Business Rate Supplements Bill

Amendment 58 would potentially allow the levying authority to determine when to stop collecting and enforcing a BRS for a project it had abandoned. The reason we do not think the amendment is appropriate is not because we do not think levying authorities would behave honourably but because it assumes circumstances where relationships and projects have collapsed and a fair degree of chaos obtains because things have not worked out as they were supposed to. Under those circumstances, it is important to avoid the potential for people to claim that the levying authority is acting in a prejudicial or unfair way. If things have gone that sour, those who are paying the supplement have to have confidence that the BRS will cease as soon as possible. Perfectly pragmatically, we think that only a party outside the levying authority would have that degree of impartiality and would be seen to be acting impartially. If we left the decision with the levying authority, it would put it in a vulnerable position because, unless it decided to stop collecting the BRS the day the project was abandoned—and I cannot see that that would happen—it could be open to claims that it was acting dishonourably. That is why we have made provisions for a BRS to be collected and enforced beyond the abandonment of a project. It allows for the decision to be made in a way that would not leave the levying authority open to allegations of unfair play. That is why the Bill gives the Secretary of State the power to specify this in regulations. Amendment 61A, on refunds, broadens the provisions in paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 2 to the Bill, which deals with refunds where a BRS has ended and the BRS revenue account is in credit. The amendment would allow the Secretary of State to make regulations governing refunds in general, including in cases where a BRS has not come to an end. I absolutely understand that there needs to be clarity in terms of how refunds should be handled, including in cases of overpayment. The amendment is, however, covered by Clause 21, which already makes provision for the Secretary of State to make regulations governing refunds of BRS. Clause 21(2)(a) makes provision for the Secretary of State to make regulations in respect of refunds in those cases where a ratepayer has overpaid during the course of the BRS. That is achieved by reference to the Local Government Act 1988. The noble Baroness’s precise question was whether this covers arrangements during the course of the BRS. I understand that it does. I hope that that will help. Amendment 61C would allow a levying authority to continue collecting or recovering the BRS even if it had been cancelled by the Secretary of State. The Bill provides that the collection and recovery should cease if a BRS is cancelled by the Secretary of State. As we have just debated, the Secretary of State will intervene only as a last resort—for example, when the levying authority has used the supplement for a different purpose than was set out in the prospectus and has not met the requirements set out for variations in Clause 10. I absolutely agree that it would not be right to ask local businesses to continue paying the BRS for a project that has gone so wrong. It is right that all attempts to collect the BRS in such circumstances should cease. As I remember it, that is the answer to the noble Baroness’s question; in other words, yes. I hope that I have remembered the question correctly and that the answer is, indeed, "yes". With that, I hope that the noble Baroness will withdraw her amendment.