Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.99 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, which public bodies can apply for funding from the new Public Sector Reform and Innovation Fund; whether public bodies will bid for those funds competitively; and if she will publish the terms of reference for that Fund.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Public Sector Reform and Innovation Fund allocates £165 million to a range of projects in 2025-26, including support for foster care, delivering apprenticeships and planning reforms.
In addition, the Budget allocates a further £100 million over the next three years to trial new and innovative projects, partnering with Mayors and local leaders, and focused on developing new approaches to public services with a focus on experimenting and learning. We will announce more details on this in due course.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.81 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, what the assumed local government core spending power in cash figures is in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26: and what the assumed respective cash figures within that are for (i) council tax, (ii) business rates and (iii) central government grants in each year.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Local government core spending power (CSP) is £64,786m in 2024-25, and is forecast to be £68,459m in 2025-26. These figures for CSP are estimates and subject to data changes. Final figures will be published as part of the 2025-26 Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS). Components of CSP will be confirmed in the 2025-26 LGFS.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 5.69 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, what estimate her Department has made of the yearly change in business rates receipts from private schools in each of the next five financial years; and whether (a) her Department and (b) the Valuation Office Agency has made an estimate of the number of hereditaments that are expected to become liable to pay higher business rates.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government reconfirmed that it will remove private schools’ eligibility for charitable rates relief under business rates in England from April 2025. This intervention will raise around £140 million per year.
Business rates retention means that local authorities retain a proportion of all business rates revenue. As such, the increase in rates receipts due to the reduction in charitable rates relief for private schools will be shared between central and local government.
There are approximately 2,440 private schools in England, of which around 1,140 are charities. The business rates system already provides an exemption for certain properties being used for disabled people. Additionally, the government will legislate to ensure that private schools providing “wholly or mainly” for pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will retain their relief. Taken together, the Government expects that around 1,040 private schools will lose their charitable rate relief.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.8 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, if she will publish the methodology used to forecast the delivery of savings of (a) £2.2 billion and (b) £4 billion on asylum in those years.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
This government has already ended the Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership and is reforming the asylum system by streamlining capacity to process asylum seekers and returning those that do not have the right to stay in the UK. This will start the process if ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers and deliver over £4 billion in savings in the next two years.
This is based on Home Office modelling projecting the costs of the asylum support system following the measures taken since July. The savings are generated against the Home Office’s forecasts of the costs of the asylum support system under the previous Government’s policies.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data the Valuation Office Agency holds on the rateable value of (a) farms and (b) farmland.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Farms and farmland, if used by the occupier for agricultural purposes, are exempt from non-domestic rating under Schedule 5 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988. Consequently, agricultural land and buildings are not included in rating lists and no rateable values are shown, so the Valuation Office Agency does not hold any relevant information.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's discussion paper entitled Transforming Business Rates, published on 30 October 2024, what the estimated yearly increase is in business rate receipts from the higher multiplier on hereditaments with a Rateable Value of above £50,000 from 2026-27.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
To protect the high street, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and the government intends to introduce a Large Business Multiplier from 2026-27, which will apply a higher rate on the most valuable properties (with rateable values of £500,000 and above). The rates for new multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the government can factor into its decision-making the next revaluation outcomes and the broader economic and fiscal context.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's discussion paper entitled Transforming Business Rates, published on 30 October 2024, what the estimated yearly decrease is in business rate receipts from the lower multiplier for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure hereditaments from 2026-27.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
To protect the high street, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and the government intends to introduce a Large Business Multiplier from 2026-27, which will apply a higher rate on the most valuable properties (with rateable values of £500,000 and above). The rates for new multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the government can factor into its decision-making the next revaluation outcomes and the broader economic and fiscal context.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to (a) increase and (b) discontinue business rate reliefs in 2025-26.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to delivering a fairer business rates system by levelling the playing field between the high street and online giants, better incentivising investment, tackling empty properties and supporting entrepreneurship.
Any decisions on future tax policy will be announced by the Chancellor at a fiscal event.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to (a) increase and (b) uprate the business rate multipliers for 2025-26.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to delivering a fairer business rates system by levelling the playing field between the high street and online giants, better incentivising investment, tackling empty properties and supporting entrepreneurship.
Any decisions on future tax policy will be announced by the Chancellor at a fiscal event.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, If she will publish (a) the agreement and (b) the terms of reference between the Welsh Government and the Valuation Office Agency in relation to (i) the Agency's work for a council tax revaluation in Wales and (ii) the development of the Automated Valuation Model in Wales.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Welsh Government have previously responded on this matter in June 2024.
The answers can be viewed here: