Written questions by Holmes.

What methodology does the Valuation Office Agency use to calculate the difference in a dwelling’s sale price and its assessed council tax valuation value for leasehold properties with less than a 99 year lease.

I refer the hon member to the answer on UIN 99866, tabled on 15 December 2025. The Valuation Office Agency values all domestic properties on the same basis and in line with legislation. Council Tax valuations are based on the value a property, offered for sale in an open market, could have been expected to meet at the antecedent valuation date (AVD), which in England is 1 April 1991 and in Wales, 1 April 2005.

With reference to HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, November 2025, page 95, for what reason a policy costing is listed for council tax and fire authorities but not for other types of local authority.

No policy changes were introduced prior to or at Autumn Budget for other types of council tax authority, so no additional policy costing notes were necessary.

Whether the Valuation Office Agency has (a) access to the data and (b) intends to makes use of the Department for Transport’s new Connectivity Tool when undertaking (a) council tax and (b) business rate valuations in (i) England and (ii) Wales.

The Valuation Office Agency do not currently use the Department for Transport connectivity tool or data as part of our valuation work on Council Tax or Business Rates in England and Wales. They currently have no plans to use this data although they regularly review where new data sources can support their valuation activity.

Whether she plans to make further changes to business rate relief in 2026-27, further to the measures introduced at Budget 2025.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base. At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) changes to employer National Insurance contributions and (b) other recent fiscal measures on (i) employment, (ii) investment and (iii) business closures in hospitality; and what steps she is taking to support the hospitality sector.

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer National Insurance contributions (NICs). The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts. The Office for Budget Responsibility also published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances. With all policies considered, the OBR's March 2025 EFO forecasts the employment level to increase from 33.6 million in 2024 to 34.8 million in 2029. The hospitality sector is predominately made up of smaller businesses. The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change. From 2026-27, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for RHL properties with an RV below £500,000. Ahead of then, the Government has prevented RHL business rates relief from ending, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, and frozen the small business multiplier.

If she will make it her policy to extend deemed reseller rules to cover UK-established sellers to help mitigate potential risks of unfair competition from overseas sellers.

Since 1 January 2021 overseas sellers, or online marketplaces where they facilitate the sale, are required to be registered and account for VAT for supplies of low value imports of £135 or less. Where an overseas seller sells goods located in the UK at th...

With reference to her plans for a retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier in 2026-27 and the associated increase in the multiplier for hereditaments over £500,000, whether it is her policy that (a) the two polici

As set out at Budget, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high-street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties from 2026-27. However, this plan to support the high street must be sustainable. That is why we intend ...

If she will make an estimate of the additional revenue generated following the reduction of business rate relief from 75% to 40% for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in the 2025-26 financial year.

Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief is a single year policy intervention. As such, the baseline scorecard assumption for 2025-26 was for RHL relief to not be extended. At Autumn Budget, the Government announced that from 2026-27, it intends to in...

With reference to paragraph 1.7 of her Department's publication entitled Transforming Business Rates, published on 30 October 2024, what estimate she has made of the amount of tax relief in (a) monetary terms and (b

In 2025-26, Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief will provide RHL properties 40% relief up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and the small business multiplier will be frozen at 49.9p. This is a package worth over £1.6 billion, aimed at suppor...

What estimate she has made of the revenue raised by the Residential Property Developer Tax.

The Residential Property Developer Tax (RPDT) is a 4% tax on the most profitable businesses undertaking UK residential property development to help pay for building safety remediation. The tax applies to developers' profits exceeding an annual allowance o...

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of the Institute of Fiscal Studies' finding relating to tobacco excise duty outlined in paragraph 10, page 3 of its report

The Government is committed to delivering its two key objectives on tobacco duty; to raise revenue and protect public health. High taxes reduce the affordability of tobacco products and supports the Government’s objective to reduce smoking prevalence. The...

With reference to page 42 of the Institute of Fiscal Studies' report entitled The outlook for the public finances in the new parliament, published on 10 October 2024, if her Department will make an assessment of the

The Government is committed to delivering its two key objectives on tobacco duty; to raise revenue and protect public health. High taxes reduce the affordability of tobacco products and supports the Government’s objective to reduce smoking prevalence. The...

What plans she has for revising her policy on accepting hospitality from the (a) football and (b) music industry.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers by my hon. Friend, the Minister without Portfolio, during the Urgent Question, Reporting Ministerial Gifts and Hospitality, on 14 October 2024, Official Report, Columns 594-602.

Whether (a) her Department and (b) the Office for Budget Responsibility has made an assessment of a potential Laffer Curve effect relating to (i) tobacco and (ii) alcohol duties.

Under the assumptions used in tobacco and alcohol costings certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility at Spring Budget 2024, increasing tobacco and alcohol duties increases overall duty receipts.

With reference to the Institute of Fiscal Studies' finding relating to the fall in revenues from tobacco duty over the last decade, outlined on page 42 of its report entitled The outlook for the public finances in t

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) launched its first strategy to tackle illicit tobacco in 2000. This, and consequent strategies with Border Force, have reduced the overall tobacco duty tax gap from 21.7% in 2005/6 to 14.5% in 2022/23. During this time, the d...