Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce interim measures to ensure that learners have access to suitable vocational pathways during the transition period between the withdrawal of BTECs in 2026 and the introduction of V-Levels in 2027.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

To support the transition to V Levels, the government will retain the majority of existing vocational qualifications to minimise disruption for learners and providers. This includes Applied General Qualifications under 720 guided learning hours in T Level areas, as well as smaller reformed qualifications such as Alternative Academic Qualifications and Technical Occupational Qualifications. In non-T Level areas, all current qualifications will continue to be funded until V Levels or T Levels are introduced. Qualifications that have already been defunded will remain so.

The department is consulting with the sector on the introduction of V Levels, including transitional arrangements to achieve the qualifications landscape set out in the Post-16 Skills White Paper.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase in the rateable values of pubs on the level of their profitability.

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 as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for 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.

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, including those on the high street.

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.

Treasury Ministers and officials engaged with a wide range of stakeholders across the pub and hospitality sector ahead of the Budget to discuss business rates.

Found: Members made oral representations: • Laurence Turner: Compensation for criminal injuries • Graham Stuart