Written questions by Hollinrake.

With reference to the Valuation Office Agency: Freedom of Information disclosure log, last updated on 26 October 2023, for what reason no information is available on this webpage.

The VOA’s Freedom of Information (FOI) releases log is due to be updated shortly with FOI releases that are of wider public interest. This follows a review (in line with section 19 of the FOI Act and ICO guidance) of the information previously published, and the removal, or movement, of information that was out of date, or best suited to be published alongside ad hoc or official statistics releases. The last FOI release was published on GOV.UK on 11 July 2024.

Whether HM Revenue and Customs holds data on the (a) number of employees, (b) salaries and (c) aggregate revenue of National Insurance contributions collected from local councils.

HM Revenue and Customs holds data on employee earnings and deductions, provided by employers in Full Payment Submissions to HMRC. However, local councils are not separately identified in HMRC data, so the requested figures are not available.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2024 to Question 19711 on Airports: Business Rates, whether any changes have been made to (a) using profitability metrics and (b) other processes since the last revaluation to the Valuation Office Agency's methodology for valuing business rates.

If by “profitability metrics” and “other processes” the question is referring to the method of valuation adopted by the Valuation Office Agency for airports, then there has been no change since the last revaluation.

Whether the Valuation Office Agency considers (a) the level of taxes and (b) other changes to fiscal policy when determining the valuation of a (i) pub and (ii) other hereditament.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) assesses non-domestic properties in line with legislation. This will be based on a set date, called the Antecedent Valuation Date (AVD). For the current rating list, this is 1 April 2021. The VOA’s valuations are based on the level of rent the property could earn at the AVD. Should the level of taxation and fiscal policy affect rents paid in the open market at that specific point in time, they will be reflected in any rental evidence that is used. Any change in the level of taxation or fiscal policy that occurs after the AVD, or would not have been known at the AVD, would not be considered until a subsequent non-domestic revaluation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 16486 on Public Houses: Business Rates and Employer Contributions, what methodology her Department used to estimate that the average pub has a rateable value of £16,800; and how this relates to special category codes used by the Valuation Office Agency.

The Transforming Business Rates consultation notes that the average pub has a rateable value (RV) of £16,800. This is based on the median RV of properties under special category 226: "Public Houses/Pub Restaurants" on the 2023 compiled rating list.

What information the Valuation Office Agency holds on the number of supermarkets that have a rateable value of above £500,000 in England.

This information is published by special category code (Scat) here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-domestic-rating-property-counts-and-rateable-value-rv-for-properties-in-england-with-rv-over-500000 The VOA consider Scat codes 139 Hypermarkets/superstores (over 2500 m2) and 152 Large food stores (750-2500 m2) as supermarkets.

What information her Department holds on when the Valuation Office Agency plans to publish the draft Rateable Values for all hereditaments in England as part of the 2026 business rates revaluation.

In line with Section 41 of The Local Government Finance Act 1988, the VOA will publish the 2026 rating lists in draft on Gov.uk by 31 December 2025.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the abolition of the £110,000 relief cap on (a) the level of retail, hospitality and leisure rate relief under the new 2026-27 multiplier system and (b) (i) SME and (ii) chain firms.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context. Tax policy and legislation is not subject to the Better Regulation Framework Guidance which requires an Impact Assessment to accompany policy decisions. Nevertheless, when the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025 – to take effect in the 2026-27 billing year – HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

Pursuant to the Answers of 19 December 2024 to Questions 19709 and 19710s on Nurseries: Business Rates and Private Education: Business Rates, whether the inclusion of a nursery in an independent school increases the Rateable Value of that school.

Yes. Where part of the independent school setting includes nursery provision within the same occupation, that accommodation will be included within the valuation and therefore form part of the Rateable Value.

If she will publish the independent review into the Valuation Office Agency’s Automated Valuation Model.

As outlined in the response to PQ UIN 15200, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will publish further information on the model and its use in supporting the Welsh Government’s Council Tax reform ambitions on GOV.UK before April 2025.The information that will be published will be more up to date and cover similar content to the International Association of Assessing Officers presentations from 2023, so there is no intention to publish these.

What information the Valuation Office Agency holds on the number of dwellings that have (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four or more bedrooms in each local authority in London.

Information regarding the total number of properties on the Council Tax lists in England and Wales are published each year in the Council Tax Stock of Properties publication - www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-tax-stock-of-properties-2024. Latest information is as of 31 March 2024. Table CTSOP3.0 includes all properties in the England (1993) and Wales (2005) Council Tax Valuation Lists by property type and administrative area. The number of bedrooms for each property type are shown by clicking on the plus sign above each column. The summary tables are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/668545157541f54efe51b926/CTSOP_summary_tables.xlsx

How many dwellings were on the Valuation Office Agency’s valuation list in (a) England and (b) Wales in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) the most recent financial year for which figures are available.

Information regarding the total number of properties (dwellings) on the Council Tax lists in England and Wales are published each year in the Council Tax Stock of Properties publication - www.gov.uk/government/statistics/council-tax-stock-of-properties-2024. Latest information is as of 31 March 2024. Table CTSOP1.0 in the summary tables includes all properties in the England (1993) and Wales (1993 and 2005) Council Tax Valuation Lists, as at 1 April 1993 and 31 March for each year between 1994 and 2024. The summary tables are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/668545157541f54efe51b926/CTSOP_summary_tables.xlsx

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2025 to Question 24511 on Property Valuation, if she will publish (a) guidance and (b) correspondence from the Centre for Appraisal Research and Technology to the Valuation Office Agency on the use of the Gaussian Markov Random Fields approach in the automated valuation model.

As outlined in the response to PQ UIN 15200, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will publish further information on the model and its use in supporting the Welsh Government’s Council Tax reform ambitions on GOV.UK before April 2025.The information that will be published will be more up to date and cover similar content to the International Association of Assessing Officers presentations from 2023, so there is no intention to publish these.

If she will publish the presentations by the Valuation Office Agency to the International Association of Assessing Officers Annual Conference 2023 between 28 and 30 August 2023.

As outlined in the response to PQ UIN 15200, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) will publish further information on the model and its use in supporting the Welsh Government’s Council Tax reform ambitions on GOV.UK before April 2025.The information that will be published will be more up to date and cover similar content to the International Association of Assessing Officers presentations from 2023, so there is no intention to publish these.

What methodology her Department used to calculate the allowance for public sector bodies for changes to employer National Insurance contributions.

The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer National Insurance Contributions costs.The amount of public sector support was based on an estimate of the proportion of employer NICs receipts paid by public sector organisations, using the Office for National Statistics (ONS) classification of the public sector boundary. The Treasury routinely uses the Office for National Statistics (ONS) classification of the public sector boundary, for example in relation to public sector spending, public sector borrowing and public sector debt.This is in line with the approach taken under the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.This funding will be allocated to departments, with the Barnett formula applying in the usual way.The Government plans to publish the allocations for departments alongside departmental budgets for 2025/26 as part of Main estimates.

What assessment she has made of the potential cumulative impact of the 2026 business rates revaluation on the plans for a new surcharge on hereditaments with a Rateable Value above £500,000; and whether the £500,000 threshold will be uprated to reflect the changes to average Rateable Values following the 2026 revaluation.

The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context. Tax policy and legislation is not subject to the Better Regulation Framework Guidance which requires an Impact Assessment to accompany policy decisions. Nevertheless, when the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025 – to take effect in the 2026-27 billing year – HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements

Whether the £110,000 cap threshold on retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief under the multiplier regime will apply from April 2026.

To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. Whereas RHL relief currently limits that support to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, the government intends to have no such limit on the new multiplier in order to better ensure more widespread support for the high street.

How the proposed lower multiplier for hospitality, leisure and retail from 2026-27 will interact with small business rate relief; and what estimate she has made of the impact of the lower multiplier on the cost of small business rate relief.

The government is committed to retaining Small Business Rate Relief, which is a permanent relief set down in legislation. Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set rateable value. Eligible properties under £12,000 receive 100 per cent relief, which means over a third of businesses in England (more than 700,000) pay no business rates at all. There is also tapered support available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000.Business rates bills are calculated by applying the relevant multiplier before reliefs are applied.

How business ratepayers with multiple qualifying hereditaments across different local authorities will have retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief capped.

To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. 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. Local authorities determine eligibility for relief in line with central government guidance.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22322 on Housing: Pylons, whether her Department is taking steps to help increase awareness of the right to submit a proposal to alter the Council Tax list.

Guidance on the right to submit a proposal (formal challenge) against a Council Tax band and changes that may affect a property’s band is published at the following links:Challenge your Council Tax band: Overview - GOV.UK.How Council Tax works: Working out your Council Tax - GOV.UK.The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) proactively raises awareness of the guidance, and in addition has created and promotes other bespoke content clearly explaining how customers can challenge their Council Tax band. This is shared on social media, gov.uk and with partner organisations, e.g. local authorities, on a regular on-going basis.