Sajid Javid: Businesses facing steep rate rises will get help in Budget
The Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has said businesses facing steep rate rises will get some help in the Budget.
It follows pressure from Tory backbenchers and small businesses facing big increases as a result of revaluations.
It's not clear exactly how much help will be on offer. Number 10 earlier suggested there would be no extra money, just better targeting of a relief fund.
Only yesterday Mr Javid's department said claims that there would be hundreds of areas where businesses lost out as 'nonsense' and at the weekend in a letter to Tory MPs, he denounced what he called 'half-truths' in the media.
Today he defended the revaluation exercise, insisting that as a result 600,000 businesses would pay no rates at all.