Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of the changes to business rates relief on (a) leisure, (b) hospitality and (c) retail businesses.

Retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) business rates relief has been extended year-by-year by previous governments since the pandemic, creating uncertainty for businesses and an unsustainable fiscal pressure for Government.

Without any Government intervention, RHL relief would have ended entirely in April 2025, creating a cliff-edge for businesses. Instead, the Government decided to provide a 40 per cent discount to RHL properties up to a cash cap of £110,0000 per business in 2025/26, ahead of intending to introduce permanently lower rates for 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.

The rates for these new RHL multipliers will be set at Budget 2025 so that the Government can take into account the upcoming revaluation outcomes, as well as the economic and fiscal context. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the expected effects of the new multiplier arrangements.