Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish examples or case studies to show how artist studios, co-operative creative spaces and small cultural venues may benefit from the retail, hospitality and leisure scheme, under the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025, to assist local billing authorities and cultural organisations in the implementation of that scheme.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025, how they expect local billing authorities to interpret "wholly or mainly" when considering the purpose of a hereditament where that hereditament combines publicly accessible cultural use with private studio or workshop space, and what indicators should be taken into account in determining primary use of a hereditament.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025, whether premises used for community arts activities, educational programmes or public participation workshops qualify as cultural, community or recreational facilities under those Regulations, and whether the presence of private artist workspaces affects eligibility.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the role of artist co-operative studios and cultural organisations in supporting high street regeneration and community cultural engagement, and whether those uses fall within the intended beneficiaries of the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they expect paragraph 4(a) of Schedule 1 to the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025 to be interpreted for artist studios or galleries that sell work online and provide physical access for exhibition or sale to members of the public.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have issued to local billing authorities about the interpretation of "visiting members of the public" under the Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025, particularly in regard to artist studios that provide public exhibitions, open-studio access or workshops.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties from April 2026, replacing the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID.
The scope of the new multipliers broadly reflects the scope of the current RHL relief. The Government has laid legislation defining which RHL properties will be eligible for the new multipliers. To assist Local Authorities (LAs) and businesses in interpreting this legislation, the Government has also published guidance on which properties qualify for the new tax rates. This guidance includes details on how LAs should apply the “wholly or mainly test”, how “visiting members of the public” should be interpreted, and how RHL properties doing a mix of in-person and online sales should be treated.
As administrators of the business rates system, it is the responsibility of LAs to determine whether a hereditament meets the legislative definition of RHL and therefore qualifies for the RHL multipliers. The Government cannot comment on individual ratepayers.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will proceed with the proposed Creative Content Exchange (CCE) before establishing a clear and enforceable framework for copyright, data use and fair remuneration for creators; and what assessment they have made of the risk of the CCE benefitting large technology platforms more than UK rightsholders.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The development of the CCE functions in tandem with the Government’s work on copyright, and we will ensure a copyright regime that values and protects human creativity, can be trusted, and unlocks new opportunities for innovation across the creative sector and wider economy. Supporting rightsholders in licensing their work in the digital age while allowing AI developers to benefit from access to creative material, such as through the CCE, will unlock new opportunities across the whole economy.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that the proposed Creative Content Exchange does not displace or undermine existing rights management organisations, collecting societies and digital marketplaces that facilitate the licensing and monetisation of creative works.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are developing a proof-of-concept pilot scheme for the Creative Content Exchange (CCE) to test the need for a new marketplace for selling, buying, licensing, and enabling permitted access to digitised cultural and creative assets. The pilot scheme is being developed as a research project with the input of a broad range of partners - including public organisations - to design an exchange that best suits the needs of content owners and data users. We are also working with licensing and rights management societies to benefit from their input and expertise.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence they used to support the need for the Creative Content Exchange; and how they will ensure that the proposed Creative Content Exchange complements, rather than competes with, existing industry-led platforms and institutions.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are developing a proof-of-concept pilot scheme for the Creative Content Exchange (CCE) to test the need for a new marketplace for selling, buying, licensing, and enabling permitted access to digitised cultural and creative assets. The pilot scheme is being developed as a research project with the input of a broad range of partners - including public organisations - to design an exchange that best suits the needs of content owners and data users. We are also working with licensing and rights management societies to benefit from their input and expertise.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of potential duplication between the proposed Creative Content Exchange and existing commercial licensing, distribution and rights management platforms.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are developing a proof-of-concept pilot scheme for the Creative Content Exchange (CCE) to test the need for a new marketplace for selling, buying, licensing, and enabling permitted access to digitised cultural and creative assets. The pilot scheme is being developed as a research project with the input of a broad range of partners - including public organisations - to design an exchange that best suits the needs of content owners and data users. We are also working with licensing and rights management societies to benefit from their input and expertise.