The government recognises there are barriers which exist and prevent some people from participating in sport and physical activity, including access to facilities. We want to continue to do all that we can to tackle these.

We continue to work with our arm’s length bodies, Sport England and UK Sport, and sector partners to encourage sport bodies to make sport and facilities more accessible. Sport England's new ten year strategy 'Uniting the Movement' reinforces their commitment to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for those from under-represented groups, including disabled people.

Sport England is also developing a new plan called ‘Accessible and Inclusive Sports Facilities’ and that will be published this year.

Businesses which do not operate from a rate-paying premises have always been eligible for the £2.1 billion Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG).

In December 2021, over £100 million of additional ARG funding was made available to support businesses impacted by the Omicron variant. This was on top of the £250 million left over from previous allocations, meaning local authorities had over £350 million of discretionary grants to support businesses with.

As of 30 January, there remained £294 million of ARG yet to be disbursed to businesses. The Business Secretary has already written to those local authorities instructing them to disburse their remaining funding. And we encourage Local Authorities to distribute this funding to those businesses affected by the Omicron variant, and this includes those in the Events, Leisure, Hospitality, and Sports Sector.

We urge those qualifying businesses to apply for these generous grant schemes which are available until the end of March 2022.

The Government recognises that taking to our inland waters can have a positive effect on peoples’ physical and mental wellbeing. We are aware that there has been a considerable increase over the last two years or so in numbers of people taking up water-based activities such as canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, and open water or wild swimming. Access to unregulated waterways can be arranged through voluntary access agreements, and access to regulated waterways can be granted through licenses from the appropriate navigation authority.

In December, Government announced a £1bn package of support for businesses impacted by the Omicron variant. This included grants worth up to £6,000 for businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors.

These measures are just the latest action we have taken to safeguard businesses and jobs and are in addition to:

• business rates relief meaning that the majority of businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will see a 75% reduction in their business rates bill across the entire financial year and a new 50% capped business rates relief next financial year;
• a 12.5% reduced rate of VAT for hospitality and tourism;
• access to finance for SMEs through the Recovery Loan Scheme to June; and
• Bounce Back Loan repayment flexibility, with borrowers having the option to take a 6 month repayment holiday, three 6 month interest only periods or extend their loan to 10 years, which almost halves the monthly payment.

Thanks to the Government’s decisive action to implement balanced and proportionate measures in response to the Omicron variant, Cabinet has decided to return to Plan A in England. This means the economy will get back to operating freely and businesses can recover more quickly.

In December, Government announced a £1bn package of support for businesses impacted by the Omicron variant. This included grants worth up to £6,000 for businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors.

These measures are just the latest action we have taken to safeguard businesses and jobs and are in addition to:

• business rates relief meaning that the majority of businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will see a 75% reduction in their business rates bill across the entire financial year and a new 50% capped business rates relief next financial year;
• a 12.5% reduced rate of VAT for hospitality and tourism;
• access to finance for SMEs through the Recovery Loan Scheme to June; and
• Bounce Back Loan repayment flexibility, with borrowers having the option to take a 6 month repayment holiday, three 6 month interest only periods or extend their loan to 10 years, which almost halves the monthly payment.

Thanks to the Government’s decisive action to implement balanced and proportionate measures in response to the Omicron variant, Cabinet has decided to return to Plan A in England. This means the economy will get back to operating freely and businesses can recover more quickly.

In December, Government announced a £1bn package of support for businesses impacted by the Omicron variant, including grants worth up to £6,000 for businesses in the hospitality and leisure sectors.

These measures are just the latest action taken to safeguard businesses and jobs and is in addition to:

• business rates relief meaning that the majority of businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will see a 75% reduction in their business rates bill across the entire financial year and a new 50% capped business rates relief next financial year;
• a 12.5% reduced rate of VAT for hospitality and tourism;
• access to finance for SMEs through the Recovery Loan Scheme to June; and
• Bounce Back Loan repayment flexibility, with borrowers having the option to take a 6 month repayment holiday, three 6 month interest only periods or extend their loan to 10 years, which almost halves the monthly payment.

Thanks to our decisive action to implement balanced and proportionate measures in response to the Omicron variant, Cabinet has decided to return to Plan A in England.

The total value of business rates relief provided to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England was £11.1 billion in 2020/21, and is forecasted to be £5.8 billion in 2021/22

The renewed Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme (AGOSS) that the Chancellor announced at the Autumn Budget provides support for eligible businesses with their fixed costs for a further six months, up to the equivalent of their business rates liabilities for the second half of the 2021-22 financial year, subject to certain conditions and a cap per claimant of £4 million.

The Government continues to closely monitor the risks posed by COVID-19 and the Omicron variant based on scientific advice, and will respond accordingly to help keep our most vulnerable communities safe. We are committed to working alongside all of our sectors to ensure maximum safety and we continue to share the COVID-19: ventilation of indoor spaces to stop the spread of coronavirus guidance during our sector engagements, to help minimise the risk of transmission in public settings.

The UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is the centre point of a business culture education and tourism programme that promotes the UK and UK companies in a number of different ways. UK expertise and excellence is promoted through the retail of food and drink, physical showcasing, thought leadership sessions, business and networking events and through online podcasts, virtual events and media/communications.

The activity at the UK Pavilion is arranged by the UK Government via the Department for International Trade (DIT) and also by sponsors and UK companies/organisations using the space to deliver their own events and messages. The number of UK companies that have taken part in the DIT programme as speakers, panellists and providers of podcasts online and physically to date are:

Fashion and Retail: 11

Creative Industries: 30

The UK Company Living Hospitality are providing the onsite retailing of food and drink using menus that are designed to showcase the whole of the UK. UK food and drink is also highlighted at the Pavilion’s events and online.

Food showcasing is also taking place within sponsors’ events at the Pavilion, notably Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’s events. The Young Chef Young Waiter Competition held at the UK Pavilion and in the City of Dubai also showcased and promoted the best of the UK hospitality sector.

The Department does not collect information on the net business rates of properties by sector.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is currently collecting information and assessing valuations for the 2023 Rating List. As this work is ongoing, the VOA does not yet hold estimates on the percentage changes in rateable values. Once the revaluation exercise is complete, a draft Rating List will be published. This is expected to be published in late 2022.

The Department does not collect information on which types of properties are eligible for transitional relief.

The Government has announced a new relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth almost £1.7 billion, to help support high streets.

This is part of a wider package announced at the conclusion of the Government’s review of business rates, which is worth £7 billion over the next five years, including a freeze in the multiplier for 2022-23.

This follows unprecedented business rates support worth £16 billion for high streets throughout the pandemic.

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for mentioning that. We have business rates relief of almost £1.7 billion next year for retail, hospitality and leisure, which is part of a package of £7 billion over the next five years.

May I advise my right hon. and learned Friend that the Government’s step in the Budget last month to cut business rates by 50% for retail, hospitality and leisure companies, which means that 90% of all eligible businesses will see a cut of at least 50%, has been warmly welcomed across my Borough of Bexley? It will help many business to not only survive, but flourish.

The Government encourages all UK businesses with 500 employees or fewer to visit the UK Business Climate Hub and sign up to the globally recognised small business climate commitment. Businesses, distinguished by sector including retail, hospitality and entertainment, gain access to a range of resources to help them achieve net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.

Part of the commitment is disclosing progress on a yearly basis. In order to help businesses to report annually, they are now encouraged to use CDP’s new Climate Disclosure Framework.

The Government is also working closely with major trade associations across these sectors who have industry-wide net zero strategies. These include the British Retail Consortium who have published their Climate Action Roadmap, the Retail Sector Council who have produced an SME Green Guide, and Zero Carbon Forum who have released their Net Zero Roadmap, which is endorsed by UKHospitality.

The Government published the first ever hospitality strategy, which includes the commitment to help hospitality businesses and its supply to decarbonise. The recently formed Hospitality Sector Council was set up to work with the sector, by co-creating solutions while delivering the commitments set out in the strategy, such as developing a greener sector.

The Department does not collect information on the types of property in receipt of transitional relief.

The Valuation Office Agency publish data for the total rateable value for different property types here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-stock-of-properties-including-business-floorspace-2021

The Government is delivering a tax cut worth almost £1.7 billion for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses in the year 2022-23. Eligible properties will receive 50 per cent off their business rates bill, up to a maximum of £110,000 per business.

Together, the new Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief and the Small Business Rates Relief will mean that over 90 per cent of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will receive at least a 50 per cent reduction in their business rates bills in the year 2022-23.

Non-domestic rates are a matter for the devolved Governments in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Non-domestic rates are a matter for the devolved Governments in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.