Rating (Empty Properties) Bill

I know that my hon. Friend the Minister said that there would be more money only from a sedentary position and not formally through you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, but the neighbourhood renewal fund is used for areas with the greatest deprivation and it is part and parcel of the economic regeneration needed there. The Bill will have implications for those areas, and that is why I hope that Ministers will ensure that the matter is followed through in the context of the CSR. Other local authorities in the SIGOMA organisation take the same view. There are between 1,500 and 1,600 empty properties in Stoke-on-Trent. It is estimated that the Treasury has lost just under £7 million from loss of rates, and it is clear that it is in all our interests to get those buildings back into use and re-let. That can only happen if a joined-up economic regeneration strategy is linked to the local authority agenda. For that, the money from the CSR must be used in conjunction with the further consultation process already under way as a result of the 2007 Budget, but we must make sure that Department of Trade and Industry policies such as that embodied by Advantage West Midlands contribute to the regeneration that we need. The Bill must be set in that wider framework. Unless there is a mechanism to ensure that joined-up operations in areas such as Stoke-on-Trent are followed through in the strategies adopted by the Treasury, the DTI and the Department for Communities and Local Government, we will end up with a Bill that benefits the south-east and areas of high demand but does very little for areas of low demand. Finally, I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government, when he replies to the debate, will say something about the talks that he is having with English Heritage, as the flexibilities that have been mentioned will have great significance for listed buildings. Such buildings are often empty for all sorts of very good reasons, and they can need a great deal of help. I look forward to the response that my hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government will make to the debate.