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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what business rate relief is available to independent nursery providers; and on what basis that relief is calculated.

Since Budget 2016 the Government has introduced a range of business rates measures in England worth £13 billion over the next five years. This includes switching the annual indexation of business rates from the retail price index to the consumer price index, representing a cut in business rates every year to all ratepayers, including nurseries, and saving businesses over £6 billion over the next five years. It also includes doubling small business rate relief from 50 per cent to 100 per cent for eligible businesses and raising the threshold for 100 per cent relief from £6,000 to £12,000. Eligible businesses with a rateable value between £12,000 and £15,000 will be entitled to tapered relief. Independent nursery providers may therefore be eligible for small business rate relief if they occupy a single property with a rateable value below £15,000. After the 2017 revaluation, the Government established a £300 million fund to enable local authorities to provide additional targeted support to their local businesses.