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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with local authority leaders on the effect on Leicester City Council’s budget of (a) the 75 per cent business rate retention pilot and (b) 100 per cent business rate retention.

Local authorities taking part in the 2019-20 one year business rates retention pilot programme retain an additional level of growth in business rates compared to other authorities. These areas have flexibility over how they spend this additional income. These pilot areas have provided us with useful information which will help inform the future direction of business rates retention reform. There will be no further pilots in 2020-21.

The Government is continuing to work with the sector on the aim to increase retention of locally retained business rates from 50 per cent to 75 per cent from April 2021. This would give local authorities greater control over locally raised taxes. We are continuing to work collaboratively with the local government sector on the future direction of reform.