Asked by Lord Naseby To ask Her Majesty’s Government what
action they are taking to ensure that those businesses eligible for
support from the business rates hardship fund receive that support
without delay. Lord Naseby (Con) My Lords, I beg leave
to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In
doing so, I declare...Request free
trial
Asked by
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(Con)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my
name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare an
interest, as a member of my family works in the retail
trade.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Communities and Local Government and Northern Ireland
Office (Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth) (Con)
My Lords, the Government confirmed local authority
allocations for the discretionary relief scheme in April
2017. This enabled councils to press on with implementing
their local schemes. We have been clear that we expect
authorities to provide this support to hard-pressed
businesses without delay. Ministers have written to council
leaders clearly setting out this expectation. Some
authorities have already issued reduced bills, and we
continue to urge other councils to follow suit as quickly
as possible.
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My Lords, is it not a fact that very few councils have
implemented this? Here we are, a third of the way through
the year, and that is having a huge effect on cash flow. In
certain areas, the bailiffs are going in. Against that
background, what further action will Her Majesty’s
Government take to make sure that this all happens in the
next month? Surely, that is not asking too much. After all,
if we believe that the high street is vital to our economy,
perhaps we should look further and reflect that it is no
good for this country to have the highest business rates in
Europe. If we are going to have successful small businesses
and a successful high street, surely we have to go down the
league table in that regard.
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My Lords, my noble friend is absolutely right about the
importance of the high street. The Chancellor announced
£435 million-worth of relief in the Budget and, as I have
indicated, allocations have been made to local councils. We
are certainly looking to them to implement this; some have
set a good example—such as Leeds and Haringey—and we are
looking to others to do the same. We will certainly
consider what further action we need to take if they do not
comply with our instructions.
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The (CB)
My Lords, will the Minister explain why the means of
claiming small business rates relief is often hidden away
in obscure parts of billing authority websites?
Furthermore, given the need for an accessible redress
system, when will the check, challenge and appeal process
for online rating appeals move beyond the beta test stage?
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My Lords, the noble Earl is right about the importance of
small business and rural rate relief, and we are very clear
about that. As part of the £435 million package we have set
out how that is to operate, and we are looking to local
councils to implement it—and they are doing do. He is
absolutely right also about the importance of the check,
challenge and appeal system operated by the Valuation
Office Agency, and we are in close contact with it to make
sure that that is working effectively.
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(Lab)
My Lords, I refer the House to my interests in the
register. Does the Minister agree that it is time to
fundamentally reform the business rates system to support
our high streets? As more and more online shopping
develops, we need a fairer system of business taxation that
takes this into account.
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My Lords, the noble Lord is right about the importance of
ensuring that we have a fair system. We will be looking at
possible reforms of the business rates systems during the
course of this Parliament. But in the meantime, as the
noble Lord has correctly pressed us, it is important that
relief schemes are operating as effectively as they should
be. That is why I once again appeal to noble Lords to,
where necessary, contact their own local authorities and
put pressure on them to make sure that the relief that has
already been allocated is passed on to businesses.
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Lord Deben (Con)
Could my noble friend put a greater emphasis on this? We
need this change now and cannot wait for it, because
otherwise the high street will die.
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My Lords, my noble friend is right, and we are going to
look at possible reforms to the rating system during this
Parliament. In the meantime, the Government have been very
clear—in 2016 through a package of £9 billion-worth of
relief, and again in 2017, with £435 million-worth of
relief—on how we can ensure that assistance goes to
businesses on our hard-pressed high streets. Once again, I
encourage local authorities to pass that money on.
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(LD)
Would the Minister confirm that one problem with
implementing the business rates relief is with the IT
software provided to local councils by private suppliers?
Secondly, he will be aware that this grant system is over a
four-year funding regime that tapers towards the end of
that period. Is he willing for there to be flexibility in
the year-on-year funding—in other words, if there is
underspend one year to push it over into the next year—so
that businesses do not lose out?
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My Lords, the noble Baroness raises a variety of issues.
The issue about software relates to just the small business
rate relief; it would not apply to the discretionary relief
so is not an issue there. My honourable friend the
Minister, , contacted software
providers yesterday to indicate that we expect them to
ensure that bills are reissued by 21 August. In relation to
points made earlier about a further month, I think that is
fair. On the issue about the system in relation to the
other relief package, clearly it is important that that
money is passed on. We seek to ensure that that is done. I
will write to her about flexibility, but that seems a fair
point within the package. At the moment, the important
point is that local authorities have the allocations and
they should pass on that money.
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(Con)
My Lords, does my noble friend—
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(Lab)
My Lords, would the Minister comment on the cultural
consequences of the 275 towns that will lose their
bookshops—sometimes their only bookshop?
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My Lords, the discretionary relief scheme is just that: it is
discretionary for local authorities to come up with their own
criteria. We want them to be innovative. I have great
personal sympathy with the point that the noble Baroness
made. I am a great user of independent bookshops. One can
think of many areas where bookshops are vital to a town, but
that is something for the local authority to respond to. They
can do that by being creative within their own scheme.
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My Lords, as the Clock seems to have stopped, I will ask
this. While welcoming the relief on business rates, could my
noble friend recognise that companies such as Amazon use the
high street as a shop window? They themselves pay no or
limited tax. Do we not need to look radically at some sort of
tax on internet sales so those on the high street can compete
fairly?
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As always, my noble friend makes a valid point. I also
noticed that the Clock seems to have stopped. That is often
the case when I am answering Questions. In relation to his
valid point, I restate that we will look during the course of
this Parliament at possible reforms to the business rate
system.
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