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Local Government Finance

Asked by Sir James CleverlyConservativeMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled Answered 20 April 2026UIN 124781

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether revenues from the Overnight Visitor Levy will be subject to equalisation; and whether the Local Government Finance Settlement will assume that local authorities with powers to levy the charge will do so, when calculating central government grant to local authorities.

Answered by Alison McGovern

The new visitor levy will be a discretionary power for Mayors in England, and there are no plans for visitor levy revenue to be subject to equalisation.

In the recent consultation, which closed on 18 February, the Government proposed that the levy would apply to short-term commercially let accommodation. Policy development is still ongoing, and the Government will publish its official response in due course.

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