Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending business rates relief to small businesses that are not in the retail, hospitality or leisure sectors.

The Government has introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and benefit over 750,000 properties.

Since these new multipliers were announced at Budget 2024, the Government has been clear that the intention was for their scope to broadly reflect the scope of the previous RHL relief, which was centred around RHL properties that are “reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public”.

Around a third of properties already pay no business rates as they receive 100 per cent Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR), with an additional 85,000 benefiting from reduced bills as this relief tapers.

The Government has also introduced a supporting small business scheme, capping bill increases for the smallest businesses losing some or all of their SBRR or rural rate relief as a result of the revaluation.