Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the lower rate of business rates retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers, revaluation, and transition arrangements on pubs, bars and restaurants.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
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, including those in the hospitality sector as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for 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. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
More broadly, the Government is delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street, as promised in our manifesto.
The Government is doing this by introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties, including pubs. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to question 95074 of 2 December 2025, how many of the businesses classified as restaurants and cafes in the Valuation Office Agency draft 2026 rating lists have had their rateable value i) decrease ii) stay the same iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to question 95074 , how many of the businesses classified as holiday sites in the Valuation Office Agency draft 2026 rating lists have had their rateable value i) decrease ii) stay the same iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to question 95074 of 2 December 2025, how many of the businesses classified as hotels etc in the Valuation Office Agency draft 2026 rating lists have had their rateable value i) decrease ii) stay the same iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list
Asked by: Gill German (Labour - Clwyd North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people will receive the increased National Minimum Wage.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
From 1 April 2026, around 2.7m low-paid workers are expected to benefit from the uplifts to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Office for National Statistics holds data on the number of dwellings in each council tax band by (a) Parliamentary constituency, (b) local authority ward or division or polling district, (c) Lower layer Super Output Areas and (d) Middle layer Super Output Areas, in (i) England and (ii) Wales.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for National Statistics does not publish this data.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) publish Council Tax statistics on gov.uk.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer to question 95074, how many of the 52,080 businesses classified as pubs and wine bars in the VAO draft 2026 rating lists have seen their rateable value i) decrease, ii) stay the same and iii) increase compared to their 2023 rateable values.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA published the Draft non-domestic rating list on 26 November 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-change-in-rateable-value-of-rating-lists-england-and-wales-2026-revaluation-draft-list
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reforms to public sector procurement processes on economic growth.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
This Government is committed to using procurement strategically to drive growth across the United Kingdom, as set out in the National Procurement Policy Statement published in February.
At Budget the Chancellor went further, announcing that we will reform our approach to procurement so that it can actively shape markets and manage demand in the national interest. The Government has consulted on reforms to public procurement and impact assessments will be undertaken as required.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the OBR's report entitled Economic and fiscal outlook, published in November 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The OBR’s November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook is a detailed document, and plays a key role in our robust and transparent fiscal framework.
The report shows that growth is up this year, that living standards are up over the Parliament, and that we are getting borrowing and debt down.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing child poverty on the economy.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Child Poverty Action Group estimate the cost to the country at £40bn per year, which is one of the reasons why the government is removing the two-child limit and lifting 550,000 children out of poverty in the final year of this Parliament.