What happens to the rates you pay

Business rates fact sheet

The business rates are the way in which businesses and others who occupy non-domestic properties make a contribution towards the cost of local services. 

We use this money, together with revenue from council tax payers, revenue support grant provided by the Government and certain other amounts, to pay for the services we and other local authorities within this area provide. 

We pay the money we collect from business rates into an account that the Government manages. The Government then gives the money back to local authorities throughout the United Kingdom by way of a business-rates grant. The Government works out how much money each local authority should get according to the size of the local population within each authority area and by using other social indexes (the social deprivation index). 

Further financial information is available.