HL Deb 14 December 1995 vol 567 cc1390-1

4.18 p.m.

Earl Ferrers rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 30th November be approved [2nd Report from the Joint Committee] .

The noble Earl said: My Lords, I beg to move that the Non-Domestic Rating (Chargeable Amounts) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 1995 be approved.

These regulations limit the increases, after inflation has been taken into account, of the rates which will be payable in 1996–97 by businesses whose rateable values increased substantially as a result of the 1995 revaluation of domestic property. The regulations amend the principal regulations which were introduced last December, and in which we provided for transitional arrangements in order to phase in the effects of the 1995 revaluation.

Although these may appear complicated regulations, I do not need to detain your Lordships too long, for the regulations are really quite straightforward. Last year's regulations limited the annual rates increases on property which had a rateable value of £10,000 or more—or£15,000 if the property was situated in Greater London—to 10 per cent. after allowing for inflation. For small businesses the increases were limited to 7.5 per cent. and for small properties consisting of both business and living accommodation the limit was 5 per cent. The changes, which were announced by my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his recent Budget Statement, result in those limits being reduced by 2.5 percentage points in 1996–97.

That is all that the regulations do. And, as it is a decrease in the business rates which will have to be paid, I am sure that that will meet with the wholehearted approval of your Lordships. The extra cost of limiting the rise in business rates in this way will be £268 million over three years. The cost will be borne entirely by the Exchequer. There will be no reduction in the payments into the non-domestic rating pool, and there will be no reduction in the amount of money which will be paid out of the non-domestic rating pool distributed to local authorities.

The lower limits which are provided for in these regulations will benefit over 1 million businesses throughout the country by reducing the bills which they would otherwise have had to pay. I am sure that this will be widely welcomed by them, as I hope it will be by your Lordships. I commend the regulations to the House.

Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 30th November be approved [2nd Report from the Joint Committee].—(Earl Ferrers.)

Lord Williams of Elvel

My Lords, the House will again be grateful to the noble Earl for introducing an order with which, again, we can agree. It seems like the pre-Christmas season, but I hope that after the new year we may see other legislation on which there will be proper debate on party political issues.

The only issue in relation to the uniform business rate is whether it should be nationalised or should revert to local authorities. That is a matter of principle which has nothing to do with this order, if I may criticise myself.

In so far as the order does what the noble Earl said it does, although it is complicated and technical, we shall not oppose it. Indeed, we welcome it.

Earl Ferrers

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Williams. He said that there must be a touch of the Christmas spirit in this. Perhaps there is. I am glad that that makes him happy. However, I am a little disturbed that he looks forward to more controversial legislation after Christmas on which he can sharpen his intellectual knives.

I thought that the noble Lord would agree with the order, because it introduces a reduction in rates. I could not see how he could possibly disagree with it. I am glad that I was right in my premise and that the noble Lord welcomed the order.

On Question, Motion agreed to.