The bill would provide for the next business rates revaluation to take effect from 1 April 2023. This briefing considers: the background to the bill, including recent government proposals to change the frequency of revaluation; what the bill would do; and what happened to it during its passage through the House of Commons.
Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) (No. 2) Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (295KB PDF)
The Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) (No. 2) Bill has one substantive clause. It would postpone the next revaluation for business rates in England and Wales by a year to 1 April 2023.
The bill replaces a similar bill the Government introduced in the Lords earlier in the current parliamentary session, the Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) Bill. That bill would have brought the revaluation forward a year to 1 April 2021 from 1 April 2022. However, that bill has not progressed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, by delaying the revaluation, the Government has said it aims to help firms affected by the pandemic.
In the UK, all non-domestic properties pay rates known as ‘business rates’ unless subject to an exemption. The administration of such rates is devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A property’s business rates bill is determined by multiplying its ‘rateable value’, which is its estimated open market rental value on a set date, by a national ‘multiplier’. In England and Wales, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) sets rateable values independently of government and these appear on non-domestic rating lists. The UK Government sets the national multiplier in England and the Welsh Government does so in Wales. These values are then used to calculate bills.
A process called revaluation regularly takes place to help ensure that rateable values reflect changes in the property market. This sees the rateable values of all business and other non-domestic property in England reviewed by the VOA at specified intervals. Currently, revaluation is scheduled to take place every five years from 1 April 2017 and would therefore next take place on 1 April 2022. The bill would reset the next revaluation to 1 April 2023 to take account of the coronavirus pandemic.
Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) (No. 2) Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (295KB PDF)
The Sovereign Grant Bill is a government bill which would amend how the sovereign grant is set. This is a grant paid to the King to support the work of the sovereign. The bill would enable the size of the sovereign grant to be reduced following the completion of a 10-year works project on Buckingham Palace. The bill received cross-party support and was not amended in the House of Commons.
The Commercial Payments Bill [HL] seeks to tackle late payments to small businesses. It would impose minimum payment periods for invoices, prohibit the use of retentions in construction contracts and provide the small business commissioner with greater powers. The bill received an unopposed second reading in the House of Lords on 9 June 2026. 30 government amendments were made to the bill at committee stage.
![Commercial Payments Bill [HL]: Progress in the Lords](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/01/Business-VIGs-568x426.jpg)
The Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL] is a wide-ranging bill that aims to reform the way the UK financial services sector is regulated. This briefing provides a summary of the bill’s second reading and committee stage in the House of Lords ahead of its further consideration at report.
![Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL]: Progress in the Lords](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Economy-568x426.png)