Sarah Olney

Sarah Olney

Liberal Democrat — Richmond Park

Speaking in the House of Commons on 11 December 2025

Debate

Small and Medium-sized Businesses

Contribution

The Government have repeatedly said that they would introduce permanently lower business rates. We were pleased to hear the Chancellor announce lower multipliers in the Budget, but the recently announced higher valuations will wipe out any benefit that businesses will get from the lower multipliers. UKHospitality estimates that the average increase for hospitality businesses will be 76% over the next three years; that compares with warehouses, offices and large supermarkets, whose rates will go up by 16%, 7% and 4% respectively. Given that it has transpired that the Government were informed of the higher valuations back in September, how does that align with their pledge to support small businesses, and how do the Government plan to meet the commitment, in their own small business strategy, to bring down business rates bills?

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