Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of 8 December 2009 to the Sixth Delegated Legislation Committee, on the Business Rate Supplements (Rateable Value Condition) (England) Regulations 2009, Official Report, column 8, how many and what proportion of business properties in London will be exempt from the supplementary business rate following the 2010 rates revaluation; and how much revenue he estimates the supplementary rate will raise in 2010-11.
Answer
231,040 hereditaments, which is 82 per cent. of all hereditaments in London, are assessed with a rateable value of £50,000 or less. These data are consistent with the statistical release titled: "Non-domestic rateable values: 2010 Local Rating Lists—England and Wales", published on 18 December 2009. A copy of this statistical release is available at the following link:"http://www.voa.gov.uk/publications/statistical_releases/VOA_Statistics_Release_Final.pdf"The minimum threshold must be £50,000, although the Mayor of London has the discretion to set a higher threshold exempting additional hereditaments. Final decisions on the level of the supplement and the extent of further exemptions are for the Mayor of London, therefore we cannot estimate the amount of revenue that would be raised.