Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect of revaluation and the introduction of a new system for managing business rate appeals on expected income levels for local authorities from business rates.

The revaluation will have effect from 1 April 2017 and is intended to be fiscally neutral. The multiplier will be adjusted to take account of changes in total rateable values and changes to top-ups and tarriffs will minimise changes in retained business rate income for individual local authorities.

The business rates appeals reforms, which will also take effect from 1 April 2017, will provide a more streamlined and transparent appeals system and greater certainty in terms of local authority income.