Written questions by Holmes.

What guidance has HMRC provided on whether an individual can be non-resident for tax purposes in the UK if they are on the UK electoral roll as a domestic, non-overseas elector.

Awaiting answer.

Whether she plans to review the legal age at which an individual may enter into consumer credit and legally binding contracts.

Capacity to contract is a core principle in British contract law and is designed to protect people who lack the necessary capacity to enter into a binding agreement. Most adults, typically those who are aged 18 and over, are presumed to possess contractual capacity. The Consumer Credit Act (1974) makes it a criminal offence to offer credit to a minor.

What estimate she has made of the increase in business rates for pubs, after transitional relief, in each year of the 2026 revaluation cycle.

I refer the hon. Members to the answer given to UIN 101363.

With reference to the Valuation Office Agency's statistics entitled Non-domestic rating: change in rateable value of rating lists, England and Wales, 2026 Revaluation, published on 26 November 2025, for what reason the average Rateable Values of Royal Palaces have increased by 201%.

Royal Palaces are valued in the same way as any other class of non-domestic property; through applying the statutory and common law principles that apply across non-domestic rating. An increase in RV does not mean that business rates liability will increase by the same percentage.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of uprating the monetary thresholds for (a) small business rate relief and (b) rural rate relief Rateable Value in the 2026 revaluation cycle in line with the change in aggregate Rateable Values since the 2023 Rating List.

Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set RV. Eligible property under £12,000 will receive 100 per cent relief, which means around a third of properties in England pay no business rates at all. There is also tapered support available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000. Rural Rate Relief aims to ensure that key amenities are available, and community assets protected in rural areas. It provides 100% rate relief for properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000.At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.

Whether the numeric value of the (a) Retail, Hospitality and Leisure and (b) high value multipliers will be (i) uprated by inflation each year within the 2026 revaluation cycle based on the previous values for both those respective multipliers, (ii) remain fixed value (A) 5p discounts and (B) 2.8p additions to the standard multipliers and (iii) fixed value, but the 5p and 2.8p respectively will be uprated as well.

The national multipliers uprate by the previous September’s CPI figure every April before resetting at a revaluation, which occurs every three years. This is the standard approach, as multipliers are uprated yearly with CPI. The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) multipliers will remain 5 pence below their national equivalents every year. The high-value multiplier will remain 2.8 pence above the national standard multiplier every year. However, the rates will remain under review, and the legislation does not preclude the Government from changing the rates for future tax years. This is set out in the Explanatory Memoranda of the relevant legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/4/memorandum/contents

What was the average mean Rateable Value of a hereditament on the (a) 2023 Rating List and (b) 2026 Rating List, with the Valuation Office Agency's special category code of (i) 227 Public Houses/Pub Restaurants (Inc. Lodge) (National Scheme), (ii) 226 Public House/Pub Restaurants (National Scheme), (iii) 234 Restaurants, (iv) 238 Roadside Restaurants (National Scheme), (v) 409 Cafes, (vi) 500 Cafes/Restaurants Within/Part of Specialist Property, (vii) 060 Clubhouses, (viii) 061 Licensed Sports, Social and Private Members Clubs, (ix) 062 Coaching Inns and (x) 303 Bars (Valued on Floor Space).

Relevant data can be found here: Change in rateable value of rating lists, 2026 Revaluation

What is her Department's estimate for annual CPI inflation in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29 financial years.

HM Treasury does not produce forecasts for the UK economy. Forecasting the economy is the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which published its latest forecast on 26 November 2025.In their most recent Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the OBR forecast CPI inflation to be 3.5% in 2025-26, 2.2% in 2026-27, 2.0% in 2027-28 and 2.1% in 2028-29.

How does the Valuation Office estimate the value of a garden when valuing a dwelling for council tax in (a) England and (b) Wales.

Gardens are not valued separately or in isolation for Council Tax. They are reflected within a property’s overall Council Tax assessment.

With reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, and pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 88672 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, what estimate her Department has made of the average monetary value of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief or multiplier to an average RHL hereditament in (a) 2024-25, (b) 2025-26 and (c) 2026-27.

The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The total change in business rates revenue is set out in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95881 on council tax, what data was provided to Office for Budget Responsibility by her Department to assist them in the calculation of the council tax receipts in England.

The OBR forecast methodology for council tax can be found on their website, including information about the data they commission.

With reference to page 52 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, what is the estimated uplift in the non-payment rate of council tax.

The High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) is a new tax and is separate to Council Tax. HVCTS costings do not assume any increase in the non-payment of Council Tax. The assumptions used to estimate the revenue raised by the HVCTS are set out in the costing note published at Budget 2025.

With reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, what is the notional increase in revenue from the abolition of the 2025-26 centrally funded RHL relief in 2026-27.

The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The total change in business rates revenue is set out in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

With reference to page 30 of her Department's publication entitled HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, published in November 2025, and to the Answer of 18 November 2025, to Question 88672 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, for what reason the £965 million value of the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure multipliers in 2026-27 is less than the £1.4 billion value of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief in 2025-26.

The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since COVID. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit. The total change in business rates revenue is set out in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

How many (a) hotels, (b) bed and breakfasts, (c) guest houses and (d) overnight camping groups are valued for business rates in England.

Statistics detailing the number of properties categorized by their property type in the draft 2026 Rating List can be found here: Change in rateable value of rating lists, 2026 Revaluation This information is broken down by Special Category code in the downloadable spreadsheet, titled “RVL_4_2”.

How many hereditaments are there with a Rateable Value of £500,000 or over in the 2026 Rating List, by Special Category code; and what is the average Rateable Value of a hereditament in that Special Category amongst the subset of those with a Rateable Value of £500,000, according to information held by the Valuation Office Agency.

Statistics detailing the number of properties within a range of Rateable Values in the draft 2026 Rating List can be found here: Change in rateable value of rating lists, 2026 Revaluation

What is the statutory basis for the Valuation Office Agency to publish and share the council tax valuation list, and the banding of each dwelling, on gov.uk.

Section 28(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 provides the statutory basis for publishing and sharing the Council Tax valuation list.

With reference to HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, November 2025, page 44, what is the estimated effect on (a) rental prices and (b) house prices.

The independent Office for Budget Responsibility does not expect that the reform to property income tax will have a significant impact on rental prices or house prices.

What methodology does the Valuation Office Agency use to calculate the difference in a dwelling’s sale price and its assessed council tax valuation value for leasehold properties with less than a 99 year lease.

I refer the hon member to the answer on UIN 99866, tabled on 15 December 2025. The Valuation Office Agency values all domestic properties on the same basis and in line with legislation. Council Tax valuations are based on the value a property, offered for sale in an open market, could have been expected to meet at the antecedent valuation date (AVD), which in England is 1 April 1991 and in Wales, 1 April 2005.

Whether she plans to make further changes to business rate relief in 2026-27, further to the measures introduced at Budget 2025.

The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base. At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. Government support also means that most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.