Asked by: Mark Pawsey (Conservative - Rugby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support (a) hospitality, (b) public house and (c) other businesses with energy prices.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains committed to supporting the whole business sector including hospitality, public houses and other businesses. The Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) provides all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a discount on high energy bills for 12 months from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024. It also provides businesses in sectors with particularly high levels of energy use and trade intensity with a higher level of support.
Wholesale gas prices have now fallen to levels before Putin’s invasion. The new EBDS therefore strikes a balance between supporting businesses for a further 12 months and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets. This provides long term certainty for businesses and reflects how the scale of the challenge has changed since September last year.
The government has had to make some difficult decisions this Budget to maintain economic stability and secure the public finances. The government has provided a series of cuts and freezes on alcohol duties in the past decade. The most recent freeze from Autumn Budget 2021, including the extension to 1 August 2023, represents a total tax cut of £2.7 billion over the next 4 years. Whilst we are raising rates by RPI, we have increased the value of Draught Relief to support pubs, meaning a pint of draught beer sold in a pub will not pay more duty from August.
We have provided extensive support to the hospitality and tourism sector through an over £8 billion reduction in VAT during the pandemic, and are also increasing and extending business rates support with a tax cut worth over £2 billion in 2023-24 for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. This will support around 230,000 businesses, including pubs, with 75 per cent relief off their business rates bill, up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. Pubs will also benefit from the freeze to the business rates multiplier for 2023-24, a tax cut worth £9.3 billion over the next 5 years, meaning all bills are 6% lower than without the freeze.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to help prevent addiction to gambling among young people.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises that it is particularly important to take steps to protect young people at risk of gambling harms and addiction.
We recently published a white paper following our Review of the Gambling Act 2005, and are working with the Gambling Commission and other stakeholders to bring these measures into force as soon as possible, subject to further consultation where appropriate. The paper introduces a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm and ensure that people who are at risk of gambling harm and addiction are protected, including young people. These include strengthening the land-based age verification regime, especially around gaming machines in pubs, bringing society lotteries and football pools into line with the National Lottery by raising the minimum age to 18, and putting new expectations on operators to consider age as a potential factor in customer vulnerability.
Over recent years, the Government has worked with the Gambling Commission and others on a range of measures to protect young people from gambling related harm. This includes tightening the age verification requirements for both land-based and online operators in 2019, and raising the minimum age to play the National Lottery to 18 and over in 2021. Last year the Committees of Advertising Practice updated advertising rules so that gambling adverts cannot have strong appeal to children even if they appeal more to adults.
In addition to these regulatory changes, specific steps have been taken to prevent and treat gambling harm in young people. Since September 2020, teaching young people about the risks relating to gambling, including the accumulation of debt, has been included in the curriculum for all schools under Health Education in all state-funded schools, alongside Relationships Education (primary) and Relationships and Sex Education (secondary). In 2019 the NHS young person gambling addiction service was also launched.
Asked by: Philip Hollobone (Conservative - Kettering)
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 17 May 2023 to Question 184463 on Glass: Deposit Return Schemes, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of excluding glass from the proposed Deposit Return Scheme in England and Northern Ireland on the (a) plastic and (b) aluminium packaging industry.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Businesses have been clear that adding glass to a deposit return scheme will add fundamental complexity for our pubs and restaurants, increase burdens on small businesses, whilst creating greater inconvenience for consumers. We recognise that some sectors are concerned about potential for material switching. However, there are many market forces acting in this space - predicting impacts is very hard. Importantly glass will be included in Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging where obligated producers will be responsible for the disposal costs of their packaging so there will be some balancing of incentives.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of the impact of proposals for high street rental auctions on pubs.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
I refer the Hon. Member to my answer to Question UIN 186998 on 8th June 2023.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of including a Guest Beer Agreement similar to that in the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Act 2021 in the Pubs Code for England and Wales.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is currently considering publicly available evidence and the views of stakeholders to inform the second statutory review of the operation of the Pubs Code.
As required by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, a report on the conclusions to the review and whether there should be any revisions to the Code will be published by my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and laid before Parliament as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to publish the Government's response to the second statutory review of the Pubs Code and the Pubs Code Adjudicator.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is currently considering publicly available evidence and the views of stakeholders to inform the second statutory review of the operation of the Pubs Code.
As required by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, a report on the conclusions to the review and whether there should be any revisions to the Code will be published by my Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and laid before Parliament as soon as practicable.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the loss of pubs as community facilities as part of his High Street Rental Auction policy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
This Government recognises that British pubs lie at the heart of our communities and will often be a much valued community asset. They not only support local economies and provide space for communities to come together, but the best pubs provide important community services, such as support for vulnerable people, creating a sense of community pride.
High Street Rental Auctions (HSRA) will be a permissive power for local authorities, which they can use alongside other regeneration tools at their discretion. They aim to tackle the problem of persistently vacant property on high streets and in town centres and empower places to tackle decline by bringing vacant units back into use. HSRAs seek to increase cooperation between landlords and local authorities, and to make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants, including SMEs and community groups.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to require the High Street Rental Auction scheme to (a) protect integral pub infrastructure in empty premises and (b) ensure ancillary accommodation for licensees is not lost as a result of sub-division of a premises in order to protect against the permanent loss of pubs as community facilities.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
This Government recognises that British pubs lie at the heart of our communities and will often be a much valued community asset. They not only support local economies and provide space for communities to come together, but the best pubs provide important community services, such as support for vulnerable people, creating a sense of community pride.
High Street Rental Auctions (HSRA) will be a permissive power for local authorities, which they can use alongside other regeneration tools at their discretion. They aim to tackle the problem of persistently vacant property on high streets and in town centres and empower places to tackle decline by bringing vacant units back into use. HSRAs seek to increase cooperation between landlords and local authorities, and to make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants, including SMEs and community groups.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps she has taken to help support (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the hospitality sector.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is in regular dialogue with the hospitality and tourism sectors and is aware of the recruitment and retention challenges facing businesses. The Hospitality Sector Council is actively looking at this issue and the Hospitality and Tourism Skills Board, which comprises businesses across both sectors, is considering ways to strengthen training.
We are also helping to fill vacancies through our Plan for Jobs programmes, which use work coaches to help match local talent with jobs in hospitality. Our sector-based work academy programme and flexible support fund, and various initiatives, are also encourag-ing jobseekers to look for opportunities in the sector. In addition, on 1 April 2023, the Gov-ernment increased the National Living Wage by 9.7% to £10.42.
The Government is also supporting six Private Member’s Bills which will improve workers’ rights and encourage more people into work. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act has now achieved Royal Assent meaning more than 2 million workers will have their tips protected when the measures come into force. This package of Bills will help new parents, unpaid carers, hospitality workers, and give employees better access to flexible working.
The Government is continuing to improve apprenticeships, making them more flexible and making it easier for employers to make greater use of their levy funds. The catering and hospitality sector serves up a host of different apprenticeships in restaurants, cafés, pubs, bars, nightclubs and hotels, including for example chef de partie.
Asked by: David Warburton (Independent - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking with industry representatives to address labour shortages in the (a) hospitality and (b) tourism sectors.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is in regular dialogue with the hospitality and tourism sectors and is aware of the recruitment and retention challenges facing businesses. The Hospitality Sector Council is actively looking at this issue and the Hospitality and Tourism Skills Board, which comprises businesses across both sectors, is considering ways to strengthen training.
We are also helping to fill vacancies through our Plan for Jobs programmes, which use work coaches to help match local talent with jobs in hospitality. Our sector-based work academy programme and flexible support fund, and various initiatives, are also encourag-ing jobseekers to look for opportunities in the sector. In addition, on 1 April 2023, the Gov-ernment increased the National Living Wage by 9.7% to £10.42.
The Government is also supporting six Private Member’s Bills which will improve workers’ rights and encourage more people into work. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act has now achieved Royal Assent meaning more than 2 million workers will have their tips protected when the measures come into force. This package of Bills will help new parents, unpaid carers, hospitality workers, and give employees better access to flexible working.
The Government is continuing to improve apprenticeships, making them more flexible and making it easier for employers to make greater use of their levy funds. The catering and hospitality sector serves up a host of different apprenticeships in restaurants, cafés, pubs, bars, nightclubs and hotels, including for example chef de partie.