Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2025 to Question 32146 on Public Houses: Business Rates and Employers’ Contributions, for what reason the median rateable value is used.

The Transforming Business Rates consultation used the median RV of a pub (£16,800) to illustrate the amount the average pub is estimated to save in business rates liabilities (over £3,300) from RHL relief being extended at 40% for 2025-26 rather than being removed entirely. The median RV was used as it is less affected by the presence of a few large pubs than the mean RV. Therefore, the median is likely to be closer to the actual RV of a greater number of pubs than the mean would be.