Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the average change in business rates liability arising from the 2026 revaluation for (a) public houses, (b) restaurants, (c) cafés and (d) hotels.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget, the VO announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.
The Government has also introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible RHL properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and benefit over 750,000 properties. A regional breakdown of properties in scope can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier.
Amongst all ratepayers, over half see no bill increases in 2026/27, including 23 per cent whose bills go down, due to the government's overall package. This also means most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15 per cent or less in 2026/27, or £800 for the smallest.
Additionally, the government has introduced a 1-year 15 per cent relief for all pubs and live music venues in 2026/27, on top of the existing support package announced at Budget. For the following two years, their bills will then be frozen in real terms. Three-quarters of pubs see bills flat or falling in 2026/27.
We recognise that hotels have expressed concerns about how they are valued for business rates. Hotels valuations are undertaken in a different way to some other sectors. The methodology used is well established, but, as with pubs, the government has announced it will review the way hotels are valued to ensure it accurately reflects the rental value for these sectors.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the net change in business rates liabilities for hospitality businesses in (a) England and (b) each region of England following the introduction of the new retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget, the VO announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.
The Government has also introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible RHL properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and benefit over 750,000 properties. A regional breakdown of properties in scope can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier.
Amongst all ratepayers, over half see no bill increases in 2026/27, including 23 per cent whose bills go down, due to the government's overall package. This also means most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15 per cent or less in 2026/27, or £800 for the smallest.
Additionally, the government has introduced a 1-year 15 per cent relief for all pubs and live music venues in 2026/27, on top of the existing support package announced at Budget. For the following two years, their bills will then be frozen in real terms. Three-quarters of pubs see bills flat or falling in 2026/27.
We recognise that hotels have expressed concerns about how they are valued for business rates. Hotels valuations are undertaken in a different way to some other sectors. The methodology used is well established, but, as with pubs, the government has announced it will review the way hotels are valued to ensure it accurately reflects the rental value for these sectors.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses that will face an increase in their overall business rates liability in 2026-27 following the 2026 revaluation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget, the VO announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.
The Government has also introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible RHL properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and benefit over 750,000 properties. A regional breakdown of properties in scope can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier.
Amongst all ratepayers, over half see no bill increases in 2026/27, including 23 per cent whose bills go down, due to the government's overall package. This also means most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15 per cent or less in 2026/27, or £800 for the smallest.
Additionally, the government has introduced a 1-year 15 per cent relief for all pubs and live music venues in 2026/27, on top of the existing support package announced at Budget. For the following two years, their bills will then be frozen in real terms. Three-quarters of pubs see bills flat or falling in 2026/27.
We recognise that hotels have expressed concerns about how they are valued for business rates. Hotels valuations are undertaken in a different way to some other sectors. The methodology used is well established, but, as with pubs, the government has announced it will review the way hotels are valued to ensure it accurately reflects the rental value for these sectors.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the use of independent security assurance and red-team testing requirements in public sector procurement of AI systems.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK government has worked within the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to create a global standard (EN 304 223) that sets baseline security requirements for the developers and deployers of AI models and systems. This standard will help provide a cyber resilient and ‘secure by design’ approach to utilising AI systems in government. We also embed baseline security requirements throughout government procurement and our supply chains, including through the use of Modular Security Schedules in contracts.
We are also considering how government can better facilitate more specific products-based assurance, including the defining of more proportionate assurance models that are aligned to supplier criticality.
Government’s most critical systems are independently assessed against the NCSC’s Cyber Assessment Framework through the GovAssure scheme, now in its third year of operation. We have also conducted a programme of independent red teaming of critical government assets.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the number of small and medium-sized enterprises expected to benefit from the proposed 60-day payment limit; and whether he will publish the methodology underpinning that estimate.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has not published an estimate of how many SMEs will benefit from the 60-day maximum payment term, as impact varies across sectors, supply chains and contractual practices.
The supporting evidence is set out in the Department’s Impact Assessment, which explains the data and methodology used. The case for reform reflects the scale of the late payment problem. It is estimated late payments cost the UK economy £11 billion each year, with around 14,000 business closures annually
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, (a) what estimate he has made of the average amount owed to small and medium-sized enterprises through overdue invoices in each of the last five years, and (b) what additional financial and staffing resources have been allocated to the Small Business Commissioner to support the enforcement of the Government’s measures on late payments.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not hold data on the average amount owed to SMEs in overdue invoices over the last 5 years. However, research commissioned by DBT and published last year highlighted that late payments cost the UK economy £11 billion each year, causing 14,000 business closures annually.
The Department for Business and Trade is working with the Office of the Small Business Commissioner to ensure it has the necessary resources to effectively carry out its new functions.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the risks posed to UK-developed AI systems by (a) data poisoning, (b) model manipulation and (c) software supply chain compromise; and if she will publish any related guidance.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
For the most advanced AI systems, our world-leading AI Security Institute is a centre of UK expertise, advancing our scientific understanding of their capabilities and the associated risks. AISI has already run a large study on backdoor data poisoning, and conducted the largest AI agent red-teaming study to date, identifying tens of thousands of vulnerabilities across sectors including finance, healthcare and customer support. AISI continues to work hand in hand with developers and with the National Cyber Security Centre to make AI protections stronger.
The government has already published a Code of Practice to set the baseline security requirements for AI models and systems, alongside working with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to create a global standard (EN 304 223) that builds on the Code.
This standard is relevant to all organisations and sets out requirements for developers and deployers of AI alongside data custodians. To support organisations, we have contributed to the publication of an implementation guide (TR 104 128) and we are now working to produce a conformity assessment in ETSI (TS 104 216). The government has also recently completed some pilot training workshops with various professions, including small businesses and published the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025-2026 which examined adoption and security approaches by UK organisations to AI. The findings are being used to determine if additional guidance is needed. SMEs should consider this standard when adopting AI-enabled tools and services.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of levels of cyber preparedness among SMEs adopting AI-enabled tools and services; and whether she plans to publish guidance specifically for smaller businesses.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
For the most advanced AI systems, our world-leading AI Security Institute is a centre of UK expertise, advancing our scientific understanding of their capabilities and the associated risks. AISI has already run a large study on backdoor data poisoning, and conducted the largest AI agent red-teaming study to date, identifying tens of thousands of vulnerabilities across sectors including finance, healthcare and customer support. AISI continues to work hand in hand with developers and with the National Cyber Security Centre to make AI protections stronger.
The government has already published a Code of Practice to set the baseline security requirements for AI models and systems, alongside working with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to create a global standard (EN 304 223) that builds on the Code.
This standard is relevant to all organisations and sets out requirements for developers and deployers of AI alongside data custodians. To support organisations, we have contributed to the publication of an implementation guide (TR 104 128) and we are now working to produce a conformity assessment in ETSI (TS 104 216). The government has also recently completed some pilot training workshops with various professions, including small businesses and published the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025-2026 which examined adoption and security approaches by UK organisations to AI. The findings are being used to determine if additional guidance is needed. SMEs should consider this standard when adopting AI-enabled tools and services.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the cumulative potential impact of (a) changes to employer National Insurance contributions, (b) changes to the National Minimum Wage, and (c) the Employment Rights Act 2025 on the recruitment, investment, and growth plans of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has published a range of analytical documents covering the policies referenced, which set out their likely impacts on businesses of different sizes.
As per our Better Regulation requirements, each Impact Assessment covering the Employment Rights Act 2025 and The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026 includes a small and micro business assessment. These analyses also consider the economic impacts on the wider economy.
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was also published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
Asked by: Alison Griffiths (Conservative - Bognor Regis and Littlehampton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the average annual cost per business of complying with the provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 by (a) business size and (b) sector.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has published 29 Impact Assessments representing a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Act: Employment Rights Act 2025: impact assessments - GOV.UK.
Each Impact Assessment considers the cost of the policy, as well as how impacts may vary depending on business size and by sector. The assessment shows that those in low-paid, low quality and insecure work will amongst the largest beneficiaries of the Act.