Announcing the measures, the Treasury said the package would save the average pub £1,650 in 2026 to 27, with around 75% of pubs expected to see their bills fall or remain flat next year.
The pub sector as a whole is forecast to pay 8% less in business rates in 2028 to 29 than it does currently.
The announcement forms part of a wider intervention aimed at supporting high streets, with ministers also confirming plans for a new ‘High Streets Strategy’ to be published later this year, as well as further licensing and planning reforms for pubs.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Dan Tomlinson said pubs had not received the support they needed for many years and described them as “the cornerstone of so many communities”.
“They are essential to the social and cultural life of so many places across the country. This government does want to go further to support pubs.”
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Dan Tomlinson
Tomlinson said the Government had heard concerns from across the sector about how pubs are valued for business rates, particularly following the recent revaluation.
“The Conservatives also allowed the revaluation to go ahead with a business rates methodology for pubs that no longer has the support of the sector,” he said. “The government acknowledges their concerns and will therefore be carrying out a review of the pub valuation methodology, which will report in time to be implemented at the next revaluation.”
The review will be carried out alongside businesses, representative bodies and valuation experts, with any changes implemented for the 2029 revaluation.
While the review is ongoing, Tomlinson confirmed that additional short term support would be put in place.
15% off and frozen bills
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Dan Tomlinson:
“From April, every pub in England will get 15% off its new business rates bill on top of the support announced at Budget. Pubs’ bills will then be frozen in real terms for a further two years.”
He added that the measures would mean “around three quarters of pubs will see their bills either fall or stay the same next year”.
The package will also apply to grassroots live music venues, many of which are currently valued as pubs. Tomlinson said it would be wrong to “draw the line so tightly as to include some and not others”.
Alongside business rates relief, the Government confirmed pub and other licensed venues will be allowed to open later for home nations matches during the later stages of this summer’s men’s football World Cup, without applying for a temporary event notice. Opening hours will be extended to 1am or 2am depending on kick-off times.
Ministers also plan to increase the number of temporary events pubs and hospitality venues can hold, allowing them to screen sporting fixtures or host community and cultural events more easily.
Further reforms are expected in the spring, when the Government will consult on loosening planning rules to allow pubs to add guest rooms or expand their main trading areas without the need for local planning applications.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the measures were about supporting both pubs and the communities they serve.
“If we’re going to restore the pride in our communities, we need our pubs and our high streets to thrive. We’re backing British pubs with additional support, and our new High Streets Strategy will help tackle the long term challenges that our much loved retail, leisure and hospitality businesses have faced.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves
Industry body UKHospitality welcomed the announcement but warned that further action would be needed to address rising costs across the wider hospitality sector.
UKH chair Kate Nicholls said the measures would offer some short-term respite for pubs but stressed that business rates and cost pressures were a hospitality-wide issue.
“We welcome the recognition by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the scale of the challenges facing the hospitality sector,” she said. “They have listened to us about the acute cost challenges facing businesses, all of which is impacting business viability, jobs and consumer prices.”
Devil in the detail
Nicholls said the Government’s decision to review hospitality valuations was a clear acknowledgement that the current system was no longer working, but warned that reform would need to move quickly.
“The devil will be in the detail, but we need to see pace and urgency to deliver the reform desperately needed to reduce hospitality’s tax burden, drive demand, and protect jobs and growth,” she said. “We will work with the government over the next six months to hold their feet to the fire to deliver this,” the UKH chair said.
She added that while the emergency funding announced for pubs would help address immediate pressures, other parts of the sector remained exposed.
“The reality remains that we still have restaurants and hotels facing severe challenges from successive Budgets,” she said. “They need to see substantive solutions that genuinely reduce their costs.”
The announcement was criticised by the opposition, who described the package as temporary and insufficient.
Responding for the Conservatives, Sir Mel Stride said the measures amounted to “a temporary sticking plaster”.
“After weeks of telling our local pubs that help was on the way, this is all they get,” he told MPs. “Despite the temporary relief announced today, pubs will still end up in time with bills over 70% higher than they are today.”
Stride argued that support should be permanent and extended beyond pubs to the wider retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, accusing the government of failing to deliver on its manifesto commitment to replace the business rates system.
The government said the package builds on the £4.3bn business rates support announced at Budget 2025, including a permanent 5p cut in the business rates multiplier for more than 750,000 retail, hospitality and leisure properties.
- Operator reaction to follow
