Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 16139, on Hospitality Industry and Leisure: Business Rates, and to the Answer of 10 December 2024, to Question 17139, on Business Rates, on what basis and using what methods her Department has determined that the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants, will be subject to the higher multiplier which her Department plans to apply to properties which have a Rateable Value above £500,000.

To deliver our manifesto pledge, from 2026-27, the Government intends to protect the high street by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with Rateable Values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL properties benefit from much-needed certainty and support.

This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government intends to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties from 2026-27, that is, those with a Rateable Value of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but include the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.

The Valuation Office Agency publishes a breakdown of the Non-domestic Rating Stock of Properties by Sector, Sub-Sector and Special Category (SCat). This includes a ‘large distribution warehouses’ category, which is SCat 151.