Clause 12
Business Rate Supplements Bill
5:45 pm
Lee Scott (Ilford North, Conservative)
On this occasion I shall attempt to get my words to the item and I will not deviate whatsoever. My concerns are the same as those of my hon. Friends. Regarding my own constituency, in the current economic conditions, I would ask the Minister to look at reconsidering the level that has been set. I accept that there needs to be a level of flexibility and that the situation may differ from one region to another. As we heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster, areas such as Oxford street and Regent street are different from my high streets of Barkingside, South Woodford and Hainault. I am sure that they would like the level of business that happens in Oxford street and Regent street, even in the present climate. However, we need an increase on the limit. The figure is not appropriate at this point. I do not believe that most businesses in constituencies up and down the country will be able to thrive with such a figure. We may be able to reconsider that view in the future, but at this juncture, I ask the Minister to look again at the limit.