Business rates are still on track to rise by 52% over the next three years across England’s retail, hospitality and leisure sector. On 7 July, Parliament’s Business and Trade Committee pushed back on a government response that only fully accepted six of its 36 recommendations, urging ministers to think again on business rates and other cost pressures.
While an Andy Burnham premiership could see rates for hospitality businesses and music venues drop by 20% and be scrapped altogether for a further 140,000 small businesses, doubt still remains whether this will be enough to turn the tide.
In the meantime, small businesses can’t afford to wait idly in the hope of change. Writing to your local MP costs nothing and takes minutes – and with Parliament already pressuring the government on this issue, MPs need evidence to back their case. Use our free template to get started.
As business rates continue to rise, small businesses are feeling the squeeze
As if business owners needed another headache, on top of other financial pressures like rising minimum wages, National Insurance contributions, and energy costs, the Federation of Small Businesses (FBS) calculated that business rates are on track to rise by an average of 52% before 2028.
This is due to a confluence of different factors, including the loss of the 40% Covid-era discount for RHL businesses, a revaluation of rateable values, and changes to the business rates formula. In practice, this could mean a bill rising from around £4,790 to over £7,000 by 2028/29 for a typical brick-and-mortar shop.
This issue hasn’t gone unnoticed in Westminster. Parliament’s Business and Trade Committee has been applying pressure over this problem, and was unimpressed by the government’s response in April, where they accepted only six of the committee’s 36 recommendations in full.
On the 7th of July, the committee escalated the case further, issuing a formal demand for a proper response within the next two months, aimed to coincide with the Business Secretary Peter Kyle appearing before them in person.
Following Keir Starmer’s recent resignation, Prime Ministerial hopeful Andy Burnham has already previewed his own rates reform: a 20% cut for pubs, hospitality, and music venues, and raising the threshold for full business rates relief, allowing around 140,000 additional small businesses to be exempt from the fees.
However, tax analysts have raised alarms over whether Burnham’s plan is properly funded. And with a change of government only weeks away and the numbers not adding up yet, there’s no guarantee that reform will arrive quickly.
Instead of waiting, sending a letter to your MP can help you make sure your case is heard today, whoever ends up leading government.
Use this free template to talk to your MP about business rates
Sending a letter to your MP is a straightforward task. Never done it before? Don’t worry, just follow the steps below.
- Find your MP: Head to theyworkforyou.com or parliament.uk to find your local MP’s name and contact details. All you have to do is enter your postcode.
- Use the free template below: Fill in the bracketed sections with your own details. The more specific you make it to your business, the better.
- Send it by email: Most MP’s prefer being contacted by email. However, you can also post it if you prefer being old-school.
- Follow up if you don’t hear back: If you haven’t received a response within a couple of weeks, we recommend sending a polite follow-up message. MPs’ offices deal with a lot of correspondence, and it’s easy for emails or letters to fall through the cracks.
Dear [insert your MP’s name],
My name is [insert your name], and I am a constituent in [insert your constituency].
I am writing as the owner of [insert your business name], a [insert type of business], to ask for your help with a change that threatens the survival of small businesses like mine: the sharp rise in business rates.
Following the 2026 revaluation and the end of the 40% retail, hospitality and leisure relief, the Federation of Small Businesses estimates that small firms in these sectors face an average business rates increase of 52%. For a business like mine, that is not a manageable adjustment. It’s the difference between staying open and closing.
[Explain your specific situation here. That could include your current rates bill, what the increase means in pounds, jobs at risk, or how it compares to your margins. It doesn’t need to be overly detailed, and two to three sentences will suffice.]
Small and independent businesses are the backbone of our high streets and local economy, yet we are being asked to absorb a rise of this scale at a time when energy, wages and supplier costs are all climbing. Transitional relief softens the first year but does not remove the underlying burden, and many of us simply cannot pass these costs on to customers.
I would be grateful if you would raise this in Parliament and press the government to go further, whether by extending meaningful relief for small properties, reforming the multiplier, or accelerating the promised overhaul of the business rates system so that it no longer penalises smaller firms.
This would make a real difference to your constituents and to the future of our high streets. Action has to be taken now and taken swiftly, or we risk losing what we have left. I would welcome your response and your support.
Yours sincerely,
[insert your name and address]
