Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her Answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 104726 on Department for Education: Business Rates, what estimate she has made of the change in business rates liability for the 2026-27 financial year compared to 2024-25 financial year for the (a) schools (b) other hereditaments for which her Department and the Education and Skills Funding Agency covered the business rates liability in 2024-25 financial year.

Claims for national non-domestic rates for schools are processed on a reactive basis by the department, once all claims have been submitted for payment. Claims can be made and adjusted for up to six years, which means that levels of payment and reimbursement for the 2024/25 financial year will continue to be subject to change. The department is therefore not yet able to provide a final figure for the 2024/25 financial year.

Regarding the change in business rates liability between the 2024/25 and 2026/27 financial years, the department does not hold a central estimate on changes between financial years. This is because payments are made on a reactive basis and will continue to be subject to change, depending on the rates that the Valuation Office Agency and billing authorities charge to individual schools.