Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been issued to local authorities to ensure they are aware of, and are actively reassessing, potential underpayment of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction for pensioners affected by new income tax liabilities.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Billing authorities are responsible for assessing the income and circumstances of pensioners in receipt of a council tax reduction in accordance with the legislation and for ensuring that they are billed correctly. As with pension age council tax reduction, entitlement to Housing Benefit is calculated on the basis of the net income an individual receives from earnings, self-employment, occupational pensions and the actual value of DWP benefits which are received.

The Government reviews and uprates benefits each year and updates the eligibility criteria for pension-age Local Council Tax Support to reflect this.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment she has made of the potential impact of alcohol duty policy on on-trade venues such as pubs, with off-trade alcohol sales in supermarkets.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The importance of the 'on-trade' is recognised in the alcohol duty system via Draught Relief, which ensures eligible products served on draught pay less duty than their packaged equivalents. The Chancellor significantly increased the generosity of this relief at Autumn Budget 2024, taking a penny of duty off a typical strength pint and reducing overall duty receipts by £85m. Draught beer and cider now pay 13.9% less in tax than their packaged equivalents – a 50% increase on the draught discount under the previous government (9.2%).

At Autumn Budget 2025, the Chancellor confirmed that alcohol duty would be uprated on 1 February 2026 to maintain its real-terms value. The government does not expect this to have any significant impact on competition between the on- and off-trades.

An assessment of the impacts of the inflation-linked uprating at the most recent Budget is published within the Tax Impact and Information Note (TIIN) here:  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-duty-rates-change/alcohol-duty-uprating#summary-of-impacts.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support small pub landlords.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We regularly meet with pub landlords and only last week we held a roundtable with the British Institute for Innkeeping and some of their members.

We are taking decisive action to support pubs and recently announced an additional 15% cut for pubs on top of the permanent reduction in the business rates multiplier for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties announced at the budget. We are also providing £4.3 billion over three years to protect ratepayers from sharp rises in rateable values as well as launching a review of how pubs and hotels are valued for business rates.

Alongside this, we have doubled the Hospitality Support Fund to £10 million and will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy later this year to help reinvigorate our communities.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to meet small pub landlords to discuss potential closures and job losses within the hospitality sector.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

We regularly meet with pub landlords and only last week we held a roundtable with the British Institute for Innkeeping and some of their members.

We are taking decisive action to support pubs and recently announced an additional 15% cut for pubs on top of the permanent reduction in the business rates multiplier for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties announced at the budget. We are also providing £4.3 billion over three years to protect ratepayers from sharp rises in rateable values as well as launching a review of how pubs and hotels are valued for business rates.

Alongside this, we have doubled the Hospitality Support Fund to £10 million and will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy later this year to help reinvigorate our communities.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has conducted a comparative assessment of the potential impact of (a) VAT rates on food and drink served in pubs compared with (b) VAT rates applied in comparable European countries.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the significant contribution made by pubs to economic growth and social life in the UK.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Reduced rates of VAT come at a significant cost to the Exchequer, reduce the revenue available for vital public services, and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.

HMRC estimates that the cost of reducing the 20 per cent standard rate of VAT on all accommodation and food and beverage services would be as follows in 2026-27: (a) to 15%: £5 billion, (b) to 12.5%: £8 billion (c) to 10%: £10.5 billion, (d) to 5%: £17 billion, (e) to 0%: £23.5 billion.

The Government is aware that some European countries apply reduced VAT rates to hospitality, reflecting different tax systems and policy choices. The Government keeps all taxes under review, with decisions on VAT rates taken by the Chancellor at fiscal events.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of passenger demand and capacity on Great Western Railway services between Kemble and London Paddington, and what steps are being taken to ensure that service provision reflects demand on this route.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Great Western Railway (GWR) is responsible for ensuring sufficient allocation of capacity to meet demand on its rail services. Departmental officials monitor this carefully using available industry data. Officials hold regular discussions with GWR to ensure service levels and capacity provision is optimised to accommodate demand between Kemble and London Paddington. GWR has experienced an increase in short formations on services across its intercity train fleet in recent periods, including on services between Kemble and Paddington, due to issues with the diesel engines. These issues have now stabilised, with a noticeable reduction in recent weeks, and the Department continues to monitor this closely.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support community energy projects.

Answered by Ed Miliband - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

My Department and Great British Energy have engaged extensively with the community energy sector in developing the Local Power Plan.

I will shortly be making a statement to this House about the Local Power Plan which represents an unprecedented £1bn investment in community energy across our country.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the eligibility criteria for benefits and trends in the level of housing costs on (a) social isolation and (b) loneliness amongst (i) older and (ii) low-income residents living in (1) almshouses and (2) charitable housing.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We acknowledge the vital part that almshouses play in providing much needed low-cost affordable housing. Residents pay a weekly maintenance contribution which is usually much lower than the market rate, which can be paid for through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.

It is the responsibility of the local authority to determine whether housing costs meet the definition to be paid for through Housing Benefit. This will depend on the type of landlord and whether the resident is being provided with care, support or supervision.

The level of housing support which the resident will receive is determined by whether the almshouse is privately owned or managed by a social landlord.

The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) applies to residents living in the private rented sector who are in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. LHA determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.

Claimants in receipt of housing support living in the social rented sector have their eligible rent paid in full, unless the level of housing support is reduced because of their income or savings, contributions from non-dependants, or limited by the benefit cap or the removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS).

For those who require further support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities for low-income renters who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).

DWP systems do not include almshouses as a specific residency type and therefore we cannot identify them in our data.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the levels of housing costs on the ability of working-age residents in almshouse accommodation in rural areas to remain (a) in employment and (b) financially independent.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We acknowledge the vital part that almshouses play in providing much needed low-cost affordable housing. Residents pay a weekly maintenance contribution which is usually much lower than the market rate, which can be paid for through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.

It is the responsibility of the local authority to determine whether housing costs meet the definition to be paid for through Housing Benefit. This will depend on the type of landlord and whether the resident is being provided with care, support or supervision.

The level of housing support which the resident will receive is determined by whether the almshouse is privately owned or managed by a social landlord.

The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) applies to residents living in the private rented sector who are in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. LHA determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.

Claimants in receipt of housing support living in the social rented sector have their eligible rent paid in full, unless the level of housing support is reduced because of their income or savings, contributions from non-dependants, or limited by the benefit cap or the removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS).

For those who require further support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities for low-income renters who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).

DWP systems do not include almshouses as a specific residency type and therefore we cannot identify them in our data.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the (a) under-occupancy charge and (b) Local Housing Allowance on residents in almshouse accommodation who are in (i) low-paid and (ii) part-time employment.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We acknowledge the vital part that almshouses play in providing much needed low-cost affordable housing. Residents pay a weekly maintenance contribution which is usually much lower than the market rate, which can be paid for through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.

It is the responsibility of the local authority to determine whether housing costs meet the definition to be paid for through Housing Benefit. This will depend on the type of landlord and whether the resident is being provided with care, support or supervision.

The level of housing support which the resident will receive is determined by whether the almshouse is privately owned or managed by a social landlord.

The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) applies to residents living in the private rented sector who are in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. LHA determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.

Claimants in receipt of housing support living in the social rented sector have their eligible rent paid in full, unless the level of housing support is reduced because of their income or savings, contributions from non-dependants, or limited by the benefit cap or the removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS).

For those who require further support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities for low-income renters who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).

DWP systems do not include almshouses as a specific residency type and therefore we cannot identify them in our data.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing additional business rates relief for community pubs that operate as the sole hospitality venue in rural villages.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government already provides a series of business rate reliefs that eligible pubs in rural villages may benefit from. In addition to the support announced at Budget, the Government recently announced a 1-year 15% relief for all pubs from April 2026. This will mean around three quarters of pubs will see their bills either falling or remaining the same next year. For the following two years, their bills will then be frozen in real terms.

Pubs in rural areas may also benefit from either Rural Rate Relief or Small Business Rate Relief. Rural Rate Relief aims to ensure that key amenities are available and community assets are protected in rural areas. It provides 100% rate relief for properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000. Properties that are eligible for Small Business Rate Relief, which is available to businesses with a single property below a Rateable Value of £12,000, will receive 100 per cent relief.

Tetbury Area Youth and Community Trust

Palantir and the NHS

Dual nationals without British passports

Recognition of Ukrainian driving licences

Ellen Roome and the Jools’ Law campaign

90th anniversary of the Spitfire

Review of the student loan system

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank

International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2026

UK access to the EU SAFE defence fund

Radiotherapy in the National Cancer Plan

Bird gathering licences

Refugee homelessness and the asylum move-on period

World Cancer Day and breast cancer

Found: Denyer; Barry Gardiner; Chris Hinchliff; Sojan Joseph; Manuela Perteghella; Martin Rhodes; Dr Roz Savage

Found: Denyer; Barry Gardiner; Chris Hinchliff; Sojan Joseph; Manuela Perteghella; Martin Rhodes; Dr Roz Savage

Submit Evidence (by 6 Apr 2026)

Data centres are regarded by ministers as being central to UK economic growth and were designated critical national infrastructure (CNI) in September 2024, offering them more legal protections. But their electricity consumption is expected to quadruple by 2030, according to the National Energy System Operator, raising concerns about their sustainability