Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support the hospitality and tourism sectors.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government believes that pubs make an important contribution to our culture, fostering a sense of place and community, and to the UK economy.
The Government is aware that the high street faces long-term challenges and is committed to supporting the businesses that make our high streets and town centres successful. Therefore, at Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced a package of support worth £13.6 billion over the next five years, including:
Furthermore, to support pubs, our 'Brexit Pubs Guarantee,' confirms that the duty on a draught pint will always be lower than its equivalent in a supermarket. And the new alcohol duty system implemented in August of this year included a new Draught Relief that provides a significant duty discount on beers below 8.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) sold in containers of 20 litres or more in the on-trade.
The Community Ownership Fund has awarded £49.3 million to 195 projects across the UK, including rural pubs, with £35 million allocated to 131 projects across England, £6.2 million allocated to 28 projects in Scotland, £4 million to 18 projects in Wales and £4.1 million to 18 projects in Northern Ireland.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps they have taken to support hospitality and tourism in rural areas.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government believes that pubs make an important contribution to our culture, fostering a sense of place and community, and to the UK economy.
The Government is aware that the high street faces long-term challenges and is committed to supporting the businesses that make our high streets and town centres successful. Therefore, at Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced a package of support worth £13.6 billion over the next five years, including:
Furthermore, to support pubs, our 'Brexit Pubs Guarantee,' confirms that the duty on a draught pint will always be lower than its equivalent in a supermarket. And the new alcohol duty system implemented in August of this year included a new Draught Relief that provides a significant duty discount on beers below 8.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) sold in containers of 20 litres or more in the on-trade.
The Community Ownership Fund has awarded £49.3 million to 195 projects across the UK, including rural pubs, with £35 million allocated to 131 projects across England, £6.2 million allocated to 28 projects in Scotland, £4 million to 18 projects in Wales and £4.1 million to 18 projects in Northern Ireland.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of fiscal support his Department is providing to pubs.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government believes that pubs make an important contribution to our culture, fostering a sense of place and community, and to the UK economy.
The Government is aware that the high street faces long-term challenges and is committed to supporting the businesses that make our high streets and town centres successful. Therefore, at Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced a package of support worth £13.6 billion over the next five years, including:
Furthermore, to support pubs, our 'Brexit Pubs Guarantee,' confirms that the duty on a draught pint will always be lower than its equivalent in a supermarket. And the new alcohol duty system implemented in August of this year included a new Draught Relief that provides a significant duty discount on beers below 8.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) sold in containers of 20 litres or more in the on-trade.
The Community Ownership Fund has awarded £49.3 million to 195 projects across the UK, including rural pubs, with £35 million allocated to 131 projects across England, £6.2 million allocated to 28 projects in Scotland, £4 million to 18 projects in Wales and £4.1 million to 18 projects in Northern Ireland.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to establish a royal commission to address the closure of high street stores.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
While there are currently no plans to establish a royal commission, this Government is fully committed to supporting the businesses and communities that make our high streets and town centres successful.
In May 2022 we introduced the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill. This new legislation will play an important role in reviving our high streets by introducing High Street Rental Auctions (HSRA). HSRAs will empower places to tackle decline by bringing vacant units back into use and will seek to increase cooperation between landlords and local authorities, and to make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants, including SMEs, local businesses and community groups. HSRA will be backed by £2 million to help communities and local businesses take control of empty properties, covering the cost of refurbishing properties, the auction process and council fees.
As part of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, published on 27 March, Government announced a High Street Accelerator pilot programme. Accelerators will incentivise and empower local people to work together to develop ambitious plans to tackle vacancy and reinvent their high streets so that they are fit for the future.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to support (1) business organisations, and (2) community stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of new high street stores.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
A £400 billion package helped businesses impacted by COVID-19, whilst almost £8 billion has been invested in long-term initiatives to strengthen our local businesses including the 3-year Exchequer funded Transitional Relief scheme, worth £1.6 billion, which supports around 700,000 ratepayers in England. In addition to this, £830 million is currently being invested through the Future High Streets Fund helping 72 places to renew and reshape their town centres and high streets in a way that improves experience, drives growth and ensures future sustainability.
The Government is empowering community groups to thrive now and in the future. The Community Ownership Fund is a £150 million fund to support community groups to take ownership of beloved assets at risk of closure. We recognise it can sometimes be hard for community groups to raise the funding needed to buy or renovate the asset. The Fund will support community groups and run assets sustainably for the long-term benefit of the community.
Government will also be shortly piloting up to 10 High Street Accelerators which will bring together representatives from business and the community as well as others to transform their high street.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to tackle antisocial behaviour by large groups of people.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 27 March, the Government launched the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-social-behaviour-action-plan) which sets out a new framework for the Government, police forces, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), local authorities and other partners – such as housing associations and youth offending teams – to work together to prevent and tackle anti-social behaviour.
This plan is backed by £160m of funding. This includes up to £60m to fund an increased police and other uniformed presence to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, targeting hotspots. We are working with 10 police force areas who have started their patrols in July 2023 and from 2024 we will support a hotspot approach across every police force area in England and Wales, which will see thousands of additional patrols taking place in places blighted by anti-social behaviour.
In addition, we are providing up to £50m to establish new Immediate Justice pathways aimed at delivering swift, visible punishment for anti-social behaviour. This has started in 10 initial trailblazer police force areas in July 2023 and will be rolled out across England and Wales in 2024.
On 6 July, we launched a further fifth round of the Safer Streets Fund, which will support local initiatives aimed at increasing the safety of public spaces, including town centres, by tackling neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls. Since the fund launched in 2020, we have invested £120 million through four rounds supporting 270 projects across England and Wales, with a range of interventions including CCTV cameras.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales indicates that in the year to December 2022, overall crime (excluding fraud and computer misuse) was 52% lower than in the year to March 2010.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help local authorities in Ipswich to reduce anti-social behaviour in the town centre.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 27 March, the Government launched the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-social-behaviour-action-plan) ensuring the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have the tools they need to tackle anti-social behaviour.
The plan is backed by £160m of funding. This includes up to £60m to fund an increased police and other uniformed presence to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, targeting hotspots. Initially we will work with 10 police force areas, but from 2024 we will support a hotspot approach across every police force area in England and Wales. We are also providing up to £50m to support the provision of Immediate Justice, by issuing out of court disposals with conditions to swiftly repair any damage – the aim being for them to start within 48 hours of referral. This will start in 10 initial trailblazer police force areas and be rolled out nationally in 2024.
On 6 July, we launched a further fifth round of the Safer Streets Fund, which will support local initiatives aimed at increasing the safety of public spaces, including town centres, by tackling neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls. Since the fund launched in 2020, we have invested £120 million through four rounds supporting 270 projects across England and Wales, with a range of interventions including CCTV cameras.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales indicates that in the year to December 2022, overall crime (excluding fraud and computer misuse) was 52% lower than in the year to March 2010.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they are supporting and strengthening the Union of the United Kingdom; and how much was spent on projects for that purpose in each of the last three years.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
We are committed to protecting and promoting our combined strengths and common values, ensuring our institutions deliver for people across the UK.
Through the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, the £220 million Community Ownership Fund and the £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the UK Government is delivering investment to regenerate our town centres and high streets, improve local transport links and invest in local culture.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has held discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the potential effect on the availability of flats in town centres of allowing Self Invested Personal Pensions to hold residential properties.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
While the current tax rules impose no direct restrictions on the types of assets that Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) can invest in, SIPPs will incur tax charges if they acquire certain assets, such as residential property. This is to prevent individuals from using tax-relieved funds to acquire property that could be of personal use, rather than to secure future retirement income.
However, SIPPs are able to indirectly invest in residential property through collective investment vehicles such as Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs), where sufficient diversity of ownership and assets prevents the possibility of private use of the assets.
The legislation aims to strike a balance between allowing these pension schemes to invest in a wide range of assets, and the need to protect both tax relief on pension contributions and investment returns from potential abuse.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to curb the decline of the High Street in many towns and cities.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, the Government is introducing several measures to help places have more control over their high streets and town centres. High Street Rental Auctions, for example, aim to empower places to tackle decline by bringing vacant units back into use. They will make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants, including SMEs and community groups.
This builds on long-term investment in our high streets and small businesses, including through £2.35 billion worth of Towns Deals, £830 million Future High Streets Fund and the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund.
Over five years the Government's High Streets Task Force is providing support to local leaders by giving high streets and town centres expert advice to help adapt and thrive, with local authorities receiving access to expert support in areas such as placemaking, planning and design.