Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the business rate information letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 1/2026: Pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027, published on 27 January, whether a restaurant or hotel which makes the majority of its turnover from these activities, but which also has a pub or bar open to the general public and permits drinking without requiring food be consumed, is eligible for the new Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief on the whole Rateable Value of the hereditament.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Local authorities are responsible for the administration of business rates, including decisions on the awarding of and eligibility for various reliefs. Guidance for local authorities on the administration of the pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027 was published on 18 February 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here (attached). It is for local authorities to determine whether individual properties meet the definitions contained within the guidance to be eligible for the Pubs and Live Music Venues relief.

As set out in the local authority guidance, the government will fully reimburse billing authorities and major precepting authorities for their loss of income under the business rates retention scheme as a result of awarding the relief.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government's business rate information letter 1/2026: Pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027, published on 27 January, whether local billing authorities are allowed to award the new Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief to, and will be reimbursed by central government for, a social club which has a club premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003, and only serves alcohol to club members and their guests.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Local authorities are responsible for the administration of business rates, including decisions on the awarding of and eligibility for various reliefs. Guidance for local authorities on the administration of the pubs and live music venues relief 2026 to 2027 was published on 18 February 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here (attached). It is for local authorities to determine whether individual properties meet the definitions contained within the guidance to be eligible for the Pubs and Live Music Venues relief.

As set out in the local authority guidance, the government will fully reimburse billing authorities and major precepting authorities for their loss of income under the business rates retention scheme as a result of awarding the relief.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 18 December 2025 (HL12641) and 21 July 2025 (HL9153), whether the belated second homes premium council tax bill for the then Deputy Prime Minister's Admiralty House residence had been fully paid by the time of the answer of 21 July 2025 stating that the council tax liability was properly discharged.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The former Deputy Prime Minister confirmed to her department (MHCLG) that she would occupy the official residence in Admiralty House on a second home basis, and this information was passed onto the Cabinet Office before the council tax second homes premium came into force on 1 April 2025. As such, the former Deputy Prime Minister had properly discharged her duties at this point, which was to confirm the status of her occupation of the flat.

The Government Property Agency (GPA), an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, is responsible for the administration and payment of any tax liabilities for Admiralty House.The Government Property Agency wrote to Westminster City Council in June to confirm that the former Deputy Prime Minister was residing in Admiralty House on a second home basis. Westminster City Council issued a bill applying the second home premium in July, which was paid in full the same day. The bill was paid for the full year of 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the community engagement principles guidance published in March 2024, whether the application of a departmental policy of non-engagement means that written representations to a Government consultation or call for evidence from an individual or organisation subject to non-engagement are not read or substantively considered in that consultation process.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Although The Home Office does not comment on specific groups or individual cases, I would like to reassure you that we are committed to addressing the full range of threats that we currently face as a country and tackling anyone who spreads views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities. The Home Office is continually building our knowledge of potential threats, including information exchange and cooperation with partners on shared issues of concern. Each department must consider their own due diligence when choosing to engage with any organisation or individual and, if asked, we will advise and share information to help inform their decisions.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government for what reason political parties and elected representatives are not permitted to have access to the expiry date of an elector’s postal vote mandate, but are allowed access to the list of electors with postal votes; and what assessment they have made of whether the drop off in registered postal voters is a result of the expiry of previously registered postal votes.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As stated in the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92034 on Absent Voting, the Government has no plans to make changes to the information which is shared as part of the electoral register or absent voters lists.

Information relating to postal vote applications is held by independent Electoral Registration Officers rather than the UK Government and so it is not possible to provide more information about the number of postal vote applications that were not renewed during any period. The department does not actively track trends in the level of postal vote renewals, or the number and proportion of postal vote applications that were renewed, over any period.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what their latest estimate is of the level of total business rate receipts to be raised in England in (1) 2025-26, (2) 2026-27, and (3) 2027-28; and what their working estimate is of the cost of the new Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief in each year of the 2026 revaluation cycle.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Details on business rates receipts for FY25/26, FY26/27and FY27/28 are set out in the OBR’s economic and fiscal outlook. Forecast receipts are £33.7bn, £37.1bn and £37.9bn respectively.

The further support for pubs and live music venues was scored at the Spring Statement. The impacts on total receipts in FY26/27, FY27/28 and FY28/29 are £94m, £138m and £204m respectively.