I want to better understand the data being collected by local authorities on their business rates and whether these are being appealed. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2001, I would like to know the following:

1. Has the authority subjected any of the rateable values of the properties it is liable for paying business rates on in the 2023 Rating List to a review under the Valuation Office Agency’s Check, Challenge, Appeal process? This question applies to any review submitted after 3 April 2023.

2. Does the authority intend to subject any of the rateable values of the property it is liable for paying business rates on in the 2026 Rating List to a review under the Valuation Office Agency’s Check, Challenge, Appeal process? This question applies from the date 1 April 2026.

3. Does the authority currently engage any external rating adviser(s) (e.g. rating surveyor(s), consultants, agents or firms) in relation to the review, management, appeal, or mitigation of business rates? If the answer is no, then does the authority employ or retain internal officer(s) with responsibilities in relation to the review, management, appeal, or mitigation of business rates?

4. The number of business rates challenges filed by the authority, broken down by sector (leisure, retail, offices, etc), covering 2017 to the most recent date.
Plus, the sector breakdown of challenges that resulted in:
a) a reduction in rateable value
b) no change
c) an increase
d) a decrease
We would like this data in an Excel format.

5. The breakdown of challenges and appeals filed by the authority by reason category or type of valuation issue, to be presented within the context of the original dataset. We would like this data in an Excel format.