Key Business Rate Changes in Scotland and Wales
The Scottish Government has now formally declared that for 2024, they will freeze the business rates multiplier exclusively for small properties. The decision aligns with recent developments in England, where larger properties will see inflation-based increases. Meanwhile, in Wales, all ratepayers will experience an increase in their multiplier.
In this update:
- Multipliers for Scotland and Wales for 2024/25
- Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief
Multipliers (UBRs) for 2024/25
Scotland
The Scottish Government has continued the theme set by the Chancellor in England on supporting small businesses. In line with England, where the small multiplier has been frozen once more, the basic Uniform Business Rate (UBR) multiplier for properties in Scotland with an RV below £51,000 will remain at 49.8p.
However, ratepayers with properties with a Rateable Value above £51,000 will see their multipliers increase by 6.7%, in line with inflation. Properties with a rateable value of between £51,001 and £100,000 will see their 2024/25 bills based on a multiplier of 54.5p, and those above £100,000 will pay based on 55.9p.
Wales
The Welsh Government have announced in their draft budget that the multiplier will increase by 5% to 56.2p. Although it is positive that the Finance Minister didn’t increase the figure in line with the inflation factors adopted for larger properties in England and Scotland, this will still be painful for ratepayers of smaller properties who will be facing increases in their rate bills while those in England and Scotland will be benefiting from a freeze. All ratepayers in Wales face the highest multiplier in the UK.
Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief (RHL)
In the Autumn Statement Update, the Chancellor again acknowledged that the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors have continued to suffer following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. The RHL Relief scheme has been extended in England for the 2024/25 rate year, maintaining the discount of 75%, albeit capped at £110,000 per business.
The Welsh Government have confirmed that an RHL scheme will continue in Wales for 2024/25, but the discount has been reduced to 40%, and as in England this will be capped at £110,000.
The Scottish Government scrapped their RHL relief scheme in 2023. This remains the case for 2024/25; however, they have announced a new hospitality relief for Islands locations at 100% subject to a cap of £110,000 per business. We await further details regarding the qualification criteria.
As for 2023/2024, we understand that these schemes will continue to be subject to the Minimal Financial Assistance limits under the Subsidy Control Act. This means that no recipient can receive over £315,000 over a 3-year period (consisting of the current financial year and the 2 previous financial years). We expect detailed guidance to be issued to Local Authorities in due course.
Other updates in Scotland
Our Scottish Budget Update covers some of the other announcements made in the budget, such as the extension of the Renewable District Heating relief to March 2027 and a phased removal of enterprise relief through to 2024/25 and 2025/6.
Budgeting for 2024/25
With these latest announcements, businesses in England, Scotland and Wales are now able to budget accurately for their liability in 2024/25.
We have summarised the various multipliers and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief in the table below:
You can view all UBRs, reliefs and transitional arrangements on our business rates data card.
If you need any additional support with budgeting accurately for 2024/25 and beyond, please get in touch.
As always, we are here to discuss any specific issues regarding your properties, and we will continue to keep you informed of further developments regarding business rates across the UK.
