Business Rates

I am sure my hon. Friend agrees that small business and enterprise was the backbone of our economic success as a nation in the 1980s and 1990s, and will continue to be so in this new century. The fact remains that businesses, not Government, create jobs. It is the job of a Government to create the environment in which business can thrive. This Government have singularly failed to recognise the needs of businesses in the economy when the chips are down.