. This includes around 186,000 payments delivered in Wrexham through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. During the Covid-19 pandemic around 12,000 jobs were supported through the furlough scheme, around £21 million was claimed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and over £66 million was given to businesses through government-backed business loans.
The UK Government has also supported innovation within Wrexham with over £1.6 million awarded by Innovate UK since April 2019. Wrexham has also received around £177,000 through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme to level up local sports facilities.
In addition, Wrexham County Borough Council, the local authority for the Wrexham constituency, is receiving over £22 million from the UK Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Wrexham is also receiving over £13 million from the Levelling Up Fund for the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct & Canal World Heritage Site and Dee Valley AONB. Wrexham will also benefit from the £240 million North Wales Growth Deal.
This Government is investing in Wales like never before; over £790 million in four City and Regional Growth Deals covering the whole of Wales, £585 million for local authorities to invest through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, including over £100 million for the Multiply adult numeracy programme, £330 million in capital investment through the Levelling Up Fund and £3.2 million to preserve community assets through the Community Ownership Fund. Wales will benefit from two Freeports backed by £52 million, the British Business Bank’s new £130m Regional Investment Fund, and from Project Gigabit which will enable hard to reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit capable broadband.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to remove the six per cent import duty on urine drainage bags on a permanent basis by re-classifying them as medical devices under the UK Global Tariff regime.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In 2021 the Government implemented temporary tariff suspensions on a set of goods, including urine drainage bags, to support the healthcare response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government has extended the majority of these suspensions until 31 December 2023.
HMRC has reviewed the classification of urine drainage bags and although these are used in conjunction with medical products (e.g. catheters), they are not considered to be medical devices. As such they are classified as articles of plastic (tariff heading 3926). This is in line with classification decisions previously issued by the World Custom Organization which member countries are expected to follow. Businesses can direct queries on classification to classification.enquiries@hmrc.gov.uk or through this link https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/customs-international-trade-and-excise-enquiries.
The Government has recently received stakeholder feedback on tariffs on urine drainage bags. We are considering the evidence provided alongside wider UK Government analysis.
Asked by: Matt Hancock (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to fight misinformation to prepare for a future pandemic.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The UK Health Security Agency worked closely with public health and science experts during COVID-19 to ensure transparency and that the science behind advice is shared. Communication plans and countering misinformation will form a key part of pandemic preparedness.
We continue to monitor misinformation and disinformation that forms a barrier to the uptake of vaccinations, disruption to access, drivers of low uptake and public health measures in both on and offline forums. We also liaise with the World Health Organization, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to share reports and horizon scan for incoming threats and issues as part of our business-as-usual activity and ongoing disease surveillance and emergency preparedness.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the factors that have contributed to the trend in the level of business start-ups in Scotland since 2016.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
Many factors influence the business start-up rate, for instance the ease of setting up a business, the availability of finance and the provision of business support. The level of business start-ups in Scotland has been broadly stable over the past five years, with the exception of 2020 where business activity was significantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The UK business start-up rate is one of the highest in the OECD, reflecting the UK’s position as one of the best countries in the world in which to start a business.
UK and Scotland births of business enterprises 2016-2021[1]
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
UK | 397,540 | 356,895 | 348,630 | 363,825 | 333,020 | 363,995 |
Scotland | 21,440 | 19,845 | 19,620 | 20,680 | 16,850 | 18,910 |
Scotland % of UK | 5.4% | 5.6% | 5.6% | 5.7% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
[1] ONS, Business Demography, UK, November 2022
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the report by the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed entitled The Self Employed 2021 Landscape Report, published on 31 January 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the reduction in self-employment levels identified in that report.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government continues to monitor labour market trends and consider their wider implications. The UK labour market is currently performing strongly with high employment and low unemployment.
The Government recognises that many self-employed people have encountered challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic but has supported the self-employed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) which paid out over £28 billion across all five grants to nearly 3 million self-employed individuals and has been one of the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world.
The Government remains committed to ensuring that the UK continues to be one of the best places in the world to work and grow a business.