Valuation Office Agency scrapped

As part of the government’s drive to “slash red tape, increase oversight and ministerial accountability and rewire Whitehall to be more productive and agile”, the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the arm’s-length body (ALB) responsible for valuing properties for council tax and business rates, will be brought into its parent department HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) by April 2026.

The VOA is often used by Licensing Authorities to check a premises’ nondomestic rateable value for the purpose of the fee bandings under the Licensing Act 2003.

This is the latest ALB to be moved into central government following the decision last month that the world’s biggest quango, NHS England, will be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, said:

We are determined to reduce the hassle of the tax system for British businesses and taxpayers. Ending the inefficiency and duplication of a standalone VOA will help us drive change faster and improve value for money.

This government is determined to make public services more productive, helping to deliver our Plan for Change and put more money in peoples’ pockets.

The VOA’s work supports the collection of over £60 billion in council tax and business rates each year, and also provides commercial property valuation services to the public sector. 

The majority of the VOA’s functions will be brought into HMRC by April 2026, and is expected to deliver between 5 to 10% of additional savings in VOA administrative costs by 2028-29.