Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department plans to publish the 2025 Joint Ministerial Council Communiqué.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The communique from the 2025 Joint Ministerial Council has been published on gov.uk. The link is at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-and-overseas-territories-joint-ministerial-council-2025-communique.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help promote sustainable palm oil labelling.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The UK maintains high standards on information provided on food labels and packaging so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy and is committed to supporting the sustainable production, trade, and use of palm oil.

Palm oil sustainability labelling is voluntary but when provided it must be accurate and not mislead. Third party assurance schemes help to provide UK consumers and businesses with information about the food they buy such as food provenance and sustainability, including certification schemes linked to information on sustainable palm oil origin.

Whilst these operate independently of Government, we continue to support their activities toward delivering shared policy goals. The Food Standards Agency maintains close contact with these organisations and monitors whether communications and claims made by them are accurate.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of business rates revaluation and changes to the level of rates relief on high street pubs, bars and restaurants in Bolton West.

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.

Without our support, the pub sector as a whole would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, this has fallen to just 4%.

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 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities, including those in the hospitality sector, will either gain or see no change this year. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside changes to employer NICs.

Found: meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell

Found: meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Phil Brickell

Found: COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting on Tuesday 21 January 2025 Members of the Commission present: Phil Brickell

Found: Alex Ballinger (Labour; Halesowen) Aphra Brandreth (Conservative; Chester South and Eddisbury) Phil Brickell