Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefits of technology investments, including optical character recognition and natural language processing, to automate manual processes in clinical audit and registry submission across NHS England; whether businesses cases for that investment have been prepared; if so, in which disease areas or audit programmes those cases were prepared; and what were the outcomes of those cases.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is exploring a range of functionality to automate manual data processes aligned to clinical improvement, including for our Outcomes & Registries Programme, National Disease Registration Service, frontline digitisation and the promotion and adoption of new technology across provider systems. Our central data and digital transformation business cases are primarily focused on the adoption of the technical capabilities and innovations, applicable in many areas, rather than focusing within specific individual audits or registries alone. Some business cases have been accepted and moved forward.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of health technology assessments submitted to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the past five years have related to cancer; and what assessment they have made of the importance of up-to-date national registry data to those evaluations.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the financial years 2021/22 to 2025/26, to date, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has made 429 technology appraisal recommendations. Of these appraisals, 218 relate to cancer medicines. The Department has not made any assessment of the importance of an up-to-date national registry on those evaluations. NICE works with companies and wider stakeholders throughout the appraisal process to ensure that its appraisals take into account the available evidence.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current average time from test request to result for tests provided by NHS England's genomic medicine laboratories; and what assessment they have made of the impact of those turnaround times on patient access to appropriate treatment for (1) SOD1 testing in motor neurone disease, (2) germline BRCA1/2 testing in hereditary female cancers, and (3) homologous recombination deficiency testing in breast cancer and ovarian cancer.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In December 2025, the average turnaround time for genomic tests processed through the NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs were 42 days for the test code which includes SOD1 analysis for motor neuron disease, as well as other clinical indications, 37 to 42 days for germline BRCA1/2 testing, and 22 days for homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) testing for ovarian carcinomas. These are within the national targets of 42 days for the test code which includes SOD1 analysis for motor neuron disease and BRCA1/2 and 28 days for HRD, supporting timely clinical decision‑making. As genomic results directly inform treatment choices for motor neurone disease, hereditary female cancers, and ovarian carcinoma, maintaining these turnaround times is essential to ensuring patients can access appropriate therapies without delay.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of prompt, large-scale molecular testing to the efficiency of commercial clinical trial recruitment, particularly in cancer; and of how prompt, large-scale molecular testing influences industry decisions on country prioritisation and site selection, in particular for late-phase trials conducted in England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Life Sciences Sector Plan, the Government aims to double commercial interventional trial participants by 2026, and again by 2029.
Access to large-scale molecular testing will play a role in delivering against this aim, since molecular testing can identify patients with specific biomarkers and target them into clinical trials. More consistent and equitable genomic testing across England will encourage commercial sponsors to place their clinical trials at research sites in the United Kingdom.
To deliver this, we are embedding genomic testing as routine practice within the NHS Genomic Medicine Service and its workforce. This includes seven NHS Genomic Laboratory Hubs delivering comprehensive genomic testing and analysis, such as whole genome sequencing, as part of routine care. The Genomics Education Programme is responsible for upskilling the entire multi-professional, multi-specialty National Health Service workforce in genomics.
The Government also supports the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. The bill will make it easier for clinical trials on brain cancer to take place in England, by ensuring that the patient population can be more easily contacted by researchers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025, how they expect local billing authorities to interpret "wholly or mainly" when considering the purpose of a hereditament where that hereditament combines publicly accessible cultural use with private studio or workshop space, and what indicators should be taken into account in determining primary use of a hereditament.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to local billing authorities about the interpretation of "visiting members of the public" under the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025, particularly in regard to artist studios that provide public exhibitions, open-studio access or workshops.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025, whether premises used for community arts activities, educational programmes or public participation workshops qualify as cultural, community or recreational facilities under those Regulations, and whether the presence of private artist workspaces affects eligibility.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish examples or case studies to show how artist studios, co-operative creative spaces and small cultural venues may benefit from the retail, hospitality and leisure scheme, under the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025, to assist local billing authorities and cultural organisations in the implementation of that scheme.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the role of artist co-operative studios and cultural organisations in supporting high street regeneration and community cultural engagement, and whether those uses fall within the intended beneficiaries of the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they expect paragraph 4(a) of Schedule 1 to the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025 to be interpreted for artist studios or galleries that sell work online and provide physical access for exhibition or sale to members of the public.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.