Business of the House

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The sector is important to our country’s prosperity, and the Government are absolutely determined to do everything we can on that, including getting investment into post-16 education and, indeed, employment more widely. I am more than happy to join the hon. Member in congratulating all the young people in her constituency who have undertaken examinations. I wish them well for when the results come out. I pay tribute to them and the staff, and also to their sometimes long-suffering parents.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

SPARK is York’s frontline incubator for the next generation of food, drink and creative businesses; it supports young entrepreneurs to establish their businesses with strong values and good practice. It has identified that VAT is the problem, and it is calling for the Government to support a 10% cut in VAT to enable its hospitality businesses to flourish. Can we have a statement from the Treasury on the impact of that, and on how we will enable community interest companies, such as SPARK, to support start-ups, so that they thrive?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

My hon. Friend raises an important matter, and is a stout defender of the interests of her constituents. We recognise the contribution that hospitality businesses make to jobs, growth and local communities across the UK, but His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs estimates—this follows on from an earlier question—that reducing VAT in the way she mentions would cost around £11 billion a year. To put that in context, it is roughly equivalent to the total expenditure on the Royal Navy. We are, however, committed to supporting the sector through targeted measures, such as our £4.3 billion business rates package and the Great British summer savings scheme.