Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Topical Questions

Tuesday 9 December 2025 · 9 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Chief Secretary acknowledged the importance of the Office for Budget Responsibility and expressed regret over the premature publication of the Budget document.
  • The Treasury committed to considering further assessments of deprivation in rural areas, as highlighted in the "English indices of deprivation 2025" report.
  • The Chancellor stated that the Government is scrapping the energy company obligation and removing expensive levies from energy bills to reduce costs for families.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Meg Hillier Labour (Co-op) Hackney South and Shoreditch
Economy
Context

The OBR has faced criticism recently, with the publication of budget documents ahead of time being a notable issue.

Question

Would the Chief Secretary or the Chancellor like to remind people about the role of the fiscal risks and sustainability report, which does look longer term at the economy, and the importance that this has in planning?

Answer from Dorking and Horley

I have huge respect for the Office for Budget Responsibility, and I reappointed Richard Hughes for a second term earlier this year. We deeply regret the publication of the Budget document ahead of the Budget. Richard Hughes has apologised for that and has resigned, but I thanked him for his leadership of the OBR. My hon. Friend is right to point to the longer-term risks that the OBR also points out.

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Q2 Edward Morello Lib Dem West Dorset
Local Government Environment
Context

Rural areas face higher costs for delivering public services compared to urban areas.

Question

Will the Treasury commit to reviewing the funding formula, so that local government, integrated care boards, fire services and all our vital community services get the funding that rural communities deserve?

Answer from Dorking and Horley

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government recently published “English indices of deprivation 2025”, which included the supplementary report on how deprivation manifests in rural areas. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the Government will further consider those assessments of deprivation, as well as other inputs, when deciding funding models for local areas.

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Q3 Dave Robertson Lab Lichfield
Energy
Context

Constituents are concerned about the fairness of energy bill reductions.

Question

What steps will the Chancellor take with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that reductions in energy bills are reflected in standing charges, not just in unit prices?

Answer from Dorking and Horley

Energy bills are too high. The Conservatives left Britain dependent on the rollercoaster of gas prices, and left families paying almost £2 billion on bills for their failed energy efficiency scheme, the energy company obligation. We are scrapping ECO and taking some of the expensive levies off bills. My hon. Friend makes an important point about standing charges. He will know that Ofgem continues to consider low standing charge tariffs for exactly the reason that he raises.

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Q4 Wendy Chamberlain Lib Dem North East Fife
Business Compliance
Context

There is concern about the adequacy of in-person banking services, particularly in rural areas.

Question

When will the Government agree to have the Financial Conduct Authority review the criteria for access to banking services?

Answer from Dorking and Horley

I am afraid that I must disagree with the hon. Lady when she says that 350 is a meaningless number, but of course we understand the importance of in-person banking for rural communities. The location of banking hubs is determined independently by Link, and the criteria are a matter for the FCA, but I regularly meet MPs to discuss the adequacy and the application of those rules.

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Q5 Gill German Lab Clwyd North
Employment
Context

The second rise in the national minimum wage has impacted workers, particularly younger ones.

Question

What assessment has been made of the impact of the national minimum wage rise on younger workers?

Answer from Dorking and Horley

About 300,000 young workers are expected to benefit from the national minimum wage increases in April 2026. The Low Pay Commission was given a remit to develop its preferred path and pace for the equalisation of the 18-to-20 national minimum wage and the national living wage.

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Q6 Alison Bennett Lib Dem Mid Sussex
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The family farm tax has faced opposition from various political parties.

Question

Will the Minister at least revisit the forestalling clause, which would help older farmers in Mid Sussex and across the country to avoid the consequences of backdating the legislation?

Answer from Dorking and Horley

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 previous Budget—to 375.

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Q7 Alison Hume Lab Scarborough and Whitby
Transport Business & Trade
Context

Alexander Dennis is a British manufacturer of electric buses.

Question

Will the Minister confirm that this Government are backing British-built buses over Chinese imports, and can he confirm that the changes to public procurement processes will be implemented in time for taxpayers’ money to be spent on buying British buses?

Answer from Dorking and Horley

We have a proud history of manufacturing in this country, including in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and we will capitalise on that history as we drive our future growth. The UK is a leader in bus manufacturing, and the Government are committed to supporting the sector, including through the Department for Transport’s UK bus manufacturing expert panel.

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Q8 Nick Smith Lab Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney
Benefits & Welfare
Context

The MP references the Minister's announcement at the Budget regarding pension schemes for mining communities.

Question

Will he provide an update on plans for changing the surplus sharing arrangements for both the mineworkers’ pension scheme and the British Coal staff superannuation scheme?

Answer from Torsten Bell

My hon. Friend has been a powerful campaigner for those surpluses to be shared with the members of those pension schemes. He knows that we made an announcement at the Budget to ensure that the British Coal staff superannuation scheme surplus is shared with its members, and I know that the trustees are bringing forward their proposals on the sharing of future surpluses.

Answered
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Q9 Alan Mak Con Havant
Business & Trade
Context

The MP questions the Chancellor's support for entrepreneurs given recent cuts to venture capital trust tax relief.

Question

How can the Chancellor claim to support our entrepreneurs when she is cutting off the funding that they rely on?

Answer from Rachel Reeves

I hosted an event last night for entrepreneurs. Speaking at it were the chief executives of Quantexa and Motorway, both of whom welcomed the changes that we made to support entrepreneurs at the Budget, particularly the changes we made around enterprise management incentives, the enterprise investment scheme, VCT, and the three-year stamp duty holiday for companies choosing to list here in Britain. We are backing entrepreneurs in Britain, and they are backing our changes.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Cutting venture capital trusts tax relief

How: Welcomed Changes At Budget

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