Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help ensure the provision of accessible housing for disabled Ukrainian refugees.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We provide a tariff of £5,900 per Ukrainian arrival to councils. Councils can use this funding flexibly to support households as best suits the local area, including using the funding for measures to support guests to access secure and appropriate accommodation in the private rental sector.
All Ukrainian guests have access to public services, including benefits to support the costs of private rented housing. The Citizens Advice Bureau can advise on which benefits individuals may be eligible for and how to apply for those.
Council housing teams can also offer advice to Ukrainians about the range of housing options available locally.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information her Department holds on the proportion of businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector that will (a) not qualify for retail, hospitality and leisure relief and (b) pay a higher multiplier due to business properties with rateable values above £500,000.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government published a Discussion Paper setting out priority areas for business rates reform and invited industry to co-design a fairer business rates system.
In summer, the Government will publish an interim report that sets out a clear direction of travel for the business rates system, with further policy detail to follow at Budget 2025.
To deliver our manifesto pledge, from April 2026, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RVs) below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we also intend to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties from April 2026 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. This represents less than one per cent of all properties.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) have published data on properties with RVs above £500,000 based on the previous valuation, broken down by sector online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-domestic-rating-property-counts-and-rateable-value-rv-for-properties-in-england-with-rv-over-500000. The VOA also routinely publish data on the whole commercial property stock by sector online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-stock-of-properties-2024.
Every three years, all commercial properties are revalued by the VOA. The 2026 revaluation, which will take effect from April 2026, will update RVs and may, therefore, affect which businesses are within scope of the new higher rate. The revaluation process is ongoing. The VOA are required to publish a draft of all properties’ new RVs this year.
The rates for the new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the expected effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the planned higher multiplier for properties with rateable values above £500,000, broken down by business sector.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government published a Discussion Paper setting out priority areas for business rates reform and invited industry to co-design a fairer business rates system.
In summer, the Government will publish an interim report that sets out a clear direction of travel for the business rates system, with further policy detail to follow at Budget 2025.
To deliver our manifesto pledge, from April 2026, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RVs) below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we also intend to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties from April 2026 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. This represents less than one per cent of all properties.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) have published data on properties with RVs above £500,000 based on the previous valuation, broken down by sector online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-domestic-rating-property-counts-and-rateable-value-rv-for-properties-in-england-with-rv-over-500000. The VOA also routinely publish data on the whole commercial property stock by sector online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-stock-of-properties-2024.
Every three years, all commercial properties are revalued by the VOA. The 2026 revaluation, which will take effect from April 2026, will update RVs and may, therefore, affect which businesses are within scope of the new higher rate. The revaluation process is ongoing. The VOA are required to publish a draft of all properties’ new RVs this year.
The rates for the new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the expected effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her planned timeline is for the publication of the interim report on business rates.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government published a Discussion Paper setting out priority areas for business rates reform and invited industry to co-design a fairer business rates system.
In summer, the Government will publish an interim report that sets out a clear direction of travel for the business rates system, with further policy detail to follow at Budget 2025.
To deliver our manifesto pledge, from April 2026, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RVs) below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we also intend to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties from April 2026 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. This represents less than one per cent of all properties.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) have published data on properties with RVs above £500,000 based on the previous valuation, broken down by sector online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-domestic-rating-property-counts-and-rateable-value-rv-for-properties-in-england-with-rv-over-500000. The VOA also routinely publish data on the whole commercial property stock by sector online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-stock-of-properties-2024.
Every three years, all commercial properties are revalued by the VOA. The 2026 revaluation, which will take effect from April 2026, will update RVs and may, therefore, affect which businesses are within scope of the new higher rate. The revaluation process is ongoing. The VOA are required to publish a draft of all properties’ new RVs this year.
The rates for the new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the expected effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Table 9.2 of her Department's report entitled Updated Appraisal Report: Airport Capacity in the South East, published in October 2017, whether it remains her Department's estimate that the net present value of a Heathrow northwest runway has a high of £3.3billion and a low of minus £2.2billion.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The latest published information on the net present value of a Heathrow Northwest runway is contained in the “Addendum to the Updated Appraisal Report” published June 2018 which updated the Department’s estimate to a net present value of £2.9bn to minus £2.5bn in 2014 prices[1]. Economic benefits as reported in the Updated Appraisal Report also fed into the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS).
The Department has committed to reviewing and updating the ANPS, and has invited proposals for a third runway to be brought forward by the summer. Once proposals are received, the government will review the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) which provides the basis for decision making on granting development consent for a new runway at Heathrow.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/airport-expansion-updated-cost-and-benefits-appraisal.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies of the UK Climate Change Committee's report entitled the Sixth Carbon budget, published in December 2020.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As the UK’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, transport has an important role in the UK economy meeting the Sixth Carbon Budget.
Transport emissions reduced by 10% between 2019 and 2023, but must fall faster to achieve our legal targets. The Government is committed to achieving this through turbocharging the rollout of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, overhauling public transport services to make sustainable choices more convenient for more users, making the UK a world-leader in the production and use of sustainable aviation fuels, and delivering our Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy.
The Government will produce an updated delivery plan for meeting legislated carbon budgets later this year, with policy detail for all sectors provided up to the end of the Sixth Carbon Budget.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase (a) translation and (b) levels of information support on the benefits system for disabled refugees.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Under the Equality Act 2010, DWP must make suitable provision to communicate with claimants where English is not their first language or who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired. DWP provide Telephone Interpreting, Face-to-face interpreting, BSL interpreting service, Video Remote Services, and written translation to meet this requirement. The Language Service Provision is on-demand, and our supplier is suitably resourced to meet our various language demands against our Performance Expectations. We have a designated Language Services team that work closely with our supplier to ensure current service delivery is met and accounted for, and to ensure future demand is anticipated and planned for accordingly.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to p.30 of The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025, what his Department's timetable is for publishing its consultation on a new British industrial competitiveness scheme.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
From 2027, the new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour, which could benefit over 7,000 electricity-intensive businesses in manufacturing sectors, like automotive, and foundational manufacturing industries in the supply chains, like chemicals. Eligible businesses will be exempt from paying the costs of the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and the Capacity Market. My department is working towards launching a consultation to determine eligibility which will open shortly. The scheme is subject to review in 2030.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to p.30 of The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025, what steps he plans to take to support manufacturing businesses with high energy costs that are not part of the British industrial competitiveness scheme after it launches in 2027.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This government recognises that high electricity costs are a key challenge for British businesses.
Alongside commitments set out in the Industrial Strategy, our clean power mission is the key to long-term sustainable price reductions. Our Clean Power 2030 Plan published in December 2024 outlines how we will make Britain a clean energy superpower - clean homegrown energy that we control will protect households and businesses alike from the rollercoaster of global energy prices.
We will set out further details on plans to decarbonise and electrify our manufacturing sector, in the forthcoming Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan in October.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to p.30 of The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025, what steps his Department is taking to support manufacturing industry before the British industrial competitiveness strategy is published in 2027.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This government recognises that high electricity costs are a key challenge for British businesses.
Alongside commitments set out in the Industrial Strategy, our clean power mission is the key to long-term sustainable price reductions. Our Clean Power 2030 Plan published in December 2024 outlines how we will make Britain a clean energy superpower - clean homegrown energy that we control will protect households and businesses alike from the rollercoaster of global energy prices.
We will set out further details on plans to decarbonise and electrify our manufacturing sector, in the forthcoming Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan in October.