Business Rates

Monica Harding Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Tomlinson]

I very much agree with my hon. Friend. What happened in the past is in stark contrast to the reform of our business rates system under our Government. We have set out long-term differences in the multipliers—also known as the tax rates—faced by high-street businesses and those faced by the online giants and the largest businesses. Typical businesses on his high street will have a significantly lower tax rate than that faced by the largest online warehouses. I understand that bills may still increase because of the winding down of pandemic relief and the increase in rateable values, but that underlying reform of the system is there, and it is there for good.

[Monica Harding (Esher and Walton) (LD)]

Tom Duxberry has run Marney’s village inn, a brilliant and much-loved local in Weston Green, for 17 years. Its rateable value is set to rise from £20,000 to £50,000—a 175% increase—and he is facing rent rises; inflation on beer, wine products and energy; and customers with less money in their pocket. Did the Government not see his plight right from the get-go, and what more help can they give him with all those pressures?

[Dan Tomlinson]

Because of the interventions announced today, the total business rates bill for pubs will fall over the coming years. As the hon. Member mentions, we are giving individual pubs a 15% reduction on their new bills, and then a real-terms freeze for the next two years. That is a significant intervention because of the significant challenges that pubs have faced—7,000 pubs have closed—and the issues with their RV methodology.