Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support high street businesses.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

This government is committed to supporting high street businesses. DBT is working across government to reform business rates, empower local authorities to address vacant properties through high street rental auctions and to tackling anti-social behaviour and crime in town centres through the Crime and Policing Bill.

We also provide a range of existing services to SMEs. This includes Growth Hubs – run in Cambridgeshire by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority – providing local businesses with access to advice and support.

Our forthcoming SME Strategy will set out the government’s plan to do more to support small businesses across key areas, including thriving high streets.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to reduce energy bills.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.

We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. On 19 June we announced that we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from next winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Act on small high-street businesses.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Non-Domestic Rating (Private Schools and Multipliers) Act gained Royal Assent on 3 April, giving the Government powers to introduce the new multipliers announced at Autumn Budget 2024, and removing charitable rate relief for private schools.

The new multipliers include permanently lower tax rates for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties with Rateable Values below £500,000 from 2026-27.

This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties on 2026/27 – those with Rateable Values (RVs) of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.

The rates for these new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the expected effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to ensure that new housing developments have adequate access to infrastructure.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.

Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period.

The government provides financial support for essential infrastructure in areas of greatest housing demand through Land and Infrastructure funding programmes, such as the Housing Infrastructure Fund.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 will also support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure.

The government is also committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.

Our Planning and Infrastructure Bill includes various provisions designed to streamline the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of abolishing residential leaseholds.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to protect nature through the planning process.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear about the importance of conserving and enhancing the natural environment.

Planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by minimising impacts on and providing net gains for biodiversity, including by establishing coherent ecological networks that are more resilient to current and future pressures and incorporating features which support priority or threatened species such as swifts, bats, and hedgehogs.

We are considering using a new suite of national policies for decision making, which we will be consulting on later this year, to require swift bricks to be incorporated into new buildings, unless there are compelling reasons that preclude their use or that would make them ineffective. As an interim step ahead of the planned consultation, we published updated Planning Practice Guidance setting out how swift bricks are expected to be used in new developments.

Under the new statutory framework for Biodiversity Net Gain, every grant of planning permission (subject to some exemptions) is subject to the condition that the development must deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value relative to the pre-development biodiversity value of the onsite habitat.

When it comes to development and the environment, we know we can do better than the status quo, which too often sees both sustainable housebuilding and nature recovery stall. Instead of environmental protections being seen as barriers to growth, we want to unlock a win-win for the economy and for nature. Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduces a new Nature Restoration Fund that will unlock and accelerate development while going beyond neutrality to unlock the positive impact development can have in driving nature recovery.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that aplastic anaemia is (a) recognised and (b) included on the NHS England website; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing accessible information on this condition for (i) patients and (ii) healthcare professionals.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as aplastic anaemia.

There are over 7,000 rare diseases often needing highly specialised input, and so the National Health Service website is not always the most appropriate platform to disseminate such information. We receive many requests for new topics, including aplastic anaemia, and each one is assessed and prioritised according to a set of criteria. The factors considered when making these decisions include demand for the topic, how well it aligns to achieving strategic priorities, whether it will provide a cost saving for the NHS, suitability for a national audience, prevalence of the condition/symptom and whether other healthcare information providers are better placed to host the information than us, for example, charities. At this stage there are no plans to add aplastic anaemia to the NHS website.

However, we continue to add further information on rare diseases to the resources provided by the NHS Genomics Education Programme (GEP). These resources are designed for all healthcare professionals and include information on rare diseases for non-specialists through ‘bitesize’ genomics content. The GEP has a ‘just in time’ resource called ‘GeNotes’ and has developed a two-week Massive Open Online Course to support clinicians in a general approach to rare disease. NHS England has an established patient advisory group for genomics education to ensure lived experience and patient voices are an integral part of the GEP resources and to determine the direction of travel for the programme aligned to their priorities. Additionally, work continues in partnership with Medics For Rare Disease to expand the programme’s remit into non-genetic rare disease.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will respond to Question 59924 on aplastic anaemia tabled on 13 June 2025.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 July 2025 to Question 59924.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy and has convened a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts to help develop the first ever Circular Economy Strategy for England, for which we plan to publish for consultation in the coming autumn. Whilst led by Defra, this is a cross-government effort based on close collaboration between departments and the governments of the Four Nations of the UK.

Reflecting this collaborative and whole-economy approach, officials are working closely with other government departments with strong interests in the delivery of a circular economy, in particular, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Business and Trade, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, Department for Transport and HM Treasury to ensure that government is maximising the opportunities to be had from properly joining up and integrating circular economy activity across a range of departments.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has to assess land use changes in applications for new energy infrastructure.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The implications of land use change are already considered as part of the examination and determination of all applications for new energy infrastructure. In future, optimal locations for energy infrastructure will be identified by the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP). We are ensuring that, in its development, the SSEP considers wider demands on land and sea, including (but not limited to) food production, transport, water supply, nature recovery and fisheries. The SSEP’s recommendations will not take precedence over other land uses but will exist alongside other sectoral spatial plans and frameworks.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to safeguard critical energy infrastructure against the extreme summer temperatures.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Great Britain’s electricity infrastructure is highly resilient and designed to operate in a wide range of conditions. The risks to GB's electricity system from extreme heat are low, but in the unlikely event of any impacts, the energy sector has long-standing plans and procedures to minimise disruption to customers, as set out in the National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity.

Government works closely with industry to minimise the risk of unplanned outages and in line with licence conditions, the National Energy System Operator is required to assess network operators’ resilience to a range of weather events, including extreme temperatures.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to provide funding for renewable energy sources.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government has proposed a number of reforms to the next allocation round of the Contracts for Difference scheme, to ensure the auction can deliver significant renewable electricity capacity at a fair price to consumers.

Great British Energy and Great British Energy – Nuclear will together invest more than £8.3 billion over the parliament in homegrown clean power. This includes a total £180 million investment from the Government and GBE to install rooftop solar panels on schools and hospitals, and £1 billion investment for clean energy supply chains.

Through the government’s Warm Homes Plan, schemes such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will also continue to provide upfront grants for property owners to make the transition to low carbon heating.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Act 2025 on small and medium sized businesses.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was 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.

The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from the changes to employer NICs by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help support businesses to take up digital technologies.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The SME Digital Adoption Taskforce will shortly publish its final recommendations to accelerate digital adoption among Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, and we are launching pilots to test delivery of support.

Our Industrial Strategy set out ambitions, informed by the Technology Adoption Review, to increase digital adoption in growth-driving sectors. This includes expansion of Made Smarter Adoption up to £99m for manufacturing SMEs.

This complements existing support like Help to Grow: Management which offers training to business leaders (including on digital), National Cyber Security Centre guidance, and implementation of the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support businesses to invest in skills and training.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department’s Industrial Strategy sets out the interventions we will make to help tackle barriers to employer engagement with the skills system. This includes introducing shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in priority sectors, the introduction of short courses in England, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy from April 2026, and skills packages targeted at skills needed in multiple Industrial Strategy sectors, such as digital, engineering, and the defence sector, in addition to the £625 million construction skills package to train up to 60,000 skilled construction workers across this Parliament.

This investment will be underpinned by deeper employer partnerships, including launching Technical Excellence Colleges to develop pipelines of skilled workers for local businesses.

The Chair of Skills England, in partnership with the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, will explore how employers, individuals and local and central government work together to address national skills needs, to support jobs of the future in the growth-driving sectors, and in particular opportunities for further business engagement and investment into the skills pipeline.

Accessible facilities and responsible use of RADAR keys

Impact of EU 90/180 day rule on UK citizens

Digital-only immigration status

Refusal of Citizenship to refugees who have made irregular crossings

UK trade with illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Cool hubs

Fairtrade tea campaign

Found: Baker (Labour; Glenrothes and Mid Fife) Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour; Penrith and Solway) Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Mr Paul Kohler Ian Roome Susan Murray Andrew George Alex Brewer Claire Young Sarah Dyke Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Reynolds Pippa Heylings Susan Murray Rachel Gilmour Tom Gordon Martin Wrigley Calum Miller Charlotte Cane

Found: Sarah Olney Anna Sabine David Chadwick Munira Wilson Steve Darling Daisy Cooper John Milne Charlotte Cane