Non-Domestic Rating (Deferred Payments) (England) Regulations 2009

My Lords, I support the Motion of regret of my noble friend Lord Bates. He reminded your Lordships that I raised this matter by means of a Motion of regret on 18 March this year. I invited your Lordships to support my view that the regulations that were referred to by my noble friend would not prevent port companies from becoming insolvent. In a Division, the House agreed with me, including some noble Lords on the Benches opposite. Since then it does not appear that the Government have heeded your Lordships’ counsel. They may have had some internal discussions but they have failed to provide a solution. Everything that I said would go wrong is going wrong. I will not repeat the excellent analysis of the current situation by my noble friend or go over the history again. When he replies, the Minister will tell your Lordships that businesses must expect to pay rates and other taxes. Generally speaking, he is right. But this case is different and I will repeat the argument that I put in March this year; it is a simple one to understand. If an ordinary business takes on new or altered business premises inland and is subject to normal rating principles, any competent surveyor can indicate, reasonably accurately, what the rateable value will be, and hence the rates to be paid. An allowance for those rates can be made in the company’s business plan and cash flow forecasts. If the local authority, for any reason, delays or omits to issue a rate demand, the business will not be able to organise a party on the proceeds; the business knows what the costs will be and they must be allowed for. The estimated rates will have to be shown on the balance sheet as an accrual, and provision will have to be made in the cash flow forecast. The port companies, however, are different. The commercial arrangements between the port owners and the port businesses were predicated on the pre-2005 rating arrangements. So for those businesses rates were not an issue: they did not to consider them; they did not need to put rates into their cash flow forecasts or their balance sheets; they simply did not need to be considered by a port business as long as the port was operating under the prescribed rather than the normal rating rules. It is most unfortunate that Ministers have not been able to sort out this mess. I accept that they did not create the problem, but the longer they procrastinate the greater proportion of the responsibility they must bear. I urge noble Lords to support my noble friend if he takes the matter to a Division this evening.