Rating (Empty Properties) Bill

The hon. Member for Ludlow argued that in his experience, which is more substantial than mine, property developers made speculative decisions. I presume the word ““speculative”” means that they take a risk. At present they know that they will not be required to pay business rates on empty properties, so they factor that in. My right hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton, West (Mr. McAvoy) is ever present and I need to answer the debate. He is not in the Chamber; he is just ever present—[Interruption.] And all-powerful. The point about deliberate vandalisation, which was mentioned by a number of speakers in the debate, relates to the schedule. We see it is good planning to ensure that there should not be such a tax avoidance measure. I can give reassurances on that point, and on the allegation that there may be increased bureaucracy. Empty properties are already part of the tax base and there is no expansion of that. The Valuation Office, whose job it is to consider such matters and appeals, already has empty properties in its remit. Although it is the billing authority that collects the tax, it is the Valuation Office that checks that. I hope that that provides some reassurance. I thank the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Mr. Davies) for staying through the debate to make his points on behalf of his constituents. He raised three points, the first of which was about his fear about empty properties. It is a similar point to that raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, North (Joan Walley). If properties are empty for a substantial period as a result of low demand, the valuation, which is based on rent, will be very low. By definition, a valuation officer is required to assess the valuation on that basis. In our argument we use the City of London, Westminster, Manchester and Birmingham as particularly strong examples of areas where there are high rents and relatively high vacancy rates. This not a south-east matter. As I have said before, my own area in Greater Manchester, Manchester city, has higher rents than the island of Manhattan. That is a testament to this Government’s hugely successful stewardship of the economy, which is a matter of fact. Twenty years ago, I doubt whether I would have been able to say that cities such as Birmingham and Manchester were in these high-growth areas, but they are now. This is not a north-south issue. I caution Conservative Members not to make the mistake of thinking that we are all poor up north. We are not: we have some very rich areas raising high business rates, which we redistribute to poorer areas, some in the south of England, goodness me, and not far away from the constituency of the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban)! I am pleased to report back to the House about that. More seriously, let us look again at the figures on vacancy rates and the amount of empty property relief claimed, to which my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary referred earlier. The latest figures for 2006-07 show the 10 highest authorities and top of the list, of course, is Westminster, with some £72 million. Then we have the City of London at £65 million; Birmingham, £42 million; Manchester, £37 million; and so forth. The latest figures published last year show at the bottom of the list areas such as Teessdale at £91,000; Chester-le-Street, £192,000; and Castle Morpeth, £307,000—but they are not all in the north. I was hoping to tempt an intervention from a southern Member, but so far I have not. I am holding back on some in the list—[Interruption.] It looks as though I have tempted someone to intervene.