Written questions by Hollinrake.

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.

What estimate she has made of how much business rates receipts in England will raise gross in 2025-26.

The Office for Budget’s Responsibility’s (OBR) October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook includes forecasts for UK business rates receipts. This is available online: https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_Oct_2024.pdf.

What information the Valuation Office Agency holds on the average proportionate reduction in rateable value for special category code 226 (pubs) in the 2023 business rates revaluation.

Statistics on the change in rateable value of non-domestic properties as a result of the 2023 Revaluation are published here:Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2023 Revaluation (compiled list) - GOV.UK Table 4.0 of the ‘non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, Revaluation 2023 compiled list’ shows the mean rateable value for the 2017 and 2023 rating lists by SCAT code including 226: public houses/pub restaurants. This also shows the change and percentage change in rateable value between the two lists.

Communities and Local Government, how many dwellings were liable for council tax in (a) England and (b) Wales in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) the most recent financial year for which figures are available.

Council tax is a devolved matter. You will appreciate therefore it would only be appropriate for me to comment on council tax data for England. Data on the number of dwelling liable for council tax in 2009 is available here. Data for 2024 is available here.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 4.63 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, HC 295, whether the £1.3 billion new grant funding includes central government funding for (a) freezing of the small business rate relief multiplier, (b) retail, hospitality and leisure relief and (c) compensation for changes to employer National Insurance contributions for public bodies in 2025-26.

On 28 November we published a policy statement setting out details on the Local Government Finance Settlement for the next year for councils across England, as well as the government’s wider intentions to fix the foundations of local government over the course of this Parliament.The £1.3 billion of new grant funding, does not include grant compensation that will be paid to local government for the decisions to freeze the small business rates multiplier, and to award relief to eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in 2025-26. Compensation for these tax policy measures will be paid to local authorities during through the normal business rates retention system processes.Additional to the £1.3 billion of new grant funding, the Government has committed to provide support for public sector employers for changes to employer National Insurance Contribution costs. This applies to those directly employed by the public sector, including local government. We will set out further details at the provisional Settlement in December.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to employer National Insurance contributions on the cost of outsourced local government services.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 11851 on 8 November 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what progress she has made on a devolution deal for Essex; and whether she plans to amend the date of the local elections scheduled for May 2025.

In July, the Deputy Prime Minister invited places without devolution agreements, such as Essex, to come forward with proposals for their areas. This process closed in September and we are engaging closely with local leaders and stakeholders to review proposals.The Government will shortly publish a white paper setting out an ambitious new framework for English devolution.No plans have been made to amend the date of the local elections scheduled for May 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 6 June 2016 to Question 38442 on Local Government: Public Private Partnerships, what steps her Department has taken to assess compliance with the Local Government Transparency Code since 2016.

The purpose of the Local Government Transparency Code 2015 (the Code) is to make it easier for the public to directly hold their councils to account, not as a means for central government to check up on local authorities. Therefore, the government does not monitor compliance with the Code.If there were concerns about a local authority’s compliance with the Code, a complaint could be made to the authority’s Monitoring Officer, or via their complaints procedure. It is possible to make a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman where the usual complaints procedures have been exhausted, or to make a Freedom of Information request if local authorities continue to fail in fulfilling their duties under the Code.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the total value of local government procurement of (a) goods and (b) services in the most recent year for which figures are available.

MHCLG does not collect data on the procurement activities of individual local authorities. They are independent contracting authorities and accountable to their own electorates.

Communities and Local Government, which types of hereditament are eligible for the retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief by Valuation Office Agency special category code.

The eligibility criteria for the 2024-25 retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief are set out in guidance published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Guidance for the 2025-26 scheme will be published in due course. The criteria for this scheme do not reference Valuation Office Agency special category codes, which are used principally for the purposes of valuation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 7830 on Council Tax: Wales, what each of the property attributes are under the headings dwelling type to bathroom count.

Descriptions of most of the property attributes can be found on GOV.UK here: www.gov.uk/guidance/property-attribute-data-pad#the-data-we-hold. Subsidised Housing Indicator - this indicates if a property has been purpose-built by a Local Authority, Housing Association or other public body. Parking Facilities – this is the type of parking at a property. For example, a garage or open parking space.

If she will publish the (a) address, (b) local authority, (c) special category code and (d) rateable value of each hereditament on the business rates valuation list.

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 lists at: www.gov.uk/find-business-rates The address, local authority, special category code and rateable value of each property is included within this list.

What estimate she has made of the gross increase in business rate receipts from the 2026-27 business rate multiplier surcharge on hereditaments above £500,000 Rateable Value.

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 exact rates for any new business rate multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the cost of outsourced (a) goods and (b) services in local government in the last 12 months.

MHCLG does not collect data on the procurement activities of individual local authorities. They are independent contracting authorities and accountable to their own electorates.

Whether (a) football, (b) rugby and (c) cricket stadiums or clubs with a Rateable Value over £500,000 will be liable to pay the 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 high street RHL properties benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties that have a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. The multiplier rates will be confirmed at Autumn Budget 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 14625 on Business Rate: Tax Allowances and with reference to line 18 of Table 5.1 of the Autumn Statement 2023, CP 977, for what reason the forecasts differ.

Autumn Statement 2023 (AS23) announced 75 per cent relief to Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. Based on local authorities’ Non-Domestic Rates form (NNDR1) returns, the static cost of RHL relief is forecast to be £2.4 billion in 2024/25. The costings contained in Table 5.1 of the ‘Policy Decisions’ chapter of AS23 account for the static cost being adjusted to reflect that business rates are deductible for Corporation Tax for companies and Income Tax for the self-employed, and that business rates are devolved. It also accounts for new burdens funding that English Local Authorities receive for the administrative and IT costs associated with the delivery of the relief. Therefore, the final cost is estimated to be £2.65 billion in 2024/25. Further information can be found in AS23 Policy Costings on page 23: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6560c3ef3d77410012420197/Autumn_Statement_2023_Policy_Costings_-_Final.pdf The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will, in due course, publish outturn figures, based on data collected by local authorities, which will set out the final amount of business rate relief provided to businesses in 2024/25.

Communities and Local Government, whether the provision of new housing through New Towns counts towards housing targets in Local Plans.

The government established the New Towns Taskforce in September 2024, tasking this independent expert advisory panel with making recommendations to ministers within 12 months on the location and delivery of new large-scale new communities in England.As detailed in the Taskforce’s full terms of reference, which can be found on gov.uk here, the panel will advise on a ‘New Towns Prospectus’ – standards that developers must meet in these new settlements (covering social and affordable homes, design, transport links to towns and city centres, public transport, green spaces), as well as what the government ‘offer’ is in return.We have been clear that the next generation of new towns will deliver over and above local housing need assessed through the new standard method. We intend to keep under review the interaction between new towns and local housing need figures, taking into account the Taskforce’s final report once submitted in July 2025.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answers of (a) 14 October 2024 to Question 6386 and (b) 9 September 2024 to Question 2997 on Affordable Housing, what estimate he has made of the aggregate change in the number of new units in the 2021-26 programme, in the context of her decision to prioritise social rent tenure over other tenure types.

As per my response to Question UIN 2997 on 9 September 2024, in July we confirmed that the previous government had agreed, but had chosen not to publish, a reduction in the 2021-26 programme's delivery targets from “up to 180,000 homes should economic conditions allow” to between 110,000-130,000. Those revised targets included a goal to achieve at least 40,000 social rent homes.At that time, we asked Homes England and the Greater London Authority to prioritise the very limited remaining programme funding towards homes for social rent.We have also asked that the £500 million additional funding announced at Budget is prioritised on social rent homes, and we will keep Parliament updated on delivery.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 2820 on Private Education: Business Rates, whether a (a) sports playing field and (b) playground is a positive material consideration by the Valuation Office Agency when calculating the rateable value of an independent school for business rates.

All intrinsic physical characteristics of the school are taken into consideration, and both sports playing fields and playgrounds are material considerations which positively impact the calculated rateable value.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2024 to Question 2635 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public Expenditure, if she will state how her department has changed the previous Government’s approach to extremism to facilitate the efficiency saving of £5 million that was included in the MHCLG savings listed in HM Treasury's document entitled, Fixing the foundations: Public spending audit 2024-25, published on 29 July 2024.

The Home Secretary commissioned the counter extremism sprint to identify gaps in current policy approaches and to recommend a new approach to tackling radicalisation that can draw people to hateful ideologies, both online and offline. The aim was to develop objectives and the foundations for a new strategy and recommend a coherent and sustainable approach to counter extremism across His Majesty's Government. The sprint was conducted over the summer and has now concluded.Departmental budgets are currently under review and will be announced by His Majesty’s Treasury in due course. The Home Office intends for all projects to deliver value for money and remain in line with budgetary capabilities.