Business Rate Supplements Bill

It must be self-evident, in view of the amendment that I have just spoken to, that we cannot support this amendment. It is clearly not the time for local authorities to be introducing a supplementary rate; it is hardly surprising that the LGA should be reporting that no one is currently planning to do so. Had we been dealing with the Bill 12 months ago, the situation might well have been different. Probably more importantly, in the years to come, when the Bill will apply, we hope the situation will be very different. Noble Lords on the Conservative Benches who spoke as they did at Second Reading seem to be assuming that, as soon as the Bill is enacted, local authorities across the land will be falling over themselves to impose more taxes on business. As I commented at Second Reading, most of those authorities are actually Conservative controlled, and that scenario will not happen. The powers in the Bill will apply beyond the foreseeable future to when times will improve. Probably the best answer to this was given by the noble Lord, Lord Smith of Leigh, at Second Reading, when he said—I paraphrase slightly—"If it’s good enough for London, why isn’t it good enough for Manchester?", or, "If London can have it, why can’t Manchester or indeed any other part of the country?". As I have said before, I speak as a Londoner and, as a London councillor, I wholly endorse that. As the Bill and the opportunity are before us, these provisions should be available for local authorities throughout the country when the time is ripe. That time is not now, but it will be some time during the life of the Bill when enacted. Those provisions should be there; they will be invaluable not just to local authorities but to the local authorities working in partnership with their business communities. We need to keep stressing this. I do not believe that now, in this day and age, any local authority will simply impose this rate, even if the provisions of the Act enable them to. No local authority in its right mind at this time will simply impose a supplementary business rate without doing a considerable amount of preparation work in partnership with the businesses, whether or not it is required at that time to have a vote, which is a debate we are yet to have. I do not support the amendment; it is important that the provisions in the Bill should apply throughout the country.