Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will encourage local authorities to use the funds for discretionary relief on business rates to help music venues.

The Government has put in place a £3.6 billion package of transitional relief to help businesses facing an increase in business rates. The Budget on 8 March set out a further package to support businesses that may have difficulty paying business rates, including a £1000 discount for eligible pubs with a rateable value of less than £100,000. My Department will shortly publish a consultation setting out proposals for the eligibility criteria for this discount. Additionally, £110 million will be available to assist those ratepayers losing small business rates relief or rural rate relief as a result of revaluation.

The Government is also making available a £300 million discretionary relief fund over the next four years to enable local authorities to help individual businesses that are facing increased rates bills. Decisions on how this discretionary fund should be distributed will be for local authorities. A consultation on this scheme is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/598261/Discretionary_Business_Rates_Relief_Scheme_consultation.pdf

All of these schemes can be applied to music venues, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria.