Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the findings of the report by the Music Venue Trust entitled Annual Report 2024, published on 24 January 2025, on the potential impact of the reduction in business rate relief on (a) grassroots music venues and (b) jobs.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including grassroots music venues, with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that they benefit from much needed certainty and support. The Government intends to fund this by introducing a higher multiplier on all properties with a rateable value (RV) of £500,000 and above.

In the interim period, for 2025-26, we have prevented the current RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40% up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business.

The Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee’s report on grassroots music venues recommended that RHL relief should not be wholly withdrawn in April 2025. The Committee’s report also highlighted the sector's desire for certainty and long-term stability. As set out above, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties from 2026-27.

The Government’s full response to the CMS Committee’s report was published on 14 November 2024 and is available online: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8227/grassroots-music-venues/publications/.