Dame Angela Eagle

I will skate over the hon. Member’s attempt at a fish pun. I am happy to pass on his comments, which are not a matter for DEFRA, as he will know. As an ex-Treasury Minister, however, I can tell him that VAT is a large source of revenue, and fiddling around to make the system more complex is not often the best way of achieving an aim, but it is something that the Lib Dems do with rather a lot of things. His proposal would give away the simplicity of a sales tax, but I am happy to pass it on. We recognise that small hospitality businesses, including fish and chip shops, are under real pressure, which is why we have started to reform the business rates system to better support the high street. The Government are producing a new permanently lower tax for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties, including fish and chip shops. As we announced in the Budget, those new tax rates are worth nearly £1 billion a year in forgone tax revenue for the Treasury, and will benefit 75,000 properties.[Official Report, 9 February 2026; Vol. 780, c. 6WC.] (Correction) Fish and chip shops benefit from a £4.3 billion support package, protecting businesses from steep bill increases. Meanwhile, the smallest businesses will be protected by increases in the employment allowance from the effective national insurance contribution changes. Later this year, we will bring forward a new high streets strategy to reinvigorate our communities, and we will work with businesses and representative bodies to pull it together. That cross-Government strategy will consider what more we can do to support our high streets. The hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway spoke about the minimum wage. The Government accepted in full the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations on the minimum wage, to support the lowest-paid workers. As he knows, although that represents a cost for business, there is a balance here in terms of what the lowest-paid workers can get in exchange for their labour. When they get reasonable pay, they put that money into the local economy, so there is a balance—it is not all on one side. I am sure that he would not want the fish and chip sector to rely on very low wages in order to sustain itself. The balance that the Government have decided to strike is to accept the Low Pay Commission’s independently made recommendations on national minimum wage levels in full. We recognise that the sector is under pressure as a result of energy prices and are taking action to support it, such as through the permanent cut to business rates for hospitality announced in the recent Budget. The Government are concerned about the challenges that hospitality businesses can face in securing appropriate, fair and competitively priced energy contracts. To address that, the Government and Ofgem work closely together to identify and implement policy changes that can improve energy costs in the non-domestic market. Two years ago, Ofgem concluded an extensive non-domestic market review. Interventions to support businesses since that have included expanding the overarching standards of conduct for suppliers to all non-domestic customers, clearer rules on deemed rates and required standards for managing changes of occupancy. The Government have also recently announced a decision to directly regulate energy brokers and other third-party intermediaries where there is some evidence of abuse. Although third-party intermediaries can support businesses to secure more tailored and better value energy contracts, some rogue brokers exploit customers through excessive commissions or predatory sales tactics, which could prevent businesses from accessing competitive energy prices. Regulation will help to ensure that businesses can trust that brokers are acting in their best interests. If parliamentary time allows, the Government are working to have Ofgem ready to implement regulation in this area in the second half of 2027. In addition to new regulation, the Government have published a consultation with proposals to strengthen the powers of the Energy Ombudsman to ensure that consumers receive fairer and faster redress when things go wrong. Both those measures will improve competition in the energy market and ensure that non-domestic customers, such as those heating sunflower oil to fry chips in, are able to access free dispute resolution support. More than 600 hospitality small and medium-sized enterprises across England will receive free energy usage and carbon reduction assessments, and advice and guidance to help them cut carbon, cut costs and support increased productivity and growth. That project is expected to save the businesses an average of £5,000 a year, and it is already identifying key behavioural changes that can have a significant impact on energy bills. I hope the fish and chip sector can be made aware of that and exploit it. Fish and chip shops, along with all small and medium-sized enterprises, can access advice on reducing their energy bills and the business benefits of decarbonisation through the UK Business Climate Hub and the business growth service. Fish and chip shops may be small in size, but they embody something much bigger: the value of work, community and pride in British produce. While the last Government looked the other way as costs piled up, we are taking responsibility. We are backing the fishers and farmers who supply this great British staple, and we are backing the traders who serve it to millions. This Government will always be on the side of the workers who keep our plates full and keep the high streets alive. With the right support, these businesses can thrive, and this iconic part of our national life will be there for generations of Friday night fish and chip suppers in the future. Question put and agreed to.