Local Government Finance Bill

I do not know whether colleagues were listening but I heard an Opposition Member say that economic success was a southern phenomenon. If that is what Opposition Members think, they should seriously consider whether they are doing their electorate a service. If our reforms had been in place over the past five years—since the last revaluation cycle—places such as Liverpool, Doncaster, Durham and north and south Tyneside would have benefited, because their growth in business rates outstripped the national average. Most of all, however, the grumblers have missed the key point. This is not simply about redistributing the proceeds of growth. If these reforms lead to every council working as hard as possible to help business to thrive, there is the potential to increase overall growth.