Business Rate Supplements Bill

There is merit in this proposal. I am a vice-president of the Local Government Association; I am not sure that I have declared that interest before. However, it gives me an opportunity to repeat what I said last week: we will need before Report to look at a more general amendment to the Bill to give the Government a clear duty to review and the power to make changes by appropriate subordinate legislation rather than, as the noble Lord, Lord Best, has said, having to come back to primary legislation for changes. Various items here have been suggested for review. However, after perhaps five years—I suggest that as a possibility—we really need the Government to come back and review the whole scheme. The amendment would require careful drafting so as not to give complete carte blanche to sweep it all away and start again through subordinate legislation. However, that seems a better way of proceeding than having a series of piecemeal reviews of different aspects of the BRS at different periods.