Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of business rates on soft play centres in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.

In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills.

As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

The Government is also introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties, including soft play centres. These new tax rates are worth nearly £1 billion per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.