Written questions by Cleverly.

Pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 105226 on Small Businesses: Business Rates, whether the relevant Transitional Relief percentage cap under Supporting Small Business Relief scheme applies to small firms which due to higher Rateable Values (a) will no longer be eligible for 100% small business rate relief but which retain a tapered amount of small business rate relief, (b) see a reduction in the tapered amount of small business rate relief but still receive some tapered relief and (c) lose all tapered rate relief.

The 2026 supporting small business (SSB) scheme will support businesses who lose some or all of their small business rates relief, rural rates relief, or retail, hospitality and leisure relief in April. SSB will therefore apply in scenarios (a), (b) and (c).

For what reason the Valuation Office Agency's business rates estimator tool was taken down.

The estimator tool for England has been removed ahead of business rates bills being issued by local councils.

What each (a) value significant and (b) dwellinghouse code used by the Valuation Office Agency for council tax valuations is in (1) England and (2) Wales; and whether any other codes are used.

For Council Tax valuations, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) uses ‘Value Significant Codes’ to indicate specific features that are likely to affect the value of a property. Dwelling house codes allow the VOA to classify dwellings by their architectural style, characteristics and physical property type. They are made up of two parts: ‘Group’ and ‘Type’. The property data the VOA records is set out here: Property attribute data (PAD) - GOV.UK

Whether her Department has a policy on targeting levels of house price inflation.

The government does not set a target for house price inflation. The UK has a 2% inflation target, measured by the 12 month increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). CPI is a broad measure of consumer prices based on a representative basket of goods and services. The independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England is responsible for setting monetary policy to meet this target in line with international best practice.

For what reason some hereditaments in the 2026 Draft Rating List do not have an Unique Address Reference Number listed in their entry.

There are no properties listed in the 2026 Draft Rating List download that do not have an Unique Address Reference Number assigned to them.

Further to the Treasury Select Committee, Work of HM Revenue and Customs - Oral evidence, HC 416, 13 January 2026, Question 465, if she will list the Office for National Statistics datasets that the Valuation Office Agency is using.

The Valuation Office Agency is using the following data from the Office of National Statistics: Census geographies and House Price Index.

Whether granting of a planning permission for airport expansion, which has not yet been (a) started or (b) completed, would be deemed a material consideration in the business rates valuation of an airport by the Valuation Office Agency.

The Valuation Office Agency would not deem granting of planning permission for the physical expansion of an airport, which has not yet been (a) started or (b) completed, a material consideration in their valuation of that airport.

Pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 103000 on Retail Trade: Business Rates, what is the evidential basis for the £100 million figure on large distribution warehouses, how many of those hereditaments are paying more, and what is the mean increase in 2026-27 per warehouse.

Details on how large distribution warehouses are impacted by the new high-value multiplier can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier/effects-of-the-business-rates-retail-hospitality-and-leisure-multipliers-and-high-value-multiplier

What data HMRC holds on (a) stamp duty revenues for residential dwellings which are primary homes raised and (b) the number of transactions, by local authority area in the last financial year for which figures are available.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not collect data via the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) return on whether a residential property will serve as a primary residence. However, the Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings (HRAD) apply when an individual acquires a residential property while already owning another piece of residential property anywhere in the world. SDLT paid on homes which did not pay HRAD on a local authority basis can be calculated using Table 4a and Table 4c of the Annual Stamp Tax statistics publication available here: Annual Stamp Tax Statistics - GOV.UK SDLT paid on homes which did not pay HRAD is calculated by subtracting HRAD receipts from Residential receipts and the number of transactions is calculated by subtracting HRAD transaction counts from Residential property counts. Please note that the statistics publication covers the temporary thresholds period ending 1 April 2025 so the HRAD share may be higher than usual.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026, to Question 104787, on business rates: tax allowances, what is the estimated increase in business rate receipts from not uprating the (a) £12,000 and (b) £15,000 small business rate relief thresholds in line with the increase in average Rateable Values from the 2026 rates revaluation.

The Government does not hold this information.The Government has already started the work of reforming our business rates system by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £1 billion per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.The Government is also supporting small businesses to grow.  At Budget, the Government announced the extension of Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) so that businesses opening second premises can retain their SBRR for three years, tripling the current allowance.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 105303 on Business Rates: Valuation, on what dates were the summaries of the effect of the 2026 revaluation provided by the VOA to her Department.

The VOA is responsible for valuing non-domestic property for business rates purposes. They are required by law to compile and maintain up-to-date rating lists for non-domestic properties in England and Wales, impartially and independent of central government. On 1 April 2024, the VOA began the process of revaluing over 2.1 million non-domestic properties for the 2026 Revaluation. HM Treasury does not receive the full ratings list owing to taxpayer confidentiality. The Treasury worked closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government before Budget once the VOA shared the results of the changes in rateable values. That is why the Government introduced a support package at Budget worth £4.3 billion, to protect ratepayers seeing large bill increases. The VOA published its draft 2026 rateable values on gov.uk on 26 November 2025.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104889 on Council tax: surcharge, whether the Valuation Office Agency’s internal calculations for the 1% figure are broken down by local authority.

Fewer than 1% of properties in England are expected to be above the £2 million threshold – this estimate is not broken down by local authority. The Valuation Office Agency will be conducting a valuation exercise using industry standard techniques to identify properties with a value of £2m or above, including their location.

Further to the urgent question of 19 January 2026 Official Report, Column 25 on Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure, whether it is her policy that business support for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure is reduced relative to 2024-25 levels.

The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £1 billion per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since the pandemic. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.

Whether it is her policy to replace the business rates system.

The Government has already started the work of reforming our business rates system by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £1 billion per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.The Government is also supporting small businesses to grow. At Budget, the Government announced the extension of Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) so that businesses opening second premises can retain their SBRR for three years, tripling the current allowance.The Call for Evidence, published at Budget, focuses on how reform of the business rates system can be used to incentivise and secure more investment by Britain’s businesses. This Call for Evidence builds on the findings of the Transforming Business Rates: Discussion Paper and asks stakeholders for more detailed evidence on how the business rates system influences investment decisions.Any reforms taken forward will be phased over the course of the Parliament.

With reference to the Treasury Select Committee, Work of HM Revenue and Customs - Oral evidence, HC 416, 13 January 2026, Question 442, how many of the additional headcount of 1,000 VOA staff are assigned to work on the council tax surcharge.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is developing its resourcing and recruitment plans for the High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) work. It is not yet possible to confirm how many VOA staff will be allocated to HVCTS activity, out of the additional 1000 headcount for HMRC as a whole.

If she will list the overseas conferences that Valuation Office Agency officials have attended since July 2024.

The VOA attends a small number of overseas conferences which are an important part of sharing expertise, innovation and best practice. Since July 2024 they have attended the following:Aug 2024 IAAO Conference, Denver;Oct 2024 COVA Conference, Dublin;Dec 2024, International Research Symposium, IAAO, Amsterdam;Mar 2025, IAAO GIS Valuation Technologies Conference, Columbus, Ohio;Sep 2025 IPTI Halifax, Nova Scotia

Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104669 on Business Rates, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the increases in Rateable Values for (a) hotels and (b) pubs from the 2026 revaluation on the liability of those businesses for business rates from the BID levies.

Business Improvement District (BID) levies are set locally through ballot approved proposals and are not automatically affected by revaluations or new multipliers. Therefore, any adjustment is a matter for the individual BID under its governing arrangements. The Government recognises the important role that BIDs play in improving the local trading environment in high streets and town centres. Through the Pride in Place strategy, the Government has committed to strengthening BIDs by modernising existing arrangements, raising standards, and granting new powers for the establishment of property owner BIDs throughout England.

For what reason the proposed High Value Council Tax Surcharge will be levied on the property owner of the dwelling.

The High Value Council Tax Surcharge is intended to address aspects of unfairness in the current Council Tax system. Owners of properties worth £10 million should not be paying less tax than those renting an ordinary family home.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 103891 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, what is the evidential basis for the statement that the temporary Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief has been winding down since Covid.

The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief on business rates has been reduced over time since 2020/21, when it was set at 100%. In 2021/22, this relief was lowered to 75%, in 2022/23 it was 50%, in 2023/24 and 2024/25 it was 75%, and in 2025/26 the relief was lowered to 40%. At Budget, the Government announced it was extending the Supporting Small Business Relief scheme to those businesses who are currently receiving RHL Relief. This scheme caps the increases in bills they can face in each of the next 3 years, calculated from a baseline that includes the effect of the RHL relief. This means that many of those currently getting RHL relief will benefit from SSB relief next year.

What estimate she has made of increase in business rate receipts in England from 2025-26 to 2026-27 as a consequence of the CPI inflation uprating.

Details on business rates receipts for 2025-26 and 2026-27 are set out in the OBR’s economic and fiscal outlook.The further support for pubs and live music venues will be scored at a fiscal event in the usual way.In the coming financial year, because of the government’s interventions, the business rate system is raising broadly the same amount of revenue as it was forecast to before the Budget in Spring 2025.