Business Rate Supplements Bill

The hon. Gentleman has had plenty of time to wind us all up; I would like to wind up the debate. As my right hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government explained in his introduction, we are committed to doing what we can to help people through these tough times. At the same time, we need to look to the future and to prepare for the upturn in the economy. The business rate supplement should not be stalled by short-term concerns. The Bill does not propose a new duty on local authorities to levy a supplement. Instead, it provides a new discretionary power for local authorities to raise revenue to invest in local projects aimed at promoting economic development when the time is right. As the Bill is drafted, a business rate supplement will apply equally across the entire area on the basis that projects should benefit whole areas. I shall now go on to address some of the points raised by hon. Members during the debate. The hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) moved the amendment and he had a lot of time over Christmas to think of it. It is a Christmas tree amendment. The only thing missing from it is the kitchen sink. He was his normal, amusing self and we hope that he keeps his job in the imminent reshuffle. I was not clear whether he was calling the Bill BRS or BS—I know that we think that it is an important Bill that will have many benefits. My right hon. Friend the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich (Mr. Raynsford) did an excellent job of demolishing the points made by the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst. My right hon. Friend also made a positive case for the BRS. Of course, he was the architect of business improvement districts. He explained why the BRS is an important complement to the BID scheme that he drafted, rather than an idea in conflict with that scheme. He showed the irrationality of the Conservative amendment and asked why Crossrail should get the BRS and not the rest of the country. That is the Mrs. Merton question. Why do the Conservatives support and want to help transport infrastructure in a city with a Tory Mayor and not in the rest of the country? The answer, of course, is obvious. I thought, in a non-patronising way, that the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Dan Rogerson), who speaks on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, made a grown-up and sensible speech. It was very good—[Interruption.] May I add that I am not being patronising? He articulated the folly of a Member voting against giving the Bill a Second Reading if they are in favour of Crossrail. He made the point that if the Conservatives were successful—God forbid—in the vote tonight, there would be no business rate supplement and no Crossrail. He made the point that grown-up politicians would make any objections clear in Committee and would come back to them on Report and on Third Reading. Let me answer the hon. Gentleman’s specific point about having an element of the uniform business rate subject to local control. The Lyons inquiry, to which he alluded, considered the case for returning business rates to local control. Its analysis was that that would not be appropriate at this time. Instead, it recommended introducing a new local power to set a supplement on the current business structure, and that is what we are doing with the Bill. My hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Paul Farrelly) made an interesting contribution to the debate. He talked about the benefits of a business rate supplement outside London and also articulated some of the problems with the current system. He is hoping that a business rate supplement will alleviate some of the problems that he articulated. He referred to the recent problems with Waterford Wedgwood, which I think happened in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent, Central (Mark Fisher), and to how the BRS could be a tool for local government to help infrastructure in various parts of the country. I come now to the comments of the hon. Member for Northampton, South (Mr. Binley)—where do I begin? His speech was a 32-minute tour de force. It was a speech that was interesting. He referred to the fact that he had spent two and a half years considering a Bill on Crossrail. If he supports his party in voting against Second Reading tonight and succeeds, those two and a half years will have been wasted. Crossrail simply cannot happen within the necessary time scales unless we get the scheme on the road. He made the point that his local Indian restaurants would suffer if the Bill were passed—I am not sure why. He will be aware that 91 per cent. of businesses around the country will not be affected, but if he has any particular problems and if any local restaurants suffer, I would be happy to visit his constituency, to visit the restaurant, to have a meal and to deal with the points that might be raised. I am not sure whether to say that I look forward to his being a member of the Public Bill Committee and to our having a ding-dong in Committee. The hon. Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Scott) made a good speech. He explained that he was in favour of Crossrail. Once again, he will need to decide whether he can have his cake and eat it. If he votes against Second Reading, he cannot be in favour of Crossrail. He spoke in favour of BIDs and he will be aware that, as we were reminded, his party opposed BIDs when they were first introduced. I look forward to his being a member of the Public Bill Committee. The hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster, who should have declared an interest as a huge beneficiary of the Bill, has a problem. In one breath, he talked about its being a less opportune time for a business rate supplement, but he went on to say that, if there was a delay, that would send the wrong signal to businesses and show a lack of confidence in the City. He cannot have it both ways. If he wants Crossrail to happen and wants London to benefit from it, he needs to decide which way he is going to vote tonight.