Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a pro-rata rate of business rate relief for all businesses with a rateable value above £51,000.

All eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses will pay no business rates in England for 12 months from 1 April 2020. There will be no rateable value threshold on this relief, and both small and larger businesses will benefit. Local authorities will reflect this holiday in bills as soon as possible.

The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors given the acute impacts of COVID-19 on those sectors. A range of measures to support all businesses has also been made available, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme for SMEs, and a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms.