Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of businesses closing and vanishing from high streets on councils seeking payment of business rate liabilities.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Business rates are an important source of funding for services local Government provides. A fair business rates system is one in which everyone pays their share
As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026/27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible RHL properties benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, the Government prevented RHL business rates relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department was involved in the development of the Electric Car Grant.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Government policy is developed and agreed through the collective agreement process, with His Majesty’s Treasury responsible for scrutinising public spending to ensure value for money.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on ensuring that (a) Portsmouth and (b) other areas receive sufficient funding to meet national cancer waiting time targets as part of the National Cancer Plan for England.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government will get the NHS diagnosing cancer earlier and treating it faster , including in Portsmouth. We have already delivered 5.2 million more appointments nationwide - including many for cancer diagnosis and treatment, helping more patients to access cancer care.
The Government has committed significant investment into cancer care as part of wider funding to reduce elective waiting times for diagnosis and treatment. At Spending Review 2025, we invested in new surgical hubs and diagnostic scanners, to build capacity for over 30,000 more procedures and 1.25 million diagnostic tests.
The National Cancer Plan, to be published in the new year, will include further details on how we will how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients in England.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with businesses on the potential impact of reductions in levels of relief through business rates relief schemes on those businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury has engaged with a range of stakeholders on business rates about an array of topics. The Transforming Business Rates: Interim Report brings together extensive feedback from a broad range of stakeholders and outlines the Government’s next steps to deliver a fairer business rates system that supports investment and is fit for the 21st century.
As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with rateable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026/27. This permanent tax cut will ensure they benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a lower business rates multiplier for pubs on levels of investment.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.
In April 2026, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible properties, including pubs, benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the Government can factor the revaluation outcomes, as well as the broader economic and fiscal context, into decision-making. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, the Government prevented RHL business rates relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. Under the previous Government, RHL relief was due to end entirely in April 2025, and so by extending it, the Government has saved the average pub, with a ratable value of £16,800, over £3,300.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to extend full expensing to leased assets to support small and medium-sized transport businesses that lease vehicles.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK has one of the most generous and competitive capital allowances regimes in the world and is top of the rankings of OECD countries for plant and machinery capital allowances.
The Annual Investment Allowance allows both incorporated and unincorporated businesses to deduct the entire cost of investment in both main and special rate assets in one go, up to £1 million per year, including assets bought for leasing or hiring.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment has been made of the potential impact of her Department's planned changes to retail, hospitality, and leisure sector multipliers on the pub sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.
In April 2026, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible properties, including pubs, benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the Government can factor the revaluation outcomes, as well as the broader economic and fiscal context, into decision-making. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
Ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, the Government prevented RHL business rates relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. Under the previous Government, RHL relief was due to end entirely in April 2025, and so by extending it, the Government has saved the average pub, with a ratable value of £16,800, over £3,300.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) shops, (b) sports stadiums, (c) film studios and (d) airports that would be liable for the surcharge on Rateable Values above £500,000.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026/27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government is sustainably funding this by introducing a higher multiplier on properties with RVs of £500,000 and above.
The Valuation Office Agency has published data on the number of properties with current RVs of £500,000 or above.
Every three years, all non-domestic properties are revalued. The next revaluation will take effect on 1 April 2026. This may affect which properties are in scope of the new higher multiplier. Further detail will be published at the Budget.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on strengthening climate-related disclosure requirements within IPO documentation for fossil fuel companies.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Last year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) delivered an ambitious modernisation of the UK’s listing rules, to bring the UK in line with international best practice. From 19 January 2026, the UK’s new Prospectus regime will cut the paperwork firms need to produce when they IPO and raise capital, while providing better, more relevant information to investors.
The government’s work to finalise the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) is a core part of the government’s ambition to make the UK a global hub for green and transition finance activity. These standards are based on the interoperable standards published by the International Sustainability Standards Board in June 2023 and aim to support long-term investor decision making by providing high quality and comparable information and on sustainability-related risks and opportunities that businesses face.
The government consultation on UK SRS closed on 17 September. The government is currently processing feedback and will publish its response in due course along with the final set of standards for voluntary use. Separately, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that they will be consulting soon on how UK SRS is applied to publicly listed companies.
Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure that the new UK listing regime is aligned with climate and net zero policies, while maintaining investor protection and market integrity.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Last year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) delivered an ambitious modernisation of the UK’s listing rules, to bring the UK in line with international best practice. From 19 January 2026, the UK’s new Prospectus regime will cut the paperwork firms need to produce when they IPO and raise capital, while providing better, more relevant information to investors.
The government’s work to finalise the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) is a core part of the government’s ambition to make the UK a global hub for green and transition finance activity. These standards are based on the interoperable standards published by the International Sustainability Standards Board in June 2023 and aim to support long-term investor decision making by providing high quality and comparable information and on sustainability-related risks and opportunities that businesses face.
The government consultation on UK SRS closed on 17 September. The government is currently processing feedback and will publish its response in due course along with the final set of standards for voluntary use. Separately, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that they will be consulting soon on how UK SRS is applied to publicly listed companies.