Written question asked by Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench) on Thursday, 23 July 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 6 August 2026. It was answered by Lord Pitt-Watson (Labour) on Wednesday, 5 August 2026 on behalf of the Treasury.

Recording Studios: Business Rates

Question: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to providing business rates relief for recording studios.

Answer: New multipliers for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) were announced at Budget 2024. Government has been clear that the intention was for their scope to broadly reflect the scope of the RHL relief, which was centred around RHL properties that are “reasonably accessible to visiting members of the public”. As recording studios are not generally open to members of the public, they were unlikely to be receiving RHL relief.

In recognition of the impact of the 2026 revaluation on bills, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion at Budget 2025 to protect ratepayers against large overnight increases in bills. Additionally, many recording studios are also likely to benefit from Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR). SBRR is available to businesses with a single property below a set rateable value. Eligible properties under £12,000 receive 100 per cent relief, which means around a third of properties in England pay no business rates at all. Tapered support is available to properties valued between £12,000 and £15,000.

Secondary information