Government writes to councils to clarify Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief rules

The government has issued updated guidance to billing authorities to ensure consistent application of the new 15% Pubs and Live Music Venues Relief for 2026–27. The clarification, published through Business Rates Information Letter 1/2026 alongside detailed public guidance, aims to prevent uneven interpretation as councils begin preparing bills for the next financial year.

The relief forms part of the wider business rates package announced at Budget 2025, intended to support hospitality and cultural venues facing sustained cost pressures. Ministers note that councils already hold strong local knowledge of premises in their areas, but the additional guidance is designed to help resolve borderline cases and reinforce the policy intent.

To qualify as a pub, a premises must be open to the general public, allow entry without charge (other than for occasional entertainment), permit drinking without food, and serve drinks at a bar. The government reiterates that restaurants, cafés, nightclubs, hotels, theatres, cinemas, museums, casinos and similar venues should not be treated as pubs. The list is not exhaustive, and authorities are encouraged to consider the “natural meaning” of a pub when assessing edge cases.

Live music venues must be wholly or mainly used for live music performance to entertain an audience. Other activities, such as the sale of food and drink, must be ancillary. Premises primarily operating as nightclubs or theatres under planning classifications are excluded. Where councils need to distinguish between live and recorded music, they are directed to existing statutory licensing guidance.

Eligible premises will receive a 15% discount on their business rates bill for 2026–27, applied in addition to any other reliefs. Bills will then be frozen in real terms for 2027–28 and 2028–29. Councils are expected to apply the relief automatically where eligibility is clear and use the published criteria to determine more complex cases.

For operators, the clarification provides greater certainty ahead of the new financial year, with the government also publishing worked examples showing how the relief interacts with revaluation changes and other schemes.