Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of business rate increases on the financial sustainability of non-maintained childcare and early-education providers.

The Department for Communities and Local Government has not undertaken an assessment of the revaluation on the financial sustainability of non-maintained childcare and early-education providers. However, rateable values of nursery premises are taken into account in the amount of early years funding provided to local authorities for them to distribute to providers.

At the Budget, the Government announced a £435 million package of support to help those businesses most in need of support following the revaluation. It included £110 million to support rate-payers losing small business rates relief and rural rate relief as a result of the 2017 revaluation, as well as a £300 million discretionary relief fund for local authorities to help local businesses. Additionally, if a non-maintained childcare and early-education provider is also a registered charity for business rates purposes it may also qualify for relief.