Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of reducing VAT on cultural ticketing in Grassroots Music Venues.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s third largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26.
Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. Exceptions to the standard rate have always been limited and balanced against affordability considerations.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support grassroot music venues.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Grassroots music venues are vital to the UK’s music culture, offering emerging artists a platform, supporting local economies and jobs, and giving thousands the joy of live music up close. We are committed to supporting the sustainability of the entire live music ecosystem and will soon publish a Music Plan, drawing together all that the government is doing to support the music industry.
The Government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan announced our Music Growth Package to strengthen grassroots infrastructure (including grassroots music venues), support emerging artists and music professionals, and boost exports, breaking down barriers to success at home and abroad. In addition, since April every pub and live music venue has received 15% off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget, and bills will be frozen in real terms for a further two years.
The Government also supports the live music industry’s work to introduce a voluntary £1 contribution on tickets for stadium and arena shows, to help safeguard the future of the grassroots music sector. We welcome steps taken by industry to set up the LIVE Trust to distribute funds from the ticket levy, and commitments made by artists to support grassroots music. The trust has distributed over £500k levy funding to industry programmes and is projected to receive a total of £10m in 2026.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the disparity in support available to people with equivalent mobility needs who develop those needs before reaching State Pension Age and qualify for Personal Independence Payment, compared with those who develop the same needs after reaching State Pension Age and are only eligible for Attendance Allowance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
It is normal for social security schemes to contain different provisions for people at different stages of their lives, which reflect varying priorities and circumstances.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants continue to receive the benefit after they reach State Pension age, if they continue to fulfil the eligibility requirements, but claimants cannot establish a new entitlement to the mobility component or receive a higher award of the mobility component if they were receiving the standard rate.
These longstanding rules recognise that changing mobility needs as a pensioner is a common and foreseeable feature of the ageing process. It puts PIP recipients in the same position as someone newly disabled of State Pension age where they are required to claim Attendance Allowance, which does not have a mobility component.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has considered transitional protection arrangements for recipients of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) enhanced mobility component who reach State Pension Age before the implementation of any future reforms, while aligning future pension-age claimants with the Attendance Allowance system.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
It is normal for social security schemes to contain different provisions for people at different stages of their lives, which reflect varying priorities and circumstances.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants continue to receive the benefit after they reach State Pension age, if they continue to fulfil the eligibility requirements, but claimants cannot establish a new entitlement to the mobility component or receive a higher award of the mobility component if they were receiving the standard rate.
These longstanding rules recognise that changing mobility needs as a pensioner is a common and foreseeable feature of the ageing process. It puts PIP recipients in the same position as someone newly disabled of State Pension age where they are required to claim Attendance Allowance, which does not have a mobility component.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities have applied for Government funding to support Trading Standards to tackle illicit activity on high streets; and if he will provide a breakdown by local authority and funding programme.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan
Tackling high street criminality is a priority for this government. On 19 May, the government announced a £30 million crackdown on illegal activity on the high street, over three years. £20 million of this will fund an enhanced law enforcement response and the creation of a new cross-government High Street Organised Crime Unit. £6 million will also be allocated to Trading Standards in new funding to bolster the response to sham businesses in at-risk local authorities.
A further £10 million of new funding per year will be provided to Trading Standards until 2028/29, to support the enforcement of illicit and underage tobacco and vape sales, and the implementation of the measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026. This includes recruitment of 120 new apprentices to ensure Trading Standards have a sustainable workforce for the future.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if we will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing centrally-funded specialist hubs to support patients with Long Covid across the UK.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Since April 2024, in line with the National Health Service operating framework and the establishment of integrated care systems, the commissioning of services to support patients with Long Covid has been the responsibility of integrated care boards. Where local Long Covid services are not available, people with Long Covid symptoms should see their general practitioner, who will be able to refer them to alternative existing services depending on their clinical needs and symptoms.
To help improve care for those living with post-infection conditions, the template service specification for mild and moderate myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which is currently being developed in conjunction with NHS England, is set to include Long Covid. The template aims to improve pathways through care for patients with Long Covid, ME/CFS, and other related conditions.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what actions he is taking to ensure every ICB is required to provide specialist post-infection services for children in line with NICE guidance.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
Services for post-infection conditions are not classified as specialised under NHS England specialised commissioning and are the responsibility local of integrated care boards which are accountable for providing appropriate services in the local area.
Patients with Long Covid and other post-infection conditions should be managed in line with current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidance, which, while not mandatory, clinicians and commissioners are expected to take fully into account.
To help improve care for those living with post-infection conditions, the template service specification for mild and moderate myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which is currently being developed in conjunction with NHS England, is set to include Long Covid. The template aims to improve pathways through care for patients with Long Covid, ME/CFS, and other related conditions.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the Report of the independent ADHD Taskforce.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill
NHS England established an independent attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) taskforce which brought together those with lived experience with experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including in accessing timely and equitable access to services and support. The taskforce's final report was published on 6 November 2025, and we have been working with NHS England to consider and take into account the report and its recommendations.
Building on the work of the ADHD Taskforce, the Government announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism. This review, which will report this summer, will inform our approach so that people with ADHD and autistic people have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.
We will also develop and publish a revised cross-Government autism strategy, which will be informed by all relevant evidence, reviews, and reports, including the recommendations from the independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism. As part of this work, we will consider and seek the views of stakeholders as to whether the strategy should cover ADHD as well as autism.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what action he is taking in response to the findings in the Department's Quantitative Research Report entitled Demolition and Redevelopment or Retrofit Research, published in March 2026.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognises that decisions about demolition and redevelopment or retrofit have implications for the built environment.
The research in question is intended to support our understanding of existing practice and to inform areas of improvement for applicants, decision makers, and other stakeholders.
My Department is considering the findings as we develop future policy and guidance to achieve high quality, healthy, inclusive and sustainable buildings and places.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support skills development in retrofit and traditional construction methods, including heritage crafts such as stonemasonry.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 20 May, we published the Post-16 Pathways Implementation plan, setting out our plan for post-16 technical and vocational qualifications.
It sets out that we are exploring options with the sector for introducing an Occupational Certificate in stonemasonry from 2028/2029. We will update the Implementation Plan with more detail on this by early 2027.
In addition, there is currently a level 2 Stonemason apprenticeship standard, and we are working with the sector to consider the development of a level 3 Stonemason apprenticeship standard.
There are also apprenticeships available in retrofit coordinator and a range of craft trades. These can be viewed on the Skills England website on occupational maps available at: https://occupational-maps.skillsengland.education.gov.uk/.