Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending business rates relief to (a) zoos and (b) aquariums.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.

To respond to those who are seeing large increases, Government has already acted to limit increases in bills, announcing a support package worth £4.3 billion package at the Budget.

The Government is also introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. This includes zoos and aquariums with rateable values below £500,000 that are open to members of the public. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties.

Further details on what is meant by “visiting members of the public” can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/business-rates-multipliers-qualifying-retail-hospitality-or-leisure.