Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential for the recently announced funding for rural village pubs to support broader community-services provision in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Government recognises the important role rural pubs and those in deprived areas can play in supporting their communities and the work of Pub Is The Hub in helping them improve their resilience by providing additional community services.

That is why the Government has provided £440,000 to help Pub Is The Hub continue this important work. In its 2025 report: PiTH-Social-Value-of-Pubsfinal.pdf, Pub Is The Hub highlighted over 40 diversification projects that could not be delivered due to a lack of funding. Pub Is The Hub operates across the UK and applications for funding are assessed using its criteria.