Speeches by 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 busi…”

“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 …”

“I regularly reply to letters and parliamentary questions from the hon. Member and those on both sides of the House.”

“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 …”

“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.”

“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…”

“Yes, happily.”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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. W…”

“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% …”

“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…”

“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…”

“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 pay…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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.”

“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 …”