Written questions by Holmes.

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.

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.

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.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of aggregate council tax receipts in England in (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27, (c) 2027-28 and (d) 2028-29.

As part of the provisional settlement the Government has made estimates of changes to Core Spending power between 2026 and 2029. This includes estimates of the council tax requirements councils will set for those years. These estimates are set out here - Core Spending Power table: provisional local government finance settlement 2026 to 2029 - GOV.UK. These estimates exclude parish precepts, police and crime commissioner precepts, as well as the High Value Council Tax Surcharge being introduced from 2028.

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.

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”.

With reference to HMT Budget 2025: Policy Costings, November 2025, page 95, for what reason a policy costing is listed for council tax and fire authorities but not for other types of local authority.

No policy changes were introduced prior to or at Autumn Budget for other types of council tax authority, so no additional policy costing notes were necessary.

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.

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.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 99189 on Private Rented Housing: Income Tax, whether her Department has made an assessment.

The Office for Budget Responsibility engages with the Treasury on the potential impacts of policy measures as part of standard Budget processes.

Whether the Valuation Office Agency has (a) access to the data and (b) intends to makes use of the Department for Transport’s new Connectivity Tool when undertaking (a) council tax and (b) business rate valuations in (i) England and (ii) Wales.

The Valuation Office Agency do not currently use the Department for Transport connectivity tool or data as part of our valuation work on Council Tax or Business Rates in England and Wales. They currently have no plans to use this data although they regularly review where new data sources can support their valuation activity.

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.

Pursuant to the answer of 11 December 2025, to Question HL12434, on Council tax: valuation, whether each of the property attributes in Question HL12434, are or were taken into account as a material consideration by the Valuation Office Agency during their valuations for the current council tax revaluation in Wales.

The variables used to determine valuations for the Council Tax revaluation in Wales include property attributes, locations and sales details. More detailed information on these variables can be found in the Valuation Office Agency’s model specification document.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme plan to build 300,000 homes over ten years, of which 180,000 will be for social rent, do these targets exclude (a) completions under the AHP 2021-26, (b) non-grant-funded completions, (c) completions funded by right to buy receipts with no grant, and (d) completions provided from developer contributions with no grant.

Accurately forecasting long-term delivery is inherently challenging, but we believe the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) could deliver around 300,000 social and affordable homes over its lifetime with around 180,000 for Social Rent.We will set initial targets for Homes England and the GLA after receiving bids from Registered Providers, and will review these targets across the lifetime of the programme to maximise delivery.In setting targets for Homes England and the GLA, we will only include homes that have been funded under the SAHP. The housing completions listed in the question will not be included.Our delivery agencies are already taking bids from Registered Providers to deliver homes under the SAHP through the £2 billion new investment we announced in March.Those delivery agencies published guidance for prospective bidders for the SAHP in November, which can be found on gov.uk here. We plan to open for bids in February 2026.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of people being held in Accident and Emergency departments due to unavailability of local NHS mental health beds on patients.

While no such specific assessment has been made, we know that in some local areas there is a need for more beds. This is being addressed in part through investment in new units, although this should be considered as part of a whole system transformation approach. Investment of £75 million of capital funding this year aims to improve inpatient care and help stop mental health patients being sent far from home for treatment. Our neighbourhood mental health centres will also improve continuity of care, drive down waits, and reduce inpatient admissions. These centres provide round the clock, open-access to treatment and support for adults with severe mental health needs. We have opened the first of six 24/7 neighbourhood mental health centres in England, in Tower Hamlets, and other local areas are looking to rollout the model more widely. We also know that pressures in accident and emergency are best addressed by clear, efficient, and adequately resourced routes to appropriate crisis care. NHS Operational and Planning Guidance for 2025/26 tasks local health systems to improve patient flow through mental health crisis pathways and reduce waits longer than 12 hours in accident and emergency departments. Systems should do this by maximising the use of crisis alternatives and through robust system oversight. Substantial progress has been achieved in building more robust crisis care pathways across all ages ensuring that people in mental health crisis have access to timely and appropriate support. Key developments include the introduction of the NHS 111 ‘select mental health’ option, investment in alternative crisis services, roll-out of the Mental Health Response Vehicles programme, and full national coverage of 24/7 liaison mental health teams in general acute hospitals. We are also investing up to £120 million to bring the number of mental health emergency departments up to approximately 85. Mental health emergency departments provide rapid assessment and support in a therapeutic setting, helping those with mental health needs get the right care quickly and reducing reliance on emergency departments.

Whether the UK National Screening Committee plans to fast track the implementation of an in-service evaluation for newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy.

Progress is being made in planning and developing work to shape an in-service evaluation (ISE) of newborn blood spot screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).This follows a recommendation made in 2023 by the UK National Screening Committee which advises ministers on all aspects of population and targeted screening for an ISE in National Health Services. An ISE is needed to answer several outstanding questions related to the implementation of a newborn screening programme for SMA.Planning for the ISE is a partnership between the Department, NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and other stakeholders.Earlier in the year, the NIHR published their Health Technology Assessment research brief to appoint researchers for this work. Applications closed at the end of September 2025, and final funding decisions are expected in spring 2026. A decision on the shape and roll out of the ISE will be made after the research call process has concluded.

Whether his Department is taking steps to implement a financial redress scheme for people harmed by Sodium Valproate as recommended by the Patients Safety Commissioner.

The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report.

If she will publish any detailed assessments carried out (a) by and (b) on behalf of her Department on the use of Crowborough Training Camp to house asylum seekers; and whether Wealden District Council has (i) requested and (ii) been supplied those assessments.

It remains our intention to use Crowborough Training Camp to accommodate asylum seekers, subject to the outcome of feasibility assessments. The Home Office has been engaging with statutory partners, including Health, Police and Fire Rescue on this proposal and all sites progressed for asylum accommodation, including Crowborough, will comply with safety, security, health and wellbeing standards.

Communities and Local Government, how many (a) headcount and (b) FTE staff are employed by the Building Safety Regulator; if he will list the addresses of its offices; and how many assigned desks for staff it has in total.

As of 2nd October 2025, the Building Safety Regulator’s headcount was 404 and FTE was 394.2.A list of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) offices and their addresses are publicly available on the HSE website - HSE Offices.HSE operates a hybrid working model in which staff are able to work from home or from their designated office. There are no assigned desks in offices for staff, instead using a hotdesking system.