Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse is of reducing the retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier by the maximum permitted by the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Act 2025.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

Without our support, pubs would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, this has fallen to just 4%.

More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto. The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, while ensuring that warehouses used by online giants will pay more. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.

Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will hold discussions with Thameslink on taking steps to reduce reliance on rest-day working to operate timetabled passenger rail services.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Department Officials meet regularly with Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) to review performance and reliability, including driver resource considerations. The Department is supporting GTR in the recruitment of nearly 100 additional Thameslink drivers, which will assist in reducing reliance on rest day working.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department is taking to improve (a) awareness, (b) diagnosis and (c) treatment for, pulmonary hypertension.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England commissions specialist services for both adults and children to diagnose and treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. Care is provided through a small number of specialised centres and shared care arrangements with other centres.

High-cost drug treatments are delivering improvements in outcomes for this group of patients, as evidenced by the National Pulmonary Hypertension Audit. This audit is funded by NHS England, with further information available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/clinical-audits-and-registries/national-pulmonary-hypertension-audit

Clinical guidelines and pathways exist for the investigation of breathlessness, to support the recognition and diagnosis of this rare condition.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December to Question 97661 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, what proportion of the ratepayers who will see their bills reduced are listed as a hereditament that has been assessed as qualifying for the retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier from 2026/27.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.

To support with bill increases, the Government has introduced a generous support package worth £4.3 billion over the next 3 years, including support to help ratepayers to transition to their new bill.

As a result, over half of all ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto.

The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties in England. The Government is paying for this tax cut through higher rates on the top one per cent of most expensive properties, including distribution warehouses used by online giants.

The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December to Question 97661 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, how many and what proportion of the ratepayers who will see no increases were eligible for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief in 2025-26.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.

To support with bill increases, the Government has introduced a generous support package worth £4.3 billion over the next 3 years, including support to help ratepayers to transition to their new bill.

As a result, over half of all ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto.

The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties in England. The Government is paying for this tax cut through higher rates on the top one per cent of most expensive properties, including distribution warehouses used by online giants.

The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December to Question 96304 on St Albans City Station: CCTV whether bike thefts will be included in the assessment of railway stations with the highest crime levels when prioritising CCTV integration across the network.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has committed £17 million to improve CCTV connectivity on the railway. Network Rail are delivering the project and as they are currently in the start up phase of the project the details you have requested are not yet available.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December to Question 96304 on St Albans City Station: CCTV, if Network Rail will publish a list of railway stations to be prioritised for CCTV integration.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has committed £17 million to improve CCTV connectivity on the railway. Network Rail are delivering the project and as they are currently in the start up phase of the project the details you have requested are not yet available.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her department has had with Amazon on its proposal to support the collection of £700 million in VAT receipts from online marketplace sellers operating overseas.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Since 1 January 2021 overseas sellers, or online marketplaces where they facilitate the sale, are required to be registered and account for VAT for supplies of low value imports of £135 or less. Where an overseas seller sells goods located in the UK at the point of sale via an online marketplace, the online marketplace is liable for the VAT for goods of any value.

The changes were introduced to ensure a level playing field for UK high street and online retailers, ensure the continued flow of goods at the border and improve compliance. Certified analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates the changes, together with the abolishment of Low Value Consignment relief, will raise £1.8 billion per annum by 2026-27.

The Government engages with a wide range of stakeholders as part of the policy making process.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will expedite a consultation into proposals to require online marketplace sellers to collect VAT from overseas sellers.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Since 1 January 2021 overseas sellers, or online marketplaces where they facilitate the sale, are required to be registered and account for VAT for supplies of low value imports of £135 or less. Where an overseas seller sells goods located in the UK at the point of sale via an online marketplace, the online marketplace is liable for the VAT for goods of any value.

The changes were introduced to ensure a level playing field for UK high street and online retailers, ensure the continued flow of goods at the border and improve compliance. Certified analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates the changes, together with the abolishment of Low Value Consignment relief, will raise £1.8 billion per annum by 2026-27.

The Government engages with a wide range of stakeholders as part of the policy making process.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October to Question 77603 on Brain: Tumours, what steps he plans to take to incentivise pharmaceutical companies involved in developing vaccines for brain tumours to approach the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad for funding and support.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the financial year 2024/25, the NIHR’s reported spend on cancer research was over £141.6 million through its research programmes and infrastructure, reflecting cancer’s high priority.

The Government is taking measures to boost research into brain tumours. In December 2025, the NIHR announced the pioneering Brain Tumour Research Consortium to accelerate research into new brain tumour treatments. NIHR is investing an initial £13.7 million with significant further funding due to be awarded in 2026.

We also support the Rare Cancers Private Members Bill. This bill aims to incentivise research and investment into treatment by introducing measures to streamline clinical trial recruitment, allow patients to be more easily contacted by researchers, and also mandates a review of orphan drug regulations.

The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including brain tumours. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

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 how social media platforms could use in-built AI to detect and protect children against (a) cyberbullying and (b) online grooming.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government takes tackling cyberbullying and online grooming extremely seriously.

Under the Online Safety Act, services must put in place measures to mitigate the risk of illegal activity, including grooming, and protect children from harmful content, such as bullying.

Ofcom recommends measures services can take to fulfil their duties in Codes of Practice, including using hash matching to detect and remove child sexual abuse material. Ofcom can introduce new measures in future iterations of the Codes.

On 18 December, the government published its Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, including a world-leading ban on nudification apps. This government will not allow technology to be weaponised to humiliate and exploit women and girls.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his department are taking steps to support the use of the Play Well Toolkit in NHS healthcare settings.

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

The Department recognises the importance of supporting and maintaining children’s right to play in healthcare settings. Games and active play in all settings build social skills and promote children’s well-being.

To support this, in June 2025 NHS England and Starlight, a national charity for children’s play in healthcare, co-published the Play Well Toolkit. The toolkit provides guidance on best practice, and includes a checklist to support the auditing, monitoring, and evaluation of services. NHS England is promoting the Play Well toolkit to managers of health play services across a wide range of settings, including community clinics, emergency departments, children’s hospices, and acute paediatric wards.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national register of opticians licensed to carry out DVLA eyesight tests.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is responsible for ensuring that all drivers meet the medical standards required for safe driving, including for eyesight. Drivers who notify the DVLA of a medical condition that may affect their eyesight may be asked to have a formal vision test. These tests are conducted by Specsavers on behalf of the DVLA. The current contract for this purpose was awarded to Specsavers in February 2025 following a competitive tender exercise. There are no plans to introduce a national register of opticians licensed to carry out these tests.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Draft National Planning Policy Framework, published on 16 December 2025, whether it is his policy that green belt land between villages should not be considered of importance when assessing whether proposed development may cause the coalescence of established settlements.

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

The government’s proposed changes to Green Belt policy are set out in Chapter 13 of the consultation ‘National Planning Policy Framework: proposed reforms and other changes to the planning system’. The consultation is open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

Sinking of SS Tilawa

Deregistration of international non-governmental organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Newborn bloodspot screening for spinal muscular atrophy

Cumulative disruption proposals and the right to protest

Contribution of legal immigrants

Impact of proposed immigration changes on migrants living in the UK

UK arms export licensing and conflict in Sudan

Ukrainian Permission Extension Scheme

Sale of caged hens’ eggs

Found: invested in businesses, which is what drives up productivity.48 Speaking for the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper