Private Education: Business Rates
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 17827 on Private Education: Business Rates, whether the draft Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 incorporates the expected funding from business rates on independent schools.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Business rates retention means that local authorities retain a proportion of all business rates revenue.
As in previous years, the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement reflects local authority baseline funding levels. These are a core part of the business rates retention system which represent a measure of an authority’s need that is funded via business rates. This measurement does reflect not the totality of business rates or annual changes in business rate income from year to year.
The increase in rates receipts due to the reduction in charitable rate relief for private schools will be shared between central and local government. The proportion of business rates that are retained locally and the proportion paid to central government are determined via business rates retention shares known as the local and central share.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →