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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the difference between revenue forgone by billing authorities as a result of mandatory business‑rate reliefs and the amount reimbursed to those authorities through Section 31 grant payments; and if she will publish the latest quantified assessment.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Annually the Department collects from local authorities an estimate at the start of the year and actual at the end year of their business rates data. The data includes the amount of revenue forgone by billing authorities as a result of mandatory business rate reliefs and the amount reimbursed to those authorities through Section 31 grant payments under the business rates retention system and is available here, including the most recent data collected for 2026-27.

Local authorities are compensated for those mandatory reliefs they award locally, given these reliefs reduce the business rates a local authority would otherwise have retained.

Since 2026-27, local authorities are compensated for all mandatory reliefs foregone fully via section 31. Before 2026-27 mandatory reliefs that were in existence when the business rates retention system was set up were funded via an adjustment to top-up and tariff funding allocations for each local authority and as new or amended mandatory reliefs were introduced they were compensated for via s.31 grant.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of (a) wildlife crimes and (b) anti-social behaviour incidents recorded by police forces in England and Wales in which a (i) catapult and (ii) slingshot was used in each of the last five years by police force area.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences (including wildlife crimes) and anti-social behaviour incidents, recorded by the police in England and Wales.

This information is published on a quarterly basis by the ONS, and can be accessed here:

Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics

However, it is not possible to separately identify those incidents in which a catapult or slingshot was used.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the difference between the (a) council‑tax revenue forgone by Cumberland Council as a result of properties operating as furnished holiday lets and receiving Small Business Rate Relief and (b) Section 31 grant funding provided to that authority to compensate for that relief; and if she will publish the most recent quantified assessment.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government does not routinely assess the council tax bands that would apply if properties assessed for business rates were instead assessed for council tax and therefore does not have the assessment as requested.

The cost to local authorities of providing small business rate relief is compensated for in full via grant through the business rates retention system, so that authorities do not lose out as a result of provision of this relief.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the difference between the (a) council‑tax revenue forgone by billing authorities as a result of properties operating as furnished holiday lets and receiving Small Business Rate Relief and (b) Section 31 grant funding provided to compensate for that relief; and if she will publish the most recent quantified assessment.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government does not routinely assess the council tax bands that would apply if properties assessed for business rates were instead assessed for council tax and therefore does not have the assessment as requested.

The cost to local authorities of providing small business rate relief is compensated for in full via grant through the business rates retention system, so that authorities do not lose out as a result of provision of this relief.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the difference between the (a) council‑tax revenue forgone by Westmorland and Furness Council as a result of properties operating as furnished holiday lets and receiving Small Business Rate Relief and (b) Section 31 grant funding provided to that authority to compensate for that relief; and if she will publish the most recent quantified assessment.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government does not routinely assess the council tax bands that would apply if properties assessed for business rates were instead assessed for council tax and therefore does not have the assessment as requested.

The cost to local authorities of providing small business rate relief is compensated for in full via grant through the business rates retention system, so that authorities do not lose out as a result of provision of this relief.

Submit Evidence (by 10 Jan 2027)

The cross-party Modernisation Committee is holding an inquiry Private Members Bills, as part of its ongoing work on how time is used in the Commons.