Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Valuation Office Agency’s valuation method for small independent hotels.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
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: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on including retail businesses in the proposed business rates relief for pubs.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor holds regular discussions with her Ministerial colleagues about a broad range of matters.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the cost of (a) the potential business rates relief for pubs and (b) the cost of extending this relief to (i) the hospitality sector and (ii) the retail sector.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From April, every pub and live music venue will get 15% off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget and then bills will be frozen in real terms for a further two years.
Final costings will be confirmed at a fiscal event in the usual way.
The retail and hospitality sectors will continue to benefit from the £4.3 billion support package announced at Budget. This support package means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the development of tourism in Shropshire.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Tourism contributes to growth and jobs across all parts of the country particularly in rural areas such as Shropshire, home to the UNESCO-listed Ironbridge Gorge, the medieval Ludlow Castle and the scenic Shropshire Hills AONB.
The Government is committed to supporting the sector through the forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Strategy, which will set out a long term plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth. Central to this strategy is ensuring greater dispersal, so that the economic benefits of tourism are felt by all regions, including rural and coastal communities.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what date the last premises in North Shropshire was connected to full fibre under Project Gigabit; and the date on which the next connection is planned.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In North Shropshire constituency, the last premises connected by Freedom Fibre’s Project Gigabit contract covering North Shropshire was on the 30 June 2025, whilst the last premises connected under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme was on the 28 July 2025.
We are currently working with Openreach on a proposed contract change to include as many as possible of the remaining premises within the cross-regional contract that covers the rest of Shropshire and other regions. We expect this work to be completed within the next few weeks
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
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 support educators, supervisors, mentors and trainers in the 10 Year Workforce Plan and work with employers to increase capacity for medical education and training.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 8 December, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee (BMA RDC) which was rejected. The offer would have increased the number of specialty training posts over the next three years from the 1,000 announced in the 10-Year Health Plan to 4,000, bringing forward 1,000 of these specialty training posts to start in 2026. The BMA have rejected the Government's offer, so that is not going ahead. Our door remains open, and this Government is determined to put an end to these damaging cycles of disruption. On 8 January 2026, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, met with the BMA RDC to kick off a series of talks to resolve the dispute.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. It will include modelling of the potential size and shape of the future workforce and implications for major professions.
We are engaging with partners throughout this process, including universities and higher education institutes. A number of organisations with expertise in higher education were invited to and attended a ministerially led partner event on 5 November. As we continue the open and wide-ranging conversations we’ve been having with staff, patients and organisations across the country, we will ensure that the engagement is robust and representative of different stakeholder groups.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the 10 Year Workforce Plan will expand the number of medical specialty training places to meet population demand, beyond the 1,000 proposed in the 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 8 December, the Government put an offer in writing to the British Medical Association Resident Doctors Committee (BMA RDC) which was rejected. The offer would have increased the number of specialty training posts over the next three years from the 1,000 announced in the 10-Year Health Plan to 4,000, bringing forward 1,000 of these specialty training posts to start in 2026. The BMA have rejected the Government's offer, so that is not going ahead. Our door remains open, and this Government is determined to put an end to these damaging cycles of disruption. On 8 January 2026, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, met with the BMA RDC to kick off a series of talks to resolve the dispute.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure that the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. It will include modelling of the potential size and shape of the future workforce and implications for major professions.
We are engaging with partners throughout this process, including universities and higher education institutes. A number of organisations with expertise in higher education were invited to and attended a ministerially led partner event on 5 November. As we continue the open and wide-ranging conversations we’ve been having with staff, patients and organisations across the country, we will ensure that the engagement is robust and representative of different stakeholder groups.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of paid ad spoofing on car insurance premiums.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has made no specific estimate of the impact of paid advert spoofing on car insurance premiums.
However, the Government takes the issue of fraud seriously and recognises the impact this has on motor insurance claims costs and the premiums that motorists pay.
As set out in the final report of the cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce, published in December 2025, the Government, regulators and industry are taking a range of actions to combat insurance fraud. This includes the Financial Conduct Authority’s work to identify and remove fraudulent advertising; the Insurance Fraud Bureau and Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department’s work to detect, investigate and deter motor insurance fraud; and collective efforts to deliver on the commitments in the Home Office’s Insurance Fraud Charter.
The Government’s forthcoming Fraud Strategy will introduce further measures designed to protect individuals and businesses from evolving fraud threats.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to publish proposals for increased product safety requirements under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The powers in the Act enable the UK to maintain high product standards, supporting businesses and economic growth, by allowing the UK Parliament the power to update relevant laws. As stated in the budget announcement we plan to consult in early 2026 on major reforms to modernise and simplify the UK’s product safety framework, including to rebalance the playing field between online and physical retailers, improve consumer safety and streamline processes for enforcement.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will assess the merits of suspending mandatory border control point checks for consignments of equine semen sent from approved EU centres.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All consignments of equine germinal products imported into GB from the EU and EFTA countries are required to undergo import controls at a designated Border Control Post. A facilitation scheme remains in place to address logistical issues associated with the import of chilled equine germinal products. The SPS agreement, currently being negotiated between GB and the EU, will largely supersede the current import requirements and significantly reduce the burden on GB industry.