Non-domestic rating: challenges and changes statistical commentary
Updated 31 August 2023
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About this release:
This is the first release to include statistics on challenges made by taxpayers (or their representatives) against the England and Wales 2023 non-domestic rating (NDR) lists, which came into effect on 1 April 2023. It also includes statistics on reviews of rating assessments (known as “reports”) that have either been initiated by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) or a Billing Authority, when new information becomes available. This release will also continue to include statistics relating to challenges made against the 2017 non-domestic rating lists whilst numbers remain at a significant level. These statistics do not include the number of appeals registered under the Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA) system because these are the responsibility of the independent Valuation Tribunal Service (VTS) in England and Valuation Tribunal for Wales (VTW) in Wales. However, both the VTS and VTW publish their latest statistics on their respective websites.
Responsible Statistician
Anna McReady
Statistical enquiries
Date of next publication
November 2023
1. CCA and non-CCA cases in England
1.1 CCA England cases raised against the 2023 rating list
Figure 1: Checks in England against the 2023 rating list from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW23_1_1
Figure 1 shows that 11,230 Checks have been registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023). Of these, 4,350 have been resolved, and 6,880 remain outstanding.
Figure 2: Challenges in England against the 2023 rating list from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW23_1_1
Figure 2 shows that 720 Challenges have been registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023). Of these, 30 have been resolved, 80 have been marked incomplete, and 610 remain outstanding.
1.2 CCA England cases raised against the 2017 list
The 2017 rating list closed on 31 March 2023, however there are still cases progressing through the CCA process where customers submitted Checks before the list closed.
Figure 3: Checks in England against the 2017 rating list from 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_1_1
Figure 3 shows that 848,140 Checks have been registered since the start of the 2017 rating list (1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023). Of these, 830,110 have been resolved, and 18,030 remain outstanding.
Figure 4: Challenges in England against the 2017 rating list from 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_1_1
Figure 4 shows that 153,270 Challenges have been registered since the start of the 2017 rating list (1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023). Of these, 115,950 have been resolved, 19,200 have been marked incomplete, and 18,120 remain outstanding.
Figure 5: Checks against the England 2017 NDR list by case status and month, 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_2_1
Figure 5 shows the number of Checks registered and resolved each month. Between late March 2020, when the first national lockdown was announced, and 8 March 2021, when a phased exit from lockdown began, a range of national and local Covid-19 restrictions were in place in England at various times. This period is indicated on the graph by the vertical dashed lines, and the graph shows spikes in Checks registered and resolved in this period as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Government-imposed restrictions on business.
There is another larger spike in Checks registered from January to March 2023 which is a result of an increase in the number of customers submitting Checks prior to the 2017 list closure on 31 March. A spike in Checks resolved is then shown in April 2023 and has remained high up to June 2023. From 1 April 2023 new Checks against the 2017 list are registered in limited circumstances only.
In the latest quarter (April to June 2023), 2,510 Checks were registered, down from 132,650 last quarter and 82,060 Checks were resolved, up from 45,680 last quarter.
Figure 6: Challenges against the England 2017 NDR list by case status and month, 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_2_1
Figure 6 shows the number of CCA Challenges registered and resolved by month. The month with the highest number of Challenges registered was August 2020, when the VOA received 22,330 Challenges; this was a consequence of the prior rise seen in Checks (Figure 5) and is attributable to the Covid-19 pandemic. The VOA resolved 52,490 Challenges in December 2021, a figure which is around 30 times the average number of Challenges resolved in all previous months, as a result of the enactment of the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act 2021. For further details please refer to Non-domestic Rating: Challenges and Changes, 2017 Rating List, March 2022.
In the latest quarter (April to June 2023), 11,940 Challenges were registered, up from 4,980 last quarter and 5,570 Challenges were resolved, up from 4,340 last quarter.
Figure 7: Resolved CCA cases by case type and outcome against the England 2017 NDR list, 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, England, Table E17_3_1
Figure 7 compares the percent of resolved Check, Challenge and Appeal cases which resulted in a rateable value (RV) increase, decrease, or no change. The graph shows that the proportion of resolved cases which resulted in no change to RV is highest for Checks (80%), followed by Challenges (67%), and is lowest for Appeals (39%). This pattern is reversed for resolved cases which resulted in a decrease to RV, where Appeals has the highest proportion (61%), followed by Challenges (33%) and Checks have the smallest proportion (18%). The proportion of CCA cases which resulted in an increase in RV is small for each case type but is highest for Checks at 2%.
1.3 Non-CCA England cases raised against the 2010 rating list
The number of appeals outstanding for the 2010 list was 1,880 at 30 June 2023, down from 3,300 at the end of the previous quarter. This represents a steady decline over the past year, down from 6,530 outstanding appeals at 30 June 2022 in England. These outstanding appeals now make up a very small proportion (less than 1%) of those outstanding at the close of the 2010 list.
Outstanding appeals include those awaiting listing, re-listing, or decisions from the Valuation Tribunal which are outside of the VOA’s statutory responsibility, and also some highly complex cases relating to specialist properties where a longer time frame is necessary to settle the appeals.
2. CCA and non-CCA cases in Wales
2.1 CCA Wales cases raised against the 2023 list
Figure 8: Checks in Wales against the 2023 rating list from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2023 local rating list, England and Wales, Table EW23_1_1
Figure 8 shows that 310 Checks have been registered since the start of the 2023 rating list (1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023). Of these, 40 have been resolved, and 270 remain outstanding.
As the CCA process was only adopted in Wales from the 2023 list and Welsh challenges before this are on a different basis, the number of Challenges registered in Wales under the CCA system is currently too low to present in this commentary.
2.2 Non-CCA Wales challenges raised against the 2017 rating list
The 2017 rating list closed on 31 March 2023, however there are cases that have been submitted and have not yet been resolved. For Wales, a challenge is defined as a proposal by the ratepayer to alter the rating list, typically attributable to a challenge to the assessed rateable value or a change of circumstance of the property as well as physical changes in the locality.
Figure 9: Non-CCA challenges in Wales against the 2017 rating list from 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, Wales, Tables W17_1_1, W17_1_2 and W17_1_3
Figure 9 shows that 42,190 challenges have been registered since the start of the 2017 rating list in Wales (1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023). Of these, 34,510 have been resolved, and 7,680 remain outstanding.
Figure 10: Non-CCA challenges against the Wales 2017 NDR list by case status and month, 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023
Source: Checks, Challenges and Changes against the 2017 local rating list, Wales, Tables W17_1_1 and W17_1_2
Figure 10 shows the number of challenges received against the Wales 2017 list. As in Figure 5, the vertical dashed lines on the graph indicates the period between late March 2020 and March 2021 when the government-imposed restrictions on businesses created a spike in Welsh challenges registered, followed by a later spike of resolved challenges. Similar to England CCA Checks, there is a spike in challenges in January to March 2023 as customers submitted challenges prior to the closure of the 2017 list on 31 March 2023.
There were 50 challenges registered in the latest quarter, down from 3,220 last quarter, and 1,130 challenges resolved in the latest quarter, up from 1,020 last quarter.
2.3 Non-CCA Wales cases raised against the 2010 rating list
The number of appeals outstanding for the 2010 list at 30 June 2023 was 130, down from 170 at the end of the previous quarter. These include those awaiting listing, re-listing, or decisions from the Valuation Tribunal which are outside of the VOA’s statutory responsibility, and also some highly complex cases relating to specialist properties where a longer time frame is necessary to settle the appeals.
3. Customer registrations and property claims for the CCA system
Before anyone can access more detailed valuation data about a property, they must prove that they have a legal interest in the property under the non-domestic rating legislation, for example, as an owner or occupier or both. To do this, they are required to register to use the CCA system and then can ‘claim their property’ through the VOA’s online service by providing proof of their relationship to the property, such as a copy of a business rates or utility bill. Once the VOA confirm the interested person’s relationship to the property, the claim is approved, and the interested person is able to view or request the detailed valuation for that property. The interested party can then start the CCA process. More information is available on GOV.UK.
Figure 11: Customer registrations by customer type and month, 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023
Source: Customer registrations and approved property claims for the Check, Challenge, Appeal process
The number of interested persons (IPs) and agents registering for CCA each month is shown in Figure 11. More than 90% of customer registrations are from interested persons rather than agents. A seasonal pattern is visible in the graph; customer registrations are generally higher at the start of the year and gradually decrease as the year goes on.
The recent business rates revaluation saw an increase in the number of customer registrations following the publication of the 2023 draft rating lists on 17 November 2022. Further increases in customer registrations were seen between January and March 2023, particularly in March ahead of the 2023 rating lists coming into effect on 1 April 2023. From 1 April 2023 ratepayers in Wales adopted the CCA process for the 2023 rating list. Customers were able to register for CCA before 1 April, therefore the data shown in the graph for recent months includes customer registrations relating to properties in both England and Wales.
Figure 12: Approved property claims by month and country, 1 April 2017 to 30 June 2023
Source: Customer registrations and approved property claims for the Check, Challenge, Appeal process
The number of approved property claims by month is shown in Figure 12. The lag between Figure 11 and Figure 12 reflects the time it takes for a customer registering for CCA to claim a property and then have their claim approved by a Valuation Officer. In March 2023 there was a spike in approved property claims prior to the closure of the 2017 list on 31 March.
4. Further information
More information about this release can be found in the Background Information document.
More detailed information on the 2017 local rating list is available at gov.uk/correct-your-business-rates.
Further information on the area codes used in this can be found on the ONS website.
More information on statistics at the VOA can be found on the Agency’s website: About VOA statistics.
Timings of future releases are regularly placed on the VOA research and statistics calendar.
We will keep the format of this document under review to continue improving the presentation of our statistics, and welcome feedback from users on the value of the information provided in this commentary – please forward any comments to the Statistics Inbox.