WORCESTER MP Robin Walker welcomed support for local businesses in the Autumn Budget.

The MP has been campaigning for business rate relief and reform.

After the Spring Budget, in which an additional £435million was pledged to support businesses most affected by the rate revaluation in this Parliament, a further £2.3billion of support was approved by the Chancellor. This package of support includes bringing forward to April 1 the planned switch in indexation from RPI to CPI, legislating retrospectively to address the so-called “staircase tax” - meaning that no company will have to pay more in business rates because it occupies multiple storeys, continuing the £1,000 business rate discount for pubs with a rateable value up to £100,000 for a further year from April 1 and increasing the frequency of VOA revaluations for businesses to every three years.

“I was really pleased to see so many measures announced,” the MP said.

"I (previously) called for a report into high streets, and heard from Worcester business owners about how important it is to ease the burden of rates on small retailers, as well as improving the system of rate revaluations. This Budget addresses both of those issues."