Written questions by French.

What assessment she has made of the cumulative effect of (a) increasing betting duties on seaside arcades, (b) a nightly levy on hotel stays, (c) the abolition of Favoured Tax Regime for Furnished Holiday Lets, (d) changes to business rates relief, (e) the increase in Employer National Insurance Contributions and (f) the increase in the National Minium Wage for young people on businesses.

The Government has carefully assessed the cumulative impacts of measures announced over recent Budgets on businesses and households. Taken together, these measures raise revenue to support the public finances in a fair way, whilst providing targeted support. The Government recognises that recent policy changes will have combined effects on some businesses. Where changes are made, relevant assessments and impact notes are published to inform stakeholders. The Treasury continues to engage with affected sectors to understand the challenges they face and to ensure the UK remains a competitive place to do business. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep our policy approach under review, with future tax decisions taken at fiscal events under the normal process.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with international counterparts on protecting the right of nations to self-determination.

Article 1 (2) of the United Nations Charter establishes that one of the organisation's founding purposes is to develop friendly international relations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. We continue to work with our UN colleagues and international partners on the basis of that charter.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of business tax rises on the physical activity sector.

The Government recognises the important contribution that sport and physical activity make to health and wellbeing in the UK.At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties, including those in the hospitality sector as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto.The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million per year and benefiting over 750,000 properties, including sports and physical activity centres with rateable values under £500k.Additionally, businesses within the physical activity sector can continue to benefit from measures including the increase in the Employment Allowance to £10,500 and the Government remains committed to the small profits rate, under which companies with profits of £50,000 or less are subject to a 19 per cent rate. Marginal relief for companies with profits of between £50,000 and £250,000 means only around 10 per cent of actively trading companies pay the full main rate of 25 per cent. This means firms within the physical activity sector that meet these conditions will continue to face lower effective corporation tax rates.

How much revenue was generated in 2023/2024 from business rates on hereditaments that are being used for the provision of (a) sport, leisure and facilities to visiting members of the public and (b) casinos, gambling clubs and bingo halls; and how much the same venues are forecast to pay in 2025/26 and 2026/27.

The Government does not hold data on the amount of business rates revenue raised by different types of hereditaments.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of business tax rises on physical activity levels.

The Government recognises the important contribution that sport and physical activity make to health and wellbeing in the UK.At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties, including those in the hospitality sector as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto.The Government is doing this by introducing permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million per year and benefiting over 750,000 properties, including sports and physical activity centres with rateable values under £500k.Additionally, businesses within the physical activity sector can continue to benefit from measures including the increase in the Employment Allowance to £10,500 and the Government remains committed to the small profits rate, under which companies with profits of £50,000 or less are subject to a 19 per cent rate. Marginal relief for companies with profits of between £50,000 and £250,000 means only around 10 per cent of actively trading companies pay the full main rate of 25 per cent. This means firms within the physical activity sector that meet these conditions will continue to face lower effective corporation tax rates.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 November, to Question 87899 on Delivery Services: Driving Licences, if she will (a) publish the letter referred to from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Transport, (b) make an assessment of the potential impact of people engaged in delivery work without valid documentation on road safety and (c) review the training, testing, and licensing requirements for motorcycles.

a) I have placed copies of the letter referred to in my answer to Question 87899 in the Library of the House. b) The Department has no plans to assess the potential impact of people engaged in delivery work without valid documentation on road safety. This is a matter of enforcement of the law and for the police to decide, on the evidence of each individual case, whether an offence has been committed and the appropriate action to take. c) We are considering plans to review the existing requirements for motorcycle training, testing, and licensing that take account of both long-standing plans in the Department for Transport and the Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency, and proposals received from the motorcycle sector. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies. We intend to publish the Strategy this year.

Media and Sport, if she will publish the most recent data held by her Department on the number of registered parks and gardens within each local authority area.

Registered parks and gardens in England are designated by Historic England. Data on the number that exist within each local authority area can be found by consulting the online National Heritage List for England. Data on the number of designed landscapes in each local authority that are currently classed as being at risk can be found by consulting Historic England’s online Heritage at Risk Register. Both resources can be filtered by local authority.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 October to Question 77717 on Betting: Excise Duties, if she will list relevant engagements with ministers.

The Chancellor discusses a variety of issues with Ministers from other government departments throughout the year.

Media and Sport, how many (a) registered parks, (b) gardens and (c) designed landscapes are currently classed as at risk in each local authority.

Registered parks and gardens in England are designated by Historic England. Data on the number that exist within each local authority area can be found by consulting the online National Heritage List for England. Data on the number of designed landscapes in each local authority that are currently classed as being at risk can be found by consulting Historic England’s online Heritage at Risk Register. Both resources can be filtered by local authority.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of planning applications affecting sports pitches over the last five years by local authority.

My Department has not made a specific assessment about the adequacy of the types of application in question. Sport England received 1,164 statutory consultations in 2024/25, objecting to 30% of cases.

Communities and Local Government, if he will set out a timeline for bringing section 102 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 into force.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to UIN 69488 on 2 September 2025.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2025 to Question 78837 on Rural Areas: Economic Situation, what assessment she has made of the difference between the increase in costs for horseracing due to (a) the change in business rates, (b) the increase in the national minimum wage, and (c) the increase in Employer's National Insurance Contributions and the expected levy yield.

We continue to engage with racing and betting stakeholders to understand the impact of recent changes made by His Majesty’s Treasury. The horserace betting levy is based on the profits of bookmakers, which fluctuate according to the results of races. The levy is designed in this way so that the risk is shared between betting and racing stakeholders. The levy, which reached £108m in 2024/5 represents a small proportion of racing’s overall income when compared with contributions from betting operators for media rights, income from racegoers and contributions from owners and trainers. The levy yield for the year to 31 March 2025 is a new high since the Levy collection reforms of 2017/18, exceeding the 2023/24 figure of £105m.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 84932 on Business and Tourism: Greater London, if she will make an assessment of the potential economic impact of organised protests on tourism and businesses in London.

The Home Office does not plan to make a formal assessment of the potential economic impact of organised protests on tourism or businesses in London. Responsibility for tourism policy rests primarily with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, while business resilience and economic analysis are led by the Department for Business and Trade.The Government continues to work closely with police to ensure their public order powers are used effectively and we continue to work closely with the Metropolitan Police Service and to ensure that lawful protest is facilitated while minimising disruption to the public and economic activity.

What assessment he has made of the causes of the increase in Universal Credit claimants who are not required to work; and what steps he is taking to reduce the number of Universal Credit claimants who are not required to work.

The vast majority of the increase in the UC Health caseload is because the decision was taken by the last government to move sick and disabled people from Employment and Support Allowance onto Universal Credit at scale - a transition we inherited, along with a system where the incentives were wrong and health claims had been growing since 2019.We’re determined to fix the broken system we inherited and are removing the financial incentives in Universal Credit that discourage work, and we have redeployed 1,000 work coaches to help thousands of sick and disabled people who were previously left without contact for years.

If she will have discussions with the police to establish a National Police Trust funded from money seized from the proceeds of crime.

The Government is committed to depriving criminals of their illicit gains and reinvesting recovered proceeds to tackle crime and protect communities.Funds recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) are distributed via the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS). The Scheme aims to enhance asset recovery performance by incentivising law enforcement agencies to recover criminal assets, and by supporting local and national initiatives that strengthen asset recovery efforts. Its overarching goal is to reduce crime and deliver justice.Under ARIS, up to 50% of receipts are returned to operational partners, with an additional £13.9 million ring-fenced annually for national and regional capabilities. Agencies, including police forces, have discretion over how ARIS allocations are spent and may choose to support wider initiatives if appropriate.The Government is committed to reviewing ARIS and is working closely with law enforcement agencies, including policing partners, to ensure the Scheme continues to strengthen asset recovery and the effective reinvestment of criminal proceeds.Detail on the current use of ARIS funding can be found in the Asset Recovery Statistical Bulletin (ASB) at section 7: Asset recovery statistical bulletin: financial years ending 2020 to 2025.

Media and Sport, (a) if there will be exemptions made to her ticket price cap policy and (b) what criteria is used to judge this.

As set out in our response to the consultation on the resale of live events tickets, published last month, the Government believes that a good case can be made for narrow exemptions to the price cap in the case of resale for charitable purposes and the resale of debentures tickets. This issue was explored in the consultation, and a number of responses made the case for exemptions of this kind. We recognise that any exemptions must be tightly drawn to avoid potential abuse and we will continue to examine how these exemptions could be defined and administered in a way that does not risk undermining the overall effectiveness of the price cap, before legislation is brought forward.

Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 24 November to question 92054 on Independent Football Regulator: Political Parties, if she will publish the data on the additional political donations made by David Kogan.

All political donations required to be declared by the Governance Code on Public Appointments are publicly disclosed on the Electoral Commission donation register. The additional donations, beneath the thresholds required by the Governance Code, disclosed by Mr Kogan when he appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on 07 May 2025, are recorded in the transcript of that hearing.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the emigration of (a) 18-25, (b) 26-35, (c) 36-49, and (d) 50+ years old on (i) the levels of revenue raised through taxation and (ii) the sustainability of the public finances.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the government's official forecaster and is responsible for assessing the UK’s economic and fiscal outlook.The OBR assesses the fiscal implications of migration as part of its Economic and Fiscal Outlook and long-term fiscal projections.

Media and Sport, if she will provide a breakdown of the costs incurred by her Department, from 4 July 2024 to date, in the establishment of the Independent Football Regulator.

Details on DCMS’s public spending can be found in DCMS’s Annual Report and Accounts, available on GOV.UK. Spending on the passage of the Football Governance Act and the establishment of the Independent Football Regulator is a subset of the reported spend of the Sport and Gambling Directorate. All relevant costs relating to the creation of the Independent Football Regulator will be recovered from clubs via a levy, ensuring that there is nil cost to the public purse.

Of recent illegal working arrests, how many have been removed from the United Kingdom.

Details of Immigration Enforcement activity to tackle illegal employment in the UK can be found in the Home Office’s published transparency data: Illegal working and enforcement activity to the end of September 2025 - GOV.UKReturns data can also be found in the Home Office’s published transparency data. This is not broken down by arrest location: Returns from the UK and enforcement activity - GOV.UKOfficial statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.