Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make recording studios eligible for the retail, hospitality and leisure business rates relief scheme from April 2026.

As announced at the Budget in October 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower business rates multipliers for qualifying retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from April 2026.

Since these new multipliers were announced in the previous Budget, the Government has been clear that the intention was for their scope to broadly reflect the scope of the current 40 per cent RHL business rates relief, which is centred around RHL properties that are “reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public”.

On 16 October 2025, the Government published legislation and accompanying guidance detailing the eligibility criteria for the new multipliers. As music studios are not generally reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public, the Government has no plans to make recording studios eligible for the new multipliers.

Nevertheless, the Government values the music industry and understands that recording studios are a vital part of the infrastructure of the industry. The Music Growth Package will see Government funding for the sector more than doubled from £4.1 million to up to £10 million a year for the next three years.