Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many appeals related to business rates the Valuation Office has received from businesses in Tonbridge and Malling constituency in the most recent year for which figures are available; and of those appeals how many reached a conclusion requiring a new business rate to be set.

Statistics on the number of formal challenges received by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) against the 2010 Local Rating List Rateable Values split by quarters and local authorities are published on the VOA website. The latest published statistics at Billing Authority level on challenges received up to 30 September 2016 are available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/569288/NDR_2010_Challenges_and_Changes.xls

VOA data is not held in a way that allows it to be broken down by parliamentary constituency, and statistical estimates can be produced only at disproportionate cost. However, the following table shows figures for challenges received between 1 January and 31 December 2016, and those resolved resulting in a change to the Rateable Value in the rating list, for the local authorities of Tonbridge & Malling and Sevenoaks.

Counts are rounded to the nearest 10 with counts of 0 being reported as 0 and count fewer than 5 reported as negligible and denoted by '-'.

Information about whether changes in Rateable Values resulted in changes in business rates bills is not held by the VOA, as local councils are responsible for calculating the rates bill and applying any reliefs.