Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of forthcoming changes to business rate relief on the viability of grassroots music venues.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Autumn Budget, the Government announced that retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties will receive 40% relief (up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business) for 2025-26. Under the plans we inherited from the previous government, RHL relief would have ended entirely in April 2025.
The Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s report on grassroots music venues recommended that RHL relief should not be wholly withdrawn in April 2025.
The Committee’s report also highlighted the sector's desire for certainty and long-term stability. The government has also announced its intention to introduce permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27.
The Government’s full response to this report was published on 14th of November and is available online: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8227/grassroots-music-venues/publications/.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations in Loan Charge Resolution’s letter to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, dated 7th August 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I know that the loan charge is an extremely important issue for many members and their constituents.
I have met with campaigners to discuss the loan charge, and the Chancellor and I continue to consider this matter. We will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many suicides of people facing the Loan Charge HMRC has referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC takes issues relating to loss of life or serious injury extremely seriously. HMRC has made ten referrals to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) where a taxpayer has sadly taken their life and used a disguised remuneration scheme.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) promoters and (b) operators of schemes now subject to the Loan Charge have been prosecuted.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Promotion or operation of mass marketed tax avoidance schemes is not, in or of itself, a criminal offence,unless the promoter is acting in breach of an HMRC Stop Notice.
One individual involved in selling Disguised Remuneration schemes subject to the Loan Charge has been convicted for a related offence. A number of individuals are currently under criminal investigation by HMRC for offences linked to schemes subject to the Loan Charge.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of fuel duty on food prices.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Fuel duty applies to petrol, diesel and other fuels for road and non-road uses, such as construction. The Government carefully considers the impact of fuel duty on households and businesses, including haulage firms involved in food production and transportation.
Following the spending audit, the Chancellor has been clear that difficult decisions lie ahead on spending, welfare and tax to fix the foundations of our economy and address the £22 billion hole the government has inherited. Decisions on how to do that will be taken at the Budget in the round; the Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average business rates charge was for hereditaments with the (a) 227 Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (Inc. Lodge) (National Scheme), (b) 226 Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (National Scheme), (c) 234 Restaurants, (d) 238 Roadside Restaurants (National Scheme), (e) 409 Cafes, (f) 500 Cafes/Restaurants Within/Part of Specialist Property, (g) 060 Clubhouses, (h) 061 Licensed Sports, Social and Private Members Clubs, (i) 062 Coaching Inns, (j) 303 Bars (Valued on Floor Space) and (k) 199 G Night Clubs and Discotheques special category code in each local authority in (i) England and (ii) Wales in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for assessing all non-domestic properties for business rates purposes and determining each property’s rateable value (RV). Non-domestic properties are assigned a special category code (SCat), as a descriptor for different categories of property.
For transparency, the VOA publishes official statistics on the number of properties recorded in each Scat by local authority area. These can be found on VOA’s ‘Non-domestic rating: stock of properties, 2024’ statistics page on gov.uk, under ‘Stock SCat Tables by region, county, local authority district and rateable value band, 2024’ table ‘SOP_SCAT_LA_counts_all’.
The VOA also publishes the total RV by Scat and local authority area in table ‘SOP_SCAT_LA_rv_all’. The data published in these tables can be used to calculate the average RV.
The VOA does not calculate business rates bills or hold data on average business rates charges. The responsibility for the billing and liability of Council Tax lies with the local (billing) authority.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average rateable value was for hereditaments with the (a) 227 Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (Inc. Lodge) (National Scheme), (b) 226 Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (National Scheme), (c) 234 Restaurants, (d) 238 Roadside Restaurants (National Scheme), (e) 409 Cafes, (f) 500 Cafes/Restaurants Within/Part of Specialist Property, (g) 060 Clubhouses, (h) 061 Licensed Sports, Social and Private Members Clubs, (i) 062 Coaching Inns, (j) 303 Bars (Valued on Floor Space) and (k) 199 G Night Clubs and Discotheques special category code in each local authority in (i) England and (ii) Wales in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for assessing all non-domestic properties for business rates purposes and determining each property’s rateable value (RV). Non-domestic properties are assigned a special category code (SCat), as a descriptor for different categories of property.
For transparency, the VOA publishes official statistics on the number of properties recorded in each Scat by local authority area. These can be found on VOA’s ‘Non-domestic rating: stock of properties, 2024’ statistics page on gov.uk, under ‘Stock SCat Tables by region, county, local authority district and rateable value band, 2024’ table ‘SOP_SCAT_LA_counts_all’.
The VOA also publishes the total RV by Scat and local authority area in table ‘SOP_SCAT_LA_rv_all’. The data published in these tables can be used to calculate the average RV.
The VOA does not calculate business rates bills or hold data on average business rates charges. The responsibility for the billing and liability of Council Tax lies with the local (billing) authority.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information the Valuation Office Agency holds on the number of hereditaments there are with the (a) 227 Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (Inc. Lodge) (National Scheme), (b) 226 Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (National Scheme), (c) 234 Restaurants, (d) 238 Roadside Restaurants (National Scheme), (e) 409 Cafes, (f) 500 Cafes/Restaurants Within/Part of Specialist Property, (g) 060 Clubhouses, (h) 061 Licensed Sports, Social and Private Members Clubs, (i) 062 Coaching Inns, (j) 303 Bars (Valued on Floor Space) and (k) 199 G Night Clubs and Discotheques special category code in each local authority.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for assessing all non-domestic properties for business rates purposes and determining each property’s rateable value (RV). Non-domestic properties are assigned a special category code (SCat), as a descriptor for different categories of property.
For transparency, the VOA publishes official statistics on the number of properties recorded in each Scat by local authority area. These can be found on VOA’s ‘Non-domestic rating: stock of properties, 2024’ statistics page on gov.uk, under ‘Stock SCat Tables by region, county, local authority district and rateable value band, 2024’ table ‘SOP_SCAT_LA_counts_all’.
The VOA also publishes the total RV by Scat and local authority area in table ‘SOP_SCAT_LA_rv_all’. The data published in these tables can be used to calculate the average RV.
The VOA does not calculate business rates bills or hold data on average business rates charges. The responsibility for the billing and liability of Council Tax lies with the local (billing) authority.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in what Special Category code the Valuation Office Agency classifies shisha bars; and how many shisha bars there are in each local authority in England.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for assessing all non-domestic properties for business rates purposes.
The categorisation of properties is determined by the characteristics of the property, rather than the occupier. The special category code assigned to shisha bars is dependent on the type of property they occupy.
There is no designated special category code for shisha bars and it is not possible to separately identify these properties from the data and statistics the VOA publishes.
Asked by: Stuart Andrew (Conservative - Daventry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Valuation Office Agency takes account of the (a) presence and (b) size of a pub garden when valuing a pub for business rates; and whether the size of the garden is recorded by Agency.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA is responsible for assessing all non-domestic properties for business rates purposes to determine their rateable value (RV). The RV of any non-domestic (business) property represents the annual rent the property would achieve if let on the open market at a valuation date which is set in law. For the current RVs, which came into effect on 1 April 2023, the set valuation date is 1 April 2021.
The valuation of public houses for rating purposes is on a rental comparison basis. Rents are analysed using fair maintainable trade (FMT) as a unit of comparison.
A pub’s trading potential looks at what it could realistically generate, if run by a reasonably efficient operator. Its potential turnover, also known as FMT, is generally determined by considering income streams from drinks, food, and other areas of trade such as accommodation.
The absence or presence of a pub garden will be reflected in the overall FMT for each pub. It is not possible to identify the extent to which the beer garden contributes to the total RV therefore the size of pub gardens is not recorded.