Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the proposed lower multiplier for hospitality, leisure and retail from 2026-27 will interact with small business rate relief; and what estimate she has made of the impact of the lower multiplier on the cost of small business rate relief.

The government is committed to retaining Small Business Rate Relief, which is a permanent relief set down in legislation.

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set rateable value. Eligible properties under £12,000 receive 100 per cent relief, which means over a third of businesses in England (more than 700,000) pay no business rates at all.

There is also tapered support available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000.

Business rates bills are calculated by applying the relevant multiplier before reliefs are applied.