Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Local Lists) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2009

My Lords, I want to add a somewhat different dimension to the debate. First, I am totally against anything retrospective in principle, but where the ports are concerned, on a more positive note, I should like to paint a picture of what is happening out there at the moment. We are heavily involved in the trade routes of this country. To declare my interest, I ran P&O for 22 years. We had probably the largest fleet by far in Europe and also controlled many of the ports worldwide, so I am speaking with that experience behind me. I am still life president of P&O and also chairman of Swan Hellenic ships. I suggest to the Government that this is a great opportunity. The great shipping companies can choose anywhere to land their goods. If you take the far eastern trade, you have the choice of going to our ports, or to Le Havre, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Bremen, Hamburg, and so on. But at the moment, the weakness in sterling, which in a strange way might be a strength, gives us an opportunity to offer a service which will entice many of these companies to bring their ships to our ports. At the moment, many of us are very troubled about what is happening in the City of London and what we might be losing abroad. But it is often not realised that the ports of this country are extremely vibrant. Those ships have the effect of creating massive businesses in the surrounding areas of our great ports. This is a marvellous opportunity to give these companies the chance to bring further business to this country. It is not, therefore, the time to burden them with having to pay extra moneys in this form.