Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the revenues generated from the ending of free allowances under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme for aviation; and whether she plans to allocate those revenues to support the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK ETS Authority announced in July 2023 that free allocation would end for the Aviation sector in 2026, after considering stakeholder feedback which largely supported the finding that removing aviation free allocation did not pose a significant risk to carbon leakage.
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility is responsible for forecasting receipts from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), and has published its methodology for forecasting ETS receipts on its website.
Receipts from the UK ETS accrue to the consolidated fund, and go to funding government priorities, which includes decarbonisation support for the aviation sector.
The UK Government is supporting the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) industry by building demand through the SAF Mandate, supporting first-of-a-kind SAF production plants through the Advanced Fuels Fund, and derisking SAF projects by introducing legislation for the Revenue Certainty Mechanism. In 2025, the government announced £400,000 to get new fuels to market quicker, delivering on the UK’s clean energy ambitions and powering up economic growth as part of the Plan for Change.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of banning cigarette filters on smoking prevalence.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are not aware of clear evidence to show that a ban on filters would lead to reductions in smoking rates. We are confident the best way to protect people’s health is to reduce the prevalence of smoking. That is why we are taking decisive action through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to create a smoke-free generation alongside continuing with evidence-based approaches to supporting smokers to quit. We therefore have no current plans to ban cigarette filters.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of rateable value increases and changes to business rates relief announced at Budget 2025 on a) vacancy rates on high streets, b) employment levels, c) businesses closures and d) price levels.
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, including pubs. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
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.
The Call for Evidence published at Budget seeks further evidence on the role business rates and reliefs play in investment, including Empty Property Relief.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the removal of business rates relief and the business rates revaluation on high street businesses.
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, including pubs. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
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.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her department has made of how many a) pubs b) hotels c) restaurants d) indoor leisure and e) night clubs are expected to see their business rates bill i) go up ii) stay the same or iii) decrease from April 2026 as a result of the measures announced in Budget 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, including those in the hospitality and leisure sectors 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.
For the pubs sector, the increase in rateable values will be 30%, which combined with the loss of the temporary RHL relief would lead to an increase in total bills paid by the sector of 45%. However, due to government intervention, the sector’s total bill will only increase by 4% next year.
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, including pubs. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
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.