Contributions
449 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillClauses 83 to 85 and schedule 13 make changes to the gambling duties regime, to better reflect the modern gambling market and to raise more than £1 billion a year to support the…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillThe tax changes in the Bill disincentivise the most harmful forms of gambling. We have also introduced a statutory levy to pay for the prevention of some of those harms arising in…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillMy hon. Friend makes a good point. NHS figures show that over 40% of gamblers who use online slots, bingo and casino games are considered at risk, compared with less than 15% of…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillThe right hon. Member raises a good point, as did my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell), about the illegal market. We are reassured by the fact that…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI confess to my hon. Friend that I will need to write to her on that specific issue, because I do not have notes in front of me to that end. We are on the same page in terms of…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillMy hon. Friend raises an important point around jobs in the industry. He will be aware that employment in the gambling industry as a whole declined by around 20% between 2015 and…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillAs I said, employment is an important consideration that has been borne in mind for the purposes of this Bill, and there has been considerable engagement on all these issues. If…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillIt was not me who had those engagements, but as I said, I confirm to the hon. Member that we are not proposing to make any changes to the treatment of free plays and free bets…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI am grateful to hon. Members for their contributions to today’s debate, and particularly to my hon. Friends the Members for Wolverhampton North East (Mrs Brackenridge), for…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillThe hon. Member raises an important point. Before I commit to her that I will take that forward, I would like to check what discussions have already taken place. I hope she will…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI am pleased to open this session—the sixth and final session in Committee of the whole House on the Finance (No. 2) Bill—on clause 86, which concerns alcohol duty. This…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillWe take all impacts on the hospitality sector and the pub sector extremely seriously, and this Government are proud to be backing British pubs across the piece. The changes we are…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI was talking about our new pro-growth licensing policy framework, which was announced in the Budget. If the hon. Member is referring specifically to business rates, as I think he…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI am grateful to my hon. Friend for that invitation. It is one that I will be taking up, as I would love to join her in that public house in her constituency. Importantly,…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI am grateful to the hon. Member, as always, for his intervention. I was about to talk about the strength-based duty system introduced by the previous Government on 1 August 2023,…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillMy point was that the benefit of the decision not to update alcohol duty will be felt mostly in the off-trade, which is a point that the hon. Gentleman appears to understand. The…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI am going to make a bit more progress. New clauses 8, 9 and 26 would require the Government to publish reports on the impacts of alcohol duty. The shadow Exchequer Secretary, the…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI am grateful to all Members for their contributions to today’s debate. Almost all of them have spoken passionately about their local pubs. I specifically acknowledge the…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI am going to make some progress. Based on HMRC’s ready reckoner, freezing alcohol duty would cost the Exchequer around £400 million a year. That money, despite the Opposition’s…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Finance (No. 2) BillI will make some progress. On the impacts on the public finances, HMRC publishes data on alcohol duty receipts quarterly. That data is reviewed alongside other evidence by the OBR…13 Jan 2026