Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he make an assessment of the potential merits of extending business rate relief to (a) estate and (b) letting agencies during the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government has set out a package of measures to support businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19.

The Chancellor previously announced a 100% rates holiday for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties in 2020-21. On 25 March the Government went further and removed some of the exclusions for this relief, so that eligible retail, leisure, and hospitality properties that will have to close as a result of the measures announced by the Prime Minister in his statement of 23 March, will now be eligible for the relief. This change will ensure that estate and lettings agents will now pay no business rates in 2020-21.

Support is also available to those not eligible for business rates relief; this includes the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme for small and medium-sized businesses, a statutory sick pay relief package, the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment, and a new lending facility from the Bank of England for larger firms.