Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will reduce business rates for general aviation airfields to reflect their potential contribution to the economy.

The Government recognises the importance of general aviation. It has appointed Byron Davies as its champion, and at the end of 2018 he will deliver a report on the role that general aviation plays in the economy and address the potential contribution of general aviation aerodromes to the economy.

At the 2016 Budget, the Chancellor announced the biggest ever cut in business rates – worth approximately £9 billion across the next five years to support businesses. In addition at the Autumn 2017 Budget, the Chancellor stated that we will bring forward the switch of the annual indexation of business rates from RPI to CPI by two years to April 2018 a measure worth £2.3 billion over 5 years.