Local Government Finance Bill

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is absolutely right. The Secretary of State made similar remarks in his speech today, and I will explain why he is completely wrong. The reality is that even if the starting point for business rate retention is after the main element of the cuts has gone through, some businesses will struggle to survive in areas where the cuts have been greatest. Councils in those areas will therefore experience falling business rates, with a further impact on the services that can be provided by the councils that have faced the biggest cuts. Areas such as Sefton and Liverpool have some of the most deprived communities in the country. The scale of the Government's cuts has already hit those communities harder than the more prosperous parts of the country, and that includes the loss of services to some of the most vulnerable.