Business Rate Supplements Bill

I shall raise a number of, I hope, short points. The first amendment in the group would amend Clause 9(5) to ensure that a levying authority could not delegate if the billing authority did not want to accept the delegation or to accept it only on certain terms; for instance, as to the cost of whatever the function is. I had in mind in particular protecting both the London boroughs and all the so-called "second-tier" authorities if the levying authority were to be able to impose a function in a way which the billing authorities found unacceptable. I may be told that it is implied that the delegation would have to be accepted. My amendment is to probe that and have it placed on the record. If I am told that it is not implied, I may want to come back to it. Amendment 45 would require consultation about variations to extend to the billing authorities. It seems to me that the billing authorities as well as the rate payers have a stake in the variation, because of the administration of the variation, which could be required by that variation. I wondered whether to withdraw Amendment 57, but it will give the Minister an opportunity to confirm that the March date is a date normally applied for the national non-domestic rate. I tabled the amendment to probe the need to ensure adequate time for the billing authorities and to give the Minister an opportunity to explain how the supplementary rate fits in with the NNDR. I believe that under the current legislation the Secretary of State calculates the NNDR multiplier and the small business NNDR multiplier and serves a notice on the billing authorities, "as soon as is reasonably practical" after doing so. I am keen to have confirmation of what the statutory position is as well as what the practice is at present. Amendment 57 reflects my perhaps greater concern about the imposition of the BRS mid-year. It would require at least 30 days’ notice in order for all the administration to be put into place. Thirty days would not by any stretch of the imagination be a long period. Amendment 64 would require regulations—this is a London point—to be published in draft within a month after the commencement of the Act and to be made not later than 30 September 2009. My noble friend spoke in the previous Committee sitting about the concern of the London boroughs, expressed to us through London Councils, about the burden on the boroughs. I make it clear that the 30 September date comes out of my head; it is my probing of this. I would not like the Government to think that they can relax because London Councils is only seeking 30 September; that is not the case. The consultation on the document to which reference has been made ends on 19 August. There is not a lot of time to put the new arrangements into place. The London boroughs will have to set up systems, and the systems are going to have to go live in a year when the boroughs have to contend with revaluation of non-domestic rates, a new transitional relief scheme and the deferral scheme for 2009-10 NNDR bills announced by the Treasury in April. It really is important that they are given every opportunity to put the arrangements into place, which argues for decisions that are as swift as possible. I beg to move.