Written questions by Hollinrake.

What changes have been made to the valuation of airports for business rates in the last 24 months; and what representations her Department has received on that issue in that period.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) conducts analysis of changes in rateable value to prepare for regular revaluations. The VOA is currently working on a revaluation of all non-domestic properties, which will come into effect on 1 April 2026. The revaluation is not yet complete, and the VOA expect to publish draft valuations by the end of 2025. For the upcoming 2026 revaluation, as with other revaluations, the VOA is receiving ongoing representations from the airport sector. As set out at Budget, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000 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, the Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

What the forecast gross cost is of film studio business rate relief in (a) 2024-25, (b) 2025-26 and (c) 2026-27.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced that it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, 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, including film studios, with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. The Government has announced that it is proceeding with 40 per cent relief for eligible film studios in England on their gross business rates bills until March 2034. The costing was published at Spring Budget 2024 - . Business rates bills are calculated by applying the relevant multiplier first and so film studios will receive 40 per cent relief on their total liability. The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025.

What assessment (a) her Department and (b) the Valuation Office Agency has been of the potential impact on airports of the (a) surcharge on business hereditaments above £500,000 Rateable Value from 2026-27 and (b) 2026 rates revaluation.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) conducts analysis of changes in rateable value to prepare for regular revaluations. The VOA is currently working on a revaluation of all non-domestic properties, which will come into effect on 1 April 2026. The revaluation is not yet complete, and the VOA expect to publish draft valuations by the end of 2025. For the upcoming 2026 revaluation, as with other revaluations, the VOA is receiving ongoing representations from the airport sector. As set out at Budget, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000 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, the Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

Whether the higher business rate surcharge on hereditaments above £500,000 Rateable Value will apply to film studios; and how this change will interact with film studio rate relief.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced that it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, 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, including film studios, with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. The Government has announced that it is proceeding with 40 per cent relief for eligible film studios in England on their gross business rates bills until March 2034. The costing was published at Spring Budget 2024 - . Business rates bills are calculated by applying the relevant multiplier first and so film studios will receive 40 per cent relief on their total liability. The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025.

Whether she plans to maintain small business rate relief from 2026-27.

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) provides 100% rate relief for eligible properties with rateable values below £12,000 with tapered relief available for eligible properties with rateable values between £12,000 and £15,000. Further details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief/small-business-rate-relief The government has no plans to withdraw SBRR. The discussion paper on business rates, published at Autumn Budget 2024, invites views on how it might best create a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century. The discussion paper invites views on incentivising investment and growth and specifically invites views on potential ways in which SBRR might be improved. The discussion paper is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/675197b95692dd4c0c8d1dac/Transforming_Business_Rates__2_.pdf Any decisions on future tax policy will be announced by the Chancellor at a fiscal event.

Whether the increased revenue to the public purse generated by the increase in business rates for private schools from 2025-26 onwards will be (a) kept in full by local government, (b) shared between central and local government through business rate retention or (c) retained by central government.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government reconfirmed that it is removing private schools’ eligibility for charitable rate relief under business rates in England from April 2025. This intervention will raise around £140 million per year. Business rates retention means that local authorities retain a proportion of all business rates revenue. As set out in published policy costings for Autumn Budget 2024, the increase in rates receipts due to the reduction in charitable rate relief for private schools will be shared between central and local government.

If she will take steps to freeze the small business rate relief multiplier while adjusting for the revaluation in 2026-27.

The business rate multipliers to apply from April 2026 will be set at Autumn Budget 2025. Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) provides 100% rate relief for eligible properties with rateable values below £12,000 with tapered relief available for eligible properties with rateable values between £12,000 and £15,000. Further details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief/small-business-rate-relief

With reference to paragraph 2.43 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, whether she has made an estimate of the average difference in the business rate bill of a hereditament eligible for retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief in the 2025-26 financial year, relative to the 2024-25 financial year.

Without any government intervention, Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief would have ended entirely in April 2025, creating a cliff-edge for businesses. Instead, the Government has decided to offer a 40 per cent discount to RHL properties up to a cash cap of £110,0000 per business in 2025-26 and has frozen the small business multiplier. By tapering RHL relief to 40%, rather than letting it end, the government has saved the average pub, with a rateable value (RV) of £16,800, over £3,300 in 2025-26. At Budget, the Government also announced that from 2026-27, it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties, with rateable values below £500,000. 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 properties with rateable values of £500,000 or more, which includes the majority of large distribution warehouses, including warehouses used by online giants. The rates for any new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context.

What is the (a) mean and (b) median Rateable Value of hereditaments over £500,000.

The VOA regularly publishes official Non-Domestic Rating statistics on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/valuation-office-agency-non-domestic-rating-statistics. The number of properties over £500,000 in rateable value, broken down by property sector is published in table 2.2 here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66695d2cf5e751f1b786db07/ndr_stock_of_properties_2024.xlsx The highest rateable value band where the VOA publishes a breakdown of properties by special category code, mean and median is £51k. The VOA does not currently publish a further breakdown of data for properties with a rateable value over £500k but plans to do so in an ad hoc publication. The publication date is expected to be announced within the next two weeks, and information published by 31 March 2025.

If she will publish an impact assessment for the proposed application of a higher multiplier to properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or above.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced that it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, 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, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the decision to apply a higher multiplier to all properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or above on (a) large supermarkets and (b) department stores.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced its intention to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, 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.

What estimate she has made of the number of properties that the proposed new multiplier above £500,000 Rateable Value will apply to by (a) special categories and (b) sector.

The VOA regularly publishes official Non-Domestic Rating statistics on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/valuation-office-agency-non-domestic-rating-statistics. The number of properties over £500,000 in rateable value, broken down by property sector is published in table 2.2 here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66695d2cf5e751f1b786db07/ndr_stock_of_properties_2024.xlsx The highest rateable value band where the VOA publishes a breakdown of properties by special category code, mean and median is £51k. The VOA does not currently publish a further breakdown of data for properties with a rateable value over £500k but plans to do so in an ad hoc publication. The publication date is expected to be announced within the next two weeks, and information published by 31 March 2025.

If she will publish a list of the Rateable Value of each pub in England by (a) address, (b) local authority and (c) Rateable Value.

The VOA makes the Non-Domestic Rating (NDR) lists publicly available. This is to allow a person “access to information to enable them to establish the state of the list” and is set out under paragraph 8(1) of schedule 9 of the Local Government Finance Act (LGFA) 1988. To fulfil this statutory function the VOA publishes the Rating Lists at: www.gov.uk/find-business-rates The address, local authority and rateable value of each property is included within these lists. The advanced search function allows users to select properties by special category code and to filter by pubs using codes 226 and 227.

If she will publish an impact assessment for the proposed reduction in business rate relief for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced that it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, 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, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

What estimate she has made of the level of the (a) lower multiplier for retail, hospitality and leisure hereditaments from April 2026 and (b) higher multiplier for hereditaments above £500,000 Rateable Value; and whether she has a target for the average (i) decrease and (ii) increase in business rates as a (A) proportion and (B) number.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced that it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, 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. The Non-Domestic Ratings Bill due for Committee Stage sets out the parameters within which the government proposes the multipliers would be set by Treasury regulations.

What estimate she has made of the additional revenue to be raised from properties with rateable value of £500,000 or above in order to be able to set lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties below that threshold.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced that it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, 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. The Non-Domestic Ratings Bill due for Committee Stage sets out the parameters within which the government proposes the multipliers would be set by Treasury regulations.

What guidance she has issued on whether (a) supermarkets, (b) hotels and (c) department stores with a rateable value over £500,000 will be liable to pay the new business rates rateable value multiplier surcharge from 2026-27.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced its intention to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, 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.

What assessment has the Valuation Office Agency made of the potential impact of the 2026 business rates revaluation on businesses, broken down by (a) special category code and (b) each English region.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has a statutory duty to compile and maintain accurate rating lists. The Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 set the date of completion for the next revaluation as 1 April 2026. Valuation activity is now underway. In line with section 41 of The Local Government Finance Act 1988, the VOA will publish the valuation list in draft by 31 December 2025. Following the publication of the draft list, the VOA will also publish official statistics on changes to rateable value, including by special category code and billing authority.

What the methodological basis was for setting the proposed business rate multiplier surcharge for hereditaments above £500,000 rateable value at a level of up to 10 pence in the pound.

To deliver our manifesto pledge, from 2026-27, the Government intends to protect the high street by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with Rateable Values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL properties benefit from much-needed certainty and support. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties on 2026-27 - those with Rateable Values of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but capture the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants. The rates for any new multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 and implemented in 2026-27. The higher tax rate, when introduced, will not be set higher than 10p above the non-domestic rating multiplier. The Government is clear that this is the maximum, and it does not represent the changes that we intend to implement. It is a guardrail that offer sensible limits with proportionate flexibility, ensuring the Government can respond to future revaluations as well as the changing economic and fiscal context.

With reference to the Government’s non-school business rate changes announced at Autumn Budget 2024, whether she has made a (a) regulatory impact assessment or (b) tax information and impact note on (i) the changes to retail, hospitality and leisure rate relief in 2025-26 and (ii) the new multiplier regime in 2026-27.

At Autumn Budget 24, the Government announced its intention to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with Rateable Values below £500,000 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. 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, the Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements. 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. At this point, the Government will publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.