Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

Baroness Kramer Excerpts

Tuesday 20th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I agree with a great deal of what the noble Baroness says. HMRC has announced substantial measures to crack down on some of the businesses she mentioned, and I think she will have seen several of them closing in recent months. She is quite right that more needs to be done. She is absolutely right to talk about the importance of the hospitality industry, and we completely recognise that. It plays an incredibly important role in the UK economy, employing more than 2 million people. It is vital to the life of high streets across the UK, and we will do what we can to support it.

[Baroness Kramer (LD)]

My Lords, I will repeat the adage I used formerly: measure twice, cut once. Does the Minister understand that there is real urgency to get response and relief now within the hospitality industry and for pubs, as they face uncertainty? Many, believing that the blows had ended, went ahead and hired or invested and are now unsure whether they are economically viable. Has the Minister looked at the impact of this uncertainty, particularly on the independents, which I understand are disproportionately affected?