Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support is available to small businesses affected by changes in Small Business Rate Relief.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Every three years, all commercial properties are revalued by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The 2026 revaluation, which will take effect from April 2026, will update RVs and may, therefore, affect businesses’ eligibility for SBRR. The revaluation process is ongoing and the VOA are required to publish a draft of all properties’ new RVs this year.
Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set rateable value. Eligible properties under £12,000 will receive 100 per cent relief, which means over a third of properties in England (more than 700,000) pay no business rates at all. There is also tapered support available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000, benefitting an additional c.60,000 properties.
The government is committed to retaining SBRR, which is a permanent relief set down in legislation. As highlighted in the Transforming Business Rates Discussion Paper, the Government is interested in hearing stakeholders’ views on the extent to which the current system acts as a barrier to investment and specifically, whether the current eligibility criteria for SBRR impacts businesses' incentives to invest and expand into a second property.
The Government will publish an interim report that sets out a clear direction of travel for the business rates system, with further policy detail to follow at Budget 2025.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of legislation on the inheritance of Individual Savings Account allowances from a deceased (a) spouse and (b) civil partner.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Individual Savings Account (ISA) regulations allow the surviving spouse or civil partner of a deceased ISA saver an additional ISA allowance, equal to the value of the deceased saver’s ISA holdings on their date of death, subject to certain conditions. These are referred to as ‘Additional Permitted Subscriptions’
To ensure these rules are as simple as possible, surviving spouses and civil partners can benefit from this allowance, up to 3 years after the death of the spouse or 180 days after the completion of the estate administration, whichever is later, and irrespective of who inherits the former ISA assets. This means individuals are free to make any bequests they wish in their will, for example by leaving some or all their ISA assets to children of their current or former marriage or civil partnership, without affecting the additional ISA allowance that will be available to the person who was their spouse or civil partner at the time of death.
Further detailed information on Additional Permitted Subscriptions is available at www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-additional-permitted-subscriptions-into-an-isa
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered amending the eligibility criteria for the Employment Allowance to include pre-schools.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
As set out in the response to your written question on 26 February 2025, eligibility for the Employment Allowance (EA) is dependent on individual circumstances, in line with HMRC guidance. However, most private childcare providers, including pre-schools, are eligible for the EA. The Government currently has no plans to change the EA eligibility criteria for private childcare providers. Further guidance on EA eligibility is available on https://www.gov.uk/claim-employment-allowance/eligibility
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether pre-schools can receive the same (a) National Insurance and (b) Employment Allowance benefits as nurseries.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Most businesses and all charities can claim the EA (subject to the connected persons rules); where an organisation is conducting work of a public nature, they need to consider HMRC’s guidance in more detail. This is dependent on individual circumstances in line with the guidance, though most private childcare providers will be eligible for the EA. Further guidance on Employment Allowance eligibility is available on https://www.gov.uk/claim-employment-allowance/eligibility
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support public bodies that are ineligible for the Employment Allowance.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer NICs costs, i.e., central government, public corporations and local government, not including self-financed organisations.
This is the usual approach the Government takes to supporting the public sector with additional Employer NICs costs, as was the case with the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether business rates apply to onshore converter stations that connect offshore energy to the National Grid.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Valuation Office Agency assesses onshore converter stations and the cables which transmit the power for non-domestic rating purposes. The cables are rateable between low water mark and the point the cable connects with the National Grid transmission system.