Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the resilience of the independent hospitality sector to absorb the rising costs of (a) national Insurance, (b) alcohol duty, (c) energy prices and (d) food prices.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government will protect the smallest businesses and charities by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that in 2025/26, 865,000 employers (43%) will pay no National Insurance Contributions at all.
The alcohol duty cut on qualifying draught products impacts approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall cut in duty bills of over £85million a year.
Since 19 December 2024, Small and Medium Enterprises with fewer than 50 employees have been able to access free support to resolve issues with their energy supplier through the Energy Ombudsman. Consumer food prices depend on a range of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, domestic labour and other manufacturing costs, and Sterling exchange rates.
We continue to work closely with HM Treasury on the challenges facing high street and other businesses.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support the independent hospitality sector with rising costs.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Independent hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth across the UK.
The Government is creating a fairer business rate system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities. This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper which will be published later this year. Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to small businesses to help meet additional costs arising from the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government remains committed to helping small businesses thrive and will be publishing our Small Business Strategy next year. This will set out our vision for all small businesses, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy.
At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced £250 million for the British Business Bank’s small business finance programmes in 2025/26. Additional funding for two key growth-driving programmes was also announced for 2025/26: Growth Hubs in England and Help to Grow: Management across the UK. These programmes aim to help businesses and entrepreneurs unlock their potential through bespoke support and resources.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to incentivise businesses to employ young people.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s plan to Make Work Pay is a core part of the mission to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all, including young people.
In addition, the Department for Education has established Skills England to sit at the heart of a system that provides young people with the skills required to thrive in life.
Skills England has set out a package of financial support to businesses which provide apprenticeships for young people to help drive up participation among this group.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will bring forward proposals to regulate the de facto monopoly of ticket sales by Ticketmaster.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under competition law, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), as the UK’s competition authority, is responsible for investigating anti-competitive practices such as an abuse of a dominant position. The Government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers to investigate and act if it finds that businesses are behaving anti-competitively in a market. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate.
With respect to the secondary ticketing market, the Government has committed to introducing new consumer protections in relation to ticket resales and we will be launching a consultation in the autumn to seek views on potential options.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has plans to increase the (a) monitoring and (b) oversight of community interest companies that are engaged in regulated activity with children and vulnerable adults.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Different restrictions apply for those engaging in regulated activity dependent on many factors, such as the type of provision, the age, Special Educational Needs and Disability status of any children involved, and staff providing the activity. The Government expects anyone engaged in regulated activity with children and vulnerable adults to comply with all statutory requirements and safeguards, with appropriate oversight applied.
The Regulator of Community Interest Companies decides whether an organisation is eligible to become, or continue to be, a community interest company, and has no role in overseeing or ensuring compliance with any requirements (e.g. licensing or regulatory compliance) outside of this.