This Government recognises that too many neighbourhoods, including in market towns, have been let down by broken promises of renewal, resulting in the loss of valued community assets and the decline of local high streets.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the merits of having a civic centre in every market town. However, through our wider work to regenerate town centres and strengthen communities, we are supporting places to invest in the civic and community assets that best meet local needs. Our Pride in Place programme is empowering local people to shape the future of their neighbourhood. Supported by up to £5.8 billion in funding for 284 places across the country, Neighbourhood Boards are working with residents to deliver improvements that improve public spaces and create thriving communities.

Markets make an important economic and social contribution to our high streets and towns. They help to grow their local economy, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs and start-up businesses, as well as social engagement and inclusion.

Local authorities are empowered to make decisions on running, supporting and investing in local markets in their areas. This government is also committed to extending devolution in England, as set out in the English Devolution White Paper, and strategic authorities will be empowered to drive economic development and regeneration in local areas.

In due course we will publish our High Streets Strategy, backed by £301 million of support, to help turn the tide on the high streets most in need.

Markets make an important economic and social contribution to our high streets and towns. They help to grow their local economy, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs and start-up businesses, as well as social engagement and inclusion.

Local authorities are empowered to make decisions on running, supporting and investing in local markets in their areas. This government is also committed to extending devolution in England, as set out in the English Devolution White Paper, and strategic authorities will be empowered to drive economic development and regeneration in local areas.

In due course we will publish our High Streets Strategy, backed by £301 million of support, to help turn the tide on the high streets most in need.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

In September 2025 we announced the Local Regeneration Fund, which brings together the Levelling Up Fund, Towns Deals and Pathfinder Pilots into a single, flexible capital pot, responding to Local Authority feedback for less bureaucratic oversight and more local autonomy.

This partnership approach empowers local authorities to allocate resources based on their own priorities, which will help rural councils. Decisions on how to manage these allocations rest with each authority’s Section 151 Officer or equivalent. In the small number of cases where projects are no longer viable, we expect projects to rescope their plans and use the funding for other initiatives in the same area that originally stood to benefit.

Earlier this month, the Prime Minister confirmed that 40 further places will join the Pride in Place Programme. That means that nearly 300 communities will benefit from this transformational programme. Funding for the Pride in Place programme is going to communities with the greatest need: places that have been overlooked and stand to benefit most, including market towns.

Market towns are an important part of our national story. In March of last year, Minister Peacock responded to the Westminster Hall Debate on the Cultural Heritage of Market Towns outlining this importance.

Heritage funding can be accessed for projects in market towns and is administered through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Arms-Length Bodies. The National Lottery Heritage Fund provides grants of £10,000 to £10 million for heritage projects. Similarly, Historic England can provide grants, funding and advice.

In January 2026, the Secretary of State announced nearly £200 million of new heritage funding will be made available over the next 4 years. This includes £60 million for for at risk heritage which provides grants towards repairs and conservation of historic buildings, £41 million for the Heritage Revival Fund which helps communities to take control of and look after local heritage and bring buildings back into public use and £92 million for the Places of Worship Renewal Fund, a new capital scheme to support places of worship.

Economic growth and raising living standards is the number one mission of this government. Everywhere has an important role to play in driving growth and this government recognises the contribution that market towns, such as those in North Shropshire, make to the national economy and their surrounding communities.

Subject to consultation, we will fundamentally improve the way we fund local authorities, providing greater long-term certainty through the first multi-year Local Government Finance Settlement in 10 years, from 2026-27. This will enable local government to focus on its priorities, including driving growth.

With core funding provided by DBT and delivered in partnership with local government, the Marches Growth Hub provides local businesses across Shropshire with access to advice and support for any stage of their business journey and is part of a network of 41 Growth Hubs across England. We continue to work across government to support high streets, often the focal point of market towns, and we look forward to working with local partners to support continued momentum on economic development.

Our Plan for Small Businesses sets out how government will work across departments to help SMEs, including those on the high street, to start and thrive.

High street businesses will benefit from legislation to end the scourge of late payments costing the UK economy £11bn annually. With a £4bn finance boost, we are increasing access to finance for entrepreneurs and business owners through the Government-backed British Business Bank.

Businesses in Stafford can access both one-on-one support from the Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire Growth Hub and our new Business Growth Service. For example, between 2012 and 30 June 2025, 142 Start Up Loans worth £1.56m were issued to entrepreneurs in Stafford.

The government recognises that rural residents must often travel further to access their local high street. We know that this can affect business viability for high streets in rural areas as employee and customer accessibility is a significant barrier.

The government is providing over £650 million for local transport outside city regions in 2025-26 to ensure that transport infrastructure and connections improve in our towns, villages and rural areas as well as in our major cities. Addressing intra-regional transport, connecting rural communities to their local high street will increase the viability of high street businesses in market towns. The government is also providing over £1 billion funding to support and improve local bus services and keep fares affordable where we can and increase connectivity to high streets in rural areas.

We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.

To deliver our manifesto pledge, from 2026-27, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support.

This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so, from 2026-27, we intend to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties – those with Rateable Values of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.

Ahead of these changes being made, the Government recognises that businesses will need support in 2025-26. As such, we have prevented the current RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, and we have frozen the small business multiplier.

When the new, permanently lower tax rates are set at Autumn Budget 2025, the Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets in market towns and across the UK, and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 230 hubs have been announced so far, and over 160 are already open.

Where a branch closure is announced or a community has submitted a cash access assessment request, LINK, the independent industry coordinating body responsible for making access to cash assessments, assesses a community’s access to cash needs. LINK will recommend appropriate solutions where it considers that a community requires additional cash services, such as a banking hub or deposit service.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require LINK to consider a range of factors in their assessments which will account for challenges in cash access faced by market towns. For example, firms are required to consider the actual travel times and costs to reach cash access facilities and identify gaps in provision where these are unreasonable, which may be particularly the case in rural areas.

LINK also takes into account local population demographics and levels of vulnerability within the community. The criteria also assess whether there is likely to be seasonal demand for cash, which may be the case in certain market towns. These considerations help to ensure the specific needs of a community are assessed.

Any decisions on changes to LINK’s independent assessment criteria are a matter for LINK and the financial services sector.

Alternative options to access everyday banking services can be via telephone banking, through digital means such as mobile or online banking, and via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.

Small businesses are vital to high streets and communities, and essential to the success of the government’s growth mission.

At the 2024 Autumn Budget, Government announced generous tax reforms to support small businesses. Most notably, more than doubling the employment allowance to £10,500; commitments in the Corporate Tax Roadmap to maintain the Small Profits Rate and marginal relief at their current rates and thresholds; and freezing the small businesses multiplier for 2025/26.

The Government also announced changes to inheritance tax, including reforms to business property relief (BPR). The Government has protected smaller family businesses from BPR changes, providing a very significant level of relief with the first £1 million of business assets continuing to receive 100% relief and then 50% thereafter.

The Government has also committed £250m in 2025-26 for the British Business Bank’s small business loans programmes, including Start Up Loans and the Growth Guarantee Scheme.

We have also extended funding for Growth Hubs across England in 2025-26, meaning businesses in market towns can access free expert advice and support.

The Government is committed to ensuring that communities across the UK benefit from high-quality sports facilities, removing barriers to participation and enabling as many people as possible to be active.

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

In March, DCMS confirmed an additional £100 million investment in new and upgraded facilities across the UK as part of our Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. Our delivery partner for the programme in England is the Football Foundation, who plan their investment pipeline using Local Football Facility Plans (LFFPs), which are developed in partnership with local authorities so as to understand the needs of each community. These plans are being updated to better reflect current demand.

Future funding is subject to the ongoing Spending Review process, with further details to follow in due course.