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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of the reduction of National Non Domestic Rates (NNDR) receipts in 2020/21 as a result of COVID-19, and what discussions have they had with the Local Government Association and councils about its impact on the operation of the Business Rates Retention Scheme and local authority budgets in succeeding years.

The Government is working with local councils to understand the impact that Covid-19 is having on their finances and capacity. We have now made £3.2 billion available to local authorities so they can address any pressures they are facing. This is in addition to measures to ease cashflow pressures, including deferring £2.6 billion of payments to government.