Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the answer of 20 April 2026, to Question 124647, on Licensing Premises: Business Rates, what special category code the HMRC Valuation Office uses for the business rates valuation of a wine bar.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
I refer the member to the answer given to Question UIN 106140 on 21 January 2026.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the answer of 17 September 2024, to Question 5223, on Council Tax: Wales, whether an external firm has been commissioned to assist on council tax automated valuation model or computer assisted mass appraisal development.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The only external contractor which worked on the development of the automated valuation model is referenced in the reply to UIN 5223.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the proposed publication date by the HMRC Valuation Office for the draft council tax valuation list in Wales is, following the council tax revaluation.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Section 20 of the Local Government Finance (Wales) Act 2024 states that publication of the proposed valuation list will either be no later than the 1 September before the date on which the list is to be compiled in a revaluation year, or another date set out by Welsh Ministers in an order.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of people qualify for the single person council tax discount in (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27; and what estimate she has made of the aggregate value of the discount in of those years in England.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department collects data on the number of dwellings entitled to a single person discount but does not collect data on the number or proportion of people who qualify for the discount. The latest available data shows that, as of 6 October 2025, 8.5 million dwellings were entitled to a single person discount. The data is available here: Local authority Council Taxbase in England 2025 (revised) - GOV.UK. Equivalent data for 2026 is not yet available and will be published in November 2026.
The department does not make an estimate of the aggregate value of the single person discount.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there is a special category code which the HMRC Valuation Office uses to categorise places of worship for business rate liability or whether places of worship are exempt from the valuation process; and what processes are used for valuing places of worship which are not certified under the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Places of Public Religious Worship are not valued for business rates. For Places of Public Religious Worship without a certificate, the Valuation Office consider the tests for Religious Exemption as outlined in the Valuation Office Rating Manual, here.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 23 June 2026, to Question 10763, on Council tax: valuation, if she will place in the Library a copy of HMRC Valuation Office’s guidance on (a) site visits, and (b) requests for information, for council tax valuations.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
HMRC’s Valuation Office does not publish guidance on inspections or requests for information for Council Tax purposes. Each property is considered on a case-by-case basis to determine its Council Tax band. Additional information may be sought from the taxpayer in line with section 27 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. An inspection may be carried out, though this is not usually required.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of (i) Local Government Pension Schemes, and (ii) asset pools which have adopted investment policies which divest in (a) firms from Israel or which trade with Israel and (b) firms which are involved in Trident renewal.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department published statutory guidance on Investment Strategy Statements on 29th June 2026 which can be found here. As this set out, LGPS pools are responsible for implementing the investment strategies which their partner administering authorities have set, and strategies should not set exclusions for investments in individual countries, investment styles or companies. Government does not collect data regarding the number of funds or pools with specific responsible investment approaches.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 23 June 2026, to Question 9591, on Business Rates: Retail Trade, what the evidential basis is for the total business rate bills paid by the retail sector in 2026-27 compared to 2025-26.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The evidential basis is analysis conducted by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) using property-level rateable value data from the Valuation Office, alongside local authority returns, as published in MHCLG’s National Non-Domestic Rates statistics.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the answer of 21 April 2026, to Question 126749, on Council Tax: Surcharges, what the evidential basis is for residential dwellings being liable for both taxes, including the proposed higher level for foreign owners under the new surcharge.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) applies to companies that own UK residential property worth more than £500,000. ATED is intended to tackle tax avoidance, ensuring those who 'envelope' residential properties, by owning or purchasing them through corporate structures without a commercial purpose, pay a fair share of tax.
The High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) will apply to owners of residential properties in England worth £2 million or above. Some companies who are currently liable to pay ATED will be in scope of the HVCTS. The government sought views through consultation on a non-resident surcharge for HVCTS, a response will be published in due course.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 20 July 2026, to Question 18022, on Council Tax: City of Westminster and Wandsworth, whether her Department has assumed a 5% + £300 a year increase, across each of two years, in the six councils on Band H homes in each council.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in the answer to Question UIN 113737 on 2 March 2026, to calculate their Core Spending Power, we assume City of Westminster, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham, City of London, and Windsor and Maidenhead increase their council tax by 5% in 2026-27. We also assume they will increase their Band D council tax by 5% plus £150 in 2027-28 and 2028-29. As Band H levels are fixed at double the rate of band D, a £150 increase on Band D would equate to a £300 increase on Band H.
The actual level of council tax remains a local decision for individual councils, taking into consideration a range of local factors including the impact on taxpayers.