Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of business rates on small and medium businesses in Barnsley Central constituency.

The review of the business rates system concluded at Autumn Budget 2021 with the publication of the Final Report.

The Final Report reaffirmed the importance of business rates for raising revenue for essential local services, introduced substantive interventions to the business rates system, and announced a package of measures worth £7 billion over the next 5 years.

The review set out new measures to reduce the burden of business rates on firms, including further relief for high street businesses, including extending Transitional Relief for an additional year, restricting bill increases to 15 per cent for small properties (up to £20,000 Rateable Value), and 25 per cent for medium properties (up to £100,000 Rateable Value), subject to subsidy control limits.

Local authorities have discretion to determine how much funding they provide to businesses and have the flexibility to target local businesses that are important to their local economies.