Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Valuation Office Agency's statistics entitled Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation, published on 26 November 2025, for what reason the average Rateable Values of Royal Palaces have increased by 201%.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Royal Palaces are valued in the same way as any other class of non-domestic property; through applying the statutory and common law principles that apply across non-domestic rating.
An increase in RV does not mean that business rates liability will increase by the same percentage.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of uprating the monetary thresholds for (a) small business rate relief and (b) rural rate relief Rateable Value in the 2026 revaluation cycle in line with the change in aggregate Rateable Values since the 2023 Rating List.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set RV. Eligible property under £12,000 will receive 100 per cent relief, which means around a third of properties in England pay no business rates at all. There is also tapered support available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000.
Rural Rate Relief aims to ensure that key amenities are available, and community assets protected in rural areas. It provides 100% rate relief for properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.
To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the numeric value of the (a) Retail, Hospitality and Leisure and (b) high value multipliers will be (i) uprated by inflation each year within the 2026 revaluation cycle based on the previous values for both those respective multipliers, (ii) remain fixed value (A) 5p discounts and (B) 2.8p additions to the standard multipliers and (iii) fixed value, but the 5p and 2.8p respectively will be uprated as well.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The national multipliers uprate by the previous September’s CPI figure every April before resetting at a revaluation, which occurs every three years. This is the standard approach, as multipliers are uprated yearly with CPI.
The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) multipliers will remain 5 pence below their national equivalents every year. The high-value multiplier will remain 2.8 pence above the national standard multiplier every year. However, the rates will remain under review, and the legislation does not preclude the Government from changing the rates for future tax years.
This is set out in the Explanatory Memoranda of the relevant legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/4/memorandum/contents
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the increase in business rates for pubs, after transitional relief, in each year of the 2026 revaluation cycle.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to UIN 101363.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95881 on council tax, what data was provided to Office for Budget Responsibility by her Department to assist them in the calculation of the council tax receipts in England.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The OBR forecast methodology for council tax can be found on their website, including information about the data they commission.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 52 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, what is the estimated uplift in the non-payment rate of council tax.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) is a new tax and is separate to Council Tax. HVCTS costings do not assume any increase in the non-payment of Council Tax. The assumptions used to estimate the revenue raised by the HVCTS are set out in the costing note published at Budget 2025.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, and pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 88672 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, what estimate her Department has made of the average monetary value of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief or multiplier to an average RHL hereditament in (a) 2024-25, (b) 2025-26 and (c) 2026-27.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
The total change in business rates revenue is set out in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, and to the Answer of 18 November 2025, to Question 88672 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, for what reason the £965 million value of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure multipliers in 2026-27 is less than the £1.4 billion value of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief in 2025-26.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
The total change in business rates revenue is set out in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, what is the notional increase in revenue from the abolition of the 2025-26 centrally funded RHL relief in 2026-27.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
The total change in business rates revenue is set out in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, November 2025, page 95, for what reason a policy costing is listed for council tax and fire authorities but not for other types of local authority.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
No policy changes were introduced prior to or at Autumn Budget for other types of council tax authority, so no additional policy costing notes were necessary.