Written questions by Badenoch.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of asking the Valuation Office Agency to develop an automated valuation model for calculating (a) council tax and (b) business rates valuations in England.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) provides the independent and expert valuations that underpin the business rates and council tax systems. Following the passing of the 2023 Non-Domestic Ratings Act, business rates revaluations will now be conducted every three years, with the next taking place in 2026.  There has also been significant investment in the VOA in the last five years through, upgrading the VOA’s IT infrastructure and digital capabilities for valuations across both the council tax and business rates systems.

If she will take steps to allow local authorities to levy (a) hotel and (b) tourist taxes.

The Government keeps all taxes under review and welcomes representations to help inform future decisions on tax policy. Any decisions on future tax policy will be announced by the Chancellor at a fiscal event.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2024 to Question 5223 on Council Tax: Wales, if she will publish the contract between the Valuation Office Agency and the Centre for Appraisal Research and Technology.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) publishes all contracts above £12,000 (including VAT) on GOV.UK in line with Government transparency rules. As the contract between the agency and the Centre for Appraisal Research and Technology (CART) falls below this threshold the VOA has no plans to go beyond these requirements. The VOA intends to publish more information about the Automated Valuation Model (AVM) before April next year, therefore it currently has no plans to place documentation provided by CART in the House of Commons Library.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2024, to Question 4354, on Public Houses: Business Rates, whether the introduction of a pub smoking ban would be deemed to be a material consideration for the purposes of calculating the Rateable Value.

Schedule 6 of The Local Government Finance Act 1988 states that no account is to be taken of any matter that is directly attributable to a change in legislation when determining a pub’s rateable value.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2024, to Question 5155, on Council tax: Wales, if she will list each individual type of variable used in the Valuation Office Agency's Automated Valuation Model.

The variables used in the Valuation Office Agency’s (VOA) Wales Automated Valuation Model and sources are listed in the table below: Data / VariableSource:Sale Price & DateVOA sales data; HM Land Registry Price Paid DataSale Price AdjustmentOffice for National Statistics / HM Land Registry House Price IndexProperty CoordinatesOrdnance Survey AddressBase Premium; VOA records; National Statistics Postcode Lookup (NSPL)Billing Authority of PropertyVOA RecordsProperty Attributes: Dwelling Type Dwelling Group Dwelling Age Dwelling Area Parking Facilities Subsidised Housing Indicator Bedroom Count Bathroom CountVOA RecordsPlot sizeLand Registry Title Polygons and Ordnance Survey National Geographic Database

Pursuant to the answer of 17 September 2024, to Question 5223, on Council Tax: Wales, if she will place in the House of Commons Library a copy of any report or documentation provided by CART to the Valuation Office Agency.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) publishes all contracts above £12,000 (including VAT) on GOV.UK in line with Government transparency rules. As the contract between the agency and the Centre for Appraisal Research and Technology (CART) falls below this threshold the VOA has no plans to go beyond these requirements. The VOA intends to publish more information about the Automated Valuation Model (AVM) before April next year, therefore it currently has no plans to place documentation provided by CART in the House of Commons Library.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2024, to Question 4354, on Public Houses: Business Rates, whether (a) pavement licences under the Business and Planning Act 2020 and (b) outdoor licensing under the Licensing Act 2003 affect the assessment of a Fair Maintainable Trade for the purposes of the Rateable Value valuation or revaluation.

Fair Maintainable Trade (FMT), for the purposes of determining a property’s rateable value, is an assessment of the property’s potential turnover. The absence or presence of a pavement or outdoor license will be reflected in the overall FMT for each pub.