Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

David Reed Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Tomlinson]

It is really important that we level the playing field for business rates paid by high street businesses in Stroud—for which my hon. Friend is a strong and active representative—and those paid by the largest online retailers and those with warehouses and distribution centres. That is why we implemented the reforms in the Budget to rebalance the system through a lower tax rate on high street businesses and a higher one on those that can afford it. I thank him for raising the point that Opposition Members want to keep dodging, which is that on their watch 7,000 pubs closed across the country, hollowing out our communities and making our high streets and the places where we live less vibrant and less sociable.

[David Reed (Exmouth and Exeter East) (Con)]

I have heard from many struggling businesses across my constituency about the increasing pressures that they are facing. To give just one example, under the Government’s original plan, a small independent shop in Exmouth would have seen its rateable value rise by about 50%, wiping out the benefits of the lower small business multiplier, stripping it of eligibility for relief and leaving it facing extra costs of around £600 a month. Does the Minister understand how damaging that is for business confidence and viability, and will he please set out a timeline for when those types of small businesses can expect to receive support?

[Dan Tomlinson]

One of the challenges with the questions I am being asked by Opposition Members is that they seem to be suggesting that the Government should not have gone ahead with the post-pandemic revaluations. Those revaluations were set in train by the previous Government. I do not know about the hon. Member, but I think that, if businesses in his constituency or mine have seen a decrease in their rateable values since the pandemic, for whatever reason, it is right that the system is updated to reflect their post-pandemic values. That is what we have done. He cites a particular example. Of course there will be businesses that see increases in their rateable values, and that is precisely why we have stepped in, with the Chancellor announcing £4.3 billion of transitional support at the Budget last year.