Clause 12
Finance (No. 2) Bill
9:15 am
John Healey (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; Wentworth, Labour)
The British Amusement Catering Trade Association, which the hon. Member for Wycombe quoted, is an important trade body. It represents the fragmented and diverse industry that uses amusement machines and therefore has an interest in amusement machine licence duty.
Officials and I have had regular discussions both during and after the formal consultation that we launched a couple of years ago on the future of AMLD. We went over BACTA’s arguments in detail. We went over the complexities of the industry and the categories and, in the end, we came to the judgment that the package we are offering in clause 12 is a fair balance given the competing factors at stake.
The hon. Gentleman mentioned the situation that political, community and sports clubs might be faced with regarding category B machines. That seemed to be the emphasis of the BACTA view that he told the Committee about. Three main categories of machine tend to be operated in registered clubs: 5p jackpot machines, 10p jackpot machines and higher-stake jackpot machines. We have tried hard to work with BACTA to reassure the industry that the approximately 4,000 5p machines that are located in such clubs—including some political clubs—and about which he was particularly concerned will not be liable for AMLD at £1,965 from 1 August. Rather, they will be liable for the £735 a year rate, as was always intended.
The new rates reflect the mix of machines in the new categories. The presence of about 6,000 10p jackpot machines in category B4, although that is fewer than the number of higher-stake club machines, is reflected in its lower rate than that of B3. That is the judgment and the overall package that we have come to. We have tried to keep the differentials in place where justified and to make rate changes reflect the development of machines and their distribution in the industry. I shall take BACTA’s representations through the hon. Member for Wycombe as early representations for the 2007 Budget. We will inevitably have to take decisions at that point about the rates of amusement machine licence duty.