Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing business rates relief for independent nurseries.

For early years (including maintained nursery schools), the Government funds local authorities to deliver the early years entitlements through the early years national funding formula (EYNFF) for the 3- and 4-year-old entitlement and a separate formula for the 2-year-old entitlement. The hourly funding rate paid to local authorities for these entitlements is designed to recognise the average costs across different provider types and is intended to reflect staff and non-staff costs, including business rates.

Business rates are a broad-based tax on the value of non-domestic properties, including nurseries.

To protect small businesses, the Government has frozen the small business multiplier for 2025-26. Taken together with Small Business Rates Relief, this intervention ensures that over a million properties will be protected from inflationary increases.