Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the business rates model on rural pubs that have been rescued and are operated by volunteers in local communities; and what steps she is taking to ensure that non‑viable pubs, kept open because of the efforts of volunteers to preserve them, are not taxed for volunteering.

The Government has announced a £4.3 billion business rates support package to protect ratepayers from large overnight increases in bills.

In addition, the Government is introducing permanently lower multipliers for eligible RHL properties. These are worth almost £1 billion per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.

On top of this, pubs and live music venues will also benefit from 15% off their new business rates bills, ahead of their bills being frozen in real terms for a further two years. Three-quarters of pubs will see bills flat or falling in April. The new relief is worth £1,650 for the average pub next year. As a sector pubs will pay 8% less in business rates in 2029 than they do right now.

Pubs in rural areas may also benefit from either Rural Rate Relief or Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR). Rural Rate Relief aims to ensure that key amenities are available and community assets are protected in rural areas. It provides 100% rate relief for properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000. Around a third of properties in England pay no business rates because of SBRR.

The Government will also launch a review which will explore how pubs are valued for business rates.