Written questions by Simmonds.

Whether (a) her Department and (b) its agencies has made representations to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed Chinese Embassy at the Royal Mint site in London.

The Royal Mint site near the Tower of London was sold by the Crown Estate in 2010 and, as such, there is no residual financial interest to the Exchequer from The Crown Estate.HM Treasury has not made specific representations to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed Chinese Embassy at the Royal Mint site in London. Information relating to HMT agencies is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 17827 on Private Education: Business Rates, what estimate she has made of the number of independent schools which receive discretionary business rate relief from their local authority to top up the 80% mandatory charitable rate relief; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the removal of mandatory charitable relief on funding by local authorities of discretionary rate relief for independent schools.

Under the existing discretionary relief powers provided by the Local Government Finance Act 1988 local authorities are permitted to award relief of any level to any ratepayers, where they feel it reasonable to do so and it is in the interest of local council taxpayers.Existing discretionary relief powers are provided by the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and will be unaffected by the ending of charitable rate relief for private schoolsCentral Government does not collect data on specific recipients of discretionary relief.

What steps her Department has taken to change to the valuation of airports for business rates in the last two years; and what representations (a) the Valuation Office Agency and (b) her Department have received on the issue.

I refer the member to the answer given to UIN 19700.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Plan for Change, published on 5 December 2024, CP1210, whether (a) council tax and (b) other local taxes will be included in the target of higher Real Household Disposable Income per person.

Real Household Disposable Income (RHDI) is reported by the ONS as part of the UK Economic Accounts. RHDI represents the total income of households in a given period after direct taxes have been accounted for, with an adjustment for inflation. RHDI per person is calculated as aggregate RHDI divided by the estimated population. As council tax is a direct tax faced by households, it is accounted for in the measurement of RHDI per person. Where other local taxes directly affect household income, they will also be accounted for in the measurement of RHDI per person.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2024 to Questions 11930 and 11931 on Business Rates: Tax Yields, whether the real terms monetary value of the tax reduction from the new Retail, Hospitality and Leisure multiplie

The existing retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) relief has been repeatedly extended year-by-year as a temporary stopgap measure. The Government recognises that this creates cliff-edges and uncertainty for businesses, as well as significant fiscal pres...

If she will publish (a) the contract, (b) the agreed programme of work and (c) other side documentation for the Valuation Office Agency's agreement with Cognizant; and what the (i) value and (ii) length of that cont

Details of the contract can be found on Contracts Finder: Valuations Office Agency Programme - Valuations Cloud App - Contracts Finder. The published contract covers new services developed through the Valuation Office Agency’s (VOA) transformation program...

Whether the Valuation Office Agency's NextGen Rating (NGR) programme will include (a) business rate and (b) council tax valuations.

The Valuation Office Agency’s NextGen Rating Programme includes the upgrade of its internal operational technology for business rates valuations and the reforms legislated for in the Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023. It does not cover council tax valuations.

Pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2024 to Question 11936 on Public Sector: Finance, how local authorities will bid to receive funding from the Public Sector Reform and Innovation Fund.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 11936 on 8 November 2024.The Public Sector Reform and Innovation Fund allocates £165 million to a range of projects in 2025-26, including support for foster care, delivering apprenticeships and pl...

With reference to her Department's discussion paper entitled Transforming Business Rates, published on 30 October 2024, what the estimated yearly decrease is in business rate receipts from the lower multiplier for R

To protect the high street, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and the government intends to introduce a Large B...

What data the Valuation Office Agency holds on the rateable value of (a) farms and (b) farmland.

Farms and farmland, if used by the occupier for agricultural purposes, are exempt from non-domestic rating under Schedule 5 to the Local Government Finance Act 1988. Consequently, agricultural land and buildings are not included in rating lists and no rat...

With reference to her Department's discussion paper entitled Transforming Business Rates, published on 30 October 2024, what the estimated yearly increase is in business rate receipts from the higher multiplier on h

To protect the high street, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and the government intends to introduce a Large B...

With reference to paragraph 2.8 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, if she will publish the methodology used to forecast the delivery of savings of (a) £2.2 billion and (b) £4 billion on asylum in those years.

This government has already ended the Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership and is reforming the asylum system by streamlining capacity to process asylum seekers and returning those that do not have the right to stay in the UK. This will s...

With reference to paragraph 2.81 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, what the assumed local government core spending power in cash figures is in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26: and what the ass

Local government core spending power (CSP) is £64,786m in 2024-25, and is forecast to be £68,459m in 2025-26. These figures for CSP are estimates and subject to data changes. Final figures will be published as part of the 2025-26 Local Government Finance ...

With reference to paragraph 2.99 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, which public bodies can apply for funding from the new Public Sector Reform and Innovation Fund; whether public bodies wi

The Public Sector Reform and Innovation Fund allocates £165 million to a range of projects in 2025-26, including support for foster care, delivering apprenticeships and planning reforms. In addition, the Budget allocates a further £100 million over the ne...

With reference to paragraph 5.69 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, what estimate her Department has made of the yearly change in business rates receipts from private schools in each of the next five financial years

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government reconfirmed that it will remove private schools’ eligibility for charitable rates relief under business rates in England from April 2025. This intervention will raise around £140 million per year. Business rates reten...

Whether she plans to (a) increase and (b) discontinue business rate reliefs in 2025-26.

The government is committed to delivering a fairer business rates system by levelling the playing field between the high street and online giants, better incentivising investment, tackling empty properties and supporting entrepreneurship. Any decisions on...

Whether she plans to (a) increase and (b) uprate the business rate multipliers for 2025-26.

The government is committed to delivering a fairer business rates system by levelling the playing field between the high street and online giants, better incentivising investment, tackling empty properties and supporting entrepreneurship. Any decisions on...

What estimate she has made of the cost to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) of the council tax revaluation in Wales; and what payments the Welsh Government has (a) made and (b) agreed to make to the VOA to finance t

The Welsh Government have previously responded on this matter in June 2024.The answers can be viewed here:Written Question - WQ93146 - Welsh Parliament (senedd.wales)Written Question - WQ93148 - Welsh Parliament (senedd.wales) Written Question - WQ93350 ...

What advice the Center for Appraisal Research and Technology provided to the Valuation Office Agency for its work on an automated valuation model for council tax revaluation in Wales.

To support the model development, VOA let a short-term advisory contract with the Centre for Appraisal Research and Technology (CART) who provided advice on:Specific statistical and modelling techniques employed by VOA to ensure appropriate use, focusing ...

If she will list (a) each of the variables and (b) the source of data for each variable used in the new Automated Valuation Model for the Valuation Office Agency's council tax revaluation in Wales.

The variables used in the AVM model include property attributes, locations, and sales details. While much of this data is sourced from VOA records, the VOA supplement this with data available across Government and through the Public Sector Geospatial Agre...