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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the role of business rates in developing the digital economy.

Rateable values are set independently of ministers by the Valuation Office Agency. All telecom and technology properties are assessed for business rates in the normal way to the common standard of rateable value. At Spring Budget 2017 the Government announced a £435 million package to support businesses in England facing the steepest increases in business rates following the revaluation.