Parliamentary search - Business Rate Supplements Bill

Type

Parliamentary proceeding

Reference

486 c40-102

Session

2008-09

Department

Department for Communities and Local Government

Legislative stage

Second reading

Procedure

Programme motions
Money resolutions
Queen's recommendation

Chamber / Committee

House of Commons chamber

Business Rate Supplements Bill. Explanatory Notes Bill 2-EN also published.
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Bills
House of Commons

Local government finance - supplementary business rate. Communities and Local Government Select Committee third special report - government response to the Committee's third report of session 2007-08 (HC 210).
Monday, 17 November 2008
Parliamentary committees
House of Commons

Local government finance - supplementary business rate. Communities and Local Government Select Committee third report with proceedings and appendices - government response to the Committee's seventh report of session 2006-07 (HC 719).
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Parliamentary committees
House of Commons

Local government finance - supplementary business rates. Communities and Local Government Select Committee seventh report in 2 volumes with proceedings, evidence (HC 719-i not printed separately) and appendices.
Wednesday, 25 July 2007
Parliamentary committees
House of Commons

Proceeding contributions

Speaker | 486 c72 (Link to this contribution) Order. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman should hope to get on the Committee in order to do that, but he wi...

Speaker | 486 c72 (Link to this contribution) Order. Hopefully the hon. Gentleman is now doing so quickly, in view of what I have said.

Show all contributions (121)

Paul Farrelly | 486 c72 (Link to this contribution) As I said, I am drawing my remarks to a conclusion.

Brian Binley | 486 c72 (Link to this contribution) I am most grateful for your guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Speaker | 486 c72 (Link to this contribution) Of course, Members are responsible for what they say in the House about either another Member or peo...

Brian Binley | 486 c72 (Link to this contribution) I follow an interesting speech by the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Paul Farrelly), in which...

Paul Farrelly | 486 c72 (Link to this contribution) Indeed, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I shall make such a request of my Whips. In conclusion, I shall support...

Brian Binley | 486 c73 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for that clarification, and I shall take it into account, as I am sure you would expec...

Paul Farrelly | 486 c72 (Link to this contribution) The local councillor was given full opportunity last April to respond to the matters of fact. He not...

Nick Raynsford | 486 c58 (Link to this contribution) I have to say to the hon. Gentleman that the whole tenor of his speech was one of carping, criticism...

Nick Raynsford | 486 c59-61 (Link to this contribution) No, I will not, for precisely the reason that the hon. Gentleman mentions: we are talking about a pr...

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 486 c58-9 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman earlier boasted that he was the Minister who introduced BIDs. He and I spen...

Robert Neill | 486 c62 (Link to this contribution) I understand the point that the hon. Gentleman makes, but I am sure he will understand that the rule...

Dan Rogerson | 486 c61-2 (Link to this contribution) A theme that has emerged from the debate is that the Bill means different things in different parts ...

Robert Neill | 486 c65 (Link to this contribution) He was a Conservative.

Dan Rogerson | 486 c62-5 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for setting out his position once again. Having made those point...

Paul Farrelly | 486 c66-71 (Link to this contribution) I want to give general support to the Bill, which advances modest reforms to the uniform business ra...

Dan Rogerson | 486 c65-6 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that the ghost of Brunel would have something to say about that. An efficient transport s...

Speaker | 486 c71-2 (Link to this contribution) Order. I have given the hon. Gentleman a fair amount of licence, as this is a Second Reading debate,...

Lee Scott | 486 c79-81 (Link to this contribution) Indeed, the right hon. Gentleman is getting worried at receiving so many compliments from this side ...

Andrew Love | 486 c79 (Link to this contribution) He is getting worried, now.

Lee Scott | 486 c79 (Link to this contribution) He is shocked by that. I do not necessarily agree with his pessimism about Crossrail coming to fruit...

Brian Binley | 486 c79 (Link to this contribution) Oh!

Lee Scott | 486 c79 (Link to this contribution) I shall try to be brief and to stick to the points raised in the Bill, which I am sure will please y...

Brian Binley | 486 c77-9 (Link to this contribution) You are absolutely right and I thank you again for your guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker. But the very...

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 486 c84-7 (Link to this contribution) I am delighted to catch your eye in this debate, Madam Deputy Speaker. I had not intended to speak. ...

Nick Raynsford | 486 c83 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will recall that I argued in an intervention—or perhaps in my speech—that Crossra...

Mark Field | 486 c81-3 (Link to this contribution) The issue of the business rate supplement is nothing terribly new. Much as we like to present it, as...

Brian Binley | 486 c74 (Link to this contribution) I am delighted to offer the sedentary speaker a reply—we would guarantee loans—

Speaker | 486 c74 (Link to this contribution) Order.

Andrew Love | 486 c74 (Link to this contribution) What would the hon. Gentleman do? Nothing.

Speaker | 486 c77 (Link to this contribution) Order. Whether that is fair or unfair to the Government is neither here nor there: it is not include...

Brian Binley | 486 c74 (Link to this contribution) Of course I will, but I am sure that you understand, Madam Deputy Speaker, that the background of th...

Speaker | 486 c74 (Link to this contribution) Order. Again, the hon. Gentleman is widening the scope of the debate. I ask him to concentrate his r...

Brian Binley | 486 c74-7 (Link to this contribution) Absolutely right. We face a massive additional tax—or potential for it—in the business supplementar...

Speaker | 486 c74 (Link to this contribution) Order. The hon. Gentleman has had the opportunity to present some background to the debate. I hope t...

Sadiq Khan | 486 c94 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has had plenty of time; in fact, he spoke for longer than I shall. Let us be cle...

Sadiq Khan | 486 c93 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster speaks regularly to the Mayor of London. I cann...

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 486 c93 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister give way?

Speaker | 486 c93 (Link to this contribution) Order. Will Members who have recently joined the debate please keep the level of conversation down?

Sadiq Khan | 486 c91-3 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has had plenty of time to wind us all up; I would like to wind up the debate. As...

Mark Field | 486 c93 (Link to this contribution) It is only fair to point out that the business rate element for Crossrail plays only a very small pa...

Sadiq Khan | 486 c91 (Link to this contribution) I wish you a happy new year, Madam Deputy Speaker. I thank right hon. and hon. Members who have take...

Robert Neill | 486 c91 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister give way?

Mark Prisk | 486 c87-91 (Link to this contribution) This has been an interesting, if somewhat short, debate, and it is a shame that only two Members fro...

Speaker | 486 c94 (Link to this contribution) Order. I think the hon. Gentleman is referring to the fact that Members can vote. I am not in the po...

Sadiq Khan | 486 c94 (Link to this contribution) I am hoping that we will not need your vote tonight, Madam Deputy Speaker. Members have a choice: t...

Speaker | 486 c94 (Link to this contribution) I ask the Serjeant at Arms to investigate the delay in the Aye Lobby.

John Healey | 486 c42 (Link to this contribution) I think the hon. Gentleman and I will have to disagree. Where we have local government that is not u...

John Healey | 486 c42 (Link to this contribution) I now give way to the hon. Gentleman’s former hon. Friend, who represents areas in which a more sign...

Mark Field | 486 c42 (Link to this contribution) I will not be speaking on behalf of Croydon, which is well looked after—at least on this side of the...

John Healey | 486 c43-4 (Link to this contribution) In two ways. First, the picture that the hon. Gentleman paints does not represent the view of the ma...

Mark Prisk | 486 c44 (Link to this contribution) The Minister cites the CBI. Will he give it what it asked for in its briefing to all Members: a ball...

John Healey | 486 c42-3 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the support of my right hon. Friend, as a ministerial predecessor and as a London MP, beca...

Brian Binley | 486 c43 (Link to this contribution) It was noticeable that the Minister claimed support from business, particularly in London, but prett...

John Healey | 486 c44 (Link to this contribution) No, and I will explain why later. I note that that is an element of the Opposition’s reasoned amendm...

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 486 c44 (Link to this contribution) At a time when businesses are suffering the most for decades and bankruptcies are increasing, the Mi...

John Healey | 486 c44 (Link to this contribution) Whether or not there will be a vote on a business rate supplement, depending on the contribution req...

John Healey | 486 c44-5 (Link to this contribution) I can give my hon. Friend the figures that he seeks. In 1997-98, business rates formed 25 per cent. ...

Robert Neill | 486 c45 (Link to this contribution) Against that background, how does the Minister justify the slashing of funding for the local authori...

John Healey | 486 c45 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will know that that is a three-year scheme, and was only ever introduced as such....

John Healey | 486 c45 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way to the hon. Gentleman, and then—[Interruption.] Then perhaps I shall run through se...

Dan Rogerson | 486 c45 (Link to this contribution) The Minister is coming to one of the problems with the Bill, which is that it is neither confined to...

John Healey | 486 c45-6 (Link to this contribution) I perceive it as an advantage that the Bill does not introduce a local income tax, and as a strength...

Lee Scott | 486 c46 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister agree that, in the business improvement districts to which he referred, businesses...

Lee Scott | 486 c46 (Link to this contribution) Ilford, North.

John Healey | 486 c46 (Link to this contribution) I recognise the success of business improvement districts—67 are up and running. They are in diverse...

Bob Spink | 486 c40 (Link to this contribution) The Minister is aware that there are many very good councils, but there are some councils that do no...

John Healey | 486 c40 (Link to this contribution) I will not give that undertaking, but I will give a fuller outline and an explanation a little later...

Speaker | 486 c40 (Link to this contribution) I have to inform the House that I have selected the amendment in the name of the Leader of the Oppos...

John Healey | 486 c40 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. We are living through a time of great econo...

John Healey | 486 c41 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman reads the Bill, he will see that we are proposing the power for all the upper-...

John Healey | 486 c41 (Link to this contribution) I shall first give way to the hon. Member for Croydon, Central (Mr. Pelling), a compatriot of the ho...

John Redwood | 486 c40 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister tell the House how much he thinks this measure might raise in the full year once i...

John Healey | 486 c41 (Link to this contribution) As I have just explained, we are not imposing a tax on business but putting in place a power through...

Richard Ottaway | 486 c41 (Link to this contribution) The Minister said that Crossrail will bring benefits to businesses across London. My constituency is...

Andrew Pelling | 486 c41 (Link to this contribution) I want to support the hon. Member for Croydon, South (Richard Ottaway). Does the Minister not accept...

John Healey | 486 c41 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will find that the limitations to liability set out in the Bill will help to safe...

Robert Neill | 486 c53-4 (Link to this contribution) I understand my hon. Friend’s point, but, with respect, may I say that I suspect it would be more ap...

Robert Neill | 486 c52 (Link to this contribution) As we have set out, we would agree with the Mayor that if a Bill was presented that simply gave effe...

Richard Ottaway | 486 c52 (Link to this contribution) I was waiting until my hon. Friend had finished on Crossrail before asking him a question, and I thi...

Robert Neill | 486 c54-5 (Link to this contribution) Voluntary contributions are welcome, but it follows from the right hon. Gentleman’s logic that those...

Nick Raynsford | 486 c54 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman knows that I have a particular interest in the Bill’s business improvement distri...

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 486 c55 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend will have noticed that the thrust of the Minister’s argument for not having a ballot ...

Robert Neill | 486 c55-6 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and the point is well brought out by the experience of the busin...

Brian Binley | 486 c56 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend recognise that in certain parts of the country ground rents are being advertised...

John Healey | 486 c57 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his generosity in giving way. Does he not recognise that I a...

Robert Neill | 486 c57 (Link to this contribution) I give way to the Minister—perhaps he has some good news for us.

Nick Raynsford | 486 c57-8 (Link to this contribution) I start by drawing attention to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Interests. I strongly sup...

Robert Neill | 486 c57 (Link to this contribution) I appreciate the Minister’s expressions of concern and I do not doubt that they are genuine, but per...

Robert Neill | 486 c58 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman, as a fair man, would not want to misquote anyone; he knows full well that ...

Robert Neill | 486 c48 (Link to this contribution) On what basis was the figure of one third arrived at and what consultation took place, either with b...

Roger Gale | 486 c47 (Link to this contribution) The Minister is aware of the concern about the effect of the Government’s levy of 100 per cent. empt...

John Healey | 486 c47 (Link to this contribution) As I said, businesses will be consulted in all cases, and there will be a legal requirement on counc...

Mark Field | 486 c47 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister not recognise that, whereas with business improvement districts the issue is conse...

John Healey | 486 c47 (Link to this contribution) I did not anticipate giving way at that point, but I will because I shall move on to something else ...

Mark Field | 486 c46 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister give way?

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 486 c48 (Link to this contribution) In order to give businesses a flavour of what is in the Government’s mind for this Bill, will the Mi...

John Healey | 486 c48-9 (Link to this contribution) The short answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question is that the extent to which business rate suppleme...

John Healey | 486 c48 (Link to this contribution) There has been considerable debate on and analysis of this policy area for some time, not least in t...

John Healey | 486 c51 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman tell me whether the present Mayor of London believes that there should be a ...

Robert Neill | 486 c50-1 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from ““That”” to the end of the Question and add:"““this Ho...

Robert Neill | 486 c51 (Link to this contribution) I was about to come on to Crossrail, and if you will forgive me, Mr. Deputy Speaker, I will pick up ...

John Healey | 486 c49 (Link to this contribution) I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concern. He and I were elected to the House together in 1997; neit...

John Healey | 486 c49-50 (Link to this contribution) At the moment, our view would be that we would like it to be possible for a county council to levy a...

Bob Spink | 486 c49 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister give me some clarification? If an infrastructure project, for example, were to be ...

Nick Raynsford | 486 c51 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Robert Neill | 486 c51 (Link to this contribution) I will, because I was coming on to Crossrail anyway.

Robert Neill | 486 c51-2 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman is right to an extent: Crossrail is a unique project because of its size an...

Speaker | 486 c74 (Link to this contribution) Order. We cannot widen the debate. There are certain parameters, and the hon. Gentleman has been giv...

Rob Wilson | 486 c52 (Link to this contribution) Although we have been talking about Crossrail very much in terms of London, it will go out as far as...

Robert Neill | 486 c56-7 (Link to this contribution) That point very well demonstrates the pressures businesses are under and why the addition of even 2p...

John Healey | 486 c47-8 (Link to this contribution) The Bill allows local authorities, in proposing and implementing a business rate supplement, to make...

John Healey | 486 c46 (Link to this contribution) Indeed. The 67 areas are diverse and led by different political parties, but work with their local b...

Nick Raynsford | 486 c42 (Link to this contribution) May I urge my right hon. Friend to take a robust view on this issue? The Conservatives appear to be ...

Alan Whitehead | 486 c44 (Link to this contribution) Has my right hon. Friend reflected, during his consideration leading to the introduction of the Bill...

Nick Raynsford | 486 c51 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will know that Crossrail is a project of such size, significance and length, in t...

Paul Farrelly | 486 c72 (Link to this contribution) My point is to suggest further reforms that may be introduced as amendments to the Bill, which refor...

Mark Field | 486 c83-4 (Link to this contribution) I appreciate that, but I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman will also appreciate that some benefi...

Brian Binley | 486 c74 (Link to this contribution) Of course, I accept your guidance, Madam Deputy Speaker, but you will recognise how provoked I was. ...

Mark Field | 486 c49 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister not recognise that the issue of additionality fills us with a certain amount of gl...

Subjects

Disclosure of information

Accountancy

Companies

Administration

Costs

Business

Elizabeth line

Greater London

Greater London Authority

Infrastructure

Empty property