Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 February 2025 to Question 30645 on Business Rates, if she will make an estimate of the number of hereditaments subject to the £500,000 multiplier if the threshold is not uprated in 2026.

The Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27.

This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.

On 21 February, the Valuation Office Agency published an ad hoc release detailing total property counts and RV for properties in England with a RV over £500,000. This is broken down by sector, sub-sector, special category and region. This is available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-domestic-rating-property-counts-and-rateable-value-rv-for-properties-in-england-with-rv-over-500000.