Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Communities and Local Government – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 3 June 2013.
Mark Prisk
The Minister for Housing
2:30,
3 June 2013
Nothing has changed in rating policy. Ever since 1990, business rates have gone up by the retail prices index—it was the same under the Labour Government. It is right to say, however, that they are fixed overheads. That is why, unlike the Labour party, we have doubled the threshold for small business rate relief and taken a third of a million small businesses out of business rates altogether. I thought that the hon. Gentleman would welcome that.