Speeches by 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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“The Barnett consequentials of this decision will be set out in the usual way and through the usual process.”

“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…”

“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…”

“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.”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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…”

“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 …”

“No.”

“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…”

“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-…”

“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 …”

“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…”

“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 …”