Department for Business and Trade written question – answered at on 20 April 2026.
Andrew Bowie
Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero), Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the economic impact of hospitality business closures on high streets and town centres, particularly in regions with above-average closure rates.
Blair McDougall
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Hospitality businesses play a vital role in the economic health of high streets and town centres, supporting jobs, footfall and local supply chains.
The Government monitors developments affecting businesses on the high street and is taking action to support retail, hospitality and leisure businesses through measures such as licensing changes, business rates reform and wider plans to reinvigorate high streets and support local growth across all regions. This includes working with the hospitality sector to develop a High Streets Strategy that is due to be published later in the year.
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
