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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what fiscal steps she is taking to help reduce the number of empty retail units on high streets in rural areas.

The Government is determined to combat the blight of vacancy on high streets. On 2^nd December, new High Street Rental Auction powers came into force enabling local authorities to tackle persistent vacancy, implementation is supported by over £1 million of funding.

Retail businesses across the country will also benefit from reforms to the business rates system including an extension to the retail, hospitality and leisure rate relief for one year, at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, and the freezing of the small business multiplier for 2025/26.