Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has to introduce a Bill to allow public lavatories to be excepted from business rates.

The Government recognises that public toilets are valuable community amenities. Primary legislation would be required to provide business rates relief for those public toilets owned by principal local authorities and parish councils, as currently such bodies cannot have their rates bills reduced through reliefs. The Non-Domestic Rating (Lavatories) Bill, which would have enabled this fell when Parliament was dissolved. The Government will consider reintroducing the measure in due course.