Business Rates

Part of Opposition Day — [13th Allotted Day] – in the House of Commons at 9:40 pm on 15 June 2009.

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Photo of Stewart Jackson Stewart Jackson Shadow Minister (Communities and Local Government) 9:40, 15 June 2009

The fact that this subject has been chosen by Her Majesty's Opposition for our allotted half day demonstrates how important to our economy we consider the business sector, particularly small businesses which can provide a path out of recession. No Labour Member has mentioned that business rates are a fixed cost, the pain of which has a bigger impact in a recession. We Conservatives believe that the Government's policies—especially those on business rates—are inflicting significant damage on the business sector. The strength of feeling across the House reflects the fact that many of the 4.7 million small businesses in our constituencies are experiencing unprecedented grim times.

We began with an excellent speech from my hon. Friend Justine Greening; it was a polished and forensic demolition of the Government's lamentable record. I am sorry that Mr. Raynsford was not able to make a speech. However, he made an intervention that showed a "computer says no" and a "It's not me, guv, it's the formula" approach to the policy. We heard about the impact of above-inflation rate rises. The ending of transitional relief was also mentioned; Ministers disregard the impact of that on local small businesses. My hon. Friend talked about the impact on sustainability and on small businesses such as the launderette, post offices and small shops in her constituency.

We heard an intervention about uniform business rates, but although the Government have been in power for 12 years they have not altered the system that obtained when they were elected. Mention was made about the failure of the Government to honour their clear objectives and undertakings to my hon. Friend Peter Luff on the automatic payment of small business rate relief; I hope that the Minister will touch on that issue in her response.

We also heard about Government incompetence and the over-complex and bureaucratic system of business rate deferral schemes, particularly for marginal businesses. The Government's complete inability to come up with a clear answer about the estimated cost was also discussed. There was an interesting discussion on the rate revaluation in April 2010. My hon. Friend Mrs. Spelman put forward empirical evidence about the impact of the relevant legislation in respect of the Valuation Office Agency, particularly in Wales.

A game effort was made by the Minister for Regional Economic Development and Co-ordination, new to the team. She did well in trying to persuade us that this zombie Government are still alive and making a difference. Many of her remarks, however, were clichéd platitudes based on discredited dividing lines—the facile, do nothing schtick that we expect from the Labour party. There was no recognition of the gravity of the recession, which is the worst since the second world war. In particular, and in stark contrast to the hon. Members for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs. Ellman) and for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell), the Minister showed a complacent attitude to the ports tax. We knew that she was in trouble, because she was citing the predictions of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and people are always struggling when they have recourse to that resource.

We heard a number of key points from hon. Members from across the Chamber. The Minister failed to convince Mr. Mullin about empty property rates and failed to persuade the House about the business rates deferral scheme. Furthermore, she failed to persuade my hon. Friend Christopher Fraser that she can provide any meaningful, demonstrable data about the help that the Government schemes have given to individual businesses. I would be interested if the Under-Secretary could shed some light on that.

My hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Worcestershire prayed in aid John Cleese and "Clockwise", but this Government are clearly more akin to Monty Python's dead parrot, as we are well aware as each month goes on.

The speech by Julia Goldsworthy was proof positive, if it were needed, that the Liberals remain at best a wholly owned subsidiary of the Labour party, and at worst a complete irrelevance. She avoided a straightforward commitment to local income tax, and effectively spent 17 minutes saying not very much.

Mr. Betts gently chided the timidity of his Front Benchers, but himself took a rather nonchalant approach to how local businesses across the country are struggling in this recession. We heard an excellent and knowledgeable contribution by my hon. Friend Mr. Binley, and a rather esoteric discussion of business improvement districts by Mr. Robinson.

That doughty champion of his constituents, my hon. Friend Mike Penning, raised a vital point about the impact of empty property rates on involuntarily empty properties, at Buncefield in particular. We had a rather, if I may say so, tedious parody of a party political speech from Dr. Whitehead; I am glad that I never had to suffer in his university lectures. Finally, we heard an interesting speech by my hon. Friend Mr. Newmark, who talked about businesses' practical experience in his constituency and the fact that this Government's policies are losing businesses to overseas locations.

My party has responded intelligently and sympathetically to the plight of businesses struggling through the recession. Less than three months ago, we initiated a debate that focused on the key issues affecting entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises: the poor take-up of small business rates relief; empty property rates; the failure of the local authority business growth incentives scheme effectively to promote business growth; the need to allow local authorities devolved autonomy to apply local business rate discounts; and, most importantly, the rise of 5 per cent. in business rates and the end of the transitional rate relief scheme. My party has outlined detailed and fully costed proposals designed to assist businesses in the current climate, not least a national loan guarantee scheme, a cut in corporation tax and payroll taxes for small companies, and deferred VAT for small businesses.

Given the time, I probably will not be able to discuss those matters in detail, so it might be appropriate to deal with the desperate spin of this Government in claiming that the Conservatives have no policies to deal with the recession. That comes from a party that secured the support of 15.7 per cent. of the electorate less than two weeks ago. Indeed, the conceit that the Labour party was pro-business was never supported by any demonstrable evidence. For Labour, business has always been a milch cow to fund its hare-brained schemes, fiscal mismanagement, bureaucracy and debt boom. Last week, the Prime Minister appointed Sir Alan Sugar, the born-again Labour supporter, as the enterprise tsar, but a poll in The Independent found that 81 per cent. of business leaders believed that that was

"a desperate attempt by Gordon Brown to boost his public popularity".

As we know, the words "Gordon Brown" and "public popularity" are oxymoronic.

It is no wonder that the Labour party cannot even give away tickets for its business fundraisers. The business community has lost what little faith and trust it had in this tired, discredited, washed-up Government, who have always governed in their own interests, not those of the people of this country. They cannot even get their spin right, as we saw today in the spat between the Chief Secretary and the surrogate Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. The Government's public expenditure and taxation plans are incoherent and incredible, just at a time when business desires clarity and leadership.

This Government have never understood that without a thriving business sector based on sound Government finances, lower taxes and falling public debt we cannot deliver real long-term improvements in our public services. They have had 12 years to harness the talent, flair and genius of our wealth creators, but they have comprehensively failed, leaving the ambitions of thousands in tatters. Once again, as in 1979, it will fall to a Conservative Government to rescue our economy, restore our mercantile spirit and repair the calamity of Labour's dozen wasted years.