Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will publish a breakdown of how business rates tax collected by Surrey Heath Borough Council is (a) allocated and (b) used by the Treasury.

The business rates retention system (BRRS) was introduced in April 2013 to give authorities a direct financial interest in business rates, recognising their role in the collection of the tax. Percentage shares of business rates income collected are allocated to the central share (to be paid to central government) and the local share (retained locally by local authorities, including Surrey Heath) in the annual Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS). The most recent version of the LGFS, for 2025-26, is published on gov.uk here. We will set out the breakdown over the 3 years of the multi-year settlement at the provisional LGFS later this year.

Details of the business rates collected annually by local authorities are available on gov.uk here. This sets out the amounts retained locally and paid over to central government.

Receipts collected by central government are paid into the consolidated fund and used for the purpose of funding expenditure on local government.