Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure

Kim Johnson Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Tomlinson]

I hope that when the hon. Member was conversing with businesses in his constituency, he explained that this year, if a pub has a rateable value of less than £100,000, the policy as set out in the Budget will have capped those increases at 15%. I think it important for Members to do all that they can to help business owners pick through the complexities of the business rates system. It is a complicated system: there are many different reliefs, and there is a difference between the tax rates that are paid, the relief that is applied and the rateable value of the property. Of course some businesses are seeing their rateable values increase as we unwind from the pandemic, but that is precisely why the Government included that package of support in the Budget.

[Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)]

The hospitality and leisure sector in Liverpool is one of the largest employers and contributes significantly to the local economy. However, it is facing significant challenges at the moment, with the average hospitality business facing an increase of more than £48,000 in business rates over the next three years—double the national average, and a serious threat to sustainability. That is compounded by a 20% VAT rate, which is one of the highest in Europe. By comparison, Germany has reinstated a rate of 7% to support its sector. Can the Minister explain what targeted support will be provided to safeguard jobs, and to prevent closures and redundancies, in the hospitality and leisure sector in Liverpool? Will he please come to Liverpool to speak to business owners?

[Dan Tomlinson]

When I am up at the Labour party conference, I like to enjoy the pubs and hospitality available in Liverpool. It is a fantastic and vibrant city, and I know that the constituencies and areas in the middle of the city have some of the highest numbers of pubs and hospitality businesses in the country. Like me, my hon. Friend really values those businesses, the work that business owners do and, of course, the work that their employees do—they can be quite tough and demanding jobs.

We want to support hospitality, which is why the Government redesigned the transitional relief scheme at the Budget so that it applies a 40% reduction as the baseline, rather than unwinding the support in full, as the previous Government would have done overnight. We also said at the Budget that we will appoint a retail, hospitality and leisure envoy, and I look forward to that announcement in due course.