§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to reduce the burden of business rates on small traders. [41670]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordSmall properties—those with rateable values of less than £10,000 or £15,000 in Greater London—receive more generous treatment under the transition scheme, which is phasing in the effects on rates bills of the 1995 revaluation.
As announced in the rural White Paper published on 17 October, the Government also intend to introduce, at a suitable legislative opportunity, a new rate relief scheme targeted specifically on general stores and post offices in villages.