Business Rates: Airports

(asked on 17th January 2022) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Business Rates Relief Fund, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential value of discounts that would have been awarded to airports in England in the event that airports had been permitted to pursue covid-19-related Material Change of Circumstance appeals with the Valuation Office Agency.


Answered by
Kemi Badenoch Portrait
Kemi Badenoch
President of the Board of Trade
This question was answered on 26th January 2022

Parliament recently passed legislation to rule out coronavirus as grounds for a ‘material change of circumstances’ appeal of rateable value. It is a core principle of the business rates system that market-wide economic changes affecting property values, such as the pandemic, should only be considered at general revaluations.

Prior to this legislation being introduced, the Valuation Office Agency were at an early stage of considering their response to the material change of circumstances appeals. Although discussions had taken place no valuations had been agreed.

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