Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to (a) retail, (b) hospitality and (c) leisure business rates on high street businesses.

Without any government intervention, the current Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief would have ended entirely in April 2025, creating a cliff-edge for businesses. Instead, the Government has decided to offer a 40 per cent discount to RHL properties up to a cash cap of £110,0000 per business in 2025-26 and frozen the small business multiplier. This is a package worth over £1.6 billion in 2025-26, aimed at supporting the most vulnerable businesses, ensuring that over 250,000 RHL properties receive the full 40% support.

By tapering RHL relief to 40%, rather than removing it entirely, the government has saved the average pub, with a rateable value (RV) of £16,800, over £3,300 in 2025.

At Budget, the Government also announced that from 2026-27, it intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties, including those on the high street. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much-needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on the most valuable properties, which includes the majority of large distribution warehouses, including warehouses used by online giants.

The exact rates for any new business rate multipliers will not be set until Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the revaluation outcomes as well as the economic and fiscal context.