Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on businesses in South Cotswolds constituency.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Consistent with past fiscal events, HMT has not produced a constituency-level breakdown of the impact of Autumn Budget 2024 (AB24).
At AB24, the government set out the first major steps in its approach to regional growth, and confirmed an extension of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, providing £900m to local authorities to invest in local growth.
The government also committed to continuing funding for key business support programmes in 2025-26, including Growth Hubs in England. The Gloucestershire Growth Hub is open to all businesses in South Cotswolds, providing free expert advice and signposting to various government support.
At Budget, the government announced that from 2026-27, it will permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps she is taking to support rural businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Prosperous rural businesses will be underpinned by improvements to rural connectivity and productivity, access to public services and a thriving farming sector.
To this end, we are restoring stability and investment in our public services as the best way to support growth across the country, including in rural areas. We are investing £5 billion in broadband connectivity which will support growth in rural areas across the UK. We confirmed over £650 million of funding for local transport beyond City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements in 2025-26 to ensure that transport connections improve in our towns, villages and rural areas.
We have also committed £5 billion for the farming budget over two years – which includes the largest ever amount of funding directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will increase the discounted Public Works Loan Board rate to local councils for investment in social housing.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) lending facility exists to provide cost effective loans to local authorities to support investment and service delivery. HM Treasury keeps all PWLB rates under review, including the discounted rate for investment in social housing. The current discounted rate for Housing Revenue Account lending remains available until June 2025.