Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support consumer businesses in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England.

The Government is committed to supporting the hospitality sector and local businesses across the UK.

To deliver on our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. We recognise that, ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, RHL businesses need support in 2025-26. So, we have prevented RHL relief from ending by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor also announced a duty cut on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year and cut 1p off the duty on an average strength pint.

The hospitality sector is predominately made up of smaller businesses. The Government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer NICs at all next year. More than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package and eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.

In line with the Government’s Regulation Action Plan, we also want to ease the regulatory burden on hospitality businesses. The Government set up a Licensing Policy Taskforce earlier this year, to ensure licensing conditions for businesses within the sector – such as pubs, restaurants, and music venues – are proportional. The Taskforce’s recommendations were published in July, and the Government accepted the majority of its recommendations. We are now working with the sector to implement these measures, helping to drive economic growth, regenerate our high streets, and support vibrant and healthy communities.

More specifically, Staffordshire has benefitted from £20m of funding for the Stafford Station Gateway and a £17m award to regenerate Leek town centre.