Clause 9
Business Rate Supplements Bill
4:45 pm
Dan Rogerson (North Cornwall, Liberal Democrat)
At the risk of boring Members who were not present for deliberations on the Planning Bill, I shall again refer back to it briefly. One issue that we debated was that that Bill made provision for regulations, as is customary, but that some of those regulations had a significant effect on how the Bill would affect people in the real world. There was disquiet that the detail of those regulations might influence people’s view of the Bill as a whole, because they were crucial elements of it.
Given that we have had such a lengthy discussion about ballots and when they should be used, it would be useful to tighten up one or two of the regulations. Amendments 13 and 14 would do so, stating that regulations on how a ballot will work should be provided as early as possible. Obviously, the length of time that we have chosen could be made shorter or longer, but it is a means of sending a signal so that people out there in the real world who will need to deal with the provisions will have an early indication, if possible, of how that ballot should take place and what form it should take.
The amendment is probing, but I would welcome the Minister’s point of view. I have proposed one or two other amendments to other clauses in a similar vein. Let us put as much information as we can on the face of the Bill now, so that when other Members get a chance to consider it later, they will know exactly what they are dealing with and be clear about how the provisions will affect business communities and the local authorities forced to carry out such consultations.