Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the new surcharge on hereditaments with Rateable Values above £500,000 from 2026-27 will be revenue-neutral in relation to the cost of the new Retail, Hospitality and Leisure rate multiplier from the 2026-27 financial year onwards; and whether the business rates regime will have a (a) positive or (b) negative cost to the public purse in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with Rateable Values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026-27.
This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.
The rates for these new business rates multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the expected effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the new surcharge on hereditaments with Rateable Values above £500,000 from 2026-27 will be revenue neutral in relation to the cost of the new Retail, Hospitality and Leisure rate multiplier from 2026-27.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with Rateable Values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026-27.
This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.
The rates for these new business rates multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the expected effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 64077 on Film: Business Rates, if she will make it her policy to increase the level of film studio business rate relief to compensate for new business rates surcharge from 2026-27.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced an intention to introduce a higher business rates multiplier on the most valuable properties – those with Rateable Values (RVs) of £500,000 and above – from April 2026 to fund permanently lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with RVs below £500,000.
Eligible film studios receive 40 per cent relief on gross business rates bills until March 2034. Business rates bills are calculated by applying the relevant multiplier first and so film studios will receive 40 per cent relief on their total liability. As set out in supporting guidance, the Government may review the level of relief in the event of significant changes in RVs at future revaluations.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 64507 on Business Rates, if she will publish the written responses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The interim report will provide a summary of responses to the Transforming Business Rates discussion paper.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the new retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier from 2026-27 will be higher in (a) value and (b) scope than the 2025-26 RHL relief.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
Ahead of these new multipliers being introduced, we have prevented the current RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.
Eligibility for the new RHL multipliers is intended to broadly reflect the scope of the existing RHL relief scheme, and will be set out in legislation later this year.
The rates of the RHL multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 63629 on Civil Servants: Training, what was the definition of Islamophobia used in the anti-Islamophobia training for civil servants; and whether (a) handouts and (b) documentation was provided as part of the training events.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HM Treasury does not hold any materials used by the supplier for the event, including any definitions given. No handouts or documentation were provided as part of the events.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 63677 on Business Rates: Valuation, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in business rates on (a) the flexible workplace sector and (b) serviced offices as a result of the changes in valuation practices on such hereditaments; and how many such hereditaments have had their Rateable Values changed by the Valuation Office Agency.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The VOA must apply the law to the facts on a case-by-case basis. It does not hold data on business rates liabilities as billing and collection is the responsibility of local authorities.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2025 to Question 64049 on Alcoholic Drinks, what the evidential basis is that the exclusion of the direct manufacture of alcohol beverages is in line with international conventions for green bond frameworks.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The twenty largest sovereign green bond issuers to date are: Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Japan, Ireland, Spain, Canada, India, Hungary, Chile, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Poland and Denmark. This is according to the International Capital Markets Association sustainable bond issuers database.
The following issuers explicitly exclude the financing of alcohol-related spending in their green bond frameworks: Germany, the UK, Italy, Austria, Ireland, Spain, Canada, India, Chile, Singapore, Australia, Poland and Denmark.
France’s green bond framework excludes “Production or trading of alcoholic beverages (excluding beer and wine)”. Indonesia does not refer explicitly to excluding alcohol but issues green Sukuk (Sharia-compliant bonds). The other countries’ frameworks do not include alcohol-related spending in their eligible or ineligible criteria.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether transitional relief in the 2026 business rates revaluation will be funded by (a) the Exchequer, (b) higher multipliers, and (c) downward phasing.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government provides transitional relief to support ratepayers seeing large bill increases as a result of revaluations.
Only once we understand the complete 2026 revaluation picture will the Government be in a position to make final decisions, at Budget 2025, on the transitional relief scheme.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to retain Small Business Rates Relief at its current level for the duration of this Parliament.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property with a rateable value (RV) below the threshold of £15,000. If a business expands to a second property, it retains SBRR on the first property for 12 months. Following that, the business is not eligible for SBRR unless additional properties have an RV below £2,899 and their total property portfolio has an RV below £20,000 (£28,000 in London). Currently, over a third of properties (more than 700,000) pay no business rates as they receive 100 per cent SBRR, with an additional c.60,000 benefiting from reduced bills as this relief tapers.
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 published at Autumn Budget 2024, 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.