Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will exempt hospitality businesses from the business rates surcharge.

To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000 from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure that RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support.

This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to apply a higher multiplier from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with rateable values of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.