I beg to move, That the draft Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance Up-rating Order 2026, which was laid before this House on 12 January , be approved.
Hansard · 10 Feb 2026 · parliament.uk
JC
Judith Cummins
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following motion: That the draft Social Security (Contributions) (Rates, Limits and Thresholds Amendments, National Insurance Funds Payments and Extension of Veteran’s Relief) Regulations 2026, which were laid before this House on 12 January , be approved.
JS
Jim Shannon
I welcome what the Minister is saying, which is positive. This is a good step for guardians, carers and veterans. Sometimes people come to me and ask me questions. They say that they cannot get any help with the changes that have come in and how they are affected. When they are given more money, sometimes they fall int…
MG
Mark Garnier
It is a great pleasure to debate these two statutory instruments with the Exchequer Secretary. As he stated, they are made each year, and the precedent is for them to be debated on the Floor of the House. I am glad to see that that practice continues, and I hope that the Government will keep this going for the remainde…
MG
Mark Garnier
The Minister is nodding, and I am sure he agrees with us on this point. Therefore, we welcome the fact that the Government have committed to extending this relief for the next two years. However, I point out that the Government said in the Budget document: “The government will extend the employer NICs relief for employ…
JC
Judith Cummins
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The draft Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance Up-rating Order sets the rates for both child benefit and guardian’s allowance, and will ensure that those benefits, for which Treasury Ministers are responsible and which are delivered by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, are uprated by inflation in April 2026. The dra…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The hon. Member is right: a range of reliefs in the national insurance system help particular groups, including young people and those who have served in our military. It is right that those reliefs are there, and I am glad that the Government took the decision to extend them by two years. The Government publish guidan…
Support for Businesses27 Jan 2026
DT
Dan Tomlinson
There are a number of questions on this topic, and I am sure there will be more this afternoon when I make a statement to the House on a package of support in relation to business rates, with a particular focus on pubs. As previously announced, we are introducing a support package worth £4.3 billion… to support rate payers who are seeing increases in their business rates.
Hansard · 27 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
RF
Richard Foord
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to business rates on the hospitality sector.
PB
Paula Barker
Whether she plans to increase the level of small business rates relief for the hair and beauty sector.
JW
John Whittingdale
What fiscal steps she is taking to support the hospitality sector.
OG
Olly Glover
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to business rates on the hospitality sector.
AM
Abtisam Mohamed
What fiscal steps she is taking to support small businesses.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We have considered the challenges that hospitality businesses and businesses on our high streets have been facing. That is why we put in place £4.3 billion of support at the Budget. We recognise that there are concerns as to how hotels are valued for business rates, and that will be one of the items I talk about in the…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for the work that she is doing to champion salons and the beauty industry in her constituency and elsewhere. She will know that VAT is a broad-based tax; in fact, it is our third largest revenue raiser, raising £180 billion last year. That is vital revenue that pays for our public services. There…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I do not think that Mr Speaker would like me to pre-empt the announcements that will be made later, but the right hon. Member has given me the opportunity to reiterate that at the Budget we implemented for the first time differential rates of tax—differential multipliers—meaning that the largest businesses now pay 33% …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Government will have more to say a bit later today when it comes to pubs and the support that the Government can provide for them. We knew that the revaluations would be implemented from 1 April , and that is precisely why we came forward with a significant package of support for all businesses across the economy. …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her representations on behalf of businesses and constituents in Sheffield. One of the important things to note about the business rates system is that there are many smaller businesses on our high streets that pay no business rates at all. One in three businesses continue to benefit from smal…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I have got the idea, Mr Speaker! The key thing to note here is that there is a significant difference between the change in the rateable value and the change in the business rates. This year, we have stepped in to cap the increases for bills at £800 for those coming into the system for the first time. For most high str…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am very fond of my constituency neighbour, who has the privilege of sharing a part of Barnet with me. There will be news this afternoon—I am just trying to find my words, Mr Speaker.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I hope the microphone picked that up. We will make further announcements this afternoon specifically focused on pubs, but I understand that there are businesses across the economy that will have seen increases in their rateable values since the pandemic. That is precisely why we have stepped in with our support package…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Many really small bookshops up and down the country will not pay any business rates at all because they will be in receipt of small business rate relief. Of course, there will be some that will have seen either their rateable value increase, or—because of the Government’s decision to slowly wind down the temporary pand…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Conservative Members do not get it, because when they were in government, they set out plans to remove the temporary pandemic rates relief overnight in 2025. That would have seen an increase of 300% in business rate bills overnight for businesses on the high street. We have taken a different, fairer and more proportion…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We announced a 5p reduction in the multiplier on top of the 7p or thereabouts reduction that was taking place as a result of the revaluation more broadly. That is a £900 million transfer of underlying rates liability away from the smallest high street businesses towards the online giants and the largest properties. Whe…
Topical Questions27 Jan 2026
DT
Dan Tomlinson
When the Liberal Democrats had the chance, what did they do? They put up VAT on hospitality businesses. Now they are coming up with ideas, without the plans to pay for them. They want to increase borrowing over and over again, rather than ensure that we support businesses in a fair and sustainable way over… the years to come.
Hansard · 27 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
PB
Paula Barker
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
RR
Rachel Reeves
This Government have a plan to grow the economy and reduce the cost of living, and it is the right plan for Britain. We are cutting the cost of living and the national debt and creating the conditions for growth in all parts of our country. We have had six cuts in interest rates since the general election, reducing typ…
PB
Paula Barker
While I am looking forward to the statement a little later from the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, I would like to push him, if I may. I recently visited one of my local pubs, the Masonic Arms on Lark Lane—which is a fantastic venue—and met Guy and Amelia. Currently, the overall sector picks up 2.8% of UK busines…
RR
Rachel Reeves
As my hon. Friend knows, we have permanently reduced the multiplier for business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure, but my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary will set out the support for pubs in more detail later today. We are determined not only to support pubs, which are the lifeblood of so many communities,…
MS
Mel Stride
Mr Speaker, I begin by associating Conservative Members with the Chancellor’s comments about your leg—we wish it well. We are waiting with interest to hear the details of the latest U-turn on business rates this afternoon, but if the briefing is to be believed, it will be far too little, too late. The Chancellor simply…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We have extended the temporary 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026, and rates will then gradually return to early 2022 levels. The planned increase in line with inflation will also not take place. That will save the average driver £49 next year, compared with previous plans.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
It is important to note that there is a 40% relief in the system for smaller and independent businesses. It will be phased out over the coming years; we have put in transitional relief protection. As the Chancellor said earlier, that is reasonable. Members from across the House will agree that it would not be right to …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I regularly reply to letters and parliamentary questions from the hon. Member and those on both sides of the House.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
This is an important issue that is of concern to childminders. I have replied to correspondence on this topic from the right hon. Member, I think, and from others in this place. I would be happy to talk to Members about it. I think the change is proportionate and reasonable, and we have engaged closely with the sector …
Business Rates27 Jan 2026
DT
Dan Tomlinson
This Government want the best for Britain’s high streets. We know how central they are to the strength and vibrancy of our villages, towns and cities. We know how hard small business owners work, and we know how badly they were let down by the previous Government; shops were shuttered, council funding was cut, and… business rates were left totally unreformed. We will not let decline continue, and we are already taking steps to arrest it. We are protecting high street businesses from upward-only rent review clauses, and we are introducing a strong new community right to buy to help communities safeguard valued community assets, such as pubs and shops on their high streets. We are pushing ahead with high street rental auctions, which are helping to bring long-term empty shops back into use. Where premises have been vacant for too long, councils can auction the right to rent them; they can offer one to five-year leases to new businesses and community groups, helping to create more vibrant high streets. We also launched the winter of action to combat retail crime, a nationwide crackdown on crime and antisocial behaviour to protect shoppers and retail workers. As well as that, we are investing in local communities through the £5 billion Pride in Place programme announced last September, and we are investing to support growth, including through the new local growth fund. Around one in three businesses continue to benefit from small business rates relief and do not pay any business rates at all, and 85,000 benefit from reduced business rates as this relief tapers. At the Budget, we extended the small business rates relief second property grace period for another two years, which is a really important change; it means that businesses expanding into a second property will retain the support as they grow. We know that there is more to do. Before I turn to today’s announcements, I want to run through the three main components of the changes to business rates that are taking pla
Hansard · 27 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
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Caroline Nokes
Order. I say very gently to the Minister that it was always open to him to ask for extra time, but we cannot find any record of him having done so. He has already got to 10 minutes, and he seems to have three more pages, so I will allow the Opposition spokespersons more time as well. This is an important statement, and…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. This is not acceptable. I have to be quite honest, because the other Front Benchers need time to respond. When a statement is meant to take 10 minutes, that is meant to be 10 minutes. If Ministers tell me otherwise in advance, I am willing to work with them, but they cannot just carry on speaking. Minister, I ta…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Can I just ask, gently, have you not been advised that this is meant to be 10 minutes? Departments have people who are meant to advise Ministers on how long they have got. How on earth have you got a speech that is longer? It could be 20 minutes. It is unfair to the Members present, and there is other business. Please,…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.
MS
Mel Stride
Mr Speaker, I think the mood of the House is that 10 minutes from the hon. Gentleman is more than enough, although I am grateful to him for having given me advance sight of his statement.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Let me apologise profusely for not letting you know in advance, Madam Deputy Speaker. This is the first time I have done one of these statements, and I will not make the same mistake again. I am glad that the same courtesy will be afforded to the shadow Chancellor, and I look forward to hearing a full 15 minutes of rem…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
May I apologise, Mr Speaker, for not letting you know in advance that the statement would be running over 10 minutes?
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Mr Speaker, I will wrap up very quickly, and I apologise again. This Government also understand that things are not easy out there. Today’s announcement is about additional support for pubs, but we understand that this is a tough time for other businesses on the high street. We have already taken significant steps to a…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Apologies again, Mr Speaker; it will not happen again.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
It is just not credible for the shadow Chancellor to say that he would scrap business rates. What did the Conservatives do over the 14 years that they were in power? They kept business rates in place, they did not reform the system and, year after year, they introduced temporary reliefs that did not work or last. Some …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The review of the methodology for pubs that we have announced today will be conducted as rapidly as possible, and I hope that it will conclude this year. We also want to look closely at the methodology used to value hotels, which is similar but not quite the same as that used for pubs. I am sure we will get into that i…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The 15% reduction will apply to all pubs. As the hon. Member knows, there are different caps for pubs depending on their size, but if bills had been frozen, no bill would have fallen next year. Instead, because we have decided to apply the 15% reduction, around 75% of pubs will see their bills either stay the same or f…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his question, and for his engagement on this matter on behalf of the businesses in his constituency. We are making a significant intervention for pubs because we understand the concerns that have been raised about the methodology. As we have heard from my hon. Friend, pubs play a central role…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
There is a significant overlap between the pub sector and live music venues. Many pubs serve as grassroots live music venues, with the result that they are often valued in a similar way for business rates purposes. We did not think it would be right to draw the line so tightly that some music venues, which happened to …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
As a London MP, I do not get the joy of staying in a hotel in my hon. Friend’s constituency—instead, I get the joy of the Northern line on the route home. She asks an important question about hotels, which are valued in a different way from some other sectors. Their methodology is well established, but as with pubs, sp…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We were aware of the changes to rateable values that were going to be published at the Budget, which is why we came forward with a significant package of support to help businesses adjust to their new values. For example, yesterday, Waterstones came out to express its support for our changes to business rates, because …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her engagement on behalf of the businesses in her constituency. She raises some interesting issues on tax, regulation and licensing when it comes to pubs and hospitality. I do not want to pre-empt the work of the high street strategy, which will be a cross-Government effort with the Home Offi…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
That is a very good question, and it allows us to reflect on the fact that back in 2009, Nick Clegg, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, said that we did not need to invest in nuclear power, because it would not come online until the mid-2020s. We are in the mid-2020s now, and we would have benefited from long-…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We are keen to hear from businesses, large and small, about what more the Government can do to support high streets. We want to engage on lots of issues affecting high streets, including planning, licensing and crime, and the direct investment that we can make in our communities. There is a lot to do, because we had 14…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We have implemented a wider support package for businesses across the country as a result of the changes to valuations coming in from 1 April , which unwind the valuations that were last looked at during the pandemic. Some 56% of properties will see their bills fall or stay the same in April. The easy thing to do would…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The hon. Member may not wish to watch the football, and that is fine—that is her decision—but she will be interested to know that we are consulting on whether we can extend the power over longer licensing hours to other events. She will have to let me know if there are other events that she would like to go and watch i…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I would not want to be the Minister who caused that to happen. My hon. Friend has made a very good point, and, as the parent of a young child, I can say how much I value soft play, even though it is rather exhausting at times. I have set out the specific reasons why we have taken this approach to pubs and live music ve…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The hon. Gentleman has asked about timing. We have announced this decision today in time for new bills to be issued from 1 April that reflect the changes the Government have proposed, because we have listened and because we have carried out that engagement in recent weeks. I am not sure that I will take the hon. Gentle…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his persistent and powerful engagement on these matters. He is an expert on all things high street and business rates, as I have come to know. Let me point him to the transforming business rates work that the Government have been publishing and advancing. One possibility that we are consideri…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
There is a big picture that we need to move to with business rates: making sure that, permanently, we have differential treatment for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses and those with higher value, particularly the large online warehouses that are causing the economic rebalancing that we do not really want to s…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
As I have said, some live music venues are valued in a similar way to pubs, and will therefore be included in the relief. We think it fairest to provide the same level of relief to all music venues. The detail will be set out for the business in his constituency and others to see in the guidance, which I hope, if it ha…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Barnett consequentials of this decision will be set out in the usual way and through the usual process.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
This year, we are three years on from the changes in alcohol duty that the last Government implemented. I am not sure whether they adopted the same policy position, but we made it clear that it would be reviewed after three years. As part of that usual process, we will be reviewing the reforms that were made in 2023. I…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am not sure what the question was, but the Government have set out a plan that is fair and reasonable and does not engage with the fantasy economics that Opposition Members keep peddling. They still have Liz Truss in their party, and it shows, because instead of having a sensible business rates policy that is afforda…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his support for the announcements made today. Because I do not know those specific independent venues, it would not be right for me to comment here, but he is welcome to check the guidance and to encourage the venues to check it online. We have made it clear that our policy intent is for pubs…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We have set out a package of support for hotels and all other businesses. It is worth around £2 billion this year and £4 billion over the next three years. If there are hotels in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency that are facing significant increases in their rateable values this year, the increases in their bills will…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
One of my favourite things to do is to meet my hon. Friend to discuss a whole range of matters, so I will happily discuss this issue with him too. We have been in correspondence on this business already, so I hope that he passed on the messages from me about the need to check that there is a difference between the incr…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I do not think that was a question for me. It was a question for you, Mr Speaker.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I really look forward to working with my hon. Friend on important matters such as the high street strategy, and I hope that he has been in conversation with his local authority and businesses about some of the other measures that the Government are introducing and the issues that are important to him. High street renta…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I do not know the details of that individual business owner and by how much her rateable value has increased, but we have implemented the permanently lower multipliers. They are now 33% lower than the tax rate that is paid by the online giants. That is a big change to the system that this Government have delivered, and…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I would be happy to have a further conversation with my hon. Friend about this issue. It is really important that no hotel will see its business rates bill go up by 100% this year. It may be that the Marine hotel has seen a really significant increase in its rateable value, and we will review the methodology because of…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The definition of “pubs” that is used for the changes that have been announced today is the same one that was used when the previous Government implemented a relief. I believe that that was in 2017, so it is a long-standing definition. I encourage the hon. Member to find that on the gov.uk website and send it to the re…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
That is a really important point. There are many independent pubs up and down the country, as well as bigger chain pubs, and it is right that the support that the Government are bringing forward will support both. Around 75%—definitely above 70%—of independents and chains will receive support this year, ensuring that t…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
It is not for me to tell the devolved Administrations how to spend their money, but if the right hon. Gentleman writes to me, I will be happy to write back to him with the details of the consequentials following the decision set out today.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is a powerful and strong advocate both for the businesses in his constituency and for the hospitality sector more broadly. I thank him for our conversations; I think we spoke before Christmas as well as in recent weeks. I will of course continue to engage with him and the hospitality sector on tax issues…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Over and over again, Conservative Members profess to be paragons of fiscal virtue, yet stand up in this place and say they want to cut taxation, which in effect means more and more borrowing. We have in the past seen the problems caused by Conservative Governments who let borrowing run out of control, cause interest ra…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am always happy to look at and respond to the correspondence I receive from hon. Members. I am aware of the issue my hon. Friend raises, which she has been consistently raising in this House. We came forward at the Budget with a significant package of support, and many small and independent businesses are small enoug…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We want to work with the hotel sector on the review I have announced today. We will make sure it reports in time to be implemented by the Valuation Office Agency by the date of the next revaluation. For hotels at the very far end of the distribution of changes in rateable value—with an increase that large, I believe th…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Yes, we will continue to work with pubs, because we do value them. I want to be clear, however, that we value all of the businesses on the high street. We value our hospitality businesses, our retail businesses and those that work in leisure and soft play, which I believe was mentioned earlier. All the different busine…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am sure that the consequentials and their implications will be set out as soon as is practically possible.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I very much agree with my hon. Friend. What happened in the past is in stark contrast to the reform of our business rates system under our Government. We have set out long-term differences in the multipliers—also known as the tax rates—faced by high-street businesses and those faced by the online giants and the largest…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Because of the interventions announced today, the total business rates bill for pubs will fall over the coming years. As the hon. Member mentions, we are giving individual pubs a 15% reduction on their new bills, and then a real-terms freeze for the next two years. That is a significant intervention because of the sign…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his advocacy on behalf of the pubs and businesses in his constituency. Concerns have been raised about the methodology. We have looked into that in recent weeks, and we think it is right to review it. That review will take place in the coming months. It will definitely report in time for the …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Around one in three businesses will continue to benefit from small business rates relief, and so will pay nothing at all. As for independent shops that are above the threshold and in the business rates system, many just above the threshold will be on the taper, and others will benefit from the support that was set out …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is a proud and strong champion of the businesses in his constituency—the brewers, pubs and all those in the hospitality industry. I am sure that businesses in his patch would do well to feed in via him, as he is such a good representative.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I hope that I will be out of trouble before too long. We will double the hospitality support fund, providing £10 million of funding over the next three years. That fund aims to help more than 1,000 pubs diversify their business model, improve efficiency and productivity in the sector, and support people who are furthes…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his representations on behalf of businesses in his constituency. The Government are clear that we will look at the pub and hotel methodologies specifically. I would be happy to have a conversation with him about issues for other sectors, but the Government will focus on pubs and hotels. Howev…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The hon. Member is right that each devolved Government have full control over the structure and level of business rates in their part of the country. They set a business rates policy, retain all the revenues generated, and determine how they are spent.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I will continue to keep those important cultural and social assets in mind as we work on our policy for supporting businesses across the country.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We are, in the usual way, using long-standing definitions set out in business rates guidance to define pubs, and similar venues to which the relief will apply.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Very much so. We want to support legendary landlords. I have my own in my constituency, and I look forward to having a pint with them this weekend to discuss the changes that the Government have made.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We will not be considering the Liberal Democrats’ policy.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I would be happy to discuss that matter with my hon. Friend. Indoor play is a really valuable and growing part of our economy, but there are challenges. With more free childcare, it may be that fewer people are going in during the day, and I know that many indoor play centres have seen increases in their rateable value…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We have changed the tax rates, the multipliers, within the system so that a typical high street business may now pay 38p in the pound and an online retail giant may pay 51p in the pound on their rateable values. That is a significant underlying reform to the tax system that is here for good.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his engagement, persistence and advocacy on behalf of the businesses in his constituency. I know that he has had many conversations with businesses in his constituency, and he has been able to feed them directly to me as the Minister with responsibility for tax. I am sure that we will continu…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Because of the concerns around the methodology to value hotels, today we have announced that we will review that methodology so that, in time for the next revaluation, hotels can have a methodology that more appropriately works for their sector. The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that hotels have seen some of the…
Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure19 Jan 2026
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Colleagues will have heard what the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have said on this matter in recent days. I will not add further comments on the specifics in responding to this urgent question. When there are further comments to be made, I am sure they will be made in the usual way. At the… Budget, the Government announced a comprehensive set of reforms to business rates. We have created a new, sustainable system with permanently lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses. Business rates are, in line with the usual timelines, revalued every three years, and new valuations that were set in train by the previous Government come into effect in April. It was right to support businesses during covid, but the previous Government went into the election with plans to scrap the temporary support entirely in 2025. If they had won re-election, they would have removed that support overnight last April. If the Opposition had intended to extend the relief, why did they not say so and why was that not included in their forecast or projections? We on this side of the House have chosen a different path: we extended the support at a lower rate in 2025-26 and are slowly unwinding it over the coming three years, with the help of £4.3 billion of transitional support. I think all Members can agree that it would not be sustainable for a £1.7 billion annual temporary covid tax relief to remain fully in place at the end of the decade. At the same time, our reforms—[Interruption.] I am glad someone is enjoying them. Our reforms to rebalance the underlying design of the business rates system towards high street businesses will be implemented in April. The new, lower tax rates will be introduced for 750,000 RHL businesses, funded by a higher rate on the most valuable properties, including for the online giants. That is worth almost £1 billion and means that smaller high street businesses will have a tax rate that is 25% lower than businesses with the largest propertie
Hansard · 19 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
MS
Mel Stride
(Urgent Question): To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if she will make a statement on the planned changes to business rates for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.
MS
Mel Stride
That was a complete non-response. The Minister says he will make a statement in future in the usual way; we can only assume that that will be via the media, not this House. Of all the excuses for a U-turn that we have heard from the Government, this one beggars belief. The Minister expects us to accept that the Governm…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
May I help the Minister a little bit? I did grant this urgent question. This discussion would not have happened if I had not done so. I am not quite sure that his statement and mine are compatible.
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. I certainly do not need any help from Opposition Members.
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Chair of the Treasury Committee.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The shadow Chancellor said that I was dragged to the House, but that is very much not the case; I am very happy to take questions from him and from Conservative and Government Members.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I fully respect your decision to grant an urgent question, Mr Speaker. It was—[Interruption.]
DT
Dan Tomlinson
It was the word “dragged” that I had some objection to. I did not mean to comment on your decision to grant the urgent question, Mr Speaker. Let me answer some of the questions asked by the shadow Chancellor. The key thing is that we are implementing the revaluations that his Government set in train. Treasury Ministers…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her leadership of the Treasury Committee. At the Budget, we set out the first significant fundamental reform of the business rates system that we have ever seen. For the first time, there is a very significant divergence in the tax rate paid by businesses on our high streets and by the very l…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
On the point about 20p versus 5p, we legislated for a reduction in the multiplier of up to 20p for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, but that did not set an expectation that we would go that far; it set the bounds within which the Government could choose to operate. As the first step in our significant reform…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
At the Budget, we published further updates on our broader work to transform the business rates system. There are things that we want to look at—for example, a switch from a slab system to a slice system, which should support and encourage investment. As was confirmed by the Chancellor at the Budget, we have already ex…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
It is important to be clear that no pub will see their business rates bill go up by three times this year. [Interruption.] No, it is simply not the case. It is true that some businesses have seen significant increases in their valuations, but this year the Government are capping the increase in business rates bills at …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Hospitality businesses are the cornerstone of our communities, providing life and vibrancy to high streets up and down the country. The Government are committed to continuing to support their growth and their success. We value the work that employees in that sector do—I believe that around 2 million people work in hosp…
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Dan Tomlinson
The changes at the Budget led to a reduction in the tax rate paid by businesses on the high street. That was a result of the reforms that this Government have brought in. We have been clear about the need to start the work to rebalance the business rates system to support our high streets. Because the pandemic relief i…
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Dan Tomlinson
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making the important point that the last Government had no plans to continue to extend the pandemic support. As for his other question, I will not comment today on the speculation. He and others can see the words that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have said about this matter …
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Dan Tomlinson
As I have said, the Government were aware that a revaluation was taking place. That revaluation, which was initiated by the last Government, took account of property values in 2024, and will be in place from April this year. We were also aware—and Members in all parts of the House would probably agree on this—that by t…
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Dan Tomlinson
York high street, in my hon. Friend’s constituency, is a beautiful and wonderful place where there are many fantastic businesses. I worked there for a time. I know that Members in all parts of the House value the businesses that keep their high streets vibrant and thriving. We are taking steps, and we took steps in the…
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Dan Tomlinson
I hope that when the hon. Member was conversing with businesses in his constituency, he explained that this year, if a pub has a rateable value of less than £100,000, the policy as set out in the Budget will have capped those increases at 15%. I think it important for Members to do all that they can to help business ow…
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Dan Tomlinson
When I am up at the Labour party conference, I like to enjoy the pubs and hospitality available in Liverpool. It is a fantastic and vibrant city, and I know that the constituencies and areas in the middle of the city have some of the highest numbers of pubs and hospitality businesses in the country. Like me, my hon. Fr…
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Dan Tomlinson
One of the things that the Government are doing to support businesses up and down the country is bringing back economic stability. Under this Government, interest rates have been cut six times, which will reduce borrowing costs for businesses small and large, and we are doing all we can to boost living standards, so th…
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his engagement on this important issue, and for the work that he does on the all-party parliamentary group for hospitality and tourism. Yes, the Government will continue to engage with sector bodies such as UKHospitality on this and other matters that are important for the hospitality industr…
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Dan Tomlinson
I do not know what the current Government position is on whether pubs are allowed to sell takeaway pints, but I hope that would be allowed in Shropshire if I were to visit. However, I have about 30 pubs in my north London constituency, and I have many conversations with publicans both locally and in my role as Excheque…
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Dan Tomlinson
I strongly agree with my hon. Friend that pubs are important anchor institutions. I know that she cares deeply about the businesses in her constituency, and she is a strong representative for them. Under the previous Government, we saw more than one pub closing every single day—7,000 fewer pubs in our communities. This…
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Dan Tomlinson
I was not sure what the hon. Member was referring to when he said there was a “shambolic, chaotic furore”, but it was probably his own party, which would not be able to run anything in any brewery, let alone a whole country.
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Dan Tomlinson
I totally agree with my hon. Friend that we need to avoid the situation we saw for 14 years, when 7,000 pubs closed under the Conservatives, with about 4,000 closing in the first five years when the Lib Dems were in coalition with them. This Government will do all we can to support pubs, hospitality businesses and our …
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Dan Tomlinson
The Conservatives had 14 years to implement significant reforms to the business rates system. They could have changed the system with significant underlying reforms, meaning that the tax rate paid by high street businesses was lower than the tax rate paid by the largest businesses, but they did not. I do not think we c…
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her sustained and important engagement and advocacy on behalf of high street businesses in her constituency, from hospitality venues such as cafés and pubs to independent shops. She has explained to me really clearly the impact of various changes that previous Governments and this Government …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Government back small businesses and our high streets. We want to do all we can to continue to support businesses up and down the country. That is why we announced significant reforms to business rates at the Budget, making sure that we could have a permanently lower multiplier for high street businesses and provid…
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Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the role that libraries and community centres in her constituency and across the country play in providing places for people to socialise, to learn new skills, and to grow and develop. I think of the libraries to which lots of parents in my constituency take their children in order …
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Dan Tomlinson
The process for businesses that are not satisfied with the valuation provided by the Valuation Office Agency is to go through the “check, challenge, appeal” process. In my role as the Minister with responsibility for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, I will of course be doing all I can to make sure that the performanc…
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Dan Tomlinson
I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the brewery in her constituency. I know there is a vibrant small and independent brewery sector in Bristol, with lots of fantastic places where people can choose to have a drink if they so wish. Just the same as her, I want to make sure that this Government do what they can to co…
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Dan Tomlinson
We considered before the Budget the matter of businesses being brought into business rates for the first time. We set out at the Budget the supporting small business relief scheme, so that businesses that are paying no business rates at the moment but which are coming into business rates for the first time will have th…
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Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is right to raise the importance of live performance venues. They not only support our economy directly, through people visiting the venues and enjoying a good night out and a good performance; they also support the local economy more broadly, with people travelling to and from, and choosing to go out fo…
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Dan Tomlinson
The hon. Member is right that business rates policy is devolved. I am in conversation with the Governments in Scotland and Wales about a number of changes to taxation policy that were announced in the Budget, and I will of course be happy to continue those conversations. We need to ensure that we continue to support th…
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Dan Tomlinson
If I get time and the parking permits in Camden allow it, I do like to drive down and have a walk in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I have not yet been made aware of that campaign, but I look forward to talking more with her about it. On a personal level, I will do all I can to get my tea and coffee from those establis…
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Dan Tomlinson
It is worth pausing to note that while some businesses will see increases in their bills, more than half of rate payers’ bills will either remain flat or will fall in the next year. That, in part, is because of the support the Government have provided to businesses, as set out at the Budget.
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Dan Tomlinson
We are seeking to give even more support to those businesses than to the very largest ones. Under previous Governments, there would have been the same tax rate for those businesses, but, because of the changes we put forward at the Budget, the business rates multiplier for the smallest businesses on high streets in Dur…
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Dan Tomlinson
The right hon. Gentleman raised the issue of small businesses. It is worth nothing that a third of properties pay no business rates at all, as they receive 100% small business rate relief, and that a further 85,000 will benefit from reduced bills as this support tapers away.
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Dan Tomlinson
I must say, I am very jealous that my hon. Friend has over 100 pubs in his constituency; I have only 27 in mine, and I have not made it round all of them yet. He is right to highlight the importance of the employment and job opportunities that can be provided by the hospitality sector, with around 2 million people work…
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Dan Tomlinson
I will happily talk further with the hon. Member about any changes that we can make to give councils more powers in relation to the issue he raises. It is not a topic that has crossed my desk before, but I would be happy to receive some correspondence on it.
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for the engagement that she has carried out with businesses in her constituency, as a strong representative of the businesses and people of Tamworth. The Government set out some significant reforms in the Budget. We lowered the tax rate that is paid by businesses on our high …
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank the hon. Member for giving me a chance to talk about the Prince of Wales in my constituency, a fantastic pub that I am glad I and colleagues in Barnet council were able to save. I was there just a couple of weeks back, after a canvassing session out on the doorsteps. He is right to point out that some pubs are …
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Dan Tomlinson
It is really important that we level the playing field for business rates paid by high street businesses in Stroud—for which my hon. Friend is a strong and active representative—and those paid by the largest online retailers and those with warehouses and distribution centres. That is why we implemented the reforms in t…
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Dan Tomlinson
One of the challenges with the questions I am being asked by Opposition Members is that they seem to be suggesting that the Government should not have gone ahead with the post-pandemic revaluations. Those revaluations were set in train by the previous Government. I do not know about the hon. Member, but I think that, i…
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. Many grassroots music venues are valued as pubs. Intricacies and complexities in the business rates system mean that, when we think of pubs, it is important also to think of grassroots music venues up and down the country. We must provide support to them and to other busin…
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Dan Tomlinson
I am glad that the hon. Member was able to ask the exact same question as the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride) . I am not going to comment on the policymaking process in the run-up to the Budget.
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for her continued representation for the small businesses in her Bournemouth constituency, where I know there is a vibrant and growing hospitality and leisure sector. We have implemented reforms to the system to rebalance business rates away from the high street and towards t…
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Dan Tomlinson
This Government understand the pressures that hospitality businesses, and pubs in particular, are facing. One of the pressures, which I have heard about very clearly, relates to the fact that the previous Government did not invest in our energy security, which would have ensured that businesses and families had lower e…
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Dan Tomlinson
When it comes to support for businesses, we are making sure that we bring back economic stability to this country, with six interest rate cuts that will reduce the cost of borrowing for businesses and households. The economic stability that we have provided has meant that wages went up faster in the first year of this …
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Dan Tomlinson
We want to provide stability in our taxation system, and one of the things that the Government are seeking to do in the coming years is to continue to have economic stability—something that was lacking for so long under the previous Government. That is why we are focusing on getting Government borrowing down in every y…
Clause 1 - Income tax charge for tax year 2026-2712 Jan 2026
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Dan Tomlinson
It is a pleasure to open this first day of Committee debate on the Finance (No. 2) Bill. This was set to be the biggest economic moment of the day, but my moment in the limelight has sadly been blown off course by the riveting news that the former Member for Stratford-on-Avon has defected to… Reform UK. This star signing is clearly a great loss to the Conservative party. Conservative Members may hope that it will allow them to start to expunge the history of the Truss mini-Budget from the nation’s collective memory, although I cannot help but feel that it is a case of shutting the heated stable door after the horse has bolted. He said he wanted to join Reform UK to fix a broken system, but as with the Conservative party, no one will believe that he can do it. In fact, he ran the system, broke the system and left us all sorting out with the taxman how to pay for the mess he left behind. I return to the topic at hand. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor delivered her second Budget at the Dispatch Box a few weeks ago. It was a Budget to build strong foundations and a secure future for our country. Reflecting historical underperformance, the Office for Budget Responsibility has revised down its productivity forecast. In isolation, this reduces the amount of revenue that the OBR expects the Government to collect by around £16 billion in 2029-30. The Government are determined to outperform this forecast by continuing our plans to grow the economy, protecting public services and cutting borrowing, but it is right to plan on the independent forecaster’s judgments, meaning that despite Britain’s progress, the Government need to strengthen the public finances. The choice at the Budget was austerity and decline or investment and renewal, and this Labour Government have rejected austerity and repeating the mistakes of the Conservative party. All those who are quick to promise that they will cut taxes must set out where they would credibly raise that money, what they would cut or
Hansard · 12 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
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Caroline Nokes
With this it will be convenient to consider the following: Clauses 2 to 6 stand part. Schedule 1 stand part. Clauses 7 and 8 stand part. Schedule 2 stand part. New clause 2—Review of the impact of section 7 on rent prices— (1) The Chancellor of the Exchequer must, within three months of this Act being passed, lay befor…
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Julian Lewis
I am very impressed by the Minister’s opening speech and his lightness of touch, but can he explain to the Committee how he reconciles the litany of good effects with the number of U-turns carried out since the Budget was put forward?
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Jim Shannon
I thank the Minister for what he is putting forward. The OBR has said that some £55.5 billion will be raised, but the money is not coming from millionaires. It is coming from lower and middle-income families, which means that some 4.8 million more individuals will be paying the higher rate and some 600,000 more individ…
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Kit Malthouse
Just for the elucidation of the public, who the Minister knows will be glued to our proceedings this evening, I want to make a couple of points. First, he said that debt is falling. Will he confirm that it is levelling off as a share of GDP and may possibly fall slightly by the end of the forecast period, but is rising…
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Joshua Reynolds
Has the Treasury done any analysis of the amount of that tax increase that will be passed on to renters, and if it has, what has it come out with?
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank the right hon. Member for giving me time to top up my glass of water—and for his intervention. The Government have been very clear in our approach since we took office. We needed to raise revenue to fund public services, and we have been consistent in our objectives in that regard. We also needed to get borrowi…
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Dan Tomlinson
One way we are seeking to support everyday working people and families across the country is by making the decisions—many of them have been opposed by the Opposition, I must say—to raise taxes on those with the very largest estates and the very highest wealth. In fact, over this Parliament, as a result of the decisions…
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Dan Tomlinson
It is right to be precise, and I was being precise about the rates themselves, which are not changing. The right hon. Member raises the effective tax rate, which is a point I understand. On the specifics of what I said, I was talking about borrowing rather than debt, and borrowing is falling significantly over the cour…
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Dan Tomlinson
The main drivers of rental prices in the UK are supply and demand. The Government are seeking to do all we can to reform and improve our planning system to increase the number of homes being built. If Liberal Democrat Members are keen on making sure that we support households with the cost of living, I hope they will c…
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Dan Tomlinson
If I may, I will make a little more progress. Those with small amounts of income from assets will continue to be protected by tax-free allowances, and income from savings and investments held in individual savings accounts will continue to be tax-free. The vast majority of UK taxpayers are unaffected by these changes a…
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank Members across the Committee, particularly those on the Labour Benches, for their contributions today. I believe that other things going on in the Palace today have drawn other Labour Members to Committee Rooms, but I am very glad that my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Dr Sandher) chose to prioritise …
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Dan Tomlinson
Maybe later. I turn to the contribution of my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough. His speech—I had hoped it would be even longer; I am somewhat disappointed not to have heard more from him—provided a clear exposition of the benefits of the modest changes the Government are setting out in this group of clauses, whi…
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, which gives me a chance to repeat clearly that these changes are a 2 percentage point increase. The tax rates will increase from 20% to 22%, from 40% to 42% and from 45% to 47%. That does not add a significant—or any real—complication to the tax system. We are changing the …
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Dan Tomlinson
I will happily give way to my hon. Friend.
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention and for giving me the chance to reiterate this Government’s focus on economic growth and on providing economic stability. Last year, the OBR forecast that the economy would grow by 1% but it then revised that up to 1.5%. That is a 50% increase in our growth forecast. Of cour…
Clause 9 - Freezing starting rate limit for savings for tax years 2026-27 to 2030-3112 Jan 2026
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Dan Tomlinson
In opening debate on this second group of clauses, I want to reflect on why we are making changes to the tax system. I am looking forward to no interventions at all on this speech from Opposition Members—their interventions seemed to dry up in my last speech, so maybe they have now finished with them.… Of course, we make these changes to modernise the tax system, to make it fair and fit for purpose and to adapt to a changing world, but we also make these changes so that we can raise the revenue to fund our public services. Yes, the Bill holds thresholds constant till the end of the decade, but in doing so contributes to our being able to renew our public services while maintaining the highest levels of public investment in four decades to stimulate economic growth and ensure that those with the broadest shoulders pay their fair share.
Hansard · 12 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
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Judith Cummins
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Clause 10 stand part. Clause 69 stand part. New clause 3—Notification of taxpayers affected by frozen thresholds— “(1) HM Revenue and Customs must take reasonable steps to identify individuals who, as a result of— (a) the freezing of the starting rate limit for …
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Luke Evans
When the Chancellor looked at these measures for her first Budget, she said that they would breach her manifesto commitments. Does the Minister believe that they breach the manifesto commitments?
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Steve Darling
Can the Minister explain why there are £300 million-worth of cuts in Devon this year to our NHS—to hospital trusts, our partnership trust that looks after mental health and our integrated care board?
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Sammy Wilson
The Minister is putting on a brave face because a manifesto commitment has been broken. People are going to pay more in income tax despite the promises that were made. Does he recognise that, for many people, this is not money to renew public services, but money squandered on giving compensation to foreign Governments …
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Edward Leigh
Even more important than the point made by the right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) is the fact that, as I read recently, the average family is paying £12,000 in tax to cover the benefits bill. That is important, because we are taxing entrepreneurial people more, and they will perhaps decide to work a littl…
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Dan Tomlinson
I will; it is good to see that the interventions are back on.
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Dan Tomlinson
This Government have stuck to their manifesto commitments. We were very clear about not wanting to change the rates of income tax. I have been in discussions with Opposition Members about the wording of our manifesto; I am glad that Conservative Members have taken such interest in it. We are sticking to our commitments…
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Dan Tomlinson
I am not able to comment on the specific figures that the hon. Gentleman raised, but overall the Government are spending significantly more on the NHS in this Parliament each year. That is enabled by the changes to taxation that we announced at this and previous Budgets. One of the challenges that the national health s…
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Dan Tomlinson
I will give way to the right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson) and come back to the right hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) .
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Dan Tomlinson
The right hon. Gentleman is welcome to express his views on a range of policies. On the final issue that he raises—net zero and our transition to a cleaner and greener economy—independent analysis, the Government’s Climate Change Committee and the long-term fiscal risk report of the Office for Budget Responsibility hav…
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Dan Tomlinson
I will give way, but then I should make progress given that we have another group of clauses to address after this one.
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Dan Tomlinson
I agree with the right hon. Gentleman on one point: the welfare system that we inherited was failing. Our Government need to correct the mistakes that meant welfare spending was running out of control, as it was when the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride) , was Secretary of Stat…
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Dan Tomlinson
Go on, but then I really should make progress.
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Dan Tomlinson
I encourage the hon. Member to listen back to what I said earlier in my speech. I and this Government are not shying away from the fact that at the end of the decade, we are freezing income tax thresholds for a further three years, after the seven years—if I recall correctly—that they were frozen under the previous Gov…
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Dan Tomlinson
I will make a little progress, if I may. I have already taken two interventions on this exact point. We know that there will be a broad-based effect, but as I have said, we are making other changes so that we ask as little as possible of those who will be affected by the change. We are making lots of changes to ensure …
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Dan Tomlinson
I will happily take a first intervention from the Government Benches.
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Dan Tomlinson
The Chancellor was clear about that very soon after the Budget, in her interview with Martin Lewis, which I am sure my hon. Friend saw. Those whose only income is the basic state pension will not pay tax on it during this Parliament. The changes to the personal allowance will apply to the whole of the UK. The changes t…
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Dan Tomlinson
The hon. Member mentions the change to student loan thresholds that was announced at the Budget. The Government have looked at our taxation system in the round, and at our benefits system—for example, there are the changes to Motability—to ensure that we are raising the revenue that we need in a proportionate and reaso…
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Dan Tomlinson
I was listening to the speeches made by Members on the Opposition Benches so intently that I am not in the right place in my notes to start my speech. I extend my thanks to the various Members who have spoken today. I will be very brief in winding up— [Interruption.] Yes, I know some Members in particular will enjoy th…
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Dan Tomlinson
Many Members wish to intervene. I will happily give way to the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood) .
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Dan Tomlinson
As the Chancellor has set out—more detail will follow later this year—those whose only income is the basic or new state pension, without any increments, will not have to pay income tax over this Parliament. I am aware that Members would like to see more detail, but it would be premature for us to set out the impacts of…
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Dan Tomlinson
It is so wonderful to see so many Members on the Opposition Benches wishing to intervene. They were much less forthcoming in my previous closing remarks. I have given way to one Conservative, so I will give way to a Liberal Democrat.
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Dan Tomlinson
That information will be forthcoming in due course. In conclusion, I hope that Members will see how the amendments that have been tabled are not necessary. We have set out the impact of our tax changes in numerous tax impact and information notes, which Members can read online at their leisure. This Government and I wi…
Clause 62 - Agricultural property relief and business property relief etc12 Jan 2026
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Dan Tomlinson
As we come to the final group in today’s Committee stage on the Bill, I am pleased to open this important debate on clause 62, schedule 12 and the many associated amendments. As reiterated throughout the day, the Bill delivers on the choices made at this Government’s two Budgets. It delivers fair and necessary reforms… that strengthen the foundations of our economy and provide a secure future for our country. The choice at those two Budgets was austerity and decline or investment and renewal, and on both occasions the Labour Government rejected austerity and chose renewal. Clause 62, schedule 12 and Government amendments 24 to 29 make changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief in order to target them more fairly, contribute to the sustainability of public finances and fund public services. Under the current system, the 100% relief on business and agricultural assets is heavily skewed towards the wealthiest estates. According to HMRC data for 2021-22, 40% of agricultural property relief across the UK was claimed by just 7% of the estates making claims. That is £219 million in tax relieved from just 117 of the largest estates in the country, and it is a similar picture for business property relief: more than 50% of BPR was claimed by just 4% of the estates making claims. That is a striking £558 million in tax relieved from just 158 estates. That contributes to the very largest estates paying lower average effective inheritance tax rates than the smaller estates, and significantly lower average effective inheritance tax rates than most people who end up paying IHT will pay. That is the status quo that those seeking to reverse the Government’s reforms in full wish to perpetuate. It is not sustainable and, in the Government’s view, it is certainly not fair to maintain such a large tax break for such a small number of claimants, especially in the context of the wider pressures on the public finances and public services.
Hansard · 12 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
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Judith Cummins
With this it will be convenient to consider the following: Amendment 42, in schedule 12, page 443, line 13, leave out from “and” to end of line 16 and insert— “(c) either— (i) is attributable to property that has been owned by the transferor for at least 10 years as part of a business that is actively operated by the t…
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Julie Minns
I very much welcome the fact that, from next year, an estimated 85% of farms will pay no more inheritance tax on their farming and business assets. I agree with the Minister that it is a proportionate measure that aims to prevent the wealthy from abusing APR, and I know that he is mindful of the profitability of our sm…
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Jamie Stone
I thank the Minister for giving way; he is very courteous. As Members will understand, I represent a very remote constituency in the north of Scotland where crofting—very marginal farming and hill farming—is fundamental not just to the economy of the highlands, but to the social structure. The great curse in the past w…
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Harriet Cross
It has been many, many months since the agricultural property relief and business property relief changes were first announced by this Government. In that time, they have had so many representations from farmers, the farming industry, small business groups, family business groups, Members of this House, industry sector…
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Robin Swann
I want to take the Minister back to his earlier commitment on Scotland. Will the Government give the same commitment to farmers in Northern Ireland? We have a very different family farm structure from that in the rest of the United Kingdom, and the engagement of and representations by the Ulster Farmers’ Union and the …
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her continued interest in this area; she is a strong representative for the rural communities that she represents in the north-west of our country. I am sure that colleagues in DEFRA, including the Secretary of State and others, will be working hard to make sure that the funds that this Gover…
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Dan Tomlinson
I thank the hon. Member for raising the crofting sector and the rural communities that he represents. The Government will continue to do all we can to support different types of farmers, and to make sure that we can support tenant farmers too. I thank him for raising that point and for the representation that he provid…
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Dan Tomlinson
Conservative Members keep repeating, “14 months”. I should use that as an opportunity to remind people of the 14 wasted years that their party put farmers and rural communities through; of the trade deals that they implemented, which made life worse for our farmers and farming communities; and of the hundreds of millio…
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Dan Tomlinson
A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of attending a Westminster Hall debate focused on farming and farmers in Northern Ireland. It was a good, productive debate, and I took away many of the points raised. The hon. Member will know that the Government have made a change to increase the threshold.
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Dan Tomlinson
Given that the hon. Member called that debate, I will.
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Dan Tomlinson
I am sure that Environment Ministers will continue to engage with farming unions and farming representatives. Both in the run-up to the Budget and subsequently, Treasury Ministers and those from other Departments have engaged with farmers, and we will continue to do so, to support farmers in a way that the previous Gov…
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Dan Tomlinson
Go on, then. I will give way, but I was trying to make progress so that other Members could speak.
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Dan Tomlinson
The Government do support the farming sector and the farming industry. We will continue to do so through the funds that we will make available via DEFRA—funds that were not fully spent under the previous Government. We have listened to farming communities and business representatives, and raised the threshold from £1 m…
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Dan Tomlinson
There were some forensic questions in that not brief intervention, but of course I appreciate it, and I look forward to trying to go through—[Interruption.] I am trying to answer the questions, okay? [Interruption.] It is a bit difficult when Opposition Front Benchers continue to barrack me while I am trying to answer …
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Dan Tomlinson
This is the normal way that inheritance tax assets are taxed. There is not just APR and BPR, and the changes coming in in April; other assets are passed on through inheritance. We are applying the same treatment here; this is the standard way that inheritance tax is set for various assets. As I was saying, these reform…
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Dan Tomlinson
I extend my thanks to hon. Members for their thoughtful contributions during this session in particular, which I appreciate has been a topic of discussion in public and in this place over a number of months. As I have said, the Government have been listening carefully to feedback from the farming community, family busi…
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Dan Tomlinson
I will come shortly to the questions that the hon. Gentleman asked. The Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Witney (Charlie Maynard) , mentioned the costs of administrating the tax changes. Those costs were published in a tax impact and information note, alongside the changes: £9.2 million is the figure …
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Dan Tomlinson
I am just going to respond to this point. For siblings, and for co-owners who are not spouses but who jointly own a farm—the example raised and that set out on the Government website—it is still the case that each individual has a £2.5 million allowance that they can use. That means that a farm that is jointly owned, e…
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief5 Jan 2026
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for asking this question. I wish a happy new year to her and to all Members of the House. The reforms announced in December go further to protect more farms and businesses while maintaining the core principle that more valuable agricultural and… business assets should not receive unlimited relief. The allowance for the 100% rate of relief for agricultural property relief and business property relief will be increased from £1 million to £2.5 million when it is introduced in April. That means that a couple will now be able to pass on up to £5 million of agricultural or business assets tax-free between them, on top of the existing allowances such as the nil rate band. Taken together with the reform announced at the recent Budget, widows and widowers will benefit from up to £2.5 million of their spouse’s allowance, even if their spouse passed away many years ago. Our changes further reduce the number of estates forecast to pay more inheritance tax, and they further reduce the liability for many of the remaining estates. Compared with Budget 2025, the number of estates claiming APR—including those also claiming BPR—affected by the reforms in the coming tax year is expected to halve, from what would have been 375 estates to just 185 estates. That means that around 85% of estates claiming agricultural property relief in 2026-27 are forecast to pay no more inheritance tax on their estates under the changes. The Government have announced these changes after listening carefully to feedback from the farming community and family businesses, and I am pleased that the National Farmers’ Union and others have welcomed the changes. Even after the reforms, the Government expect to raise around £300 million in 2029-30 from our changes to these tax reliefs. We are making fair and responsible choices to support the farming community, with a record £11.8 billion investment in sustainable farming and food product
Hansard · 5 Jan 2026 · parliament.uk
VA
Victoria Atkins
(Urgent Question): To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if she will make a statement on the changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief.
VA
Victoria Atkins
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for granting this first urgent question of 2026—and what a way to open the new year, with yet another Government U-turn. But where is the Chancellor of the Exchequer? This is her tax and her U-turn, and she should explain why she did not announce this at the Budget. Over the past 14 months, farme…
JD
Jim Dickson
Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for his answer. I was pleased to meet NFU representatives for Dartford and for Kent in late 2024 and January 2025. Following those meetings, I passed on the view to Treasury Ministers that it was right for the Government to close the inheritance tax loophole and s…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.
DC
Daisy Cooper
Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to House staff and all Members in the Chamber. This policy was a disaster from the get-go. It came with no warning, no consultation and no clue. The Liberal Democrats were the first party to point out the damage it would do to family farms. We have repeatedly and clearly highlight…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Government announced the change in December because we had continued to listen to the representatives of family businesses and the farming community. I note that the National Farmers’ Union and others have welcomed the change, which will increase the threshold from £1 million to £2.5 million. I think it is the righ…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Yes, I do believe that we have got the balance right. It is worth noting that the top 4% of claims accounted for over half the Exchequer cost of business property relief and the top 7% of claims accounted for 40% of the Exchequer cost of agricultural property relief. That is hundreds of millions of pounds in tax that w…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am always interested in reading Liberal Democrat amendments, even though none of them will ever get passed in this House—not least on this measure, where we have got to the right position. The changes that will be in the Finance Bill will raise about £300 million. It is a legitimate position for the Liberal Democrats…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for her work on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on this and many other important issues that affect rural communities up and down the country, as well as in her constituency—a fantastic part of the world that I am sure I will be able to visit soon. She is ri…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The figures that the Government have published on this change and at previous Budgets are drawn from actual claims and from engagement with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs on both APR and BPR. That analysis shows that before this change, up to 275 estates a year would have been affected, and that that number is now f…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is right to say that we on this side of the House are the true and better representatives of the rural community. There are over 150 MPs on this side of the House who represent rural or semi-rural constituencies—I believe that there are as many Labour MPs representing rural constituencies as there are MP…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We will be going ahead with the changes that were set out in our manifesto and that have been announced recently. I think that that is the right thing for us to do.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend, too, for her work on the Select Committee, and for representing rural communities, including hers. My understanding is that Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Government are looking at what more we can do to ensure that farmers receive a fair price for th…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Of course, as the tax Minister—that is why I am at the Dispatch Box today, to address a point made earlier—I look continually at what improvements we can make to our tax system to ensure that we continue to support both rural and urban constituencies and communities up and down the country. If there are changes that th…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her contribution, for the experience and expertise that she brings to the House as Chair of the Select Committee, and for the important work that she has done on this and other issues. The changes that we have made to this policy mean that it is now fair and balanced, and protects more farms.…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
If the Government had not made these changes in December, Opposition Members would have been standing here asking us to make those changes. We are coming forward with a revised position—we are increasing the threshold from £1 million to £2.5 million—and Members are criticising us for that change. We think it is the rig…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I wish my hon. Friend’s constituents a happy new year. The Batters review, which was published just a few weeks ago, set out ideas that the Government can take forward to ensure that farming can be profitable and sustainable. I know that Ministers in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and across Gov…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
No, we will not be considering the clawback proposals put forward. Instead, the Government have come forward with the change that was announced in December, which increases the threshold from £1 million to £2.5 million. It is worth remembering that the tax rate paid above the higher threshold is half the rate that anyo…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his question, which has given me a chance to return to a question that the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Epping Forest (Dr Hudson) , asked, but that I did not quite get to—he will have to forgive me. I will put on record for the House that the number of estates claiming only …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Earlier in the year, Members asked us about making these changes, and we have come forward with a revised proposal that includes a higher threshold. That is the right thing to do; it shows that we have listened to representations from the farming and business communities, as my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield Sout…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his invitation. I will pass it on to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and will carefully consider it myself.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Bradshaw last year. The NFU published statements—both at the time of the announcement and around the turn of the year—welcoming the changes that the Government have proposed. The hon. Gentleman asks about manifesto commitments. We were very clear in our manifesto that we would return ec…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for the conversations that I know she has had with Ministers on this and other issues in recent weeks and months. Yes, we will continue to do all we can to support farmers and the farming industry in this country. That is part of why we are working hard on trade deals, to make sure we can improve…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Yes, we did discuss this at Treasury questions and on Second Reading of the Finance Bill, and we will have time to discuss it in the Committee of the whole House next week too—and I can see from the number of Members wishing to speak now that there are many more questions coming so we may have many more hours today, Mr…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for her strong representation of rural constituents and rural communities. She makes a very important point. It is worth noting that this is a tax relief, and the tax relief as it stood before the changes that the Government have come forward with since the 2024 Budget meant …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Government wanted to ensure that the changes that we are legislating for in the Finance Bill in the coming weeks came forward before that Bill was passed. We have continued to listen to farming communities and family businesses. The changes with which we have come forward, including increasing the threshold from £1…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for the strong representation that he has provided for his constituents since he was elected in 2024, and for raising an important issue. I am sure that DEFRA Ministers are alive to that issue and will continue to have conversations with hon. Members.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Government have set the thresholds for tax policies over the period of the OBR’s forecast, and it would not be right for me to comment on the changes that may or may not happen after that. May I say to the right hon. Gentleman that throughout the time that Margaret Thatcher was in power, we did not have a system li…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Yes, I agree with my hon. Friend’s powerful contribution. He made important points about how the trade deals negotiated by the previous Government undermined British farming and that there was no consistency of investment and support for farmers up and down the country. What do rural communities think about that? At th…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Government want to support growth and investment in rural communities. That is why we are putting in £11.8 billion of support over the course of this Parliament and ensuring that we improve our economy and our economic fortunes across the board as a country after the chaos of the last 14 years. We have had six inte…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for inviting me to his constituency last year; I believe it was shortly after I was made a Minister on 1 September . It was a very productive and useful visit, and I thank the farmers and members of the community I met when I went to a lovely café and had some lovely tea and cake with my hon. Fri…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Government have been listening to rural communities, farming representatives and the representatives of family businesses. That is why, after listening, we have come forward with these changes, which we think strike the right balance between the necessary impulse to ensure a fair and sustainable tax system and cont…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his reminder that the previous Government and previous Conservative Prime Ministers were roundly rejected by the country at the last general election. People in rural communities and communities up and down the country voted for change for the better with this Labour Government and for a Gove…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
No, I do not accept that. That is not the answer.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his continued engagement on this and a whole range of issues that affect rural communities in Cornwall—he is a strong advocate for his constituents. As he says, we have now come forward with a change in the APR and BPR thresholds to make sure we can protect those smaller family farms.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Over the course of recent months—since I have been in the Government, from September onwards—Ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and from the Treasury have continued to engage with farming communities and with business communities. As has been raised by some Members today, it is worth …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Yes, I can reassure my hon. Friend that we will continue to listen to, and engage with, the over 150 Labour MPs who represent rural and semi-rural constituencies.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We think that continuing to raise around £300 million from this policy is the right thing to do, so that—alongside the other changes that the Government are making—we can raise revenue in a fair and sustainable way to fund our public services.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
This Government have our farming road map. We have also published the Batters review, and we will be taking forward many of the proposals and the recommendations in it, so that we can continue to support profitability and sustainability for farmers and our farming communities.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We need to continue to do all we can to support British farming so that we can have more British produce on our shelves and so that countries overseas can have more British produce, too. That is why we have been working hard on our trade deals to secure more access for British farmers to markets overseas.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend gives me the chance to quote Michael Gove, who admitted that the previous Government had let down British farmers. He said: “I can confirm I think we negotiated poorly with Australia, and New Zealand, but particularly with Australia in defence of our farmers”. He admits that the last Government made mist…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
As the Minister with responsibility for tax, I am here answering questions about tax, and I am happy to continue to do so. The change that the Government came forward with last month—we will be legislating for it in the Finance Bill—will increase the threshold from £1 million to £2.5 million. We are doing that because …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The previous Government negotiated poorly when it came to trade deals. When the Conservatives negotiate, Britain loses. Labour has negotiated four new significant trade deals that will help to ensure that British businesses—farming businesses and businesses of all sorts—can access more markets, more easily. That is the…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The right hon. Gentleman has mentioned the issue of trail hunting. That was in our manifesto, and it is part of our animal welfare strategy to continue with some important changes there. I think it right for governing parties to make progress on the commitments that they made when they stood before the country.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Batters review focused closely on this, and we will be looking at its proposals and recommendations, and ensuring that we can do all that we can as a Government, within the constraints that we have, to continue to focus on improving farming profitability.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We will continue to listen to rural communities, and to farming communities, to make sure that we can support them as they seek to grow and invest in their businesses in order to improve and support the communities that they are part of. It is because we have been listening to the representatives of farming communities…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for the engagement that we have had on this and other issues that affect his constituency, which I know contains some rural elements. He has raised an important point. We need to continue to work in partnership with farmers, and with their representatives and trade bodies, to make sure that we ca…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We will not be scrapping this tax completely. We have tabled an amendment that the House will have the chance to debate next week in Committee of the whole House on the Finance Bill. We think that the proposals that we plan to implement will raise £300 million in a fair way and protect smaller family farms.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend makes an important point. If someone has agricultural or business assets worth £2.5 million, for example, they will now pay £300,000 less in inheritance tax than they would otherwise have paid; if they are worth £5 million, they will pay £600,000 less than they would have paid before the changes that we …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We will, of course, continue to engage with, listen to and work with farming communities on the policies that we are putting forward. It is interesting to see and hear that there is at least one wealth tax that the Green party does not support.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Having grown up in rural west Oxfordshire, I know the importance of farming and rural communities in the fantastic county of Oxfordshire, which thankfully now does not have a single Conservative MP—long may that continue. It is a very good thing that we have strong Labour representatives in north Oxfordshire who are co…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We will not be going ahead with the hon. Member’s proposal of scrapping this change entirely.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is right that we are putting that amount in over the course of this Parliament to support innovation, agritech and all the things that farming businesses can and should do to invest and grow and to support their communities. That is the right thing to do, and it is turning the page on the chaos and the u…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Yes, the Government will make sure that we do continue to listen.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I cannot update my hon. Friend at this moment, but I would be happy to write to him on that point.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Government decisions are made collectively. Yes, the Government have listened to farming communities and farming businesses, and to representatives of family businesses that would also have been affected by the £1 million BPR threshold, which was the same as the APR threshold.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is right to mention the disastrous trade deals that happened under the previous Government, and I thank him for giving me the chance to mention the trade deals that we have implemented, which seek to support businesses across the country to access more markets. I hope that, with our continued engagement …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I can reassure the hon. Member that I and Ministers will continue to think through the impacts on rural communities—and all communities—when we come forward with changes to tax or other policies. It is because we have done that that we came forward with the change we announced just before Christmas, and we will be maki…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
To those families—people with farms and businesses that would have been affected by the lower threshold, but will now be affected less or not at all by the higher threshold—I would say that we have listened. Over recent months, we have heard the concerns that were raised, and that is why we have raised the threshold fr…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We have listened. We have made sure, after the engagement we have had with farmers across the country, their representatives and the representatives of family businesses, that we have come forward with a policy proposal that we, on the Government Benches, now think is balanced. It raises £300 million from the very larg…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We heard what farmers were saying and that is why we have come forward with the changes we announced last month.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
They can each pass it on up to £2.5 million to whomever they choose to pass it on to. In the inheritance tax system more broadly, it is the case that the various bands and allowances are only fully transferable between spouses, and this is consistent with that policy. But it would be the case that if a farm was owned, …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We are having a discussion today about agricultural property relief and business property relief. I am sure we will have many occasions in the coming weeks and months to continue to discuss the changes that the Government have made on business rates to support businesses through the transition, because of course there …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Because I sign them off, I can tell the hon. Lady that there are many consultations on tax changes that we publish alongside fiscal events. If she wished to engage with the consultation on electric vehicle taxation, she could do so; if she wished to engage with the consultation on the high-value council tax surcharge t…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I have been asked that question already by an Opposition Member, but I am happy to give the right hon. Lady a similar answer. I can say to those families that we listened carefully to the representations that were made about the level of the threshold as it was originally set at the Budget in 2024, and we have now come…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We have come forward with a change to this policy after listening to farmers and farming communities and to the representations that have been made. We think that this is the right change. We will have the chance to debate it again when we consider the Finance (No. 2) Bill in Committee of the whole House next week, whe…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Just to be clear, this policy applies only to the farming or business estates worth more than £2.5 million, or £5 million if owned by a couple. There are still significant incentives to grow and invest in people’s businesses. This tax rate is half the rate for everyone else paying inheritance tax, if they have sufficie…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We think it is right to have the same level across the country. It is the same in other parts of our tax system, and it would not be right to have different tax thresholds for different small parts of the country.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The number of estates that will be affected by this change will fall by half as a result of the changes that the Government announced late last year after listening to representations from various business and farming communities. That means that rather than 375 estates being affected per year, it will now be closer to…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the hon. Member for welcoming the changes that the Government have brought forward. We did continue to engage with representatives from the farming community. I believe that the Prime Minister mentioned being in conversation with Mr Bradshaw from the NFU, and Ministers across Government have of course listened …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I recognise that many estates that would have been affected by the lower threshold, rather than having to pay additional inheritance tax, will now not be paying any inheritance tax at all. We have moved hundreds of estates out of having to pay additional inheritance tax. We have also reduced the tax liabilities for tho…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Finance (No. 2) Bill will be making its way through the House in the coming weeks, and once the Bill is law that change will come forward. If the hon. Gentleman meets his farmers on 7 April this year, the change will already be in place.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We will always fight for the interests of British businesses and British farmers in the deals we strike with countries across the world.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The amendment, which has already been laid before the House, sets out the changes that the Government are making. In the letter that all hon. Members will have received, we set out our estimate that the number of estates we think will be affected will halve, and that about 85% of farming estates claiming APR—sometimes …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
May I thank all hon. Members on both sides of the House for their engagement on this important issue today? We have set the threshold at £2.5 million for a single person and £5 million for a couple as a result of the changes announced at the Budget 2025. We think that threshold is right and fair. It means that the numb…
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill17 Dec 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for bringing the Front Benchers on both sides to heel at just the right time, before I make the closing remarks. It is a pleasure to close this Second Reading debate, and I thank all Members on both sides of the House for their contributions. I thank my hon. Friend… the Member for Dartford (Jim Dickson) for his contribution and his brief foray—and it was brief—into broader points around the Budget, which I did appreciate. I will try to minimise doing so in my remarks. The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for North Bedfordshire (Richard Fuller) , raised a few points. While he is whispering over there, I will confirm to him that the costing provided by the OBR accounts for the dynamic effects of this policy. The costing itself has been certified by the OBR. The reason why the change does not come in for a number of years is because it will give businesses time to plan, which we think is an important thing to do when we are making significant changes to the pension system. This is an important Bill, if small. This is an important debate to have, although it has felt somewhat rushed given that it has come after the many final-week statements and urgent questions today. But that has given me a bit more time to prepare some remarks, which I have hastily cut down from the 30 minutes I was planning; we will see whether we can make faster progress than that for the sake of all concerned. In my extra time this afternoon, I thought I would attempt to shoehorn a Christmas theme into my closing remarks, given that this will be the last time the House divides before Christmas. Very briefly, I present “The Twelve Numbers of Christmas: the Salary Sacrifice Edition”. I start with 12 words from Baron Hammond of Runnymede on how some employees are, in his words, “able to sacrifice salary…and pay much lower tax….That is unfair”.—[Official Report, 23 November 2016 ; Vol. 617, c. 907.] The Whips can count, and I can see that they have counted that as 12 wo
Hansard · 17 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
TB
Torsten Bell
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. This is a short and simple Bill. It is a stocking filler to yesterday’s Finance Bill. [Interruption.] There are just three clauses for the chuntering Opposition Members to enjoy. They focus on amending the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, and t…
JS
Jim Shannon
My intervention will be very brief. The Federation of Small Businesses in Northern Ireland has told me of its concerns about national insurance contributions, but it has also told me that utility prices are up by 52.7%, labour costs by 51.5%, and taxes by 47.2%. I ask the Minister respectfully how he and the Government…
TB
Torsten Bell
I will come to the exact point that the hon. Gentleman raises. The main answer to his question is that we are introducing this change with a very long implementation period—it will not come in until 2029—in order to give businesses and others time to adjust. Businesses have welcomed that across the board, but I will co…
JN
James Naish
I understand the justification for making changes to the salary sacrifice arrangements. The Minister mentions higher earners. Can he explain a bit more about the breakdown of those who are benefiting under the current system as a percentage of the whole? I do not know whether he has that data with him.
TB
Torsten Bell
I will come on to some statistics that might answer my hon. Friend’s question. While those on the highest salaries are most likely to take part in salary sacrifice, others are completely excluded. This goes to the question from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) .
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I happily give way to my hon. Friend.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Some 4.4 million of the self-employed are also not able to save into salary sacrifice schemes; it is right that we make the scheme fairer for all. Let me continue to run through my numbers. Some 10 million people have signed up to a pension since auto-enrolment, which has limited the need for salary sacrifice. There ar…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We should make progress. I step back for my final three numbers. Let me briefly set out how some of the long-term decisions the Government are taking are paying off. Figures today show that inflation has fallen to nearly 3%, with wages up more under this Government than in the first decade under the Conservatives. In t…
Finance (No. 2) Bill16 Dec 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. On 26 November , my right hon. Friend the Chancellor delivered her second Budget at this Dispatch Box. This was a Budget to build strong foundations and a secure future for our country, with no cuts to capital spending—which I am sure… would have been implemented by the Conservatives, if they were in this financial situation—and no return to austerity, including for public services. This is a Budget about Labour choices.
Hansard · 16 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
CN
Caroline Nokes
The reasoned amendment in the name of the Leader of the Opposition has been selected.
GS
Graham Stuart
The Minister says that there will be no cut to capital budgets, but of course he is talking only about the public sector. Has he seen the CBI Economics research that suggests that there will be severe capital budget reductions in the private sector—the very sector that creates the wealth on which everything else depend…
CL
Carla Lockhart
The Government have chosen to absolutely decimate family farms across the whole United Kingdom. The Prime Minister was questioned yesterday by members of the Liaison Committee, and he was told that farmers have said that they might be better off dying before this tax change comes in. I feel that we need to let the real…
CN
Caroline Nokes
Order. The hon. Lady’s intervention is far too long.
DD
Dave Doogan
The Minister will know that for the vast majority of employees in Scotland, the increase in the national living wage is redundant, because it is less than the Scottish living wage. He talks about the things that the Government increased in the Budget; was it their intention to increase unemployment by 25% as a result o…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will have read the Office for Budget Responsibility’s report—we had a bit of extra time to read it this year. He will know that according to that report, investment—both overall, whole-economy investment and private sector investment—has outpaced the OBR’s forecast from March thi…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I look forward to contributions from Members on both sides of the House on the various measures in the Finance Bill. On the point that the hon. Member raises, this Government considered really carefully the reforms that were announced at the Budget last year, and have put forward change…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I happily give way—I look forward to it.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
This Budget will lift thousands of children in Scotland out of poverty, because of decisions that we have made. This Government have made £10 billion more spending available to the Scottish Government, yet we still see public services failing up and down Scotland; the NHS is not working as well as it should north of th…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention—the first from a Labour Member. I look forward to many more from Labour hon. Friends, as well as Opposition Members. This Government have also chosen to cut Government borrowing every year, so that interest rates, already cut five times since the election, keep falling.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I give way to my constituency neighbour.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The OBR was aware of the tax changes announced in the previous Budget when it made its forecast just a few weeks ago. It expects that employment will rise in every year of this forecast; that every year, the figure will be higher than it was in March; and that there will be over 35 million people in work by the end of …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The hon. Member said that he is not sure whether I believe what I am reading. I did write this myself, and I do very much believe it. We will have plenty of time to debate the business rates measures when we consider the relevant pieces of legislation and in Committee, I am sure. They are not specifically in the Financ…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I, too, welcome that change in the Budget, and I commend my colleague the Economic Secretary to the Treasury for the work she has been doing on that—I am sure we will hear more about it in her closing remarks.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I will give way, and then I will try to make some progress, so that other Members can get in.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the right hon. Member for his point. We do want to see farming businesses in rural communities and businesses up and down the country investing and growing for the future. On the changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief, it is worth noting that the statistics suggest that up to 375 e…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
If I may, I will try to make some progress so that other hon. Members are able to contribute. This Government are delivering growth and are focused on driving investment in our economy. As I said earlier, whole-economy investment has risen by 4.2% in real terms since the start of the year, outperforming the OBR’s March…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I give way to the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) , who was the first to catch my eye on that occasion.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Our proposals on APR and BPR mean that those with business or agricultural assets will have both the additional £1 million allowance and a tax rate that is half the rate that others within the system pay. My understanding is that the system will be more generous than the one in place before 1992, throughout the whole t…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I will give way—persistence pays.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am happy to discuss those numbers with the right hon. Member in more detail, either afterwards or I can come in and discuss those points with him, although I did not quite follow all of the maths—[Interruption.] I thank Members on the Conservative Front Bench for their intervention about that. Increasing taxes on onl…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is a strong advocate for his constituents and the businesses based in his part of the world. Those businesses contribute significant revenue to the Exchequer, and this Government are asking them to contribute a bit more in order for us to be able to continue to fund our public services in a sustainable w…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
That is very kind of my hon. Friend. I know that he and others on all sides of the House have made representations over many years on behalf of their constituents affected by the loan charge. I have met some of those affected and members of the all-party parliamentary group. In the months that I have been in this role,…
Conduct of the Chancellor of the Exchequer10 Dec 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ealing North (James Murray) , for his earlier remarks, which framed today’s debate rather well. As he set out, we have here an Opposition day debate, a chance for Members to really interrogate Government policy, to challenge our decisions, to… say what they would do differently and to paint a picture of the kind of country that they would build if they were in charge. Oh, what a sight it would be! In short, an Opposition day debate is a chance to be a serious Opposition, but as my right hon. Friend set out in his opening remarks, they have not chosen to do that, instead preferring to rehash their already discredited complaints about process, which we have already addressed extensively, rather than talk about the Budget.
Hansard · 10 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
CN
Caroline Nokes
Before I call the shadow Chancellor to move the motion, I remind Members that, as “Erskine May” says: “Good temper and moderation are the characteristics of parliamentary language. Parliamentary language is never more desirable than when a Member is canvassing the opinions and conduct of their opponents in debate.” The…
MS
Mel Stride
I beg to move, That this House calls on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to apologise for misleading the country about the state of the public finances, rolling the pitch for raising taxes, breaking her promises and increasing welfare spending, including her claim on 4 November 2025 that the OBR would be downgrading the…
CN
Caroline Nokes
Order. We do not refer to Members by name.
MS
Mel Stride
You are quite right, Madam Deputy Speaker; I meant to say the right hon. Member for Islington North and Liz Truss. The Chancellor is not so much the wilting lettuce as a complete liability. How could this possibly have occurred? We have a Government who came to power with one of the largest majorities in the history of…
GS
Gareth Snell
I congratulate the shadow Chancellor on finally working out what apologies are; I know he is demanding them from this side of the House. Before he carries on, will he apologise for the 15% spike in interest rates under Liz Truss, the thousands of pounds that were put on mortgages under Liz Truss, the billions that were…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am going to make some progress, if that is okay, because my hon. Friend will know that many other Members have not yet spoken and I might give way to them later. It is worth recounting just how many times Conservative Members have chosen in the last few days to major on process rather than policy. They are very inter…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I agree with my hon. Friend, who is a strong advocate of ensuring that we do all we can to support people, lift people out of poverty, and grow our economy and our towns and cities across the country. By contrast, the Opposition are stuck in the past, playing the songs of old again and hoping for a new audience. After …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Indeed; I heard the point of order loud and clear. It is worth remembering that this is an Opposition day debate—I think it is within the remit to talk about the Opposition and the fact that they have lost all their players to the other team. I also think it is time to move on from talking about process, because on thi…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I agree entirely with my hon. Friend. Too many Conservative Members defended the mini-Budget, which crashed the economy and added thousands of pounds to mortgages. In contrast, since this Government have come to power, the Bank of England has cut interest rates five times, taking £1,200 off a typical two-year fixed rat…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
What the Treasury does accept is that at this Budget, the Government had to make the decisions to ensure that we could increase our fiscal stability and get borrowing falling in every single year. The previous Government were not able to control our public finances, and yet in every year of this forecast, borrowing wil…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I agree that the Opposition are incredibly damaging for the economy. The clean-up operation of the disaster zone that was the last 14 years is well and truly under way. Our economic plan is working, with growth up, employment up, interest rates down and borrowing falling, with a Labour Budget focused on the British peo…
Income Tax and National Insurance Threshold Freeze9 Dec 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Chancellor was clear at the Budget that we are taking the fair and necessary decisions on tax to do all we can to ensure that the contribution of working people is kept as low as possible. We have reduced the gap between taxes on income from assets and on income from work, stopped the… unfairness that meant people could pay less council tax for a £10 million property than for a typical terraced house in much of England, and done much more.
Hansard · 9 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
JL
John Lamont
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of extending the freeze on income tax thresholds on working people.
AF
Ashley Fox
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of extending freezes on income tax and national insurance thresholds on working people.
JL
John Lamont
There seems to be only one word that the Chancellor understands: tax. Her decision to continue the freeze on income tax thresholds is a hammer blow to working people. In fact, even one of the Chancellor’s favourite unions, Unison, has said: “Freezing personal income tax thresholds disproportionately impacts lower and m…
AF
Ashley Fox
Extending the freeze on income tax thresholds will cost working families £900 a year. It will also drag many pensioners into paying income tax for the first time. Why is the Minister hitting these low-income families to pay more for welfare?
MR
Martin Rhodes
What assessment has the Minister made of the impact on working people of the historic increase in the living wage?
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am a bit confused by that question. The hon. Member said there was one word that was important. Let me give him one figure: £150. That is the amount we are taking off energy bills next year to help people to deal with the cost of living in the here and now. We are supporting people because of the mistakes that previo…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I suggest the hon. Member asks his Front Benchers why 75% of the impact of people paying more tax at the lower end is the result of decisions made by the previous Government, who spent seven years freezing income tax thresholds. It is a bit rich for the Conservatives to talk about this Government doing it for three yea…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We have chosen to uplift the national living wage and the national minimum wage so that those on low incomes are properly rewarded for their hard work. It will benefit 2.7 million people, including many people in my hon. Friend’s constituency and across the whole country. I thank him and Members—particularly those on t…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Conservative spokesperson talks about fairness. Let me just identify one element of unfairness he left in the tax system that this Government is correcting, and it is a popular measure when we look at the views of the public up and down the country. We on this side of the House do not think it is fair that someone …
Hospitality Sector and SMEs9 Dec 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Small and medium-sized businesses are vital to our economy and our communities, and the Government’s small business strategy, published in July this year, sets out our approach to supporting them. As temporary pandemic business rates relief ends and the new revaluation comes into effect, we are supporting the high street with £4 billion-worth of support… through transitional relief and our supporting small business schemes, as well as through our long-term reforms to permanently lower the multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties, and support them with a significant package that will cap most of the increases this year for those who have seen large increases since the pandemic.
Hansard · 9 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
JS
Julian Smith
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to business rates on the hospitality sector.
WH
Wera Hobhouse
What steps she is taking through the tax system to help reduce costs for small and medium-sized businesses.
JS
Julian Smith
Last week, Skipton was voted the happiest town in Britain to live in. One of the reasons for that—[Hon. Members: “Is you!”]—is its hospitality sector. Through covid, energy cost rises, national insurance rises and other challenges, that hospitality sector is facing massive challenges. I urge the Government to look agai…
WH
Wera Hobhouse
May I give the Minister another example in which the numbers simply do not stack up? Mr B’s independent bookshop in Bath will see its business rates bill rise by more than 70% after factoring in changes to rateable value. The changes were packaged as a move away from short-term fixes, yet vital discounts have been scra…
CL
Clive Lewis
In Norwich there is a saying: there is a church for every Sunday and a pub for every day of the week. After 14 years of austerity, the numbers are a lot lower. After this Budget, many pub landlords—small and medium-sized businesses—tell me that we are not going far enough, and that many of them will go under. They need…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
If I had a such a charming Member of Parliament, I would also be as happy as his constituents in Skipton. I thank him for his question. We considered the support really carefully in advance of the Budget decisions announced last month. There is a challenge in that the revaluation, which was instigated by the previous G…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
It is important that we all communicate to the small businesses in our constituencies, as I was doing this weekend, that there is a difference when it comes to the increase in the rateable value. It may be that the business to which the hon. Lady refers—I like good small independent bookshops myself—has seen a large in…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
One of the things we announced at the Budget is a rebalancing in the system away from properties that have large rateable values and towards the small businesses on our high streets. That shift from the large to the smaller properties is worth almost £1 billion and supports them in the business rates system, as part of…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am sure that many of us do jump on the train to support our hospitality businesses. The consultation that my hon. Friend mentions, which we published on the day of the Budget, is an important piece of work. Chapter 4 of our call for evidence on how we can reform business rates to support investment will be important.…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The multipliers are a product of the change in the valuation, and they did come down. We brought them down even further for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses. Without intervention this year, the bills paid by pubs would have increased by 45% as a result of the increase in value since the pandemic; because of t…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We have set out our plans to reduce the multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, which is a rebalancing in the system. It means that those businesses—particularly the smallest RHL properties—face the lowest tax rate in the system since 1991. At the same time, there is—[Interruption.] The hon. Lady sh…
Topical Questions9 Dec 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Let us be clear: nobody’s business rate bills are trebling. If businesses come to talk to us about increases in their rateable values because of the unwinding of the effect of the pandemic, it is important that all of us, on both sides of the House, are clear that the Government have put in support… to ensure that pubs and those that have seen their values go up will not see increases next year. If the pubs rateable value is more than £100,000, they will be capped at a 30% increase. If it is less, they will be capped at 15% or £800. That is £4 billion of support that this Government are providing.
Hansard · 9 Dec 2025 · parliament.uk
LB
Lorraine Beavers
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
RR
Rachel Reeves
Covid fraud and error under the previous Government’s mismanagement cost the taxpayer £10.9 billion. They played fast and loose with the public purse and left the front doors wide open to fraud. That is why I have appointed a covid corruption commissioner to carry out the independent review. This Government are doing e…
LB
Lorraine Beavers
The British people are paying the bill for criminal covid fraud. Under the Conservatives, waste and corruption exploded and taxpayers’ money was stolen. Will the Chancellor make sure that the Labour Government continue to go after those who stole from the British taxpayer and make sure that we get every penny back?
RR
Rachel Reeves
I could not agree more. The previous Government failed to protect public money, while this Government have generated around £400 million by getting money back. We all know what happened: the Tories dished out contracts to their friends and donors—money that never belonged to them. This Government will leave no stone un…
MS
Mel Stride
The process surrounding the Budget was utterly chaotic. We had months of damaging speculation, fuelled by briefings and leaks from the Treasury itself. They included briefings on 14 November that moved markets and gave the appearance, at least, of being deliberately inaccurate, which is why we need the Financial Conduc…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
At the Budget, we came forward with a revision to the policy to support people whose spouses have already passed away, and we made the allowance transferable between the spouses. That change will reduce the number of farms affected by the agricultural property relief changes from about 500—as was estimated at the previ…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I will stop there, Mr Speaker.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her question and her continued campaigning on this issue, which I know is important to her constituents. On those who seek to bend the rules, companies like Airbnb now send data to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs on all their hosts, and where hosts fail to provide the detail that HMRC requi…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Members on the Treasury Bench are fully aware of the fact that changes to inheritance tax have an effect on those who are older. In the changes to both agricultural and business property relief that we have put forward, we have ensured that there is a higher allowance, with an extra £1 million, and a tax rate that is h…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am happy to speak to my hon. Friend about the issues that she raises in her constituency.
Taxes12 Nov 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank all right hon. and hon. Members for their contributions today, as well as my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury for his opening remarks, and the hon. Member for Grantham and Bourne (Gareth Davies) for summing up for the Opposition. He was Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury for a time… under the last Government, and he will know just how busy the period two weeks before a Budget can be for a junior Minister in His Majesty’s Treasury. I imagine that when he was in my position, 14 days out from a Budget or autumn statement, with officials rushing in and out of his office with advice on various measures, and a day full of meetings trying to get the details right, there was nothing more he would have wanted in the world than be called to the House for an Opposition day debate. I thank him and the shadow Chancellor for calling this debate at such a crucial time in the Budget-setting process. I expect some interventions during my remarks over the next 10 to 15 minutes, and I encourage Members across the House to play what I will call Treasury Minister bingo. If I am asked questions about the upcoming Budget, I intend to respond with, “The Chancellor will make all decisions on tax and spend at the Budget, and I will not comment on speculation.” We can see how many interventions we get, and how many times we get to play Treasury Minister bingo. That is just to forewarn those who, like me, perhaps enjoy a game of bingo—
Hansard · 12 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
JC
Judith Cummins
I inform the House that Mr Speaker has not selected either of the amendments tabled. I call the shadow Chancellor.
MS
Mel Stride
I beg to move, That this House calls on the Government to control public expenditure in order to keep the promise made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the Confederation of British Industry conference on 25 November 2024 that, after the last Budget, the Government would not raise taxes; and further calls on the Go…
DS
Desmond Swayne
No, it was definitely the Korean war!
MS
Mel Stride
It was the Korean war—my right hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is the Chancellor’s choices that have led to this situation. She was the person who chose to put up taxes on jobs, which has led to growth being anaemic. We know that taxes such as national insurance feed through to lower investment, higher inflation, h…
EL
Edward Leigh
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the real downfall of the Government dates from when they did not face down their own Back Benchers and deal with the rocketing benefits bill? Frankly, the country is going broke and the Government must have the courage to deal with millions of people who are not contributing to soci…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We already have an intervention, so here we go.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. The Chancellor will make all decisions on tax and spend at the Budget, and I will not be commenting on speculation. I have said that is what I will say if people continue to intervene. We are two weeks out from a Budget, and I will not be commenting on speculation from the …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
If the hon. Gentleman wants to ask questions about the manifesto, I am glad that he is interested in the change that this Government are bringing through their manifesto. We have invested in our NHS and introduced new taxes on non-doms. We have introduced free breakfast clubs, and invested in HMRC to reduce tax avoidan…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Let me make a bit of progress if I may—I will happily take a further intervention in good time. It is a sorry fact, but it is true that Conservative Members squandered their time in power, just as they squandered much taxpayer money. After 14 years of failure they left people paying more for less, and enforced a policy…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his comments and for his years of work and experience supporting public sector workers and our proud trade unionists. Conservative Members have mentioned the statistics that have been published of late. There is much that we need to do to ensure that the investment that we make in the NHS com…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
In the end, in order to sort out the strikes we needed to give public sector workers a fair deal. The situation that they were left in was not fair, with their wages going up significantly less than prices over the 14 years that the Conservatives were in power. The Health Secretary has been clear about not wanting to g…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Let me make a bit more progress—I am only on page 2 of a six page speech—[Interruption.] I am taking many interventions, but I will take fewer. The previous Government saddled us with much debt, as we have talked about, with £1 in every £10 of public money going towards debt interest payments, perpetuating a stop-start…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I was glad to attend the hon. Member’s Westminster Hall debate last night on wine producers across the UK. I am impressed by his close reading of all the words of members of the Cabinet; I hope one day to be as diligent as him in following the utterances of the Chancellor, the Prime Minister and all Ministers. When it …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I will happily give way—it might be the final time I do so.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
One of the things that has changed is that Conservative Members seem to have found £47 billion down the back of the sofa and are coming forward with plans that are not deliverable, just like they did when they were in government. They have done the job of a losing Opposition—we have been there in the past—whereby numbe…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
And the Conservatives have the gall to lecture us about managing the public finances well. They say that they want to cut civil service numbers. Between 2016 and when the Conservatives left office, there were 130,000 more civil servants. The former Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip and former Prime Minister said th…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Hon. Members want more! Okay. If this debate has taught us anything, it is simply this: not only do the Conservatives need to stay in opposition for longer, but I am sure that they will do so. So far, they have learned nothing from their time on the Government Benches. There is no humility for their mini-Budget, no pla…
Agricultural and Business Property Relief: Impact on Farmers4 Nov 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Ministers from Government Departments have met organisations including the National Farmers’ Union, the Tenant Farmers Association, the Country Land and Business Association, the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers, the Ulster Farmers’ Union, and the NFU in Scotland and Wales. I also met farmers in the north-east of England only last month. After listening and considering… the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation report, the Government believe that the approach we have set out is an appropriate one.
Hansard · 4 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
DS
David Smith
What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by CenTax entitled, “The Impact of Changes to Inheritance Tax on Farm Estates” published on 14 August 2025.
SD
Sarah Dyke
If she will hold discussions with farming representatives on the potential impact of changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief on farmers.
BM
Ben Maguire
If she will hold discussions with farming representatives on the potential impact of changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief on farmers.
DS
David Smith
I am proud to support a Government who believe in progressive taxation, as I am sure the Minister does—that those with the broadest shoulders should bear the greatest burden. Under the CenTax minimum share rule proposal, farm estates where at least 60% of the estate is used for farming would receive relief of up to £5 …
SD
Sarah Dyke
A Liberal Democrat freedom of information request revealed that the Treasury recently had plans to review the family farm tax. Farmers across the country are fed up with bickering and infighting from a Government who just do not understand them, but there is still time to act and end months of confusion and misery. Wil…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for his question—he is a strong advocate in this place for his constituency and for farming communities. Just last week, he made the point to me that our farmers and farming communities are crucial to economic and social and cultural life. Along with other Labour colleagues from rural constituenc…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Just a few weeks ago, I met farmers to discuss this and other important issues. The Government believe that even though this tax is a difficult change—I do not shy away from that fact—it is the right change to make, because it is a method of raising revenue in a fair way that helps contribute to restoring the public fi…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I would be happy to meet the hon. Member and Members from across Cornwall to discuss the issues raised in the letter to the Chancellor.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and for her time last week—it was good to meet her to talk about important issues affecting farmers and rural communities. On balance, the Government believe that the policy position that was set out at last year’s Budget is the right one, and we will be continuing with it.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Government have assessed the impact of this policy. According to the estimates that we issued at the time of last year’s Budget, about 500 farms would pay additional tax as a result of the changes; those numbers were contested by all Opposition Members, but the CenTax report—which the hon. Member has said that he a…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I have already answered the question about the CenTax proposals, but it is clear from its analysis that the number of estates that would pay more inheritance tax would be more than double the number contained in the proposals that the Government have put on the table. I understand that changes in inheritance tax are al…
HMRC Customer Service4 Nov 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
HMRC is committed to improving day-to-day performance and the customer experience. Call waiting times in the first quarter of this year were half as long as in the same period last year, which is good news for customers. At the 2025 spending review, the Government allocated £500 million to make HMRC a digital-first organisation, and… that transformation is well under way.
Hansard · 4 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
SD
Shaun Davies
What steps she is taking to improve customer service by HMRC.
SD
Shaun Davies
I welcome the Government’s £20 million investment in relocating and upgrading Telford’s HMRC office, with 1,000 members of staff working hard to deliver the best service possible. Will the Minister meet me and Telford and Wrekin council to discuss how the new HMRC campus can be at the forefront of improving the custome…
EM
Esther McVey
The Chancellor has justified her lack of a licence for renting out her house as an “inadvertent error”, but HMRC is never prepared to accept that people make inadvertent errors. Will this now change, or does the Chancellor expect to be treated differently from everyone else who makes an inadvertent error?
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the Chair of the Treasury Committee.
MH
Meg Hillier
The Treasury Committee looks at HMRC’s customer service. We have recently seen people having their child benefit stopped, ostensibly on the basis of travel data. Could the Minister explain what he is doing to resolve this issue and what data HMRC based its information on?
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is a very strong advocate for Telford, both for jobs in the private sector and for those in the public sector that we are able to support in his community. I am glad to hear that he, like me, is proud of HMRC’s Telford campus and wants to see it play a key role in improving customer experience through in…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am not sure that the matter that the right hon. Member just raised has much to do with HMRC.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for her service on the Treasury Committee; she is doing a sterling job as its Chair. This is a really important issue. Last year HMRC undertook a pilot to try to find a way to reduce fraud in the child benefit system. That measure is expected to save £350 million over the next five years, and we …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the hon. Member for raising her constituent’s issue, and I would be happy for her to write to the Department about it. Even though it is not appropriate for me to get involved in an individual taxpayer’s affairs, I hope the Department can improve on that service. We have improved the response rates for both peo…
Scotch Whisky Industry4 Nov 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Government value our world-leading distilling industry and recognise that the spirits sector has found recent economic conditions challenging because of both tariff uncertainty and high energy costs. The Scotch industry is set to be among the biggest beneficiaries from the landmark trade deal that this Government secured with India, which is set to reduce… tariffs from 150% to 75% initially, and then to 40% over time.
Hansard · 4 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
MB
Maureen Burke
What fiscal steps she is taking to help support the Scotch whisky industry.
MB
Maureen Burke
Scotch whisky is one of Scotland’s greatest products, with high demand at home and across the globe, but many are worried about the challenges facing the industry. The Scotch Whisky Association is calling for a multi-year freeze on excise duty for spirits to relieve some of those pressures and to back the wider hospita…
DD
Dave Doogan
The Scottish Secretary—a grown man who seems easy to upset—was very upset recently when the First Minister of Scotland had direct meetings with the President of the United States over whisky tariffs. The SNP and the First Minister will always stand up for Scotch whisky. Will the Chancellor follow suit, or will she cont…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is a strong advocate for the businesses and industry in her constituency and in the areas nearby. As she is aware, the vast majority of Scotch is exported, so it is not subject to UK excise taxes. Nevertheless, the Government appreciate the importance of the domestic market to Scotch producers, and I do …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the hon. Member for his question, and I remind him of the landmark trade deal that this Government secured with India. He criticises the Government for not doing enough, but we have secured a trade deal with India, the EU and the US. We are also reducing tariffs to support industry and investing in Scotland wit…
Remote Betting and Gaming Duty: Horseracing4 Nov 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We consulted on measures to simplify gambling duty and improve compliance. The responses from the consultation have now been analysed, and a response will be set out at the autumn Budget. We recognise the social and cultural value of horseracing, which is why we are listening to the horseracing sector as we consider our response… to the consultation.
Hansard · 4 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
SJ
Sally Jameson
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of implementing a flat rate of remote betting and gaming duty on the horseracing industry.
SJ
Sally Jameson
In Doncaster we have historic links to the horseracing industry, and we know at first hand the economic value it brings to our community and the country. Will the Minister agree to meet the British Horseracing Authority to discuss the potential impact on harmonisation and the impact that an increase in betting duties w…
JR
Jack Rankin
Both Ascot and Royal Windsor racecourses are incredibly important to my constituency. I have visited both, and I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. On this issue, I urge the Minister to heed warnings from across the House and, more importantly, the industry. I cautiously welcom…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is a strong advocate for the horseracing industry and the jobs and economic activity in her constituency. I was glad to meet her just last week to discuss the topic she raises. As part of the consultation, there has been engagement with the horseracing industry to identify any potential unintended conseq…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Decisions on tax policy will be made at the Budget.
Topical Questions4 Nov 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The House will be aware that the 5p cut to fuel duty is set to expire in March 2026, and as with other tax policies, the Chancellor will make a final decision on fuel duty rates at the Budget in the context of the public finances.
Hansard · 4 Nov 2025 · parliament.uk
SO
Simon Opher
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
RR
Rachel Reeves
May I first pay tribute to all those who responded to Saturday’s horrendous attack: the quick-thinking driver, the emergency services, and the heroic LNER staff member Samir Zitouni who bravely saved the lives of passengers? The Government were elected to break a cycle of decline. We have returned the public finances t…
SO
Simon Opher
I am proud that the Government have invested £250 million in putting solar panels on schools and hospitals. In Stroud, we have a programme whereby, through community energy funding, we will put solar panels on every school in the area. I was going to ask the Chancellor about Treasury rules that were blocking that, but …
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. We are on topicals, so I need speedy questions.
RR
Rachel Reeves
It was good to see my hon. Friend and the engineering company Redler in Downing Street yesterday. On the issue about schools, as I said in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Sarah Russell) , the scheme is now reopened. I have not had a look at the schools mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Strou…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Under the last Government, time and again, council tax went up and up and the funding for local councils went down and down. We have left councils on their knees, struggling when it comes to special educational needs, temporary accommodation and funding for homelessness and adult social care. This Government will make …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. The Government are fully committed to doing all they can to supporting the UK car industry to grow, invest and provide employment in constituencies such as his and in other important sites across the country. Specifically on the employee car ownership scheme, we should be …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We will be introducing permanently lower rates for those businesses in the Budget.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
In the end, when it comes to property taxation, we have to make sure that we have a fair and sustainable system that brings in revenues from a range of sources. Scrapping individual taxes without any realistic and plausible plan to fund them is the road to economic ruin in this country. We have seen what happened in th…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
At the Budget we will set out clearly our proposals for the future of the energy profits levy and the oil and gas mechanism. We will ensure that we can provide the certainty to business on the future regime as soon as we can.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We will set out the changes that we will make to business rates at the Budget.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
All decisions relating to tax will be made at the Budget in late November.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
One important thing about the business rate reforms that the Government will undertake is that we support small businesses in growing and investing. They are the backbone of our communities and our country. The reforms that we will set out at the Budget—and on which we will continue to have conversations with Members a…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
As I said earlier, the proposals made by CenTax and others in relation to agricultural property relief would result in twice as many farms paying more tax as are planned to do under the Government’s proposals. We think our proposals are right and fair.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
It is important to realise that changes to taxation, if they are unfunded, will mean additional borrowing. This Government will ensure that we do not return to austerity, as the Conservatives did, but nor will we return to additional borrowing, which causes interest rates to rise, causes the cost of mortgages for famil…
Energy Profits Levy: North-east Scotland14 Oct 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Let me first congratulate the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan (Harriet Cross) on securing this debate. I thank Members from all parts of the House for their contributions so far; I am sure there will be more interventions in the coming 15 minutes. I say to the hon. Member that it is clear how… strongly and firmly she seeks to represent her constituents and those of her neighbour, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie) , as a resident in north-east Scotland. That comes across clearly in the House. The UK oil and gas industry plays a significant role in our country, just as it has for more than half a century. Alongside its contribution to our energy supply, it has provided more than £400 billion in production taxes since the late 1960s and created thousands of jobs in the hon. Lady’s constituency and in many constituencies in that part of Scotland and across the country. As we head towards a net zero future, the industry and the region will continue to play a vital role in the energy transition, with which I know the sector is keenly engaged. Between 2018 and 2024, the sector has acted to reduce its emissions by 34%, and we are seeing oil and gas companies make record investments in carbon capture, usage and storage on land and in offshore wind at sea. I agree with the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan that it is not an either/or; we must have a managed transition in which we do all that we can to protect jobs and industry, and to grow new jobs and industry too. We are all pulling in the same direction; Government and industry are committed to a fair, orderly and prosperous transition for the region, and I am grateful for the opportunity to speak about that today. The aim of our tax regime for the exploration and production of oil and gas in the North sea is to support investment in this vital resource, while ensuring that the country obtains a fair return in exchange for the use of an important national asset. I am sure the hon. Member
Hansard · 14 Oct 2025 · parliament.uk
HC
Harriet Cross
I secured this debate because what is happening in north-east Scotland simply cannot go on. Hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs are being lost on a regular basis across our region from the world-class energy sector that we are so proud of, not least because of the energy profits levy. These are geologists, engineers, t…
NG
Nusrat Ghani
Mr Shannon on the north-east of Scotland.
JS
Jim Shannon
Madam Deputy Speaker, I spoke to the hon. Lady beforehand to ensure that I was here to support her in what she is trying to achieve in north-east Scotland. It is very important that we add our support to her. Does the hon. Lady agree that while investment in tidal energy has not produced the desired result of sustainab…
HC
Harriet Cross
I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman. I will come on to talk about the drain of investment and other things from north-east Scotland because of the levy. It feels as if it is a particularly punitive tax on north-east Scotland, given that our region is the energy hub of the UK. Even though the windfall no longer e…
HC
Harriet Cross
The Chancellor also extended the levy until March 2030. Just to ensure that the industry was hit from all angles, she abolished the investment allowance, removing the very mechanism that keeps companies investing.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
If the hon. Member would have preferred energy prices to stay at their pandemic levels, and money to continue to flow in from the EPL rather than more people throughout the country receiving lower energy bills, that is, of course, a view that she is welcome to hold. As I was saying, the levy has raised more than £11 bi…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I shall take both interventions.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
As I said just a few moments ago, 100,000 jobs are directly or indirectly linked to the work and activities in this sector, and it is vital that we support people with that transition. In the long-term, carbon capture and storage alone is expected to support 50,000 skilled jobs by 2050 as we move towards a clean energy…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I will first take the intervention from my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur) .
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I believe the hon. Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey (Graham Leadbitter) was slightly quicker in standing up than my hon. Friend. I do understand my hon. Friend’s points. It is very important not to be cowardly in politics, which is why I will make sure that we come forward as fast as we can to set out the ap…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Does the hon. Member really wish to intervene? [Interruption.] Go on.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I disagree that the Government are getting this wrong. We are doing our best to try to find the right balance to support people, industry and jobs. We will continue to provide a balanced, responsible and predictable regime for the UK oil and gas industry, which I hope will continue to drive growth, support workers and …
Employer National Insurance Contributions: Economic Growth9 Sep 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Thank you, Mr Speaker. The immediate task facing the Labour Government was to take action to stabilise the public finances and invest in our public services. On national insurance, we did that in a way that protects the smallest businesses by increasing the employment allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. That means that 865,000 employers will… pay no national insurance contributions at all, and more than half will either gain or see no change.
Hansard · 9 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
WC
Wendy Chamberlain
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to employer national insurance contributions on economic growth.
BS
Ben Spencer
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in employer national insurance contributions on businesses.
CJ
Clive Jones
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to employer national insurance contributions on economic growth.
WC
Wendy Chamberlain
The national insurance increases in last year’s Budget not only increased national insurance, but impacted on part-time workers, many of whom the hospitality industry relies on. Hospitality companies in North East Fife have written to me directly, but they have also started to share with their customers the real impact…
BS
Ben Spencer
I am not particularly interested in who the Minister is backing in the deputy leadership contest, but I welcome him to his place. Lebanese Please is a fantastic restaurant in Weybridge, but like many hospitality companies, it is struggling with the impact of national insurance increases. If the partly new Treasury Fron…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the hon. Member for being the first parliamentarian today who has not asked me, “Who will you be backing in the Labour deputy leadership contest?” I appreciate that very much. When it comes to small businesses, in particular those in hospitality, overall employment has increased by 380,000 since the Government …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I would not presume to know where the next Treasury ministerial awayday will happen, but perhaps we will have to consider the restaurant in the hon. Member’s constituency. He is a strong advocate for the businesses in his constituency. I hope he knows that I advocated from the Back Benches—and will continue to do so in…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The big picture on all three of those questions is that at last year’s Budget, the Government made the decision to increase national insurance in order to raise £20 billion. We have put that money into our public services, making sure that waiting lists have fallen pretty much every single month since the election. Tha…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The investment that this Government are making in childcare, which will increase the number of hours available to families with children aged nine months or older, is the right investment in the future. It is an investment in those children and an investment in making sure that parents can return to work, so that we ca…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My hon. Friend is right to highlight the fact that we have had five interest rate cuts since the election. That has reduced the cost of mortgages for families up and down the country, and reduced the cost of borrowing for businesses that are thinking about investing. It is good to see that there is more investment comi…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Yes, I agree strongly with my hon. Friend that Opposition Members continue to will the ends—they want the spending on public services—but are not willing to come forward with a plan for the means and the money to invest in our public services so that we can change things for people up and down this country.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
When the Liberal Democrats were last in government, they made the decision to whack up VAT on businesses, whereas this Government are doing all we can to reform business rates so that retail, hospitality and leisure industries can get the support that they need from the business rates system. The national insurance cha…
Tax Reliefs: Zero-based Review9 Sep 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Tax reliefs are an important feature of the UK tax system, and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has invested significant resources in improving understanding of their cost and effectiveness. Since 2019, it has produced costings for 350 reliefs, including detailed analysis of the 38 largest non-structural reliefs, which cost more than £500 million a year.
Hansard · 9 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
BD
Bobby Dean
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of undertaking a zero-based review of all tax reliefs before the autumn Budget 2025.
BD
Bobby Dean
The Minister detailed that about 350 reliefs have been assessed, but my understanding is that more than 1,200 tax reliefs are on the books, amounting to hundreds of billions of foregone revenue for the Treasury. Given that the Treasury examined the spending of all Departments in detail over the summer, I wondered wheth…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
It is worth noting that some 800 of the 1,200 reliefs the hon. Member mentions ensure that the tax system operates as intended by defining the scope of tax correctly and that it operates fairly and simply. I am sorry to disappoint the hon. Member, but I will not be able to comment specifically on any changes that we ma…
Topical Questions9 Sep 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The issue of child poverty is incredibly important to this Government, and the child poverty taskforce will report later this year. I would like to add that this is an important personal issue for me: I grew up in family with very little money and I received free school meals as a child. For those… children across the country who are living in poverty right now, I hope that they and their parents know that this Government are on their side and that we will do all we can to invest in our welfare system, in our economy and in ensuring that more people can get into work so that we can get poverty down, rather than have it rising as it did under the previous Government.
Hansard · 9 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
SW
Steve Witherden
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
RR
Rachel Reeves
Sorry, Mr Speaker, bear with me. [Laughter.] This Government are committed to growing the economy, and we were the fastest-growing economy in the G7 in the first half of this year. We have done three trade deals and cut interest rates five times—and I did not even need my notes to remember all that.
SW
Steve Witherden
New polling by the Trades Union Congress shows that the public overwhelmingly support packages of taxes on wealth, on banks and on gambling companies. It also found that 74% of 2024 Labour voters who are now leaning towards Reform back those measures. Will the Chancellor commit to protecting working people from higher …
RR
Rachel Reeves
In the Budget last year, we got rid of the non-dom tax status, we put up capital gains tax, we started treating carried interest as income—not as capital gains—we introduced new taxes on private jets, we put VAT and business rates on private school fees and, of course, we changed the rules around agricultural property …
RF
Richard Fuller
May I welcome the new members of the Treasury team, with their courage in joining it? I also do so for the shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride) , who cannot be with us today. May I particularly welcome the new Chief Secretary, who replaces the old Chief …
Property Taxes3 Sep 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for bringing the debate to a close for the Opposition and for the welcome that he has given me as I move down to the Front Bench. I also thank my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury for his… speech and congratulate him on his promotion to Cabinet. He was a fantastic Exchequer Secretary, and I will do my best to carry out the role with the same diligence and effectiveness. I also wish to put on record that, although I may be standing at the Dispatch Box for the first time, my respect for this place and for the Members on both sides of this House and on all Benches will remain. The Commons, after all, is the heart of our democracy. The importance of Ministers being held to account and of MPs voting and debating on big issues—and on Opposition Day debates—and, crucially, of the public being able to hold us all to account will never diminish in my mind. I look forward to continuing to work constructively with Members from all parts of the House as we discuss and debate the important and very interesting topic of tax policy. Under the leadership of the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, this Government are turning the page on 14 years of economic mismanagement. We must and we will put an end to the years of sluggish economic growth and squeezed living standards—issues that have typified the past two decades. We must turn this country around and build an economy that works for everyone.
Hansard · 3 Sep 2025 · parliament.uk
ED
Emily Darlington
I appreciate the opportunity to speak in this debate. I want to take on the challenge set by the shadow Chancellor, the right hon. Member for Central Devon (Sir Mel Stride) , so let us talk about how we got to this point, and the devastating consequences. Under the last Government, despite 27 tax rises, Government debt…
PF
Peter Fortune
After a summer of rumoured tax rises, my constituents are deeply concerned. They are already paying more, because Labour broke its promise to freeze council tax, broke its promise not to increase national insurance, and broke its promises to first-time buyers, small businesses and farmers. Thanks to the Chancellor’s an…
LF
Louie French
Residents in Bromley, like those in Bexley, have been hit by the Mayor of London’s 77% increase in his share of council tax since he took office, alongside various driving taxes. Does my hon. Friend agree that this increase in property taxes would be the straw that broke the camel’s back for many residents?
PF
Peter Fortune
I agree that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is causing residents in Bromley and Bexley real financial hardship. However, I in no way believe that this will be the final straw—the final way that the Mayor of London can find to damage my constituents and those of my hon. Friend. I am sure that he has plenty more straws…
MF
Mark Ferguson
It is wonderful to be back for another Opposition day debate, as I am sure we can all agree. It is another debate about imagined proposals. It must be a difficult time for Opposition Members, because for so many years, this was the time of year when they were preparing for their conference and for the Budget, but this …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for that very kind intervention. I agree with every word that he said. The subject of today’s debate is, of course, taxes and which taxes may or may not change in the future. Let me be clear: I will not be writing the Budget today or any day in this role. That is a job for the Chancellor. Just as…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the right hon. Member for his intervention. I would ask him if I could whether he could identify £40 billion of spending cuts, if he wants to have £40 billion of tax cuts. I do not want to see NHS waiting lists grow in my constituency, in his constituency, or in any of the constituencies that we all have the pr…
Topical Questions14 Jul 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I know that reducing deprivation is a cause close to the hearts of all Ministers. What view do they have on the extent to which high housing costs contribute to deprivation and should be taken into account when we consider funding for our local councils?
Hansard · 14 Jul 2025 · parliament.uk
SO
Sarah Olney
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
AR
Angela Rayner
I was pleased that the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill had its First Reading last Thursday. That landmark Bill will bring a radical reset to local government, deliver on our manifesto commitment to decentralise power, ignite regional growth with streamlined powers for mayors, and speed up new homes an…
SO
Sarah Olney
I and my Liberal Democrat colleagues welcome the provisions in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which recognise that first past the post is an unrepresentative electoral system. That is a welcome first step—although we would prefer alternative voting for mayoral elections—but if the Government adm…
AR
Angela Rayner
Let me cover that point. Mayors serve many millions of people and manage multimillion-pound budgets, yet can be elected by just a fraction of the vote under the previous Government’s changes—despite the fact that the supplementary vote system had worked effectively for over a decade. Given that the large populations th…
DA
Dan Aldridge
Despite decades of hard work, not least by the Birnbeck Regeneration Trust, the restoration of Weston-super-Mare’s nationally important Birnbeck pier is now at risk after the Royal National Lifeboat Institution pulled out, leaving a £5 million shortfall. Will the Minister outline how the Government might support the pr…
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories10 Jun 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the Minister for his work on so many important issues in the region, and for finding the time to answer questions from Members in all parts of the House so thoroughly over the past two hours. I also welcome his important announcement about sanctions that draw an essential distinction between the far-right extremist… Ministers and the people of Israel as a whole. We desperately need a ceasefire, we need more aid to get into Gaza to alleviate the horrendous human suffering, and we need the hostages who are still being held to be released. What further steps will the Government take towards achieving all those objectives?
Hansard · 10 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
HF
Hamish Falconer
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The two-state solution is in peril. There is catastrophic conflict in Gaza and a shocking deterioration in the west bank. This is an affront to the rights of Palestinians, but it is also against the interests of Isr…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
PP
Priti Patel
I am grateful to the Minister for advance sight of his statement. As he said, the situation in the middle east and the suffering we see is serious and completely intolerable, and I reiterate what I said in response to the statement last week about this desperation and suffering being completely unacceptable. We continu…
HF
Hamish Falconer
I thank the right hon. Lady for her questions. She raises important points about work with allies. Let me address what she said about Egypt, which is vital. The Egyptians have conducted important work, and I am pleased that I will be with them next week at the two-state solution conference to discuss the reconstruction…
RB
Richard Burgon
I have long called for comprehensive sanctions on Israel in response to its crimes against the Palestinian people, so the sanctions against two far-right Ministers are a step in the right direction, but Israel’s war crimes are about far more than a couple of bad apples, so much, much more needs to be done. When Russia …
New Clause 69 - Examination of applications for development consent9 Jun 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Does the hon. Member believe that farmers are able to choose how best to use their land?
Hansard · 9 Jun 2025 · parliament.uk
MP
Matthew Pennycook
I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
NG
Nusrat Ghani
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 1—Steps to be taken when exercising functions under Part 3— “When exercising any function or fulfilling any duty under Part 3 of this Act, the Secretary of State and Natural England must take all reasonable steps to— (a) avoid, prevent and reduce any …
MP
Matthew Pennycook
It is a real pleasure to bring this landmark Bill back to the House on Report. Let me begin by thanking hon. Members on both sides of the Chamber for their engagement with the Bill over recent months. In particular, I thank the hon. Members for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes), for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmo…
JS
Jim Shannon
I declare an interest as a member of the Ulster Farmers Union, the mother body of which is the National Farmers Union. Others will comment on this, but the UFU has told me that it is concerned about losing farmland for housing. Should it not be the policy of Government to ensure that brownfield sites are used first? If…
MP
Matthew Pennycook
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention—he knows I have great affection for him. He tempts me into a debate that does not directly relate to the Bill, but I can tell him the following: the Government’s position is brownfield-first when it comes to development. He knows that we strengthened the national plannin…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The Bill before the House has the potential to be one of the most pro-growth pieces of legislation passed by this place for decades and to transform our country for the better, but the amendments proposed will blunt its impact and make us all worse off. We should reject them for the prosperity of our constituents and t…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I will make a bit more progress. Let us take the example of nutrient neutrality. It is estimated that no fewer than 160,000 homes across the country have been blocked by Natural England on that basis. That is because on-site mitigation on a site-by-site basis is often virtually impossible, and those homes remain stalle…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I will come to the point my hon. Friend raises in a second. If the amendment were adopted, the homes that have been blocked to date would continue to be blocked, and vast numbers would face unacceptable delays or, indeed, never be built. What would happen under the amendment, as we can interpret it, is that we would fi…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I agree with those points. It would also make it virtually impossible to meet our manifesto commitment, on which we were elected, to build the 1.5 million homes that we need over this Parliament.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I expect the hon. Member knows that the housing targets have been reduced in London because of the additional premium that was put on by the previous Government just to make life more difficult for the Mayor of London, which we all know Conservatives love to do. We are trying to be reasonable and proportionate in the l…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I should make progress so that others can speak; my hon. Friend and I will have to talk later. This Bill and this Government are all about the economic growth that ultimately is the route to more jobs, more opportunities and higher living standards—a better life for all of us in every part of the country. That is the p…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The explanatory statement to amendment 69 states: “This amendment would require Environmental Delivery Plans to set out a timetable for, and thereafter report on, conservation measures, and require improvement of the…status…before development takes place in areas where Natural England”— thinks there could be harm. How …
Engagements30 Apr 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Mr Speaker, “there is going to have to be a coming together of Reform and the Conservative party in some way”— a deal, a pact or a merger. Those are not my words, but the words of the most senior Tory in elected public office in the country, the Mayor of the Tees Valley. If… senior Tories are plotting it, and the Leader of the Opposition will not deny it, is not the only way to stop the plot to vote Labour tomorrow?
Hansard · 30 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
CJ
Clive Jones
If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 30 April.
KS
Keir Starmer
Yesterday evening, Royal Air Force Typhoons successfully conducted strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen in a joint operation with our US allies. This action was in line with the long-standing policy of the UK Government to defend freedom of navigation in the Red sea, after Houthi attacks fuelled regional in…
CJ
Clive Jones
I associate myself with the remarks of the Prime Minister about the professionalism of our armed forces, and I too congratulate Mark Carney on being elected Prime Minister of Canada. I also congratulate everybody who took part in the London marathon. Both my daughters have done it, but it is sadly something I cannot do…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
Order. I think the hon. Gentleman is on a marathon himself. I call the Prime Minister.
KS
Keir Starmer
I extend my congratulations to the hon. Member’s daughters for running the marathon. The Government retain the right to strike trade deals to deliver growth, jobs and opportunities for working people. We clearly set that out in our manifesto, and that is exactly what we are doing. As he knows, Parliament has a well-est…
Clause 1 - Sentencing guidelines about pre-sentence reports30 Apr 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
First, I acknowledge that disparities in outcomes in our judicial system are a real issue and merit serious attention. I recognise the work of the Lammy review in 2017, as well as the conclusions of the Ministry of Justice’s 2020 report, “Tackling Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System”, which found disparities in how people… from minority ethnic groups are treated in the judicial system. It is important that these issues continue to have the focus that they merit. However, I am glad that the Bill has passed its Second Reading and that we are progressing through its remaining stages today. I am firmly of the view that it is not for the Sentencing Council to make policy decisions on this matter, for those are the domain of politicians and must remain so. The Government should be able to make political decisions and implement them, and the ballot box is the right place for us to be held to account. What I find refreshing about the continued passage of this Bill is that we are showing that politicians do not have to be jelly-like in the face of blockages to their desire to make political decisions. At the same time, I support the unamended passage of the Bill, because it finds a way to thread the needle with a targeted intervention. Amendment 3, tabled by the shadow Secretary of State for Justice, goes too far and would undermine the independence of the Sentencing Council.
Hansard · 30 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
JW
Jeremy Wright
I beg to move amendment 1, page 1, line 6, leave out “different personal characteristics of an offender” and insert “an offender’s membership of a particular demographic cohort.”
CN
Caroline Nokes
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Amendment 3, page 1, line 7, at end insert— “(2A) After subsection (7) insert— ‘(7A) In the case of guidelines within subsection (4) about pre-sentence reports, the Council must, after making any amendments of the guidelines which it considers appropriate, obtai…
JW
Jeremy Wright
It is worthwhile at the outset of all debates on this Bill to restate that it is about pre-sentence reports that give information to sentencers that may be used in sentencing decisions, not about the passing of sentences themselves. Specifically, the Bill is about the guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council to sent…
LE
Luke Evans
I defer to my right hon. and learned Friend’s experience, but is there not an argument for every case to have a pre-sentence report in order to truly understand what an individual has faced and whether there are any mitigating factors? I appreciate that that could create a backlog for these services, but is it not one …
JW
Jeremy Wright
My hon. Friend makes a fair point in relation to offenders who hover on the border between community sentences and custodial sentences, but he will know that, in the Crown court at least, the majority of such offenders already have a pre-sentence report. Of course, there are also offenders who come before the courts fo…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I do not think that anyone in this House is a blockage—far from it. The point I am making is that I believe that this House should be the place where political decisions are made, and that politicians should make decisions about important things that matter to people in this country. It is my view that the Sentencing C…
Topical Questions8 Apr 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
As a north London MP, I know that tackling the high housing costs in this city is a priority for my constituents. It is my belief that one route to that is investing in the country as a whole, so that we are not just flying on one London-shaped engine. To that end, did you… know, Mr Speaker, that Leeds is the largest city in western Europe that does not have a tram or a mass transit system? That is a damning indictment of decades of economic failure. Will the Chancellor do all she can to ensure that the Leeds tram is built as fast as possible so that her constituents and mine can be better off?
Hansard · 8 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
DM
Douglas McAllister
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
DJ
Darren Jones
Mr Speaker, you shocked me by moving to topical questions so quickly, but I have now found my page and am ready to answer them.
DJ
Darren Jones
From ferries to the National Care Service, we have seen failure after failure from the SNP in Scotland, including a track record of waste. In contrast, this Labour Government are tackling waste and investing in frontline services such as our national health service, which has seen waiting lists fall for each of the pas…
DM
Douglas McAllister
The Chancellor set out in the spring statement a clear plan to drive better value for taxpayers, including through the transformation fund, which will transform frontline delivery while making savings in the long term. Does he agree that that is in stark contrast to the SNP Scottish Government’s record of waste?
DJ
Darren Jones
As my hon. Friend knows, we have given the Scottish Government the largest increase in spending since devolution began. The people of Scotland expect that money to be spent well, which we are doing in England by transforming public services and improving the national health service. However, given that SNP Members are …
Sentencing Council Guidelines1 Apr 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the Justice Secretary for her decisive action on this issue and note that this Government are not ducking political decisions, farming them out to quangos like the last lot did with bodies like NHS England, or blaming the blob for crashing the economy when it was Liz Truss’s mini-Budget that did that. Does… the Justice Secretary agree that politics and policy are the domain of this House and its Ministers, and can she reassure me that this Government will continue to make sure that we in this House can make the decisions that the public expect us to make?
Hansard · 1 Apr 2025 · parliament.uk
SM
Shabana Mahmood
With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on sentencing in England and Wales. As the House will be aware, new guidelines from the Sentencing Council on pre-sentence reports have come under scrutiny in recent weeks, specifically on whether an offender’s faith or the colour of their skin should …
RJ
Robert Jenrick
The Lord Chancellor must be living in a parallel universe if she is giving herself a pat on the back today. The truth is she has completely lost control of the justice system. She sat on her hands for weeks and took seven days to gather her thoughts and put her views in writing to the Sentencing Council. Her incompeten…
SM
Shabana Mahmood
Dear, dear, dear me. It seems that the right hon. Gentleman’s amnesia is as bad as ever: 14 whole years appear to have disappeared entirely from his memory. He talks about parliamentary sovereignty, but when his party was in government and he was a Secretary of State or a Minister, he appeared never to know what on ear…
CN
Caroline Nokes
I call the Mother of the House.
DA
Diane Abbott
I realise that this is not a popular view in the House, but the Justice Secretary will be aware that some of us are astonished that she thinks our judges are so weak-minded as to be affected by what are guidelines in relation to how they sentence black and brown defendants. The Justice Secretary will be aware that repo…
Planning and Infrastructure Bill24 Mar 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
How does the hon. Gentleman square his support for getting more homes built and helping children who are living in temporary accommodation with his opposition to 250 new homes in his constituency, which he announced online just this month?
Hansard · 24 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
CN
Caroline Nokes
The reasoned amendment in the name of Gideon Amos has not been selected.
AR
Angela Rayner
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. It is time to get Britain building again. It is what working people expect of this Government and it is what we will deliver. Our Planning and Infrastructure Bill is critical to achieving economic growth, higher living standards and a more secure future for our co…
MP
Mark Pritchard
I gently say to the Secretary of State that none of my constituents is saying, “In Shropshire, we don’t need any more homes. We don’t want any more homes.” They just want to be consulted. They want the homes in the right place, at the right scale, with the right architecture and in the right numbers. They want their vo…
AR
Angela Rayner
I gently say to the right hon. Member that it is this Government who have brought forward mandatory local plans, and it was his Government who did not. For too long we have left home ownership to collapse, with homelessness soaring and over 160,000 children in temporary accommodation. This is a country that simply is n…
LC
Lewis Cocking
Can the Secretary of State outline what powers in the Bill she will use to take on developers and make sure that they build based on the planning permissions they already have?
Clean Power by 203018 Mar 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
What progress he has made on achieving clean power by 2030.
Hansard · 18 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
EM
Ed Miliband
We are driving forward at speed to deliver clean power by 2030. Last week, the Government introduced the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which will enable the biggest expansion of the grid for generations, sweeping away the connection delays and the queue that held us back for too long under the last Government and r…
EM
Ed Miliband
I always like visiting north London, and I would very much like to accept an invitation from my hon. Friend. He makes a really serious and important point about community energy. If we look at Germany and Denmark, we see that they have done much better on community energy than us. Great British Energy has an important …
OD
Oliver Dowden
Does the Secretary of State share my concern about reports of persistent misconduct by Drax, regarding cutting down old-growth forest and burning it at its power station? To be clear, this is a company that chops down pristine forest, ships it halfway across the world to burn it in the United Kingdom and claims that it…
EM
Ed Miliband
I do not know whether the right hon. Gentleman, for whom I have great respect, was present when the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks) , made a statement on precisely that issue. On the impact on bills, he will be delighted to know that u…
PM
Perran Moon
The Conservative party abandoned the economy, the NHS, the justice system and immigration, and now it is joining its Reform collaborators and other climate change deniers in the dunce’s corner. Does the Secretary of State agree that, unlike this Government, who recognise the triple benefit of the 2030 goal—energy secur…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Does the Secretary of State agree that community energy has a vital role to play in the transition to cleaner and greener power? Will he accept an invitation to come to my constituency in north London to visit Community Energy Barnet, which is working on one of the largest community energy projects in the country?
Protection of Children (Digital Safety and Data Protection) Bill7 Mar 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for all the work that he has done on this issue. When decision makers chose to set the age at 13 rather than 16, what evidence did they use and what detailed work did they do to ensure that the decision was grounded in evidence and good for children?
Hansard · 7 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
JM
Josh MacAlister
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. I began my career as a teacher. I first entered the classroom in 2009. At the time, we were just beginning to see the use of smartphones among teenagers—there was the odd phone in the classroom and the odd instance of a child being bullied through their device—but…
JR
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter
I would like to associate myself with my hon. Friend’s warm words about Daisy and Joe, who are both constituents of mine. Does he also recognise the impact that their ambition has had, and will continue to have, long after this debate? Their dedicated work has helped to start real and meaningful conversations about sma…
JM
Josh MacAlister
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The campaign they have started will only grow over time.
AF
Ashley Fox
I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s comments so far, but the emails I have received from constituents who support his campaign make reference to “raising the age of ‘internet adulthood’ from 13 to 16” and “to help support the ban on phones in school being brought by MP Josh MacAlister”. He will forgive me for saying that…
JM
Josh MacAlister
I will get to that in my speech. I am keen to get on to those points, and I will address the questions the hon. Gentleman has asked. The Smartphone Free Childhood campaign has grown from zero members to over 200,000 in less than a year, which shows the strength of feeling in the country on this issue.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister) for bringing this Bill forward. I am proud to be a co-sponsor of the Bill and to have worked with him on it. I also thank him for giving us all a chance to speak in what could be the most engaged Chamber we have ever seen, as …
NICs Increase: Impact on Economic Growth4 Mar 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Does the Minister agree that planning reform is essential for higher growth and lower taxes? Is he, like me, concerned that the anti-growth Opposition we see before us in this House will vote against the forthcoming planning and infrastructure Bill, which is possibly the most significant piece of pro-growth legislation that this Parliament will see… in decades?
Hansard · 4 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
MH
Monica Harding
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned increase in employer national insurance contributions on economic growth.
MW
Munira Wilson
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned increase in employer national insurance contributions on economic growth.
JM
James Murray
The Government have taken difficult decisions to repair the public finances, fund public services and restore economic stability. The Office for Budget Responsibility predicts that the employer national insurance contribution changes “will reduce the level of potential output by 0.1 per cent at the forecast horizon”. I…
MH
Monica Harding
My constituent Alison runs Stepping Stones nursery school, which has been operating in my constituency for 30 years, offering wraparound care to busy families. The increase in employers’ national insurance contributions alone will cost it £16,000 a year and it is still struggling with an increase in utility costs, whil…
JM
James Murray
The Government’s decision to increase employer national insurance contributions was one of the toughest decisions that we took at the Budget, but it was necessary to restore stability to the public finances. It is only on the basis of having stable public finances and fiscal responsibility that we can boost the investm…
Iranian State Threats4 Mar 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
It is welcome that the Minister is taking such strong action to counter the threat posed by Iran on Britain’s streets, but will he explain how the process to consider a proscription-style framework to tackle the IRGC will work?
Hansard · 4 Mar 2025 · parliament.uk
DJ
Dan Jarvis
With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a statement on the growing threat to the UK from Iran, and the steps that the Government are taking to combat this threat. [Hon. Members: “Welcome back!”] It is a pleasure to be back. The threat from Iran sits in the wider context of the growing, diversifying and …
CN
Caroline Nokes
I call the shadow Home Secretary.
CP
Chris Philp
I thank the Security Minister, once again, for his courtesy in giving me advance sight of his statement. The House should be in no doubt about how serious the threat posed by Iran is. Iran sponsors terror organisations across the middle east. It is an enthusiastic and significant supporter of Hamas, Hezbollah and the H…
CP
Chris Philp
Well, he said he would address it, and eagle-eyed Members will notice that he did not address it, so I will ask him the question directly now and there will be no avoidance because there is no further statement. Will he place China in the enhanced tier of FIRS? Will he please confirm that to the House, because I think …
DJ
Dan Jarvis
I am grateful to the shadow Home Secretary for the points he has raised, which I will endeavour to work through. First, let me agree with his characterisation of the Iranian regime. I hope there is no disagreement among us about that, which is precisely why it is right that we proceed with the measures I have described…
Social Security Benefits4 Feb 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
As I understand it, the shadow Chancellor said that the triple lock is unsustainable. Do you agree with him on that point?
Hansard · 4 Feb 2025 · parliament.uk
ST
Stephen Timms
I beg to move, That the draft Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2025, which was laid before this House on 15 January , be approved.
NG
Nusrat Ghani
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following motion: That the draft Guaranteed Minimum Pensions Increase Order 2025, which was laid before this House on 16 January , be approved.
ST
Stephen Timms
In my view, the instruments are compatible with the European convention on human rights. The draft Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2025 will increase relevant state pension rates by 4.1%, in line with the growth in average earnings in the year to May to July 2024. It will increase most other benefit rates by 1…
LE
Luke Evans
On clarification, can the Minister clarify for how much longer the state pension will be taxed? The Conservative Government stood for election on a commitment to the triple lock plus. We lost the election, but we were going to take out that fiscal drag. Can the Minister explain how long that tax will stay in place?
ST
Stephen Timms
My understanding, from what the Leader of the Opposition has said, is that the Conservative party is no longer committed to the triple lock, let alone the triple lock plus. I can tell the hon. Member that we do not have any plans to do what he suggests.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Madam Deputy Speaker, I will try not to say “you” this time—I am sorry. I would be genuinely interested to know what the Opposition’s position is on reform of the incapacity benefit system. It is a knotty problem. I know that when Opposition Members were in government, it was considered, but I am not clear what their p…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
First, I echo the comments of others in praising the Minister for his work on this issue over decades in this place. I saw it before becoming a Member of Parliament during my time working in the charity sector at the Resolution Foundation and most recently at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. I was working on these issue…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I grew up in poverty. We had no money and lived in social housing. I had free school meals throughout my childhood, and the three of us were in emergency and temporary accommodation as well. And I know the benefit system was there for my mum and for us, and I have confidence that this Government will make the decisions…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention on the same important topic raised by the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr Dillon) . I know that the Government are looking at this issue and at how we can reform the welfare system to support people to get the money they need and have the incentives and the right approach to …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am happy to give way, although I perhaps should make some progress.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
That is important in some respects. One of the challenges with the policy that the hon. Member identifies is that we tax people on an individual basis and the benefits he refers to are often linked to the tax system. He raises an important point, and I am sure it is being considered. I will make some progress and concl…
Welfare Cap29 Jan 2025
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the Secretary of State for all the work on these important issues. I am aware that we are close to the end of the debate, so I will raise just one issue. A small business owner in my constituency of Chipping Barnet in north London told me about the way the jobcentre failed… to support people into work when the previous Government were in charge. It is encouraging to see what is coming forward in the White Paper, but the small business owner, whose name is Simon, told me how he had advertised some jobs in his company. He and his team spent seven hours going through lots of issues with 80 applicants, all of whom were referred by the jobcentre but none of whom had any desire to take up the job. They were applying because they were being forced to do so by the work coaches in the jobcentres in those 10-minute appointments. I am happy that the Government have set out proposals in the White Paper—there will be more to come soon in the Green Paper—to help people who want to work to find jobs that are right for them, and to help employers to get good matches to improve productivity and growth in this country.
Hansard · 29 Jan 2025 · parliament.uk
JC
Judith Cummins
With the permission of the House, the motions relating to the welfare cap will be debated together.
AM
Alison McGovern
I beg to move, That, pursuant to the Charter for Budget Responsibility: Autumn 2022 update, which was approved by this House on 6 February 2023 under section 1 of the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011, this House agrees that the forecast breach of the welfare cap in 2024–25 due to higher forecast expend…
JC
Judith Cummins
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following motion: That the level of the welfare cap, as specified in the Autumn Budget 2024, which was laid before this House on 30 October 2024 , be approved.
AM
Alison McGovern
Before this Government were elected, we said that we would change this country, and we will. To get change done, any Government have to stand on firm foundations, which is why, as we have just heard from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, we promised to be responsible with the public’s money. We know that every penny…
AS
Alistair Strathern
My hon. Friend is doing a compelling job of setting out the damning state of the welfare system we inherited when we took charge. Does she agree that investment in the NHS, so that people finally have the healthcare support they need, is fundamental to making sure they can get back to work, contribute as they would lik…
Clause 1 - Rate of secondary Class 1 contributions17 Dec 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I very much welcome the chance to speak in this debate on an important topic. I am sure that Members on both sides of the House will be glad to know that this is the first speech of mine that is not subject to a time limit, so I can speak for as long as… humanly possible on the intricacies and joys of national insurance contributions, and I hope to stay on the topic at hand. Not having a time limit also gives me the chance to make a great parliamentary speech on this important topic. We all know what good speeches look like; they are not a simple list of points reeled off in order, but may include great rhetorical flourishes, the use of the English language at its finest, and nuanced arguments. But, Madam Chair, I will make six simple points, in list form, in favour of the national insurance changes before us. I have missed my opportunity, but maybe I will make such a speech in future. These changes are incredibly important. I urge Opposition Members to vote with the Government against the amendments, so that we can get the changes that we need for our country. The first reason that I think the changes are important and sensible is that they will mean that the Labour Government stick to the pledge we made in the election campaign not to increase taxes on working people. It is important that we rebuild trust in our politics, which has fallen to a record low. I know that this is contested in the House, but Labour is clear that these specific changes protect working people’s payslips and mean that we do not have to make the changes that others have suggested for income tax and value added tax. Trust in our politics is very important. The second reason I encourage Members to vote with the Government tonight is that the changes provide vital funding for our public services. I am not too sure whether Conservative Members—I would be interested to hear from them—support the additional funding for public services. I said this in the previous debate on the Bill, so I am a bit
Hansard · 17 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
PH
Pippa Heylings
I beg to move amendment 1, page 1, line 2, at beginning insert— “(A1) In section 9(1A) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, before paragraph (a) insert— “(za) if the employer is a specified employer under subsection (1B), the specified employer secondary percentage;” (A2) After section 9(1A) of t…
CN
Caroline Nokes
With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Amendment 4, page 1, line 2, at beginning insert— “(A1) The Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 is amended as follows. (A2) In section 9(1A) after paragraph (aa) insert— “(ab) if section 9AA below applies to the earnings, the reduced secondary pe…
PH
Pippa Heylings
These hikes in employer national insurance contributions are not just numbers on a spreadsheet, but will have real and damaging consequences and will strike at the heart of small and medium-sized businesses, which are the backbone of our economy. In my constituency in South Cambridgeshire, we have one of the highest de…
CD
Carla Denyer
I thank the hon. Member for allowing me to speak briefly. She references primary care. I have heard from five different GP surgeries in my constituency, who have written to me to warn that the national insurance increase will directly undermine patient care, when GP practices are already under severe financial strain d…
PH
Pippa Heylings
I agree. What the hon. Member says is critical, and I will come on to the situation with our GPs. The Lib Dems continue to highlight the point that to fix the NHS, we have to fix the social care crisis. Freeing up hospital beds requires us to fix the social care sector. According to research, 60% of the UK’s care home …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Before I have even heard the hon. Member’s request to intervene, I happily give way.
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I will come to growth, which is the sixth point on my very exciting list, but I will just say that this Budget will see growth increase in the short term and stay broadly unchanged over the forecast period, and the OBR says that the increased public sector investment that we are making will lead to a small but signific…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We have made changes to a whole range of taxes in the Budget, and it is important to note that the scale of revenue that the Liberal Democrat party is talking about would not cover the additional funding that we are providing—£20 billion for our health services and additional funding for a whole range of public service…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the hon. Member kindly for his intervention. I am not sure whether all Members know this, but the Labour party chair has appointed me as the growth mission champion, so I am very much in favour of economic growth. We can see the impact of the changes in the round at the Budget, leading to higher growth in the s…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
My understanding is that the Office for Budget Responsibility says that growth will be higher in the short term, broadly unchanged over five years and higher in the long term.
Planning Committees: Reform9 Dec 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the Minister for his work on this and other areas to boost growth across the country for families in my constituency and elsewhere. I note that this weekend the Leader of the Opposition met her Canadian Conservative counterpart —a Conservative who has embraced planning reform and pro-growth measures and who is gaining rapidly… in the polls, as far as I can see. Does he agree that it is interesting to see Conservative Members taking an entirely different approach, opposing sensible changes that would support growth in this country and sticking with chaos in the planning system, rather than stability, which is the foundation for economic growth?
Hansard · 9 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
DS
David Simmonds
(Urgent Question): To ask the Secretary of State to make a statement on plans for the reform of planning committees.
MP
Matthew Pennycook
As the House will be aware, in our first King’s Speech in July the Government announced their intention to introduce a planning and infrastructure Bill, designed to streamline the delivery of essential housing and infrastructure across the country and support sustained economic growth. We made clear at the time that an…
DS
David Simmonds
Many of us were surprised to hear the Secretary of State tell us over the weekend that there are enough homes in this country. The planning system is an area of interest to all Members and to our constituents; I know it is to you in particular, Mr Speaker, and to your constituency. Planning matters, because it impacts …
MP
Matthew Pennycook
I have to say, it is quite rich hearing the hon. Gentleman crow about planning permissions in the system. We are experiencing the lowest number of planning permissions and completions for a decade, as a result of the Conservatives’ changes to the national planning policy framework, made in December 2023, which torpedoe…
CB
Clive Betts
My hon. Friend will know that I am passionately committed to local councils and local democracy, but does he understand the frustration that many of us feel when a planning authority democratically approves a local plan after consulting the community, but then, when an application is made to build homes, the same counc…
National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill3 Dec 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
It is good to speak in this important debate. This is an issue of much importance, in part because it touches on trust in politics. We know from looking at the datasets that trust in politics has fallen to a record low in this country. People sadly do not trust politicians any more to deliver… on the commitments they set out in their manifestos and to bring the change necessary to improve our public services. That is the data we can see, and we can see it because of the decisions of the Conservative party.
Hansard · 3 Dec 2024 · parliament.uk
JC
Judith Cummins
The reasoned amendment in the name of Mel Stride has been selected.
JM
James Murray
I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. In her Budget statement on 30 October , the Chancellor set out the difficult decisions that we as a Government have been prepared to make on welfare, spending and tax. Those decisions were not just difficult but necessary, given the fiscal irresponsibility and eco…
DD
Dave Doogan
Is the Minister seriously suggesting that, with the best brains in the Treasury on hand, he does not understand that it is a moot point whether someone has a higher national insurance contribution in their payslip, or whether their wages are suppressed and the job that they were going for is not there anymore, because …
JM
James Murray
We recognise that we are asking businesses to contribute more, and that this will have impacts, but it will be up to individual businesses to decide how to respond to these changes. The one thing that we know for certain is that if we had chosen a different path—if we had followed the previous Government and increased …
IH
Imran Hussain
I apologise for intervening so early in the debate, but a number of my small businesses, charities and voluntary sector organisations have raised concerns and asked for clarity. Can the Minister outline what safety nets and other measures for support are available to small businesses, charities and voluntary sector org…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
We have stuck to the commitments we made in our manifesto, and that is why the British people will see over the months and years to come that they voted for change and investment in our public services, and that is what this Budget makes possible. When we came into power in July, we faced a difficult economic inheritan…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I think we will see productivity increases in the NHS, because part of the reason that it has struggled for productivity in recent years is that it has not had the necessary investment, so doctors and nurses have not had the beds and capital expenditure that they need in their hospitals. I have been to Barnet hospital …
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The economy was not growing at a fast pace when we took over; we were growing slower than five other G7 countries in the quarter before the Conservative party lost power. That is the truth. Conservative Members can deny it if they want, and come up with a fancy way to analyse the economic statistics in order to claim t…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Maybe I will take further interventions when I speak in tomorrow’s debate, Madam Deputy Speaker, because I know that many Members still wish to speak. In my final 13 seconds, let me conclude by saying that the risk for the Conservative party is that it forgets the importance of managing the public finances, which gives…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Would the shadow Minister increase borrowing or increase a different tax, or are there some public spending cuts that he would like to announce?
Topical Questions19 Nov 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
Hansard · 19 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
WS
Wes Streeting
This weekend, we launched the first in-person consultation as part of change.nhs.uk, the biggest national conversation about the future of the NHS we have ever seen. We know that the Leader of the Opposition wants a conversation about whether the NHS is free at the point of use, and I can tell her, from that first conv…
WS
Wes Streeting
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. The Royal Free hospital saved my life when I went through kidney cancer, so it holds a special place in my heart. Thanks to the Chancellor’s decision and the investment she put into the NHS at the Budget, and the reform my Department is delivering, we will deliver the c…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
EA
Edward Argar
The Secretary of State knows that every year, irrespective of which party is in government, winter is challenging for the NHS. Possibly, it will be all the more so this year with the potential impact on older people’s health of the loss of the winter fuel allowance by many. What winter preparedness steps has he taken, …
WS
Wes Streeting
It is thanks to this Government and the action we have taken that, for the first time in three years, we go into winter without the spectre of national strikes looming over the NHS, and with NHS staff on the frontline not the picket line. It is thanks to the priority this Government have given to prevention that we hav…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Earlier this month, I visited Barnet hospital to see the way in which it is changing the emergency care department so that more patients can be seen more quickly, freeing up capacity in accident and emergency. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that trusts such as the Royal Free and others across the countr…
Income Tax (Charge)6 Nov 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank Members for their maiden speeches—such warm and thoughtful contributions. I look forward to hearing more from the Members who spoke today. Growth for higher living standards is the defining mission of this Government, and rightly so. Labour Members know—we have seen it play out over the last 14 years—that there is a link… between the health of the national economy and the health of family finances up and down the country. Why have families in this country suffered in the last 14 years? It is because productivity growth has been on the floor. Had wages in this country continued to grow since the financial crisis at the rate they had before, families would not be just £1,000 or £2,000 a year better off; on average, workers would be £10,700 better off had the Conservative party grown the economy and our productivity so that families’ living standards could improve. I think particularly of young people and children, and the economy that they will grow up in. I want people all over the country—not just in Chipping Barnet but across the United Kingdom—to enter a jobs market where good jobs are available in every place. In elections to come in five, 10 or 15 years’ time, I want our politics to be defined not by scarcity and fighting over limited resources because we have continued on the path of decline that the Conservatives set us on, but by abundance and there being enough—maybe even more than enough—for every family. Then, children from whatever background —particularly those from backgrounds like mine, growing up in low-income families, in social housing and on free school meals—can have the opportunities that they need. This Budget has done so much to help children and families like that. We have changed the fiscal rules so that we can invest again in our public services and infrastructure. We are reforming welfare so that we can support more people into work. We are putting money into affordable housing so that we can get to 1.5 million new homes. We are inve
Hansard · 6 Nov 2024 · parliament.uk
JR
Jonathan Reynolds
It is a pleasure to open this final day of the debate on the Chancellor’s growth Budget. Can I welcome the new shadow team? It is lovely to see them in place. I think many of us on this side would admit that we were shadow Ministers for longer than we ideally would have been, and I know that it is a tough and thankless…
KM
Kit Malthouse
The Secretary of State makes much of growth. Of course we all want growth, but the OBR report actually says that growth in real GDP will start to slow over the next three years and that in years four and five of the Parliament it will go negative. It is telling us that the Government’s Budget is actually going to resul…
JR
Jonathan Reynolds
That is not what it says. First, on the figures, we cannot make a like-for-like comparison because we know that the information provided by the previous Government in their financial information was erroneous. They did not square their own spending pledges with what was in those documents. The analysis by the OBR shows…
GS
Graham Stuart
The right hon. Gentleman will, I hope, be aware that the long-term economic growth of this country relies not primarily on public investment or indeed public infrastructure, but on a healthy private sector—the wealth creators from whom we can take the funding to deliver into those goods that he talks about and that are…
JR
Jonathan Reynolds
I am sorry but, again, the right hon. Gentleman is wrong. I agree with part of his assessment, such as that a strong and thriving private sector is crucial to growth, but I find his analysis a little simplistic. Private firms will say that they also need skilled workers, and that they need a decent transport system so …
Middle East28 Oct 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank the Foreign Secretary for his statement. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic, so can he please update the House on the work that the Government are doing to provide more aid and to ensure that it gets to those who need it?
Hansard · 28 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
DL
David Lammy
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on the middle east. After over a year of horrifying violence, civilian suffering has increased, the conflict has widened, the risks of a yet wider regional war have risen. Today, I want to address three elements of this crisis and outline the urgent steps that the Go…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Foreign Secretary.
AM
Andrew Mitchell
May I thank the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of his statement, and may I also thank the Foreign Office for its significant help with my visit to Ukraine at the end of last week? Israel’s response to the attack launched by Iran earlier this month has rightly been described as proportionate. Israel has the right t…
DL
David Lammy
I thank the shadow Foreign Secretary for the tone of his remarks and for the cross-party support he gives to the Government in urging restraint and de-escalation in the region. I reassure him that I spoke with Secretary Blinken just two days ago about the context of the day after, as the right hon. Gentleman puts it; a…
MC
Marsha de Cordova
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement, but thousands of my constituents in Battersea want an end to this violence and to Israel’s siege in northern Gaza, not to mention the violence in the west bank. Tens of thousands of people have lost their lives, no aid is getting in and hospitals are being targeted. Is it no…
Remembrance and Veterans28 Oct 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. May I start by praising my hon. Friend the Member for Nuneaton (Jodie Gosling) for her fantastic maiden speech? Like other Labour Members, I have Nuneaton seared into my memory because of its role in the 2015 general election. It is nice now to be able to think of such… a fantastic speech when I think of Nuneaton. I pay tribute to my predecessor as the MP for Chipping Barnet, Theresa Villiers, who served with much hard work and diligence over her 19 years of service. She was a hard-working Member of Parliament, and I hope to follow in her footsteps in that regard. Just yesterday, I was with members of the East Barnet branch of the Royal British Legion, and I thought then, as we think now, of all those who have given their lives and livelihoods to service to keep our country safe. Chipping Barnet is not, as some may assume, in the Cotswolds, which is home to Chipping Norton and Jeremy Clarkson’s farm—although we do have 14 farms in the constituency. We are, in fact, a suburb of London—part of the London borough of Barnet—and it is the suburbs that I would like to speak about today, for it is my contention that when a political party understands the suburbs, it is able then, and only then, to speak on behalf of, and govern for, the country as a whole. Let me give the House a little history of Chipping Barnet. Back in the 1700s, a weary traveller trying to make their way northwards out of London, on the great north road, would find that the natural resting point for their first night’s stay would be Chipping Barnet, where no fewer than 25 public houses could put them up for the night. I will ensure that I continue supporting and patronising the pubs in Chipping Barnet during my time in office. If we roll forward 200 years, we get to the extension of the Northern line to the constituency, joining us up with the city of London proper. With a relatively liberal planning system pre-1947, that connectivity enabled a surge of housebuilding, wh
Hansard · 28 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
JH
John Healey
I beg to move, That this House has considered remembrance and the contribution of veterans. This is the first time in four years that the House has held a general debate on remembrance. Back then, I responded for the Opposition. It is a huge honour for me to open this debate as Secretary of State for Defence and, in th…
MF
Mark Francois
During the troubles in Northern Ireland, hundreds of thousands of British servicemen served on Operation Banner. Hundreds were killed and thousands were maimed by both republican and loyalist bombs. I respect the right hon. Gentleman, but how can his Government repeal the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconcili…
JH
John Healey
The legacy Act is without supporters in the communities in Northern Ireland, on any side. That is one of the reasons why it should be repealed. In the process of repeal, we will take fully into account the concerns and position of veterans, who have given such service, as the right hon. Gentleman rightly says, and thei…
JL
Julian Lewis
I am grateful to the Defence Secretary for giving way; he is always very courteous. When I was on a previous iteration of the Defence Committee, we produced an in-depth report on the best way forward after the troubles, called “Drawing a line: Protecting veterans by a Statute of Limitations”. It recommended ending pros…
JH
John Healey
For me, one of the great strengths of the House and Parliament is the work of the all-party Select Committees. The right hon. Gentleman’s Committee, during that time, did the House and the wider cause of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland a service. We will take those points into account. I do not think that …
Topical Questions21 Oct 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank you, Mr Speaker, for making time for Back Benchers in the questions today. I rise to raise the issue of car theft in my constituency. Many hundreds of residents have had their cars stolen, and the police do not have the capacity to follow up. Next year, I am hosting a car theft… summit in Chipping Barnet, and I invite the Minister to attend with me.
Hansard · 21 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
KM
Katrina Murray
If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.
YC
Yvette Cooper
Organised immigration crime puts lives at risk and threatens our border security. We have agreed a new anti-smuggling action plan with our G7 partners to strengthen collaboration in areas such as intelligence, information exchange and the pursuit of criminal finances. The UK work will be led by the new border security …
KM
Katrina Murray
According to research by UK Feminista, over a third of female school pupils have been sexually harassed while at school. Much of this can be traced back to misogynistic online influencers and the harmful impacts of pornography. Will the Home Secretary tell the House what she is doing to prioritise women’s online safety…
YC
Yvette Cooper
My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. The mission for safer streets that the Government have set includes a really ambitious mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We know that that is immensely difficult, and I hope that all the devolved Administrations, as well as local communitie…
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
We now come to the shadow Home Secretary.
Hamas Attacks: First Anniversary7 Oct 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I thank my hon. Friend for giving way so early in his speech. It is worth pausing to reflect on the fact that the atrocity was so bad and so many people lost their lives at the hands of Hamas because Hamas intended for that to be the case. In the year that has followed,… so many innocent people have lost their lives, suffered and been displaced. Will he join me in condemning Hamas and its evil actions, which took place on 7 October ?
Hansard · 7 Oct 2024 · parliament.uk
JP
Jonathan Pearce
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for allowing this important Adjournment debate. Today is the anniversary of Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel. It was a pogrom in which at least 1,195 Israelis and 79 foreign nationals from some 30 countries were murdered, over 4,800 people were injured and more than 250 men, women and…
JP
Jonathan Pearce
I welcome my hon. Friend’s intervention and completely agree that Hamas is a terrorist organisation that set out that day to murder as many innocent civilians as it possibly could. Talk of statistics risks robbing the victims of their humanity and precious individuality. I want to touch on some of the incredible storie…
JS
Jim Shannon
On that point, will the hon. Gentleman give way?
JS
Jim Shannon
I commend the hon. Gentleman for bringing forward the debate; I spoke to him beforehand. I bring to his and the House’s attention a lady I met when I was in Israel the week after Easter: Amanda Damari, who spoke yesterday about her daughter Emily, who was kidnapped. She has lived that kidnapping every day. Does he agre…
JP
Jonathan Pearce
I agree with the hon. Member that the courage of the families of the hostages is remarkable. So many in the House will have spoken to those families. Their strength and resolve is extraordinary and empowers all the rest of us.
Living Standards3 Sep 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
What steps she plans to take to help improve living standards.
Hansard · 3 Sep 2024 · parliament.uk
CW
Chris Webb
What steps she plans to take to help improve living standards.
RT
Rachel Taylor
What steps she plans to take to help improve living standards.
JM
James Murray
The Government are focused on improving living standards across the country, which is why growth is a key priority. If real household disposable income per capita had grown from 2010 to 2023 at the same rate as it did between 1997 and 2010, it would have been £4,000 higher last year. This Government’s approach will cen…
CW
Chris Webb
I thank the Minister for that reply. Many of my Blackpool South constituents have contacted me regarding the means-testing of winter fuel allowance and the link to pension credit. There are probably thousands in my constituency who do not receive pension credit and are potentially missing out on £3,900 a year. What ste…
JM
James Murray
I welcome my hon. Friend to his place. He is absolutely right to highlight how important it is to make sure that all those who are eligible for pension credit but are not claiming it sign up and thereby receive the benefits to which they are entitled, which now include the winter fuel payment. The Government are undert…
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The economic chaos of previous Conservative Governments pushed up interest rates, causing mortgage costs to rise by £500 a month for families in Barnet. What steps is the Chancellor taking to bring down those rates so that families who have worked hard and saved hard can get the living standards boost that they so desp…
Iran: Alleged Human Rights Violations30 Jul 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I welcome the Minister to his place. As we were tragically reminded again this weekend, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a destructive, malign and terrorist force that is operating through proxies in the middle east, including Hamas and Hezbollah. Will the Minister please update the House on the ongoing work to proscribe the IRGC,… which the Conservatives sadly failed to do when they were in government? Will he please also reassure the House that the UK continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel against the IRGC’s continued aggression?
Hansard · 30 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
TG
Tom Gordon
What discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on alleged human rights violations in that country.
HF
Hamish Falconer
Iran’s continued repression of women and girls, ethnic and religious minorities, and human rights defenders is unacceptable. We will continue to work with international partners to hold the regime to account, including at the UN Third Committee later this year.
TG
Tom Gordon
The Iranian authorities have been systematically targeting BBC Persian staff and their families in an attempt to intimidate them into stopping their work as journalists. Freedom of the press is a fundamental right for people all over the world, so will the Foreign Secretary and his colleagues commit to working across G…
HF
Hamish Falconer
That is a very important question. Iran clearly remains an extremely hostile environment for journalists, who face harassment, arbitrary detention and long prison sentences. We will raise this issue with the new Iranian Government when they are formed—as the hon. Member will know, they are having their inauguration tod…
HF
Hamish Falconer
The Government recognise the threat that the IRGC poses, and we will take the necessary measures to counter it at home and abroad. We will keep the list of proscribed terrorist organisations under careful review, but it would not be appropriate to comment on whether an organisation is under consideration at this time. …
Engagements24 Jul 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
The previous Conservative Government cut the funding for the police in London by one third, taking £1 billion out of the budget for London’s policing and forcing the closure of both police stations in the Chipping Barnet constituency. Does the Prime Minister agree with me on the importance of our police stations and on the… need to rebuild local policing?
Hansard · 24 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
CM
Calum Miller
If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 24 July.
KS
Keir Starmer
I know the whole House will be shocked by the news that a soldier has been attacked in Kent. Our thoughts are with him, his family and our armed forces who serve to keep us safe. We wish him a swift recovery. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”] The whole House will also want to join me in wishing Team GB good luck as they tr…
CM
Calum Miller
May I begin by welcoming the Prime Minister to his first questions as Prime Minister? I associate myself with his remarks about the soldier in Kent, and, of course, send my wishes to the British Olympians. At Combe in my constituency, Thames Water pumped sewage into the River Evenlode for over 2,600 hours last year. Th…
KS
Keir Starmer
I welcome the hon. Member to his place and thank him for raising this important issue in relation to water. Customers should not pay the price for mismanagement by water companies. We have already announced immediate steps to put water companies under a tougher regime. The Minister responsible for water, the Under-Secr…
NW
Nadia Whittome
I welcome the Prime Minister to his place. Many young trans people and their families are extremely concerned about the restrictions on puberty blockers implemented by the last Government. One of my constituents, a parent of a trans child, told me: “I’m so worried about my child. I’m terrified for what this means for t…
Topical Questions23 Jul 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I am sure the whole House will want to celebrate the fact that the NHS is safe in Labour hands once again. Specifically in the Royal Free trust area, which covers the community that I now have the honour of being the MP for—Chipping Barnet in North London—there are 100,000 people on the NHS waiting… list, so what steps will the Minister take to reduce the waiting list in places such as mine so that we can see more people getting the treatment and support that they need from the NHS?
Hansard · 23 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
CH
Carolyn Harris
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
WS
Wes Streeting
Our NHS is broken. This Government have been honest about the problems we face because we are serious about fixing them, and we have not wasted a moment. We have appointed Lord Darzi to carry out an independent investigation of the state of our NHS, we are resetting the relationship with junior doctors with negotiation…
CH
Carolyn Harris
During their free NHS 40-plus health checks, women are assessed for conditions that may affect them as they grow older, but menopause is not included. To include it would be cost-neutral and would not only help millions of women to recognise the symptoms, but prevent needless GP appointments when those symptoms start t…
WS
Wes Streeting
I am delighted to see my hon. Friend back in the House. She campaigns relentlessly on this vital issue, and it would be very risky for me to do anything other than agree to meet her, because I share her view that progress needs to be made on it.
LH
Lindsay Hoyle
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
Israel and Gaza19 Jul 2024
DT
Dan Tomlinson
I welcome the Foreign Secretary and the whole Front-Bench team to their place—it is wonderful to see. I also welcome the visit that the Foreign Secretary made to the middle east, and thank him for the time he spent visiting the families of the hostages who have been held in Gaza for nine months now.… I ask him to commit to do everything he can to ensure those hostages are released immediately.
Hansard · 19 Jul 2024 · parliament.uk
DL
David Lammy
With permission, Mr Speaker, I shall make a statement on the middle east. I was very disappointed to miss yesterday’s foreign affairs debate due to the European Political Community summit, and I welcome this early opportunity to come to the House. Last weekend, I visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories,…
EL
Edward Leigh
I call the Opposition spokesman.
AK
Alicia Kearns
May I start by welcoming the Secretary of State and his team to their places? They take up their roles in one of the greatest offices of state, which is committed to shaping the future and the safety of our country. That is, after all, the foremost duty of our Government. I take this opportunity to put on record my tha…
DL
David Lammy
I am grateful to the hon. Member for her remarks and for her work previously on the Foreign Affairs Committee, in which she was a stalwart champion for international humanitarian law. She raised these issues frequently in the House, challenging both sides on the issues she thought were important, and I am pleased to se…
SH
Sharon Hodgson
I welcome my right hon. Friend to his position. What discussions has he had on a deal to secure the release of the hostages? Can he inform the House of the welfare of the remaining hostages?
