§ Brian CotterTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the impact that his Department's proposals for business rate relief will have on businesses with a rateable value of more than £8,000. [156713]
§ Phil HopeIn the White Paper "Strong Local Leadership—Quality Public Services", December 2001, it stated that if relief were granted to all properties with a rateable value of under £8,000, then the funding of such relief would require an addition of 2.5 per cent. to the bills of other properties. However, as also stated in the White Paper, the relief will only be available where a property with a rateable value of under £8,000 is the only rateable property occupied by the business concerned. This will ensure that relief goes to small businesses, rather than small properties which may be owned in large number by a large business. This rule also means that the addition of 2.5 per cent. to the bills of other ratepayers may be too high an estimate. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is therefore undertaking research to determine the number of businesses that will be eligible for the relief and the addition required to the bills of other ratepayers to fund the relief. The results of this research will be available by July 2004.