Clause 12
Business Rate Supplements Bill
5:45 pm
Bob Neill (Shadow Minister, Communities and Local Government; Bromley and Chislehurst, Conservative)
Understanding as I do the motivation behind the amendment of the hon. Member for North Cornwall, for the reasons I advanced earlier in relation to previous amendments I am still not convinced about putting a sum in, even with the caveat of making it changeable by regulation. That would take us back to where we almost are anyway, where it can be changed by regulation in any event. However, the hon. Gentleman raises an important point that we need to explore. How is the £50,000 figure arrived at? What magic—or otherwise—is there in that, and what justification do the Government use for that?
I am conscious that that figure stems partly from the Government’s impact assessment and other soundings that it has taken. The impact assessment was, I believe, signed off on 28 November. However, although it is not apparent from the document—I am sure that the Minister can help us here—I imagine that the field work for that would have been taken among the business community at an earlier stage, when the degree to which businesses would become hard pressed by the recession was perhaps not apparent.
What thoughts have the Government had of reviewing the appropriateness of their initial estimate of £50,000 in the light of the ongoing economic developments and downturn that we been discussing? In a sense, £50,000 is signalling up what the Minister’s starting point for the regulations will be, and in a way I am grateful to him for doing so. Without even getting to the stage of introducing regulations, should he be thinking again as to whether £50,000 is the appropriate starting point—never mind whether we then need a power to vary it subsequently in the light of further developments? Have events since that idea came into his mind, and since the impact assessment, not already given rise to a need to revisit it? A commitment to do that before the Bill is enacted and the regulations are brought in would be a welcome reassurance to businesses.