The government had already announced that, for one year from 1 April 2020, the business rates retail discount for properties with a rateable value below £51,000 in England will increase from one third to 50% and will be expanded to include cinemas and music venues. To support small businesses in response to COVID-19 the retail discount will be increased to 100% and expanded to include hospitality and leisure businesses for 2021.

The government previously committed to introducing a £1,000 business rates discount for pubs with a rateable value below £100,000 in England for one year from 1 April 2020. To further support pubs, in response to COVID-19 the discount for pubs will be increased to £5,000.

The £1,500 business rates discount for office space used by local newspapers in England will be extended for an additional five years until 31 March 2025.

The Treasury has also indicated the government will bring forward legislation as soon as possible in this session to provide mandatory 100% business rates relief for standalone public lavatories in England from April 2020.

These temporary measures, taken together with existing small business rates relief (SBRR), mean that around 900,000 properties, or 45% of all properties in England, will receive 100% business rates relief in 2020-21 according to the Treasury.

There is also £2.2bn of funding for local authorities to provide £3,000 to around 700,000 business currently eligible for SBRR or rural rate relief, to help meet their ongoing business costs. For a property with a rateable value of £12,000, this is one quarter of their rateable value, or comparable to three months of rent, and as many properties that are eligible for SBRR will have a lower rateable value, this will represent an even greater proportion of their annual rent.

The government is to publish the terms of reference for a fundamental review of business rates to report in the autumn, and a call for evidence will be published in the spring.

Lisa Hooker, consumer markets leader at PwC, said: 'This Budget has some good news for consumer industries facing the challenges of both restrained demand and the immediate effects of COVID19. 'In particular, the short term relief from business rates for smaller operators will be welcomed, and not just by retailers, but also by those in the leisure and hospitality sector, included for the first time.

'However, while the government has again promised a wider business rates review, there is little immediate respite for larger retailers and leisure operators that account for the majority of rates income, and that will also bear the brunt of additional costs such as national living wage increases.'