Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including (a) air conditioning systems, (b) solar panels and (c) other energy-efficient installations within the scope of Improvement Relief in the context of encouraging (i) business investment and (ii) energy efficiency upgrades.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Autumn Budget, the government published the Transforming Business Rates Discussion Paper, which set out priority areas for reform. This paper invited industry to help co-design a fairer business rates system that supports investment and is fit for the 21st century.
This paper sought views on the efficacy of Improvement Relief, which was introduced in April 2024 and provides 12 months of relief for qualifying improvements to a property where this increases a property’s RV, including air conditioning systems.
In summer, 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 Autumn Budget 2025.
Eligible plant and machinery used in onsite renewable energy generation and storage, such as rooftop solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage, are exempt from business rates from 1 April 2022 until 31 March 2035.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the number of businesses that will no longer be eligible for Small Business Rate Relief as a result of rateable value increases at the 2026 revaluation.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set rateable value (RV). Eligible properties under £12,000 will receive 100 per cent relief, which means over a third of businesses 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.
The upcoming 2026 revaluation will update RVs to reflect their estimated market value at the 1 April 2024 valuation date. The VOA will publish the draft list of all RVs in the Autumn.